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Reviews For: MFJ-4602 Antenna Feedthrough Panel

Category: Ham Shack Accessories

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Review Summary For : MFJ-4602 Antenna Feedthrough Panel
Reviews: 27MSRP: 59.95
Description:
Weather-proof window feedtrhough panel brings three coax-fed HF/VHF/ UHF antennas, balanced line, random wire and ground into your hamshack without drilling through walls . . .

MFJ’s Weather-proof Antenna Feedthrough Panel mounts in your window sill. Lets you feed three coax-fed antennas, balanced line, random wire and ground without drilling through walls.

Simply place in window sill and close window. One cut customizes it for any window up to 48 inches. Use horizontally or vertically. High-quality pressure-treated wood with excellent 3/4 inch thick insulating properties is painted with a heavy coat of white outdoor enamel paint. Edges sealed by weather-stripping. Seals and insulates against all weather conditions. Gives years of trouble-free service. 3/4Dx31/2Hx48W inches.

Inside/outside stainless steel plates bond all coax shields to ground. Stainless steel ground post brings outside ground connection inside. Three Teflon(R) SO-239 coax connectors, ceramic balanced line/randomwire feedthru insulators.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?prodid=MFJ-4602
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
10273.4
W7VI Rating: 2011-05-20
Disgraceful Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchase on of the feedthrough panel and my wife thought it was a great idea. No hole in the side of are new house. Upacked the panel and was surprised at the quality of workmenship and assembly. nothing lined up and the screws were bent because they tried to go through metal. I went to the hardware store and bought a 1X3 and made my own panel. I been thinking of writing ARRL and CQ in regards to the quality of their work. MFJ should be ashamed of there product. Their nick name Might fine junk should be just JUNK.
PG00023016 Rating: 2011-04-27
A Must-Have Says My XYL! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
What a great alternative to drilling holes is walls or floors! If I have to replace a connector or two in the future that's fine with me. I'm just glad the XYL's happy cuz when she ain't happy nobody's happy!
KC6STT Rating: 2011-04-26
Usable, but poor quality Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have the 'big brother' version of this product (the one with the bananna jacks and a dozen other different connectors on it). My honest opinion is that you would be far better off to make your own with a piece of wood (a fence slat does nicely) cut to your window size, spray-paint it the color you want, find a chunk of scrap aluminum to use as a grounding bus for the connectors, drill a few holes, and install your own long-barrel connectors in it. You would probably end up with a better quality product that you can customize with good quality weatherproofing, etc. The product as delivered required all of the barrel connectors to be tightened down enough so that the lock nuts will allow the PL's and 'N' connectors to mate and tighten down completely in use because the barrels they use are almost too short. They also claim the DC power feed through will handle 15 amps on mine. Honestly, I wouldn't try to run more than 5 amps through them. They used 22ga. wire between them (not exactly 15 amp quality). The backs of the banana connectors have to be insulated at the factory from the metal in back using double-sided foam tape (not enough space between the metal plates), which I do not trust to perform properly, so I do not use them. I actually used up all of the coaxial connectors in the panel I have (including the 'F' connector). I then had to drill more holes in the wood part of the panel, and install more barrel connectors to handle every antenna I am using, or plan to install in the future. A Brother label maker comes in handy for remembering what everything is used for. Another thing to consider: since the connector panel is not waterproof, you need to carefully consider installing this device as high, or in as sheltered a location as possible, and use drip loops on all cables connected to it. So there you have it. I wish I would have saved my money and made my own panel. But I went for the cosmetics instead of following my better judgement.
K4NP Rating: 2011-04-26
UHF Feed-through connectors are junk Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I bought one of these because I didn't want to buy all the parts to make one. I wound up replacing the UHF feed through connectors because 1: they were too short and I couldn't tighten a PL-259 all the way and 2: The female pin looks like it's just a hollow tube. I can see daylight through them.
James Schings Rating: 2010-07-04
Functionally fine. Cosmetically terrible. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Got mine yesterday. I realize that MFJ is not the top of the line as far as quality goes, (especially cosmetics). However, in my experience their price / performance ratio and support is very good. The utilty of this device is quite good. But, the cosmetics are TERRIBLE. The metal plate is installed crooked, the piece of wood used and the painting looks like it was done by a 10 year old in a bad shop class.

They are one of the few companies left in the US making equipment and I can't imagine them going on much longer like this.

I gave it an "OK" rating since it does what it says.
NU4B Rating: 2009-10-23
Makes life easy Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got one of these and mine came in good shape. It was packaged well and looks great, and makes getting cables and wires into the shack easy. I'm pleased with it.
former_WJ1T Rating: 2008-02-08
Usable Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I, too, did not want to drill through the wall, so I ordered the MFJ-4602. I have to admit that I am very disappointed in this product. Although it does do what it says it will do, the construction and assembly was quite shoddy. It is just a 1x4 board with a stainless plate mounted on each side to dress up the screws and coax feed-throughs. Mine came mounted on a rough piece of wood with the plates mounted crooked. The insulating material (spelled weather stripping) that was supplied was a jumbled mess that seemed to have been just shoved into the box. I straightened out the stainless plates to make it look a little more pleasing to the eye and will likely use this piece. However, it certainly is nowhere near worth the price that MFJ asks. I probably could have made one myself for under twenty dollars. This unit is functional, but should have been constructed and assembled much better for the money. I would not recommend it.
KE4GRP Rating: 2008-01-05
For the "not so"do it yoursefers Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Yea, you could go ahead and make one yourself. But, not being much of that kind of guy, I bought it.

Cut it just for the upstairs window (I can at least use a saw)and it works great.

I was going to buy a remote tuner, until I found out that you should'nt put anything between the control box and antenna box. I said "what the hey", I get up off my fat a** and walk into the other room and just change antennas.

One of the good MFJ products.

73 Chuck.

KQ4O Rating: 2007-10-06
Great For No-Drill Situations Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is one of those items that you know right away whether it's good or bad. I also had to wait a while for mine (they must be catching on), but it was worth the wait for me, as we plan on selling this house in a few years and I didn't want to drill through a street-facing wall to bring coax into my radio room.
The board that I received was clean and white, maybe not as finished as I'd have liked, but very presentable. Works like a charm!
The reason I chose the MFJ feed-through and not the plexi-glass one from RadioWorks was because of the extra ground lug in addition to the three SO-239s and balanced antenna lugs. It's quite versatile, although I did have to trade off the ease of sliding and locking the plexi-glass as opposed to sawing off just the right amount of the MFJ board to fit my window.
KI4LHA Rating: 2007-09-01
Saved my life.. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
With this panel I could run my coax to my shack, and since I am not drilling holes in the floor anymore my has not threated my life any more for drilling the holes. Simple installation,weather stripping inclued. Dose waht is sopposed to do.