MFJ259 ANALYZER
Pedro Motilla
I have just purchased a second hand MFJ259 (not MFJ259B), and i do not
really know how works the frecuency counter and for what is.
For example, can i mesure the frecuency of my 2m transceiver in order to
check it?
How?
Does anybody uses it? what is your feeling?
Thanks.
VA3ATD
of it being done and they toasted the MFJ). You can use a handy's
"rubber duck" antenna on the BNC connector, place the unit in the near
field of the antenna attached to the radio to be tested without
contacting it. With the MFJ in Frequency Counter mode, briefly transmit
on low power and take a reading off the MFJ's display. Oh, one thing...
before running the test, it's nice to ask if the frequency is in use
first (good operating practice)
--
73, Tony
VA3ATD
London, Ontario
"Imagination and Ingenuity are the only limits" AD
mcdu...@xactcom.net
<pedro.motil...@ono.com> wrote:
> For example, can i mesure the frecuency of my 2m transceiver in order to
> check it?
You can get a ballpark number from it, but it does not have an accurate
frequency standard, so accuracy will not be high.
gm
--
There is no x in my ISPs domain name.
'Doc
The MFJ259 frequency counter is not very accurate. I
would not try to determine your transciever's frequency
by using the '259. You can use your transciever to check
the accuracy of the '259, though. Just turn on the transciever
to a known frequency, then tune the '259 till you hear it
on the transciever. Compare the two frequency readings and
see how far off the '259 is. There's no need to transmit
at all.
'Doc
Pedro Motilla
Yesterday night (in Spain) was the first time i used it and today i have
discovered that input button is a little hard, so i have to press it
strongly in order to switch into Frecuency Counter. I have found correct
what some of you told me about accuracy. "It gives to you an idea, but not a
precise count frecuency".
By the other hand it is very simple to use for adjusting antennas, i have
adjusted one in few minuts. The disapointment in front of MFJ259B is that
the 259B has an internal microcontroler which make a lot of calculations, so
it gives to you direct readout for many variables, which in 259 you have to
hand calculate (for example: Capacitance or inductance).
Thanks to everyone
Have a nice time.
Pedro
"Pedro Motilla" <pedro.motil...@ono.com> escribió en el mensaje
news:_Ldd8.4548$sZ4....@news.ono.com...
Robert Lyons
>
> Dear Friends:
>
> Yesterday night (in Spain) was the first time i used it and today i have
> discovered that input button is a little hard, so i have to press it
> strongly in order to switch into Frecuency Counter.
This sounds like other 259's I've worked with. I'm not impressed with
the switches and buttons they use. Both mine and my friend's 259 have
bad range switchces (the main rotary switch). Some positions you have
to wiggle the switch to make it settle in, others you actually have to
*hold* the switch to keep it in connection. On mine, the mode button
is completely flakey. Their debounce curcuitry isn't working at all.
It steps through multiple modes each time I press. It's like playing
a slot machine to get this device into the right mode.
Bob, KI8AB
J. Harvey
> This sounds like other 259's I've worked with.
> I'm not impressed with the switches and buttons
IMHO, MFJ products certainly do plumb the depths of poor quality. I'm sure
you have heard the old joke MFJ = Makes F* Junk.
I've got an MFJ 12V Power Strip that had been labelled backwards and then
repainted and then relabelled. The backwards labels were still obvious
under the paint.
I bought an MFJ Noise Bridge - very poorly built. The 9V battery wouldn't
stay in the holder. The battery holder was right on the circuit card. Just
too cheaply built and not worth the price charged.
Mark Hall
overtime when an additional dollar per unit invested in higher quality would
of solved the problem and stopped the phone calls. I wonder how much MFJ
spends average per unit sold in returns and phone time trying to convince
customers to keep the junk? Also assuming they wanted to sell a quality
product, you'd think subsequent versions would of solved the problem.
'73 KI4Z
Dick Hughes
have been one of the lucky ones as I have not had problems with any of
them (yet.) I have looked inside some of them, and the soldering
scared me so bad I just closed it back up quick! :-) Of course 30
years in aerospace manufacturing and quality assurance tends to make
one rather critical of workmanship anyway. The problem is, "where are
you going to buy this stuff if not MFJ?" It's the only game in town
for much of what they make. I just grin and bear it.
Dick - W6CCD
J. Harvey
> The problem is, "where are you going to buy this
> stuff if not MFJ?" It's the only game in town
> for much of what they make. I just grin and bear it.
What pisses me off is that they seem to go out of their way to make it
cheap. They seem to like to use specially manufactured ultra thin metal for
their homemade cabinets. Some of their products can be crushed like a beer
can. The screws that hold the lid on always seem to strip out the case
because they use such an aggressive thread pitch so that they can put the
screw in with three turns instead of six turns.
Some of their products look tempting, but these are the sorts of issues that
aren't visible in advertisements. I've learned my lesson. They always seem
to find a way to "exceed their customers' expectations" (surprising the new
owner with imaginative and creative elements of poor mechanical design
quality).
Maybe they could have a "Deluxe Line" of products (for which they would
charge the extra $0.50) and not make such strenuous efforts to cheapen the
design.
Sorry to rant, but the world would be a better place if they did something
to improve their product design standards.
mcdu...@xactcom.net
wrote:
> I have been buying and using MFJ equipment for many years. I guess I
> have been one of the lucky ones as I have not had problems with any of
> them (yet.)
Likewise. I haven't seen much to complain about in MFJ for decades.
The first stuff they came out with was real junk, and earned them the
well known Mother X-ing Junk name. I remember hot glued pc boards, in
hobby boxes, etc. But when they came out with the first mass produced
TAPR 2 TNC clone, things turned around. There were some cheap tuners
out there from MFJ, but you get what you pay for.
As for the 259, I bought mine used, and it has worked flawlessly for
many years (even after it fell off the truck at 50+ MPH). No problem
with the push buttons at all, and have only had to clean the rotary
switch one time, something you would normally expect on a device that
doesn't get used very often. Oxidation happens.
My only regret is that I don't have one of the newer ones with digital
readout and more functions.
Jim Weir
and have been in business for forty some years is named ???
Jim
"J. Harvey" <JM001....@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:zmPd8.19403$lS1.4...@news20.bellglobal.com...
> "Dick Hughes"
Reg Edwards
Quality is the extent to which something conforms to specified performance
data. If the performance is specified as being rubbish, and that's what you
get, then that's high quality. Always look at the performance
specification before buying. If it does not have a performance specification
then don't buy it! Don't buy pigs in pokes !
I have some experience with using such antenna analyser instruments. They
give the right answers with sufficient accuracy to serve the purpose
intended. I have found them very useful. Their small physical size allows
them to do jobs which to the bigger instruments would be impossible.
My only complaint is the purchase cost of such instruments. It is too high
for what is inside the boxes. I have successfully used the instruments for
several years. Design and development design costs must have been recovered
some time ago.
From a users point of view it is time the sign +/- of X was displayed on the
meter. The technology has been available for many years. Where is it?
Are manufacturers waiting until they have extracted the maximum possible
profit from present designs before introducing bringing something "new" ?
--
****************************
Regards, Reg G4FGQ
Free Radio Modelling Software
Http://www.g4fgq.com
****************************
J. Harvey
> What pisses me off is that they [MFJ] seem to
> go out of their way to make it cheap.
"Jim Weir"
> And the name of your company that you run
> and do the value engineering for and have
> been in business for forty some years is
> named ???
'MFJ Enterprises, Inc., was founded in 1972 by Martin F. Jue.' That's
thirty years tops, not "forty some".
Are you claiming personal responsibility for MFJ's quality ? Wow....what a
great newsgroup. Everybody is here...
Suggestion for senior management - increase prices by about a dollar or two
per unit and aim the extra $ in the general direction of mechanical quality
(traditional meaning - not that new ISO9000-hijacked meaning that allows
'consistent junk').
You don't need to make such efforts to make the cases cheap. Use thicker
metal. Mount the battery holders to the case, not the PCB. Make sure the
battery stays in the holder. Make sure the screws don't strip out the case.
Put the labels on the right way the first time. If you make a mistake,
clean it off completely - don't just paint over it. (Geezuz, I only have 2
MFJ products !!!!!!!!)
And finally, one doesn't have to operate their own company to be qualified
to report on their own personal experiences with obvious and systematic
quality problems. A well run company would be well advised to listen to
their customers - especially their former customers...
Good luck.
Robert Lyons
>
> I have been buying and using MFJ equipment for many years. I guess I
> have been one of the lucky ones as I have not had problems with any of
> them (yet.) I have looked inside some of them, and the soldering
> scared me so bad I just closed it back up quick! :-) Of course 30
> years in aerospace manufacturing and quality assurance tends to make
> one rather critical of workmanship anyway. The problem is, "where are
> you going to buy this stuff if not MFJ?" It's the only game in town
> for much of what they make. I just grin and bear it.
Having added to the ranting about MFJ quality (or the lack thereof),
I should include my opinions on the other side as well. I complained
about the switches on my '259B analyzer, but boy, I do use that thing
often, and it sure makes my life easier. Bad switches and all.
When I'm working HF, I can tune the antenna without QRMing the world.
The 259 puts out only about 20 mW while I adjust the antenna tuner to
the band. I may change bands several times in a few hours, so this
saves all of you from a lot of QRM. [hrrmm - I wonder if even that
little signal bothers someone somewhere?]
When I'm up on the rooftop adjusting a new VHF antenna, it sure is a
lot easier to get it tuned when I can quickly scan for the frequency
with the lowest SWR. The tweak-and-check cycle time is a LOT faster
than with a traditional SWR meter.
Bob, KI8AB
P.S. - When my beam is pointed the right way, the 20 mW from an MFJ is
in fact enough to key up a repeater about 5 miles away!
CAM
> Dick Hughes wrote:
> Having added to the ranting about MFJ quality (or the lack thereof),
> I should include my opinions on the other side as well. I complained
> about the switches on my '259B analyzer, but boy, I do use that thing
> often, and it sure makes my life easier. Bad switches and all.
I've got a question about the readings from my MFJ-259B. On 40m,
I use a 75m dipole fed with 3/4WL of ladder-line. The MFJ gives
the following readings.
6.79MHz SWR=3:1, R=16 ohms, X=0 ohms
6.94MHz SWR=2.4:1, R=25 ohms, X=3 ohms
7.00MHz SWR=2.2:1, R=40 ohms, X=15 ohms
7.04MHz SWR=2.3:1, R=49 ohms, X=19 ohms
Seems to me the resistive part of the impedance is changing much
faster than it should which causes the minimum 50 ohm SWR to be
somewhere other than the resonance point of 16 ohms. Has anybody
else seen the feedpoint resistance change eight times faster than
the reactance? Is this a characteristic of full-wave dipoles?
--
cheers, CAM http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp
mcdu...@xactcom.net
wrote:
> When I'm working HF, I can tune the antenna without QRMing the world.
> The 259 puts out only about 20 mW while I adjust the antenna tuner to
> the band. I may change bands several times in a few hours, so this
> saves all of you from a lot of QRM. [hrrmm - I wonder if even that
> little signal bothers someone somewhere?]
Along these lines, please be aware that the 259 IS a low power
transmitter (not you specifically, but everyone in general). It is very
easy to leave it on and cause QRM to some local VHF users. I've keyed
my repeater with mine hooked to a gain-type omni directional antenna at
40'. My repeater is 30 miles away.
Best to turn it off when you aren't making measurements.
Gary
VA3ATD
> profit from present designs before introducing bringing something "new" ?
of course! it's called capitalism! look at the price of CD's!
John Edwards
about an hour or so in my experience!
<mcdu...@xactcom.net> wrote in message
news:p6uq7ugsad15oqfkc...@4ax.com...
W6DKN
news:5NAf8.91$RH....@ozemail.com.au...
> Self-mending problem. If you leave it on, the batteries will go flat in
> about an hour or so in my experience!
>
I run mine on 1700 mah Nmh rechargables. It runs for days at a time before
needing a recharge...
73 de W6DKN
Reg Edwards
socket. There is an RF choke in a long DC supply lead wound on a ferrite
rod. Can still be used in the hand-held mode.
It lasts for ever.
---
Reg, G4FGQ