New old ham radio, need advice/opinions

[Road Squawker]

...As for MFJ it seems to be hit or miss. There are those that crucify MFJ... There are peopl who swear by MFJ for making products cheaper...

Agreed, the first thing I do with any new MFJ device, is to take the covers off, turn it upside down and shake all the "loose stuff" out.

Then a close inspection of any soldered joints is in order.

That being completed, I have never had any MFJ item fail due to poor design.

 

[Soup-man]

Wow this guy is whacked on prices. I could build one for 1/4 what he is charging. Build your own antenna, its easy, cheap, you learn something and if it breaks you know how to fix it.

No Chris, you can't build this exact same antenna for 1/4 of what he is charging. What he is charging you for is the technology used to build this antenna. I don't know if you are a member of The ARRL or not, but if you are, go back in the archives and read about the Gunella Current Balun..

This is a 1:1 Guanella current / choke balun with an SO 239 connector for coupling your coax.
http://www.hypowerantenna.com/products/balun#gu61605kw

This is what you need to build that antenna.
The reason why it is so expensive is because the torroids has to be checked before they are bought. Barry can explain this better than I can. You can't buy that torroid.
Take this balun and sweep test it from 1 MHz to 440 Mhz and you will see an almost 1:1 match.. Now try that with any other balun and see what you get! That is the difference between a voltage balun and a Guanella Current Balun..

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/5691
Stay away, Looks Chinese. Nothing wrong with a MFJ-949, meter,tuner, and antenna switch all in one.

WHAT? You don't know Daiwa? Very good meters and excellent antenna switches. The CN-801 series are very good meters. I have the CN-801HP and the CN-801HP3. Both cover 1.8-200 MHz and the HP model is good to 2000 watts and the HP3 is good to 3000 watts. True peak reading too. BTW they are made in Japan and not China.

 

[BJ radionut]

Nothing to it...ran one of these Field Day weekend...worked great...each side was 60 ft long #10 stranded copper wire from my scrap bin. We used maybe 70 ft of ladder line.

https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dxe-wa-135

Everything you need to build one in the kit above...wire/300 ohm line/ insulators...and not priced badly for what is included...(I have 2 of these up on my lot) work great!!!
I will say a good manual tuner capable of 600 watts or more (many choices around both new and used) is a must. Most good tuners contain a 4:1 balun to feed these and your ready to work the world!
All the Best
Gary/W9FNB

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

You are right Gary. It does not get any simpler or cheaper than to roll your own of that type. I do agree with the manual tuner and actually prefer them. I have a Ten-Tec manual tuner that is good for 200 watts, maybe a bit more since I rebuilt the inductor and made it switched/tapped rather than the original that had a wiper type switch. It burned up while experimenting on 160m with short helically wound verticals. LOL Got the parts to build a manual tuner good for several thousand watts but will wait until I need it. LOL I use the antenna above with an automatic tuner since I had one. It is the FC-40 auto-tuner that works great with the FT-857. I bought it for mobile use but since I have no rig in the truck I mounted it outside the house with a 1:1 home made balun between it and the feedline and coax from it to the shack. It works well.

 

[Soup-man]

You are right Gary. It does not get any simpler or cheaper than to roll your own of that type. I do agree with the manual tuner and actually prefer them. I have a Ten-Tec manual tuner that is good for 200 watts, maybe a bit more since I rebuilt the inductor and made it switched/tapped rather than the original that had a wiper type switch. It burned up while experimenting on 160m with short helically wound verticals. LOL Got the parts to build a manual tuner good for several thousand watts but will wait until I need it. LOL I use the antenna above with an automatic tuner since I had one. It is the FC-40 auto-tuner that works great with the FT-857. I bought it for mobile use but since I have no rig in the truck I mounted it outside the house with a 1:1 home made balun between it and the feedline and coax from it to the shack. It works well.

What is cheaper, a good antenna that works all the bands without an antenna tuner? Or a crappy antenna and a antenna tuner? How much does this Good Antenna Tuner cost? Add the two together and how much does it cost in the long run?
My purgatory is having to listen to some Looney Tuner, tune up for 15 minutes before he can make his QSO..

 

[Sonar]

I'm not really sure if you are asking for advice or just telling us what you are going to do - since you already went out and did it.
Forget the CB radio stuff - buy quality equipment.
Stay away from the MFJ - Mighty Fine Junk, equipment, they will only give you problems in the long run.
Stay away from the cheap switch mode power supplies, ASTRON RS 35M is what most people i know has in their shack.
Most Amateur Radio related gear has a duty cycle of about 50%.
A 100 watt transceiver will draw as much as 22 amps of power.
A RS 35M will put out about 18 watts continuous, or 30 watts - at least some of the time. Figure a dual band mobile on stand by, along with some lights in the display of your power watt meter, and you quickly run to the limit of the 35 amp power supply.
While the 30 amp may sound like alot, there is no headroom for anything more than your one transceiver in your radio shack.
Look for a good antenna tuner, even better yet, buy one of these - http://www.hypowerantenna.com/products/off-center-fed-antenna, full legal limit power on most bands - without an antenna tuner.. For a power meter, other than a BIRD, I would probably use a Daiwa. 2000 watts the whole way to 200 MHz.. http://www.gigaparts.com/Product-Li...Fy8nI0cr33QwDEz10ZCz2yRIJaJWLxE5YYaAvMR8P8HAQ Invest heavily in good low loss coax..

For the price I'm happy with my mfj 828. I sent it back to mjf thinking a problem existed but in the issue was on my end.
Dawia makes great meters. Their proven and time tested.
Your posting on a Cb forum. There are many items made by companies with the largest market in mind and that's radio communications.
Bird and teleport specify frequency's not bands.
I can buy an La 100a if I were inclined to and use it for 11 meters. So one could deduce it's a piece of junk Cb meter.
I would venture to say 1 out of 5 chicken banders (no ticket) use an hf.
I also know that unlike the past many ticket holders operate on 11 meters daily.
Some spending more time there than on bands where a license is need.
One doesn't need to spend a fortune on equipment to run a solid station.
For what's needed a $140 Dawia will do just as well as a $500 teleport la 100a especially if your a chicken banders like myself. I used a radio shack meter that was 35 years old for my first three months on the air and it worked fine for my particular needs ($20).
I don't know how many hams use Dawia meters but considering their known for producing excellent meters for a fair price I'd venture to guess they'll be in business for many year's to come. Mfj sells copious amounts of equipment to hams that just can't afford the mucho fazoll's for a product with better production values. Let's not forget mfj is a subsidiary of ameritron. Sides my 828 I also purchased two other items and I have had nothing butt good performance from all three of the them. I know operators both Advanced ham and chicken band design like that wouldn't touch and a Astron power supply. That doesn't make it a bad product. It just comes down to One's Choice and how much one can afford.
I'm being verbose again but what I guess I'm trying to say is that there is cheap equipment specifically made for 11 meter band and there are very high-priced high-quality pieces of equipment that might not be marketed towards the Cb radio band but they can and are being used there because they cover those frequencies. So is a telepost 100a a ham radio meter or an hf meter that will work as well on 11 then it will on 40?
The questions redundant because of course it will work on 11 meters just as it will on 40 or 80 or anywhere within its frequency parameters.
CB operators come a long way with the help of the internet and sites like this one. It's amazing how many prodigies and geniuses the information superhighway has created. I just think putting down equipment that's geared towards CB radio isn't cool. Many operators whether they hold a ticket weather knowledgeable or not sometimes just can't afford those high end pieces of equipment that you speak of. Sometimes the cheap stuff will have to do and most of the time it does what it's supposed to 4 the person and setup that it's doing that job for. I enjoy the hobby immensely and the important thing is to just get on the air. 73

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

What is with you and your pissing on everybody that does not agree with you? Really. We want to know. If you had any REAL knowledge of some of those all-band-no-tuner antennas you would realize that SWR is not everything when it comes to performance and making contacts has nothing to do with an antennas efficiency.My 80m mobile antenna made lots of contacts but was about 2% efficient if I was lucky.

What is cheaper, a good antenna that works all the bands without an antenna tuner? Or a crappy antenna and a antenna tuner?

What about a GOOD antenna that works all bands WITH an antenna tuner? You left that one out. You must have stock in a wire antenna building company.

How much does this Good Antenna Tuner cost? Add the two together and how much does it cost in the long run?

Since wire is super dirt cheap and any REAL amateur should be able to scrounge some up for free by repurposing something, the price works out to the price of a decent tuner and a couple bucks. Pretty much any tuner will work as long as it has a built-in balun or you add an external balun. You could even save money by LEARNING how and building your own balun. Isn't that what amateur radio is all about? Learning and experimenting? Besides all that an antenna tuner can be used with several antennas over it's lifetime and even several at the same time thru a switch thus spreading out the cost. Hell a REAL amateur would build his own tuner. I figure these parts should make a good legal limit tuner for me.

My purgatory is having to listen to some Looney Tuner, tune up for 15 minutes before he can make his QSO..

Well if you are stupid enough to listen to an idiot tuning up for 15 minutes then that explains a lot right there.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Let's not forget mfj is a subsidiary of ameritron.

Actually its the other way around. MFJ owns Ameritron. Ameritron is a subsidiary of MFJ Enterprises just like Cushcraft and Hygain are.

 

[w9cll]

No Chris, you can't build this exact same antenna for 1/4 of what he is charging.

Yes Soup-man I can

 

[w9cll]

This is a 1:1 Guanella current / choke balun with an SO 239 connector for coupling your coax.
http://www.hypowerantenna.com/products/balun#gu61605kw

I am assuming that you have some stock in this company or you're friends with the owner. I am sure it is a good antenna with about $15 worth of parts that they are charging $135 for. No it's not worth it, I don't care what coil is in the "magic" gray box. $15 at home depot and I will craft an antenna that will perform just as good if not better. There is always a sucker out there to separate a ham from his money because there are many hams who knew enough to pass the test but really know nothing at all.

 

[Onelasttime]

If this was 1990 or earlier I could someone being anti-switching power supply. I got my first switcher in 1993 in college. This way when it was -28°F out I could come into the dorms If I wanted to instead of freezing in my truck. If you can afford a 35amp power supply with a heavy steel transformer go for it they do hold up well if you do not plan on moving it. They have gotten insanely expensive over the last 20 years. A high quality 50amp MegaWatt switching power supply and spend the money you save on high quality coax, ladder line, a good soldering station, ferrite beads, ferrite cores for making baluns, VOM etc....Quality connectors these are the things that when you need you will be glad you have sitting around. Nothing worse than needing something small like a $5 SO239 and having to wait for it to come in the mail because you can not find a quality one locally!

I would not hesitate to use a switcher for an amplifer as long as it is well matched to the amp's current needs. It pays to use quality switcher's and to buy a larger one than you ever think your use!

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

If this was 1990 or earlier I could someone being anti-switching power supply. I got my first switcher in 1993 in college. This way when it was -28°F out I could come into the dorms If I wanted to instead of freezing in my truck. If you can afford a 35amp power supply with a heavy steel transformer go for it they do hold up well if you do not plan on moving it. They have gotten insanely expensive over the last 20 years. A high quality 50amp MegaWatt switching power supply and spend the money you save on high quality coax, ladder line, a good soldering station, ferrite beads, ferrite cores for making baluns, VOM etc....Quality connectors these are the things that when you need you will be glad you have sitting around. Nothing worse than needing something small like a $5 SO239 and having to wait for it to come in the mail because you can not find a quality one locally!

I would not hesitate to use a switcher for an amplifer as long as it is well matched to the amp's current needs. It pays to use quality switcher's and to buy a larger one than you ever think your use!

Exactly. While I prefer linear type supplies for ease of servicing the newer switcher types are becoming rather awesome. The trick is to make sure it does not generate RF noise. I have a 1.2 Kw solidstate amplifier that requires a 50 volts supply. I managed to get one on Ebay and delivered to my door for less that $100. Not bad for a 50 volt 60 amp supply. It is an HP server supply and needs a little rewiring of the input and output pins as well as a jumper installed on the pin plug to start it up but hey that's what amateur radio is all about. Experimenting and repurposing items to keep the costs down and actually learning something while doing it. That 3000 watt switcher is a LOT lighter than my Tripplite PR40a linear type supply that is good for only about 550 watts peak. (40 amps peak at 13.8 volts)

 

[Soup-man]

What is with you and your pissing on everybody that does not agree with you? Really. We want to know. If you had any REAL knowledge of some of those all-band-no-tuner antennas you would realize that SWR is not everything when it comes to performance and making contacts has nothing to do with an antennas efficiency.My 80m mobile antenna made lots of contacts but was about 2% efficient if I was lucky.



What about a GOOD antenna that works all bands WITH an antenna tuner? You left that one out. You must have stock in a wire antenna building company.



Since wire is super dirt cheap and any REAL amateur should be able to scrounge some up for free by repurposing something, the price works out to the price of a decent tuner and a couple bucks. Pretty much any tuner will work as long as it has a built-in balun or you add an external balun. You could even save money by LEARNING how and building your own balun. Isn't that what amateur radio is all about? Learning and experimenting? Besides all that an antenna tuner can be used with several antennas over it's lifetime and even several at the same time thru a switch thus spreading out the cost. Hell a REAL amateur would build his own tuner. I figure these parts should make a good legal limit tuner for me.

Well if you are stupid enough to listen to an idiot tuning up for 15 minutes then that explains a lot right there.

If you are operating, it has nothing to do with being stupid when someone tunes up for 15 minutes, either over your QSO or a net you participate in. It just happens.
I think a lot of it has to do with the person with the tuner being desperate, trying to eek out every possible watt / trying to match it perfectly.

I have two MFJ 949, a D and an E.
Neither of them works right.
My guess is that someone tried to use them with a G5RV.
The needles are backwards and neither of them will tune up anything. I would love to have them repaired, but MFJ won't tell you how - over the phone or via email. Their repair price $70.00 - is more than what these tuners cost new!

I have become disenchanted with MFJ!

My Ameritron ALS 600 - came from the same source as one of the burned up tuners. It doesn't work on 10 meters for some reason. Again, when I called up Ameritron and asked them for possible solutions and a price quote - what they charge to inspect / repair, they said that because there were so many mods and upgrades to that particular model, and no way for sure to know which mods were performed, it would cost more to repair the amp than what it was worth! It has the 10m board installed.

My Elmer friend was sick the past couple of years, heart problems, and finally died a couple months ago.
He probably could have fixed these items for me - had he been in better shape. But for me to try to fix these things myself, is beyond my abilities. I even tried to buy his family out - all of his equipment after he died. But one of his other friends backdoor-ed me and bought it out from under me.
Service monitor, spectrum analyzer, Bird Watt Meter, Dummy load, T pad, soldering iron station....

The number of repair shops and knowledgeable people working in this field has been shrinking the past 30 years, and there is more to be learned by the cb radio people then by the walkie talkie carrying ham radio people today..

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

If you are operating, it has nothing to do with being stupid when someone tunes up for 15 minutes, either over your QSO or a net you participate in. It just happens.
I think a lot of it has to do with the person with the tuner being desperate, trying to eek out every possible watt / trying to match it perfectly.

Or it might me someone with a tube rig tuning the finals but not real sure how and what is going on. You are simply assuming it is a manual tuner being used. It may even be deliberate interference.

I have two MFJ 949, a D and an E.
Neither of them works right.
My guess is that someone tried to use them with a G5RV.

My guess is that you have a problem with a g%rv and are grasping at straws on this and venting out of frustration. It could have just as easily been from tuning a Sterba Curtain or even a CB antenna to work on 10 or 15m

The needles are backwards and neither of them will tune up anything. I would love to have them repaired, but MFJ won't tell you how - over the phone or via email. Their repair price $70.00 - is more than what these tuners cost new!

Well that experience is different from what a lot of folks have had. Not sure what you mean by the needles being backwards unless you mean they deflect backwards with RF applied. That sounds like a simple reversal of the detector diodes or the sense wires from them. Perhaps someone was inside it before and messed up the wiring. Try hooking it up backwards and see if things change. If this is the case then the FORWARD meter will now read REFLECTED power and the REFLECTED meter will read FORWARD. If it does then the diodes need to be reversed. If not then there are deeper issues.

I have become disenchanted with MFJ!

So far it appears your beef is with service and not with quality as it comes from the factory

My Ameritron ALS 600 - came from the same source as one of the burned up tuners. It doesn't work on 10 meters for some reason. Again, when I called up Ameritron and asked them for possible solutions and a price quote - what they charge to inspect / repair, they said that because there were so many mods and upgrades to that particular model, and no way for sure to know which mods were performed, it would cost more to repair the amp than what it was worth! It has the 10m board installed.

It is widely know that the LEADING cause of this is operating that amplifier on the CB band. The 10m filters burn up from operating too far outside their design frequency.

My Elmer friend was sick the past couple of years, heart problems, and finally died a couple months ago.
He probably could have fixed these items for me - had he been in better shape. But for me to try to fix these things myself, is beyond my abilities. I even tried to buy his family out - all of his equipment after he died. But one of his other friends backdoor-ed me and bought it out from under me.
Service monitor, spectrum analyzer, Bird Watt Meter, Dummy load, T pad, soldering iron station....

The number of repair shops and knowledgeable people working in this field has been shrinking the past 30 years, and there is more to be learned by the cb radio people then by the walkie talkie carrying ham radio people today..

You are beating a dead horse on this one. As technology grows so does the era of disposable equipment. Gone are the days when someone HAD to know how to fix their own gear. Reliability has increased exponentially in the past decades. Most people are appliance operators because truthfully they will likely NEVER experience an equipment failure in their operation lifetime and with today's gear when they do it has to go to a service facility where they have all the required test gear for a full diagnostic. Don't get me wrong. I wish amateurs still had to pass a decent exam with lots of tech knowledge like I did 25+ years ago. Back then I had a 100 question multiple choice exam with half on theory and half on regulations and operating procedures. I also had to write paragraph type answers explaining the operation of certain things as well as draw block diagrams and basic schematics as well as identify items from a schematic. Up here in Canada we held onto a stiffer exam much longer than in the USA but now it is basically the same. I made my living in electronic for 22 years before changing careers so I know the frustration of seeing people not knowing which end of a microphone to hold but no matter how bad we want change it just is not going to happen on any scale unless the world gets plunged back into the dark ages and people see just how bad basic knowledge is required to simple live.