THIS IS IT! I NEED AN ANTENNNA SWITH.

[Stellasarat]

After my first debacle with that piece of sheet. I not only bought it but recommended it to people like myself with disabilitys. I need a switch with atleast 2 positions. I did a little research and it's either a dosy or MFJ. Anyone have or have used either? Any advice on the best antenna switch would be apreceated. It must handle 500 watts min. Thanks

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I did a little research and it's either a dosy or MFJ. Anyone have or have used either?

That doesn't narrow it down a whole lot. Each makes several types. IMHO stay away from the Dosey. They are nothing more than a simple switch crammed into a box and labeled ANTENNA SWITCH for the CB market. MFJ? well there are worse. See my third and forth sentences.

 

[wavrider]

DAiwa,,B&W are just a couple that I have tried that work well.

Stay away from DOSY and MFJ, if you ever swept those two switches with an analyzer you would know why I recommend staying away from them.

 

[sp5it]

I'm using MFJ-1704 since a few years. Working as expected.
Mike

 

[Robb]

I use this:

MFJ 1702 Antenna Switches MFJ-1702 - Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at DX Engineering

For $20, solid build, proper switch, and small footprint - hard to beat.
Horizontal beam on one side and a vertical antenna on the other; real schmick!

 

[Stellasarat]

OK LET ME TRY THIS AGAIN

My ignorance about cb radio stuff is obvious. I may be asking the wrong questions. What I need is a switch to switch between radios. Is an antenna switch what I'm looking for? Can an antenna switch be used to switch back and forth between rigs or, should I be looking for something else?

 

[C2]

You should tread very carefully there. Isolation on just about any switch that I can imagine you finding will have poor isolation and you risk damaging a receiver front end.

I remember once meeting 4040 Mobile. My antenna warning light started coming on when he was about a 1/4 mile away, just from his transmission overloading my radio.

 

[jdobbs2001]

My ignorance about cb radio stuff is obvious. I may be asking the wrong questions. What I need is a switch to switch between radios. Is an antenna switch what I'm looking for? Can an antenna switch be used to switch back and forth between rigs or, should I be looking for something else?

What you are looking for sounds like an Antenna matrix switch.

to switch between recievers and or antennas.

ie something like the Elad AMS-33

they are not cheap they run about 370. can handle 800 watts CW. 1.5kw pep SSB it will handle your requirements.

Spec sheet. it will do up to 3 receivers and 3 antennas. 3x3 matrix.

http://www.rv3apm.com/AMS33.pdf

 

[jdobbs2001]

You should tread very carefully there. Isolation on just about any switch that I can imagine you finding will have poor isolation and you risk damaging a receiver front end.

I remember once meeting 4040 Mobile. My antenna warning light started coming on when he was about a 1/4 mile away, just from his transmission overloading my radio.

Your right thats why a good switch is not cheap. You can buy a crap switch and blow a 400-800 dollar radio or invest in a proper switch and do it right. but it does cost to have a properly engineered and tested switch.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I'm using MFJ-1704 since a few years. Working as expected.
Mike

On HF the MFJ switches are not too bad. You just have to be careful of the actual contact rating versus power used.

I use this:

MFJ 1702 Antenna Switches MFJ-1702 - Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at DX Engineering

For $20, solid build, proper switch, and small footprint - hard to beat.
Horizontal beam on one side and a vertical antenna on the other; real schmick!

Daiwa CS-201 clone. If built like the Daiwa it is a great switch. I use a couple on VHF.

 

[psycho]

I looked inside a few coax switches and decided never to use one. When I go from the ground plane to the beam I just manually swap the coax. I am funny that way but when it comes to built in Dosy switches........no way Jose.

 

[Mudfoot]

Quit looking inside cheap switches and maybe you'll change you mind.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Quit looking inside cheap switches and maybe you'll change you mind.

:laugh: BINGO!!!


As a note, beware that some cheap switches are nothing more than a single pole double throw toggle switch and are crap. The better switches are housed in a metal box and is not a simple toggle switch and look like this inside. This is the Diawa CS-201 switch.

 

[Draxx]

I use a Diamond. Very we'll made, great isolation and metal casing for isolation from stray rf. It's actually an antenna switch, but I use it to run 3 different radios on the same antenna. You need to make sure you only have one radio on at a time, but to me that's a given. Good luck in your quest.........

 

[Hurricane145]

If you are going to switch one antenna between different rigs, An Alpha Delta coaxial switch is the ONLY switch that I use. They may cost more but there is a good measure of peace of mind when you use one.

Check the isolation specs of the different switches. The Alpha Delta switch will win.