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Reviews For: Array Solutions AIM 4170 by W5BIG

Category: Antenna Analyzers

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Review Summary For : Array Solutions AIM 4170 by W5BIG
Reviews: 64MSRP: 520
Description:
Antenna analyzer measures the complex impedance (magnitude and phase) at each frequency of interest in the range of 0.1 to 170 MHz. An advanced program running on your PC is used to calculate several parameters, including WR, R+X, Mag, RL, Angle, and plot the results vs Freq or on a Smith Chart.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.w5big.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00645
N6MUK Rating: 2007-01-08
A FABULOUS ANTENNA ANALYSIS TOOL! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
A FABULOUS ANTENNA ANALYSIS TOOL!

I came across W5BIG's antenna impedance analyzer in a November, 2006 QST article. I glanced at it and immediately thought "here's another semi-toy analyzer that will not give me professional or accurate results". After reading through the article, I knew that the AIM 4170 analyzer potentially offered much more, so I ordered one. Array Solutions had them in stock and shipped one to me that day and I received it in 1 week. There were no hidden costs and UPS shipping was a mere $13.

W5BIG has put together a surprisingly logical, straightforward and simple hardware front end to perform the measurement tasks. It works and it works really well. The real "heavy lifting" of the data analysis is done by his wonderful software running on your PC. The software presents volumes of antenna, transmission line and network data in a really easy to use format. It is fully customizable, but I have found it so understandable, that no changes seem necessary. This baby will tell you all about your antennas and feed lines, allow you to make changes and re-evaluate so quickly your head will be spin. Your days of checking SWR, pruning and checking SWR again, lengthening and checking SWR again and again are about to end forever. With the AIM 4170 you will know where your antenna is, where it needs to go and how to get it there. You will understand it fully because you will be looking at the Impedance (real and quadrature parts), phase angle, reflection coefficient and SWR all nicely displayed on your PC. You will see this information over the frequency spread that you have specified. You are really going to know what your antennas are about. The instruction/ operations manual is very well done and easy to follow. There is also a nice quick start sheet to get your AIM up and running in just a few minutes. There is a Smith Chart function for those that like them. I use it a lot and realized that a read out of line length in electrical degrees would be very useful to me as I spun the marker around the Smith Chart. I emailed W5BIG and mentioned this idea. To my SHOCK I had a reply from W5BIG just 5 HOURS later with a new piece of software attached. This new software includes the feature I suggested and it works great. NOW THAT IS GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE!

Keep in mind that the AIM4170 is a vector impedance analyzer and your antennas and transmission lines are just one type of impedance network. The AIM can just as easily display measured data about your amplifier's tuned circuits, antenna traps, phase shift networks, crystal lattice filters or anything else that presents a complex impedance between 100 kHz and 170 mHz. I have used it to set up impedance values in phase shift networks where the coils have a 10 inch diameter and the caps weigh 15 pounds. It worked equally as well when I checked some tiny pc board surface mount style caps not much bigger than a grain of rice. It is a very flexible test instrument!

I am a broadcast engineer by trade and spend a good deal of time tuning commercial antenna systems and phasing high power directional antenna arrays. Traditionally, this is done with a General Radio Bridge/ Receiver and a Delta OIB (operating impedance bridge). Talk about difficult and time consuming! In recent years, high dollar analyzers such as the Wiltron or Alligent are getting use in my line of work and they really make things fast and easy. The trouble is the price tag; its no joke, you could purchase a nice 3 bedroom home for the cost of some of these test instruments. Renting them is a pain and also expensive and it makes me nervous to drive around with an analyzer in my Jeep that's worth 10 time as much as the Jeep!

I have found that the AIM 4170 is nearly as capable as these high dollar units. It is, of course, limited to 170 mHz, while the big boys run up into the Ghz, but that's fine for my Ham and professional needs. By using the computational power of my laptop computer, W5BIG has created a tool that can "see" into feed lines and antennas and all other types of complex networks with great accuracy and efficiency and at a reasonable cost. I carry it and use it on a daily basis and I whole heatedly recommend it.
K2HK Rating: 2006-12-29
Professional features at an amateur price Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I must agree with previous reviewers.After reading the QST article and other reviews I kicked around the idea of another piece of redundant equipment in the shack. Not so! This small piece of equipment measures a myraid of properties in transmission lines, antennas and discrete components.It does this in a quick and easy way. Calbration is a snap. Because of its design it is not effected by external fields. Approaches lab test equipment at many times the price.
AC6LA Rating: 2006-11-11
Easy to set up, easy to use Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
If you enjoy "messing around" with antennas and transmission lines, like I do, the AIM4170 is definitely worth adding to your arsenal of tools. I've owned an AIM4160 (the hardware prior to the 4170) for about a month now and I must say I've had absolutely no problems. One thing that really impressed me was that the device is delivered with everything you need to get started, including 3 standard loads used for calibration (open, short, and a standard resistor), power supply, computer interface cable, and even a BNC-to-UHF adapter. And the very first thing you see when you open the box is a printed quick-start guide. I literally had my unit up and running within about 5 minutes after it showed up on my doorstep.

In addition to the arraysolutions.com website listed above, you should also check out w5big.com. You'll find a wealth of information, in both the "how it works" and "how to use it" categories. You can download the complete user manual, and you can even download a demo program that runs without having the hardware available.

Don't be put off by the fact that the unit works in conjunction with a PC. You can power the AIM from a battery and combine it with a laptop for semi-portable operation. (I must be some kind of dinosaur since I don't own a laptop.) But you can also use the very handy "Refer to Antenna" function. After a one-time cable calibration procedure you can take measurements from your operating position and the AIM software will automatically "transpose" the readings to the far end of the line, just as if you were taking measurements from atop your 100 foot tower. (Come to think of it I don't own a 100 foot tower either, but you get the idea.)

All in all a very nice piece of test equipment. Definitely highly recommended.
K6MHE Rating: 2006-11-07
When knowing SWR isn't enough Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This review is based upon the AIM 4160 the predecessor the AIM 4170. The main operational difference being the AIM 4170’s frequency range is 0.1 – 170 MHz and the AIM 4160’s range is 0.1 – 160 MHz. otherwise the two instruments are functionally equivalent.

I have been using my unit for about three months and can't imagine how I would manage without this instrument any more. It's not just a piece of test equipment, more like a totally new way of approaching problems.

Here’s a few of the things I’ve done (thus far) that was difficult or I was unable to do with my older antenna analyzers:

1) Determine a balun’s resonate frequency and its common mode impedance vs frequency (effective band-width).
2) Check to see what impedances my tuner is matching for my tune fed dipole for the various bands.
3) Measure the antenna systems common mode impedance at shack end of the transmission line (useful for determining if and where a choke may be required).
4) Measuring and adjusting traps.
5) Quickly measure and/or calibrate transmission lines without doing any calculations on my part. – Real time and error saver.
6) Measure an antenna’s feed point impedance from the transmitter’s end of the feed-line.
7) Change the reference impedance for SWR measurements to something other than 50-ohms.
8) Saving scanned data to a *.csv file that can then be loaded into Excel or Quarto for possible further analysis.
I’m sure this list will grow as time goes on.

When I first became aware of the AIM antenna impedance meter was shortly after having recalibrated my MFJ-259B. For those of you who have done that know what a slow and somewhat cumbersome process that can be. With the AIM leave you screwdriver in your pocket. The whole process is handled by the software in about a minute. There are no physical adjustments required!

There are a host additional features I could list but you can find a complete listing plus the user manual available on Array Solutions web site (http://arraysolutions.com/). While at their site be sure to check out the excellent review article for the AIM 4170 that was published in Nov/Dec 2006 issue of NJC.

Finally, I have found W5BIG’s customer support to be tops in providing prompt and courteous replies to all my questions.

Knowing what I know now would I buy one again? You bet - in a New York minute!