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Reviews For: MFJ-986

Category: Antenna Tuners/Matching Networks

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Review Summary For : MFJ-986
Reviews: 79MSRP: 330
Description:
Covers 1.8-30 MHz
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?prodid=MFJ-986
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00793.6
WX4O Rating: 2009-10-19
Good in 1987 Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought one in 1987 while stationed in S. Korea.
Always worked like a champ. When I got back from Korea I noticed the tuner had a bend in the tuning wheel. Sent it back to MFJ and even admitted that the damage happened during shipment. They fixed it
free.

I guess MFJ has serious quality control problems now. Really a shame. Their products used to be much better.
KA8YGB Rating: 2009-10-19
Shameful Build Quality Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just purchased this tuner. Right out of the box the "differential capacitance" knob was clearly either bent or installed off-center. The numbers above the "inductance dial" are all off-centered, and they never line up. All the numbers rest at the in-between or half-way point. And I can't zero mine exactly. What a mess.

In my opinion there is no excuse for such poor quality control. These defects are immediately obvious from even the casual observer. My next letter is to MFJ.
W7RUE Rating: 2009-09-22
Not good 1st impression Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought the MFJ-986 Tuner because I was looking for an 'easy to operate', moderately-priced tuner to use with a new mid-power amplifier. I should have looked at the eHam Product Reviews first! I had great luck with MFJ's 259B Antenna Analyzer so what the heck, I ordered a 986 from HRO out of Portland and got it the next day.(A great bunch of guys by the way, and always great service!)

I removed it from the box and shook it just to make sure nothing was loose. So far so good. I started turning the knobs, they felt kind of cheap. I tried to turn the inductor knob, it was extremely stiff and wobbly. Not good! I removed the top cover and looked inside; the gears were a cheap plastic(?). The large gear was molded crookedly, barely contacting the smaller gear which was cracked, also crooked on the shaft, and was ready to split. I boxed it back up and called HRO. After listening to my sad tale and after I told them that I wanted something better, they recommended the Palstar AT2K which they shipped to me that day with a free return label for the MFJ.

Although I cannot comment on how well the 986 worked, I know that I was NOT satified with the build quality. Even if I had allowed them to repair or replace it, I would have never had any faith in it.

And although the Palstar was more expensive than the MFJ, I could not have made a better choice in buying the AT2K. I opened up the Palstar as soon as I got it into my shack. What a difference in the quality and finish! I am well pleased with the Palstar! It is an oustanding piece of equipment and tunes all four of my HF antenna systems in my small but growing, very stealthy antenna farm. (CC&Rs and Yard Nazis rule the neighborhood!)

Too bad about the MFJ-986. With a little more quality control and some better-made gears, I probably would still have the MFJ-986 today.

Regards,

W7RUE
W8HAS Rating: 2008-11-13
Good tuner Time Owned: more than 12 months.
IT has served me well for 16 yrs -keep the roller inductor clean and you should have no problem! 986 has no problem handling a kilowatt. 73,s Harry W8HAS
K3EY Rating: 2008-03-22
Works Great Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Over the past 26 years I have owned a lot of different tuners, mostly a KW and up. What impressed me about this tuner is the ease of operation. This is the first tuner I owned with only two controls. I find it as advertised, fast and easy. I owned the big brother 989D but like this one better because it tunes easier and the feel is smoother. It does the job without breaking the bank and handles my KW amp with a lot left over. No arching no fuss, fast and easy, a great tuner priced within the range of most amateurs who don't have or want to spend a big bucks on something that will outlast the next ten generations---just because.
N0VA Rating: 2007-12-24
An Old Friend needs a little help now and then Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Maybe not Great! but possibly almost great or good and a half. I've had this 986 Diff-T tuner for years. I can't remember exactly when I bought it but I think around 1994. It has required a bit of maintainence but worth the effort. The antenna selector switch worked loose internally and I pulled the shaft completely out of the front panel one day. The roller inductor mechanism jumped off track a few times but none of this is serious trouble. I can tune a half-size G5RV from 20 to 160 meters including 30M. Keeping a record of inductance turns for favorite frequency on each band really helps for a quick tune up. It may help that I operate mostly QRP up to about 20 watts but have run up to a hundred watts on some bands. Never tried a linear amp on it.
K0ZZE Rating: 2007-08-15
Works for me Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just got my 986 through Ham City for 279.00. Its a nice tuner all in all. It tunes my Alpha Delta DX-CC that wasn't supposed to need a tuner "Ya right". The only thing I didn't like was the roller inductor was a little stiff.I opened it up and sprayed some of that Ratt Shack tuner/ cleaner lubricant on it and turned it up and down a few times till it turned black and did it again and the black went away and now I can turn it with one finger. I haven't pumped more then 100 watts through it so I cant comment on arcing. The settings are repeatable and its a joy to use so far.
KG4ZMC Rating: 2007-07-30
Good Tuner Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Done some tradeing and came across this tuner. It has been through 4 amps and I dont know how many different antennas ( coax & balun ) and still going strong.
The S.W.R meter seems to be O.K but the watt meter is way off on high power. It has NEVER arced or anything but worked well. It is one of the older units with the front painted on and not a decal. It has a handle on the roller and not a finger dimple. It wont even get warm. The tuneing is repeatable because I have a little cheat sheet that I go by. But because of the wide range of the freq that we all use, it is really a ballpark mark, and then you fine tune with a small carrier.
It is currently seeing duty on 75, 40, 20, 17 meters bands at power levels sometimes up to 1300 watts PEP into a 300' open-wire fed Horiznal loop. Amp is a Drake L-4B Modified w\ 3150vdc on the plates of a pair of 3-500zg's. Works for me. Best 73 Dale KG4ZMC
KG6R Rating: 2007-07-20
Good Vaue Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I bought mine used from ebay. I typically run 100-500 watts thru it without any problems. If you write down the setting for each band the results are very repeatable.

73 de KG6R,

Jim
K4SPS Rating: 2007-07-03
This Tuner Is Perfect For Me Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this tuner off of E-bay for $145 with the correct 12 volt light meter transformer and a cheapie 15 watt Realistic screw-in-the-back dummy load (it works amazingly well for low power initial tune ups). This particular T-differential tuner required disassembly to re-align the coil. This older model has a quality, solid Lucite drum that is overlaid with fine silver plated heavy gauge copper wire. With re-adjustment and polishing the rotating wheel, this mechanism works flawlessly. Cleaned the ball-bearing races and re-adjusted their tension, so the inductor knob turns smoothly. With a new 0-ring, it was on the air in a 'flash.' If you are handy with gadgets, it always seems the older MFJ stuff is made of higher quality parts. I am totally satisfied with this tuner as it loads up my Collins 30L amp to +500 watts with ease. Very repeatable tuning with the new O-ring drive. Also, the T-differential is the very best for quick tune-ups. Watt meter is very accurate. Buy one if you are handy with electrical/mechanical devices! K4SPS, Louisville, Ky.