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Reviews For: MFJ-962D

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : MFJ-962D
Reviews: 97MSRP: 269.95
Description:
1.8 - 30 MHz 1.5 kilowatt AirCore roller inductor antenna tuner
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?prodid=MFJ-962D
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00973
N4MJG Rating: 2022-02-27
962D update ! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Back 2006 i trade it for terheel ant for a 962d tuner it not bad it better then my fc 20 only put ot 20 to 50 this 962d tune better at 100 watts that good good thing most call mighty fine junk lol not me what my anttena is happy at 100 watts i'm using my ft 847 from yasue !








When i brought this tuner last year as of 11/6/10 the only problem i have is the knob is hard to tune on inductance side that only problem i have ,but rest is fine ! they to fix ind.side to make easy to tune ! it real hard to tune on ind. other than tune fine.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by N4MJG on 2010-11-06

Atfer taking time to read to understand this little tunerit 's tune all 8 band that i wanted to get on the air even first time ever get on tune 160 meter since 07 so this will be my first time talk anyone on 160 meter time to get feet wet lol !! other than that great tuner ! it tune no problem at all..I HAD THIS TODAY 11/6/10


73
Jackie
N4MJG
WWW.N4MJG.COM
W8NSS Rating: 2021-12-05
Worst of the worst! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have currently have 4 operational radio amp tuner combinations set up in the main shack and a 590 downstairs in a bedroom with a dedicated antenna as well. Since I already have a 989c which is a decent tuner for the money I thought a 962d would be perfect as I wanted to add a als600 also.. Received the new tuner with the meter flopping around inside the cabinet where it was not secured from mfj so I reinstalled and put a dab of clear rtv on backsides of meter and all was good or was it. Next let's see how the roller inductor works; so started turning this god awful contraption with a dimple for lack of a better word and midway through you will feel a slight bump according to mfj their patented resonance killer will engage but instead a loud annoying POP and I knew something was messed up.Removed cover to find this tinker toy roller inductor with contact gauge wrapped around the support shaft and the cheap fiber transition fingers broke and displaced. The roller inductor has been cheapened up considerably from my 15 yo 989c. NO turning back at this point, HRO has been great sending me a return label so back to the junk factory it goes.
N4ES Rating: 2021-09-30
Plan to do final inspection and rework yourself. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
MFJ is one of my favorite companies, a valuable supplier of low cost ham radio equipment. They have kept some of our favorite brands alive. I have bought several power supplies, antennas, and an Ameritron AL-82 linear amplifier from MFJ. However, to keep prices low, quality sometimes suffers.

Buy MFJ products only if you are willing and able to perform final inspection and rework yourself.

I needed a small, low cost tuner for 160m and selected the MFJ-962D Versa Tuner III. When it arrived, the first thing I did was remove the cover for inspection.

(1) Two cover screws were cross threaded and had their heads buggered. Lose the power screwdrivers during assembly, MFJ.

(2) Turning the Antenna tuning capacitor made a scraping sound. Some long, spliced wires were scraping against the rotor, and would probably have arced and damaged the electronics on the board. This is a high voltage point in the tuner. Two tie wraps resolved this issue.

(3) ALL FOUR SO239 connectors are defective! The female center contacts are way too loose. There is NO FRICTION to a properly soldered PL259 male center pin. Nobody ever noticed this? HOW MANY MFJ products use these same defective SO239 connectors? I replaced them with silver plated, Teflon dielectric SO239 connectors with tight, gold plated center contacts.

(4) Oh, the roller inductor:
(A) The spring contact was not properly soldered to the roller shaft at the front: re-soldered and wicked the shaft to clear the roller bushing.
(B) The self-resonance-killer switch that shorts out half of the inductor over half of the travel NEVER OPENED. This tuner would never have worked. There was way too much friction on the switch shaft and from the detent spring. I exercised the switch shaft many times with pliers, bend the detent spring to reduce the friction, and CAREFULLY bent the switch spring contact so that there is slight over-travel on closing and a small gap when open. I don't like it, but now it works.

(5) The variable capacitor plates are not accurately indexed. This is just sloppy workmanship and reduces the capacitance range by a small amount.

(6) There were fractured solder joints at the Antenna Selector switch. Apparently, the wires are attached to the switch before it is installed. When the wires are pulled to their destinations, the solder joints are fractured. I reflowed the solder.

(7) I checked most of the screws and found several that were not properly tightened. The worst were the two screws at the Transmitter connector. The nuts spun when trying to tighten. I used a screwdriver to wedge the nuts while tightening the screws. Want to find loose hardware? Look where it is hardest to get to.

It is obvious that this tuner was never thoroughly tested before shipment. No one ever verified operation of the very finicky self-resonance-killer switch mechanism. It is impressive that MFJ can make their own variable capacitors and inductors, but these are critical components in an antenna tuner and deserve at least a mechanical check to verify operation before being installed in units.

After the rework, the tuner tunes up my new Cushcraft MA-160V 160m vertical just fine using an antenna analyzer. I am building a 500W class-E power amplifier, and it needs a very low VSWR load to operate correctly. I considered building a 160m-only tuner myself, but I am happy that I chose the MFJ-962D instead. I like the size and the new styling. I tested the tuner with 200W from my FTDX-101MP and so far so good.
N6CIC Rating: 2020-08-20
Matches OK but Turns Counter is Off Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought my tuner off of eBay, and it arrived in good shape. It matches my 80-10 OCF dipole 1:1 and I am happy about that, but the turns counter slips as I turn the roller inductor, so I cannot return to the same setting. I took the counter apart and found it to have very tiny plastic gears that easily could miss a cog. I inserted a small washer to realign the gears and reassembled it. It still doesn't work according to the manual. I get counter readings all over the place. It is supposed to go from 000 to 125, and I will reset the counter to 000 and it will go to 230. I have decided that the only way I can get accurate and reusable readings is to count the turns myself and write them down. It should not be that way but that turns counter is really a cheap design and the weak link in an otherwise nice tuner.
KD7KE Rating: 2019-10-06
MFJ 962D Roller Inductor A Great Low-cost Tuner Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned my MFJ 962D Versa Tuner III (with a roller inductor) for 4 years. I have used tapped tuners (MFJ and other brands) but found that I that getting a perfect 1:1 match on them may not be possible. Getting a good match is necessary, if you don't, you will pay the price in extra heating of amplifier tubes and output transistors and may also suffer damage to radio, amp and tuner. Arcing damage may occur if the match is poor. Once the best sweet spot (low SWR) per band was found I wrote down the settings. This is a God-send when changing frequencies and bands as it makes tuning very easy, accurate and quick. I use my tuner with an Ameritron AL 80A amplifier, a sweet combination. I recommend this tuner anyone with the proviso that you make a record of your tuning spots and refine them as necessary. Weather can affect the SWR so nothing is perfect as weather changes may affect your adjustments. Your record will make the difference. Keep it in a prominent position by your radio and you will run a cooler station that should last for years. I give it a 4 of 5 because I have damaged internal components by forgetting to change the 0-300 to 300 - 1000 watt switch when using the amplifier. Maybe the MFJ will improve the tuner so that no damage to meter will occur if one fails to change the output setting. The good news is that MFJ is helpful in selling or giving, free of charge, parts and instruction if you opt to repair yourself. They will repair for a fee, if you send the tuner to them.
KH4AB Rating: 2018-11-13
It Work--But Handle With Care Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
OK, I've owned this unit for about three months now and I must say you really get what you paid for. There is no trusting for me until I have inspected under the hood of this “mighty fine junk” MFJ…lol.

Brand new out of the box, I found a cold solder joint on the main tuning coil, re-soldered and it is working fine now. Just last night, my Cirro Mazonni Baby Loop magnetic antenna started acting erratically. Opened up hood, and I had to reseat all the rotary connectors as one apparently is coming loose.
Luckily, I am using this box as a pass through connector/patch panel, as the Baby loop antenna resonates at 1.1 to 1.5 across 6600 to 29800Mhz so I am not really dependent on this for tuning. The analog power meter is so out of calibration that it reads 125 watts vs my LP-100A’s 100 watt readout.

Maybe, one of these days, I may try and score a Palstar HF-Auto when I decide to install a long wire or some vertical multiband antenna in the back yard…

Dan
KM6VMR
KE1RI Rating: 2018-09-14
Works well if I use Dummy Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased this MFJ-962D tuner used (less than 1/2 price). The previous owner had shorted the tuning coil and had it replaced by MFJ. He also removed the meter bulb and taped in two LED’s. He never bothered to solder them. He also forgot to put the back cover of the meter back and lost it. Although he demonstrated the unit to me I never opened it.
I have since repaired a rail on the roller inductor frame, soldered in the LED’s, and adjusted the turns counter attachment so it reads correctly through the window.

This unit works well but is finicky. The instructions suggest you tune into a dummy load first. I have found that this is essential. This step gets the inductor setting almost perfect for my antenna (OCFD / Carolina Windom). Otherwise it is very difficult to near impossible to find the exact spot on the inductor that will even show movement of the meter. I also keep all pre-transmit tuning limited to 10 watts and NEVER touch the inductance control when transmitting over 10 watts.

Works fine. Just follow the instructions and keep good records. I now get 500-600 watts out with my Ameritron AL811H. I also have a spare burnt roller inductor for parts.
AB9PM Rating: 2018-08-24
SURPRISE! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I had bought this tuner NEW to use and recently moved it to another location to tune my antennas. I would tune up and all was good. Suddenly I go to transmit and the SWR is all erratic. I opened it up and found the 9vdc clip laying across the inductor coil. No big deal. Then I remembered reading about loose solder being left in MFJ products. So before I closed it up I tipped it upside down. Out of the tuner falls a 3/4 inch cut silver wire. I am not a basher of MFJ, I have owned multiple products over the years, but this is carelessness. Thus I rate your item a 3. Buyer beware.
N5ID Rating: 2018-03-02
Works Great! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought mine used for 125.00 but it looks and works like new. My MFJ-962D tunes my 80 meter full wave loop on all bands 80-10. It is quick and simple to tune.
K8DXX Rating: 2018-01-23
Well Ya Know Jane, It's Always Something Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I'm going to give this a 5 even though a 4.75 might be more appropriate. This MFJ-962D was just purchased to replace an MFJ-994B auto tuner that didn't work correctly out of the box (and was missing a rubber foot). But now, the good news. For the price, this is a very nice tuner. The roller inductor and counter operate smoothly. I checked the inside and it looks first rate. The fit and finish are very nice, if you like basic black! The peak reading meter is more-or-less accurate (maybe 50 watts high). I've run this amplifier through other meters and tuners and 650 PEP is about what they show (it's all an estimate, anyway). I ran into no issues tuning first with an MFJ 259 analyzer, then my exciter at 25 watts and then turned on the ALS 600. Even the roller inductor knob looks classy.

So, what's not to like? The grounding lug on the back was missing the wing nut and washers. It's a small thing. I temporarily borrowed the wing nut and washers off the balanced line feedthrough posts and can replace them later. My point is that MFJ could probably boost their average review by a full point and avoid the "Mighty Fine Junk" moniker if they'd just do a little QC. How about including a postcard or asking buyers to complete a survey online along the lines of "how's our quality?" They could use data gathered to identify weak points in their manufacturing processes and avoid the missing wingnuts and rubber feet.

I still think MFJ products generally provide excellent value and service. I have purchased at least 6 MFJ/Ameritron items in the last 2 years. About half worked perfectly. Two required one or more calls to Starkville to ask for replacements of clearly defective or missing parts. The auto tuner just didn't work! One in six, at the price is not bad! These silly errors and omissions tarnish the reputation of an otherwise great manufacturer. My experience as an ISO 9000 consultant indicates that the cost of compliance is usually less than that of non-compliance.