| KI4CRA |
Rating:      |
2008-08-24 | |
| Still a GREAT tuner |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Well, here we are almost a year after I bought the 962D tuner by MFJ. I have used the 962D, on the 2 rigs in my shack, my Kenwood TS-680 and my Icom 746Pro. I know its pretty much of an overkill on my 680, but using the 962D, a 102' G5RV, I can bring the numbers down fast. Usually I can bring it down flat in seconds.
However, about 3 months ago I traded my venerable Yaesu FT-897D for an AL-811 amp and the Kenwood TS-680, after putting roughly $150 into the amplifier I have virtually a brand new amplifier. This is where the 962D shines. Using said 102' G5RV the 962D and the 746Pro and the AL-811 I can usually bring the SWR's right in line in no time.
I know a lot of people bash MFJ due to their QC or supposed lack thereof. I can say with all honesty that I have never bought something from MFJ and not have it work as advertised. Yes I have bought MFJ products from other folks, and have them tell me yea it works great, buy it and its not fully functional, a little time, a few parts, a lot of cussing and that item is usually as good as new. I don't think a company like MFJ would still be in business if they had Q/C issues like I've heard some posters comment about. All in all though I do like my 962D tuner by MFJ. If the opportunity arose to where I could get a Palstar or Nye-Viking would I do it? Probably so, but bear in mind the 962D would still be in and around the shack somewhere. Hope to catch you on the air.
73 de Mark
AI4HO
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Earlier 5-star review posted by KI4CRA on 2008-01-06
This is my first review of the MFJ-963D Versa Tuner III. I bought this unit at the Melbourne, Fl. Ham Fest in Sept of this year. Once I got used to the workings of the tuner, I found it to be a an absolutely joy to use, and is now a main part of my station. True I'm not using a "lot" of power, 200 watts max. Yea, it may be a little over kill as far as it goes, but at the time I was looking for something that would handle 300 watts. Well the price difference between the 2 at the ham fest was only about $50,so I went with the 962D.
My 962 will tune my 102' G5RV on bands 80-10 meters to 1:1 This tuner works for me. I have a friend who is running the same tuner with the Ameritron 811H I think it is, running 600-800 watts, and the tuner is rock steady. Nuf said, catch you on the air.
73 de Mark
AI4HO |
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| RFDANNY |
Rating:  |
2008-05-22 | |
| A Sorry POS |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
There is nothing "first rate" about this tuner. If you think this junk is first rate, you obviously haven't looked inside other makes and models.
As usual, defective out of the box. It was "fixed" with a few solder touch ups. When "working" the unit is lossy and has a very limited matching range compared to real tuners.
I wouldn't recommend this unit to anyone. |
|
| WW5AA |
Rating:      |
2008-05-22 | |
| Still going strong! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Still going strong at over 3 years. At times I have run the legal limit without a problem. I moved it over to the back-up rig this year which is dedicated to 60 meters. Reading the reviews, I sometimes wonder what folks are trying to tune!
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Earlier 4-star review posted by WW5AA on 2004-12-09
I bought the MFJ 962D after reading all the bad reviews because a friend let me use his to test my new al-800 amp. My antenna is a full wave 80 meter horiz. loop and the rig is a FT-900AT. I opened up the tuner when it came by UPS, checked every thing, and was pleased that it looked really good. After connecting it up I tested it on all bands 10-80 and was able to get a 1 to 1 all around (100 watts) I never run more than 500 watts, and always tune with about 10 watts and touch up the tuning at PEP (just in case the rare one is heard) Six months and no problems, just opened her up, cleaned the inductor and noted that everything looked good. Did I get lucky or do some of the complaints come from less than careful operation? |
|
| W3RXO |
Rating:   |
2008-04-18 | |
| Don't bother! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I purchased one in excellent used condition, before I ever heard of this site, and sure wish I had checked here first. Being a bit of an RF junkie, a 962D, is NOT the way to go. I ran a Gonset GSB 201 MkIII, through it, and rapidly found that it was not capable of more than about 800 watts, and that was pushing it. So, I tended to back off the drive a bit, and typically ran it at around 600 watts PEP.
Then I bought an Alpha 374A, and knew the MFJ HAD to go. There is no way I want to have Alpha power available, and not be able to use it to it's full, legal limit. So, I did the right thing, and sold it, making sure to point out to the potential buyers that it had it's limitations, admitted to by MFJ in the manual for the 962D. As long as I was running low power, and didn't mind really chasing the tuner around the dial, it worked well, but would easily arc, at around 750 watts or more.
I replace it with a Palstar AT4K, and wish I had bought the Palstar, in the first place. I will review it, after I get more experience with it. If you are considering one, look elsewhere, and get one capable of some REAL power. Even if you don't typically run power, you may one day get something bigger, and you'll regret not getting one capable of more power handling capacity. Get anything else, rated better, but don't bother with the 962D. |
|
| N2QQF |
Rating:  |
2007-12-30 | |
| MFJunk |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I hate to bash MFJ but they make crappy equipment. What annoys me most is that my tuner that stated 1500 watts arched at just 500 watts. This is not a very reliable piece of equipment. While it did work for a little bit it was certainly not very good. The issue stem from noisy roller inductor knob that wobbles and cheap internal components. When the equipment does not work as advertised you will damage your equipment. This is expensive equipment and when you fry your radio becasue of it Mr. Martin's false specifications to his equipment (as usual)(MFJ) will not replace/repair your damaged radio's/amplifiers after his product failed, leaving you in a bad perdiciment. So, think about that before you buy this tuner and spend the extra money on a good american built tuner like the Palstar tuners. I just bought it and that is a real tuner. It certainly isnt cheap but you get what you pay for. If you want to save a buck buy the MFJ equipment but when your radio or amp blows tell me if it was worth saving the few extra dollars.....Don't say you weere not warned becasue there are quite of few telling you not to waste your money!!!!!!!!! |
|
| K7PWR |
Rating:  |
2007-02-25 | |
| Cheap Unreliable Garbage after 100 watts |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Hooked it up...meter was faulty, and smelled like burnt wires the minute i tried to tune up. Never worked right. But, I have bought a mfj at-7000 atu for my ic-7000 and it works great!! ***** I think MFJ has major issues when it comes to combining their equipment with high power amps.They just cant hold up to any real power..If your radio is stock with 100 watts or less,..the tuner will probably stay together for a minute.Hit the power switch on your amp, run for cover!! Disappointed, and frustrated. |
|
| EB3EPR |
Rating:    |
2007-01-09 | |
| 12V input fail. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Received new last week, working ok but 12V jack for the lamp fail and I need the change for a new one.
Esteve-EB3EPR |
|
| AE7AE |
Rating:    |
2006-08-21 | |
| Typical MFJ |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Mine is an older MFJ962C. I coupled it to an Emtron DX1 (800w output) linear. The first time I tried to use it with my 80/40m HF2V (pretuned to 1:1 swr using 100w), it started arcing and sparking when I applied 600w RTTY. Wen openned, I found the Inductance switch contacts burned to a crisp! I had it rebuilt with a more 'rugged' wafer switch, and had no further arcing problems. The screws on the Left-side tuning capacitor came lose which caused some tuning problems until discovered (on a DXpedition to VI9NI). I was very dissappointed with build quality, QC, and specifications indicating it is rated at 1500-watts! There's NO WAY it would handle even 1000-watts on 80m or 160m! Previously I had a 989B, then upgraded it to a 969C, and was pleased with the specifications and operation, but, they also had build quality problems. I hope the new versions of these tuners have improved cases, build quality and 'truer' specifications. Would I buy another one...yes, a 989-D (2nd hand , of course!) |
|
| PE1SDC |
Rating:      |
2006-03-03 | |
| Thats Great Stuff! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I bought my MFJ 962 D a half year ago.First i had
the model 969,and i was very satisfied with him.
Thats the reason i bought again a antenna tuner
from MFJ,and succesfully,and now in combination with the HF Amplifier HLA 300 from Rmitaly!
Tuning from 160 meters to 10 meters,and i can always adjusting on a SWR from 1:1.
And of course tuning while you sending with the
roller knob,and the antenna transmitter knobs,
whithout problems.And i can say that,after 3 years of operating.No arcing problems,works in all this years for 100%.This is my set;
Yaesu FT 847 Transceiver,Rmitaly HLA 300 Hf
(Ham) Transistor Amplifier (600 watt SSB),that i
bought in Germany (New) for 375 Euro's,
MFJ 962 D Antenna Tuner,and a Windom antenna with
6:1 balun,for connecting a 50 Ohms coax cabel.
No problems,if you have a good combination of
apparates in your set,and do no stupid things with the set. |
|
| W8NWN |
Rating:      |
2006-02-09 | |
| A PLEASURE TO USE |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I purchased the MFJ Versa Tuner lll. Upon arrival, I put it on my bench for a test. My first observance was the paint. It was perfect. No imperfections. The lettering on the front was “2 color”, not 1 color as on other units. The lettering on the back was written on the metal by the coax connectors, not on a little tiny “sticker” stuck on the back. Next I put it on a known “level” surface. The unit did not “rock” at all but was rock solid. Next I hooked it up. It worked fine. The weak point was the roller inductor mechanical feel and sound. Most of the sound comes from the sub-standard counter and gearing, but the calibration was ok. The manual tells you how to “reset the counter to 0” (which I had to do) The switch knob is a “pointer” style ob-long in shape, which is great for grasping the switch. The knob placements and meter placement are excellent. The meter is nice and bright and was accurate with my MarkV and Prolll. The unit for some reason is “fun to use” like the old Heathkits were. I can’t really explain that. I think that tuning it up with small power (as you should any tuner) and reading the manual is a big help for new users. I don’t think you can run 2 KW key down into it and load a coat hanger on 160 meters with it. I rate it a FIVE, for ease of use, size, accuracy, and value. |
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