Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

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

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
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
N5TEH Rating: 2013-05-22
Excellent for the Price Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased a 989D Tuner from GigaParts. The price was very low and I decided to take a chance even after reading some poor reviews. When the tuner arrived I opened it up and thoroughly inspected everything--no loose parts and the solder joints were quite good. Even the finish of the cabinet was good and the lucite front panel is very nice. It's not a Cadillac and it's not meant to be, but it well laid out, and the controls are smooth.

I've only run it using 100 watts without any problems tuning a 43 foot vertical and an inverted L. One thing I do like is the meter in Peak Mode. It seems accurate and easy to read. When I get my amplifier I will will put the power to it and then write another review.

This is my third MFJ Tuner and I've had a number of other MFJ products over the years and never had any problem. MFJ fills a niche for the average Ham with equipment that is affordable. So far I'm satisfied.
KD8PIQ Rating: 2013-05-19
No good for 100W Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Used mine for about 6 months, the meters do not read power out, or reflection. I Payed over $50 to shit to MFJ, about 4 to 5 weeks later I received my tuner back from repairs. 5 min into loading the tuner, the meters died. My big FT-857D blew her up. After looking into the tuner, I found some of the worst solder work I have ever seen! Here is a link to the pic's I took of this crap repair job. FYI my SWR is 1.5
Just copy this, and paste to the browser address bar to view the pics I took.

http://s50.photobucket.com/user/ukv894/library/MFJ-989D%20back%20from%20repairs

de KD8PIQ
VK7NRS Rating: 2013-05-10
It Works, But Teething Troubles Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I received my shiny new MFJ-989D yesterday delivered ex HamCity in the US. Great people to deal with, prompt serevice, good communication and reasonable postage rates. It would be really great to be able to give a 5/5 for the 989D, and I would have except that the MFJ quality control has let them down again. On opening the carton, the first thing I did was check the dial and switches, and you guessed it,there was a problem, the roller inductor handle, when turned, was grinding and the counter was slipping. It just did not have a good feel to it. So, like many reviews I've read, it was immediately open up the cover. Inside I found that the nylon gears on the counter drive were not meshing, the counter was slipping, and more worrying was that inside rattling around was a loose nut. A thorough inspection revealed that the nut was a spare that had been left inside the case. Jammed into the wrong place while being operated, may have let the smoke out of the box. Anyway, faced with having to return the unit to the US for repair and the clearly high cost of doing so, I decided to have a go at repairing things myself. The issue was that the reset button on the counter had been shortened to allow it to fit, but had not been shortened enough and it was hitting the inside of the front panel and forcing the whole couter assembly away from the front panel. This had the effect of not allowing the small drive gear to mesh properly with the large gear, and also to prevent the counter from turining as it should. This was fixed by removing the counter assembly, using a pair of cutters to further shorten the reset button, and reassembling. Something so simple, and if the RI handle had been turned and checked post assembly in the factory, it would have been obvious. I'm told MFJ is manufactured in the US. This is a good thing given that it seems just about everything is made in China now. I like to support businesses keeping the stuff home grown, but please MFJ, some simple QC, especially for us overseas buyers. It works absolutely as it should, just some very avoidable teething issues.
WR0F Rating: 2013-04-25
MFJ 989D back from repair Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Well after a 2 + months repair at MFJ we received our 989D back.The counter for inductance is back to its old ways of slipping having to be reset to Zero constantly and the top lid was scratched up badly on top and front edges for one that was perfect when we sent it in.I just got it back 3 days ago . I will say it tunes on 10 meters now .
Now the warranty is run out as it was in their hands about 70 days. It would still be sitting there if I did not call in and complain .I think I will fix it myself this time as soon as replacement lid gets here .

----------------------
Earlier 2-star review posted by WR0F on 2012-11-29

My MFJ 989D will easily tune 12-160 meters but will not tune any antenna resonant or non resonant on 10 meters.It never has been able to tune 10 meters using my TH7DX - Butternut HF9V - HY GAIN SPT 500 or even a simple dipole .I should have sent it right back to them .
The inductance counter is constantly slipping and has to be reset to zero so it is time to send it back to MFJ before the warranty runs out.
The tuner works great on even 160 meters with 1200 watts with my inverted L .
WB0UPD Rating: 2013-04-01
Good Value Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is my third MFJ tuner and I started out in 1977 with a Dentron.

Anyway I purchased used from a ham who had owned for 5 years. It took it apart when I first received after reading the reviews on here thinking the worst. All looked good inside except for a loose connection on the long wire input. Remember this is a used tuner. I fixed that, and installed the required 9 volt battery.
You either need to have the 9 volt battery or a 12 volt DC power source connected, Before the meters will work! The meter light will not light with the 9 volt battery. I have about a 100 ft long wire strung up in my back yard and this tuner will tune it for every band, Including 10 meters. Would I buy again, yes.
N4YX Rating: 2012-11-21
Please Read! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
In addition to the used 969 I've recently acquired a used 989D MFJ tuner. BOTH (and I suspect many) of these tuners have the same Roller Inductor issues so mine are not isolated cases as you'll see via the supplied link. The tuner itself is good except for roller-to-shaft problems inside the inductor. There's an absolutely excellent article with fabulous close-up photos of this phenomenon at: http://www.trinityos.com/HAM/MFJ969-repair/index-mfj969repair.html. I plan on refurbishing both my MFJ tuners using this technique. This procedure can be accomplished without completely disassembling the roller inductor mechanism.
KX2T Rating: 2012-06-27
Does the job Time Owned: N.A.
I just picked one of these tuners up, its not bad, the swr part could be impoved cause it might be affected by reflected power that may be coming back at times(place it in the peak position and its ok but slow). They could have painted the covers better, front apnet is nice though and I am surprised the metter light is bright, maybe they should do the same on the metters on the am,eritron amps as well. To my surprise the inside wireing was fine, I expected to resolder some joints but everything was ok. I did have to re adjust the bracket that does the turns counter(it was slipping) but I expected something that might not be right, MFJ has still not got there QC department workin right yet. I feel there air core roller inductor should have more turn on it, seems a little on the small side. I let you know in a year if it hold up, lol.
Jim
W5RHR Rating: 2012-04-28
uPDATE TO MY REVIEW Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I am updating my review because today I strung up a doublet fed with 450 ohm ladder line and no matter what, I could not tune the antenna. I first assumed my antenna and feedline were at fault and tried several remedies to no avail.

I took the top off the tuner and discovered one winding of the toroid primary was broken! I resoldered the connection and the balanced portion started working.
Another hit for QC.
AA1PR Rating: 2012-04-25
Typical MFJ issues Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I love this tuner it performs like it should however I have had to send it back twice as the meter stopped working, once under warranty & then again only a few weeks later off warranty. other then the meter problems this tuner can & does handle it with ease
K7TXO Rating: 2012-01-06
Made my day w/DX contacts Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
When I received the new MFJ-989D, I was put off a bit that it is light in weight and the cover paint job seems not as good as anything else. But after hooking it up and actually using it; this tuner works outstanding on my vertical, dipoles and hex beam with my rigs at low or high power or with linear too. I give it a 4 because I think the cabinet paint could be better and the inductors mechanical gearing could operate smoother. Otherwise based on a short time of experience, it works good enough for me to otherwise rate a "5". I do hope it provides me this kind of operational service for years to come.