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Reviews For: MFJ-721

Category: Filters, Audio: (DSP and others)

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Review Summary For : MFJ-721
Reviews: 3MSRP: 79.95
Description:
SSB/CW Audio Filter
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mfjenterprises.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0035
KF7FOW Rating: 2010-07-19
great little gizmo! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I went to a local hamfest looking for a DSP to help clear the background static when I'm listening to distant stations on my gen coverage receiver (a Kenwood R-300 with 1 very ineffective "narrow" filter). I coulnd't find a DSP but a guy talked me into buying this MFJ-721 instead and now I couldn't be happier with my purchase.

It's so useful that I've taken to carrying it back and forth betweem my gen cov receiver and my ham shack receiver each day. With the gen coverage receiver I can lower the background static to manageable levels using the SSB selections, and with my ham receiver I can pick out a weak CW station in a crowd using the CW selections. I wish I had two of these things!

On the plus side the unit is sturdy with metal and heavy duty bakelite construction. There is plenty of room inside for fat fingers like mine. I rewired the front phone jack so I could get sound out of both ears of my stereo headphones.

On the negative side I'm going to replace the power jack on the back with a standard 2.1 mm jack for a 12v wall wart. The micro-phone jack doesn't fit anything I have for a power supply (and I didn't get one with it so I have it direct-wired right now). The RCA jacks on the back are a little too close together to plug both sides from my patch cable in at the same time. No problem really since only one side is used anyway. The rotary controls on the front are solid feeling, but stiff working. And I have to remember to keep my headphones off my head when I turn on the power so the loud POP doesn't hurt my ears.

But everything works just as it should and I'm having a great time playing with the options. I plan on using it with my TS-520S (once it gets fixed) to provide the CW filter that my TS-520S doesn't have. I'm keeping my eyes open for another one at hamfests now. Highly recommended for older (pre-digital) radios.
K0KES Rating: 2006-01-29
great!!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had and used the MFJ721 for several years with several different radios and have allways noted much better selectivity with it switched in line many timess making the difference between copying or not.You also can tune the filter to peak up a signal this works very well.This filter makes an excellent addition to most radio rooms.I have never found a receiver it wont help.
KY4Z Rating: 2005-02-01
Adds new life to older gear Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I picked up the MFJ-721 audio filter off eBay some months back. The price was right, and I was looking for a cost-effective (i.e., cheap) way to improve the filtering on an old favorite rig, my Heathkit HW-16.

In short, the MFJ-721 has exceeded all my expectations. It's nearly like operating a completely different rig!

The unit has four filter bandwidths for CW and three for SSB. I've tested it on SSB and was surprised how nicely it works. Most of my use has been on CW, and I can attest it's been a great addition to the shack. I can rub shoulders with other ops in a crowded band without fear!

The MFJ-721 is an older unit that was replaced by the updated MFJ-722. The 722 adds a notch filter to the existing filter capabilities of the MFJ-721. MFJ also moved the headphone jack to the BACK of the 722, which means you have to handle the unit every time you use. The 721's front-mounted headphone jack may be ugly, but it's certainly more functional.

While I didn't expect the MFJ-721 to transform my HW-16 into an ICOM IC-756 PROIII, I am very, very happy with the improvement in how it operates. I gave the MFJ-721 a 5 rating for the fact that it's added a great deal of enjoyment to my use of the HW-16.