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Reviews For: MFJ-989D 3kW Roller Inductor Antenna Tuner

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : MFJ-989D 3kW Roller Inductor Antenna Tuner
Reviews: 75MSRP: 359.95
Description:
Updated version of the MFJ-989C Roller Inductor Antenna Tuner.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mfjenterprises.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00753.4
N4PMB Rating: 2018-05-18
Great when it works Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I got a good deal on the MFJ-989D from GigaParts. I read the reviews and so I was aware that purchasing this tuner was a crap-shoot. For that reason I also purchased an extended warranty that included free shipping. After one week of use at 300 watts output, while I was on 80 meters, there was a flash and pop from the tuner and the smell of ozone. I knew that the roller inductor probably had arced. When I attempted to use it again I couldn’t tune anything. I called GigaParts. They said since it was within the MFJ warranty period, that it had to be sent back to MFJ. They gave me a number of the repair department. I contacted Hank at MFJ and after sending him a copy of my purchase invoice from GigaParts he sent me a FedEx shipping label. I shipped the tuner and 3 months later I got it back. It has worked now for 4 weeks without a problem up to 1000 watts. While the tuner was in the shop, I purchased an 18 year old MFJ-989C at HamCation in Orlando Florida for $125. The previous owner told me that it worked perfectly. It did. My recommendation, buy an old MFJ-989C and save yourself some grief.
VK2HH Rating: 2018-02-13
Faultless Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This unit works perfectly and exactly as expected. I owned an MFJ-986 for twenty plus years before buying this unit. The 989D is more capable than the older unit and can quite literally tune anything from a pair of kitchen scissors to a three-element beam at 90 feet missing one leg. The key to success with this unit is RTFM. There is no substitute for reading the manual and if you do, you will be well satisfied with your new ATU. Keep up the good work MFJ!
NA3R Rating: 2018-01-17
Not what I expected Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I ordered this tuner from HRO thinking that it could not be as bad as some of the reviews that I have read. I was wrong.

I opened the box and immediately tried to turn the crank to see if there were any problems with the turns counter. The gears were not meshing properly and the turns counter was stuck on 006.

I tried to get the gears to mesh by loosening the hex head set screw and I was able to improve meshing of the gears but it was still making crunching noises. I tried loosening the screws that held the counter in place and I made it a little better still but it was still very noisy.

After playing around with it for an hour and still not really getting anywhere, I loosened everything back up and tried to get the counter to go back to zero. To make a long story short the crank broke off in my hand.

The next day, I returned it to HRO in New Castle, Delaware. They took it back no problem. The guys there were great. I then immediately purchased a Palstar AT2K and I have had no problems whatsoever. What a difference.

The bottom line is always the same. You get what you pay for. MFJ has serious quality control issues and they really need to address them.
F4EKQ Rating: 2016-12-18
no good for me this article Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Hello everyone
I use recently this box I buy new
I had big problems with ...... and the power reading no longer works on the crossed needles only the ROS is reading
I contacted MFJ and nothing to do they do not want to know anything, I have to fend for myself to repair it
Fasteners not tightened, connector of the chokes not tightened, lighting led connected upside down (the lighting does not work)!
I made a document to see the link on my site
This material is not worthy of a professional especially after-sales service.
If oms have already had problem
Thank you
Good traffic 73 QRO
Here is the link: http://f4ekq.free.fr/radio/mfj989d.doc or see on my site

----------------------
Earlier 0-star review posted by F4EKQ on 2016-12-18

Hello everyone
I use recently this box I buy new
I had big problems with ...... and the power reading no longer works on the crossed needles only the ROS is reading
I contacted MFJ and nothing to do they do not want to know anything, I have to fend for myself to repair it
Fasteners not tightened, connector of the chokes not tightened, lighting led connected upside down (the lighting does not work)!
I made a document to see the link on my site
This material is not worthy of a professional especially after-sales service.
If oms have already had problem
Thank you
Here is the link: http://f4ekq.free.fr/radio/mfj989d.doc or see on my site
Very sorry for that @Didier
Good trafic 73 QRO
VE1FG Rating: 2016-12-09
well worken unit Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
got the 989d about 8 months ago used and haven't had anything go wrong with it so far even with 1.500 watts running in it on all bands ...for the money ide say its a good worken unit I use it on a windom -80 ant and it tunes all the bands from 6-80 fine so far so good mike in Canada ve1-fg.
KJ4IIB Rating: 2016-11-23
DONT !!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
PURCHASED NEW,THE AVERAGE POWER SETTING WOULD NOT WORK,SO I COULD NOT TUNE MY 811H PROPERLY.I NOTIFIED MFJ,THANKS MR.ROB...HE SENT OUT A NEW ONE.MFJ HAD NO ANSWER WHAT CAUSED THIS.IM SCARED TO PUT IT IN LINE,WILL PROBLY BE DISAPPOINTED....SENDING IT BACK TO HRO FOR A DIFFRENT TUNER.
K1GLD Rating: 2016-10-05
Great tuner and easy to use Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I usually use an automatic antenna tuner. Push a button and the radio matches the antenna. Everyone said I wouldn't like a manual tuner and that it is too cumbersome.

WRONG. This is easy to use with great directions. It tunes extremely well on both my vertical and off center dipole. Very pleased and highly recommended.
W3ATT Rating: 2016-08-29
Great for the money Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Got mine used from HRO consignment page and it works perfectly. I had to open the cover to tighten the studs for balanced line output but no big issue for me. They came loose from repeatedly tightening and loosening the wing nuts when testing different antennas. Over all it works fantastic for me (been about 10 months of daily activity on the bands.) I have easily peaked 1200 watts with zero issues. Have used it with various wire antennas, Mosely tri bander and 170 ft cf Zepp down to 160m.
KX7L Rating: 2016-03-07
pretty good but for that turns counter Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just bought one of these at a hamfest, from a guy who won it as a door prize, but didn't need it, so it was essentially brand new.

When I got it home, right away I noticed that the inductor turns counter seemed to "skip" every so often, but only when turned counter clockwise. So I opened it up and took a look.
First of all, the solder joints all looked good and solid, no need to touch anything up.
Fortunately the turns counter is very easy to take out, so I took a look at it. The inductor shaft has a large nylon gear that engages a small gear on the turns counter. On the shaft with the small gear is a metal worm drive. That worm drive engages a black plastic gear, and that's where the problem was. The black plastic gear had a worn spot and the worm gear would slip when it got to that spot. Not sure why it was that way, but I ordered a replacement turns counter from MFJ.
Two other things to note: The downloadable manual from MFJ does not have a full schematic. (but I did find one on PA0FRI's website)
The manual does not quite explain about how the internal 9V battery works. At first I thought it was not connected, as the power/SWR meter did not work without connecting an external 12V supply. However, after looking at PA0FRI's schematic I see that the 9V battery is only connected to the circuit when the "Lamp On" switch is pushed in. Then the lamp (and the SWR circuit) will turn on and off as the transmitter is keyed. Kinda weird.

I also understand why those 1N34A diodes were blowing out in the MFJ-989C and older revisions - the "D" version has an op-amp buffer circuit to implement the Peak/Average feature, whereas the older versions just put a large (220uF) cap on the output of the 1N34A rectifier. With 5Vpp coming out of the bridge, the 1N34A sees a 47 ohm load, and about 100mA of current until the big cap charges up, way more than it's rated for. The '989D circuit should take care of that.
AA4AJ Rating: 2015-04-15
Good tuner Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I read eHam reviews before I buy something so, I owe the reviewers one.

I bought my MFJ-989D because my auto tuner would not find a SWR that was low enough to suit me. I also got it on sale at an excellent price from HRO. I read the reviews here and checked the tuner very carefully. The fit and finish are first rate. I opened the case to check the battery clip and the components seem to be high quality. The wiring is well done. The inside was clean and nothing was loose. The tuner works on all bands without a power connector as the power only controls the meter light. None of the components are the very highest quality but, they work well and are the same ones as on other MFJ / Ameritron products. To get that 'high quality', you pay a lot more.

The tuner works very well. The meter is bright and clear and seems to be reasonably accurate. The inductor doesn’t feel the same as the one in my other tuner but, it is a different technology and has worked well. The turns counter seems accurate. The capacitor tuning knobs are directly connected (no planetary gears) so you have to be careful with tuning. Using the MFJ supplied instructions, tuning is quick and accurate. The tuner settings are very narrow and specific. Depending on the antenna, a final setting can be quite broad in frequency coverage.

First rate. You can spend a lot more ( I did that ) and will get very little extra.