MFJ Enterprises Original MFJ-949E 1.8-30 MHz 300 Watt Deluxe Versa Tuner II Antenna Tuner

Best value for your money. Been using MFJ tunners for decades. The ability to tune several types of antennas on different feedlines (coax and ladder line) makes this a versatile and must have in your shack. Highly recommend it to the beginner or seasoned Ham Operator.

This tuner will tune almost anything. The basic model has been around a long time and has proven to be a reliable tuner. Its rather compact for a tuner and should fit into most ham stations. Its fairly easy to tune, and once you tune it for a particular antenna, if you keep a chart nearby, you can readily set it to give you a perfect match on a particular portion of any ham band between 160-10 meters, and if you have the latest model, 6 meters also (I havent personally tried it on 6M). Tuneup on a frequency the first time is easy. First, rotate the three tuning knobs for best reception as a starting point. Then, using low power (just enough to get a full scale meter reading at the low power range of the SWR meter), key the transmitter for a few seconds while making adjustments with the three knobs until you see a low SWR or a perfect match. While its unlikely that youll not get close to a perfect match, if you cant, its time to make adjustments to your antenna, or change its length, whatever it takes. There is a better tuner MFJ makes that has a roller inductor instead of a switched/tapped inductor (it handles 300 watts, too), but this one should match almost any antenna you have without adding the expense of the roller inductor (and it takes a little longer to get the more expensive one tuned the first time for a frequency since you have unlimited steps in between what you would have on this tuner). I like the cross-needle SWR meter that doubles as a power meter. It allows you to quickly see your SWR by looking at where the two needles cross. You cant ask for much more than this for a tuner for a typical HF 100-200 watt ham transceiver, unless you move into the automatic tuners, which are great (I have two of the MFJ auto-tuners, too). But for the price, this is a rugged little tuner. If you are tuning a random wire, make sure you have a good ground or counterpoise (not just a pipe driven into the ground). Ive used this successfully with a 135 foot random wire on all HF bands. It will also let you work the portions of the HF bands on trap verticals/dipoles where the SWR goes high outside the bandwidth of the antenna, making it useful outside the band section(s) where it would normally provide a 50 ohm match for your rig.

This unit works well and was just what I needed to tune out my antenna and got my SWRs perfectly flat 1 to 1 and the dummy load allows me to peak out my radio for optimal performance.

spend a bit more for a remote tuner from LDG.. the quality and engineering is much better and it will do the job much more effectively.

MFJ has no pre-shipment testing and poor QA inspection. Mine had capacitor plates rubbing together making it not usable. After opening the unit, doing a visual inspection, correcting the problem, it worked fine. No one should have to repair a product at this price point! If you choose to purchase this device, please inspect it before putting your expensive transmitter in jeoparty!

Works as advertised and surprisingly easy to use. Was able to bring down my SWRs after only a few adjustments...nice. The only item of note is the band selector being a bit stiff and hard to turn. But other than that, this is a great addition to my small shack.

This model is probably the most popular tuner for the ham radio guys and cbers ever made.

Switch or wiring error prevented the built-in 50 ohm dummy load from operating. Other than that, it appeared to be a well-built manual tuner. I eventually decided to go with a automatic tuner, the FT-989Y. The 989Y works seamlessly with my FT-891.

Im satisfied with this tuner because it does what I need to do, so I gave it five stars. As a manual tuner, it is a little awkward to use compared to an automatic tuner, so I dropped a star for ease of use. The box has a power connector in the back to put in 12V to power the light. I dont have easy access to a 12V connector so I have not connected, and the tuner works just fine without any power, since the 12V is only for the lamp.

works good