| NZ8I |
Rating:      |
2020-11-21 | |
| Excellent Preselector |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I purchased an xhdata d-808 last year for bedstand ham/swl listening. THe 808 is incredibly sensitive; but the front end is a "barn door...."
I can see the local Am/Fm broadcsat tower from my window.
This excellent preselector works very well with the
D-808 on 40-160 meters. I only use it at night for Low bands only and so it works really well unmodified.
They can be found quite cheaply on Ham sites and Epay. "YMMV."
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| KD7RDZI2 |
Rating:      |
2019-03-01 | |
| Updated review - HF surprising results!!! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This is my second review. In my former review I gave a 3/5 as it was great only up close 7Mhz, marginal beyond.
First this is my first accessory I bought in the hobby, 25 years ago. And this MFJ thing still works. There is plenty room inside to do mods. So recently I have done them. I have added two broadband 4:1 small impedance transformer to transform the filter from 50ohm to 12.5ohm (both at the input and the output). In this way the Q rises considerably (this is a series LC), about 4 times. This made the LW and MW unusable because the Q became too high so I replaced the LW and MW inductors to cover the bands from 5 to 15 and from 15 to well beyond 30Mhz. In this way the 7 and the 28Mhz bands are not on the edge of the capacitor. So I use the all four positions for HF only from 1.8 to beyond 30Mhz. The Q has quadrupled and this is manna above 7Mhz, Now it really works well on the entire HF ! I use it with my portables and the broadband ham antenna high on the roof, they do not overload anymore (yes, I don't know how to move back the RF controls or turning on the attenuators, I am a bad ham hihi)... and behave in most conditions like communication receivers. With this mods I finally can state that overload is not an issue anymore...
Below you find my review in 2009
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This preselector/tuner is made by just selectable inductors and an air variable capacitor. Albeit the very simple design, it is very effective as a prelector on LW, MW and SW up to 7Mhz. Beyond, using wideband non resonant antennas, if there are intermodulations say at 14Mhz because of large signals at 6 and 7 9 13Mhz, the filter is unable to help much. I were a MFJ I would put a high pass filter instead of the bypass and greatly improve reception from 14 to 30Mhz. |
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| DXTUNER |
Rating:      |
2014-07-29 | |
| An essential accessory. Use as needed. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
It's small, inexpensive and, when needed, makes a world of difference in Dx reception. What do I mean by "when needed"? Well, hot receivers like the Icom IC-R75 and Drake R-8 do not benefit from this. But if you've got something with 'iffy' reception then the MFJ-956 can transform that radio. It'll make the difference between hearing a weak signal and not hearing it at all. For example, I used it on a Realistic DX-440 portable. Without the MFJ tuner the radio was literally useless for true Dx'ing. But when I hooked up the MFJ-956 I suddenly had a 'communications receiver'. I couldn't have dealt with the DX-440 radio otherwise. Period.
Another good application is when you have VHF/UHF radio or scanner upconverted to shortwave. The MFJ-956 will boost you into 'real' shortwave reception ala a dedicated HF receiver. Situations like this is where the MFJ tuner makes a night vs. day difference. Also, I've successfully used it to boost VHF and UHF reception too. I don't know how or why it does, it isn't advertised for it, but it must do some kind of impedance matching there.
So it's essential to have around, just as having adapters, connectors and coax jumpers are. Just like band aids are essential to a first aid kit. As essential as having a spare tire in your trunk. Well, I think you get the idea by now. |
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| KJ6JJK |
Rating:     |
2013-11-22 | |
| Favorite Receive only tuner |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This is my favorite receive only tuner.
Best on Long and Medium waves as stated previously.
If not interested in LW, & MW, I would suggest MFJ-16010, as it can be used to transmit with low power.
I would have given 5 stars, but this unit seems a little expensive considering how basic it is.
BTW, Ive used this model on and off for 20 years, maybe a little more. |
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| TURBO68 |
Rating:      |
2012-05-13 | |
| Excellent |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I use my MFJ-956 with my Wellbrook-ALA1530L Active Loop which does an excellent job in nulling out interference it helps due to the high gain of the loop in which i dont have to use the attenuator on my Icom-R71A.. |
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| M1MBZ |
Rating:      |
2007-10-21 | |
| Simple little device, essential for MW listening. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I use mine from 500KHz up to 21MHz, it is noticeably effective at MF frequencies between 500kHz and 3000kHz, I use mine in line with a sangean ats909 and it really helps improve the S/N ratio. |
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| K1FPV |
Rating:     |
2006-04-07 | |
| OK for the Price. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have been using mine for over 3 years now. Yes, it is a series tuned circuit but with 2 BC stations less than a mile from my old location, it was necessary. At my new QTH I have 2 BC stations within about 2 miles. It worked but I had trouble tuning it over the entire sections of each band. Turns out that there was a mis-wire on the PC board....yup...on the PC board. Go figure!
With the re-wired unit, it tunes well, does a nice job of rejecting hash and interference from strong stations nearby but does have some attenuation especially on lower frequencies. It is a tradeoff. I will take the slight attenuation to the interference any day. I am giving it a 4, but if I could, I would give it a 3½ . |
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| N1KPR |
Rating:     |
2006-03-21 | |
| Does what it should - could be better. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Of all the signal preconditioning devices available, this one gives the best performance for the cost (it's a good value).
Since it's a series-tuned resonant filter, it is affected by the input (antenna) impedance and output (receiver) load. With about 50 Ohms on both sides, the dial calibration is close. As the loads swing away from 50 Ohms, the bandpass peak can shift significantly.
For a few more dollars, MFJ could have added internal transformers to isolate the filter circuitry and increase the "Q" (sharpness/efficiency) of the circuit, IE: an internal impedance of 12 Ohms (4:1) would sharpen the peak skirts of the bandpass function. They also could have chosen higher "Q" coils (100+). Additionally, a bypass switch to allow for "C" or "L" only, would be a cute touch to offer a "lengthen" or "shorten" function.
And while I'm making a wish list, an adjustable signal attenuator (5k Ohm pot) pot would be welcomed.
Oh, and don't forget a 500k Ohm bleeder resistor at the antenna port.
All-in-all, the thing works nicely as it is, for the casual SWLer, and offers a good platform for modifying and experimenting. Obviously, you could do better, but be prepared to spend several times the cash.
I have a modified version that impresses the guys I loan it to, and I have some hints on how to modify yours at my site: http://www.geocities.com/amdxlog/index.html |
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| WN8Y |
Rating:   |
2005-04-01 | |
| So bad i returned I returned for a refund. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
The MFJ-956 was the only tuner I could find for
below 535 khz.(LW).So I took a chance.
It attenuated all signals. So it did not serve my
purpose. I have other MFJ products and have had
mostly good performance from all, 1274 TNC, 812
SWR/Watt meter,clocks, mic/tnc switch,antennas.
MFJ has a good customer service. Refund no problem.
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|
| W6OJ |
Rating:      |
2004-09-02 | |
| Very Effective Tuner |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I use this little gem even though I have other tuners costing 10 times as much. I do BCB DXing and use a Drake R8B with my two amateur antennas, a multi-band DX-EE and my Force 12 Flagpole. The 956 really helps match all the AM signals with the R8B. I even use the R8B, in conjunction with the 956, to monitor 80 thru 10 meters rather than fire up my Yaesu FT-920 to check the bands or just read the mail. It is also great for SWL.
There's really nothing high tech or exotic about the tuner except that it is inexpensive, simple to operate and has a tiny footprint.
I use it everyday and think it's a neat addition to my shack. |
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