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

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.

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.

Bought as a gift

Worked it on 11 meters, and it cut my modulation down 75%, and when I got to 20% of my radios power, which is 30 watts, it drove my Swr sky high. Could not get it below 2.5 unless I used 20% of my radios power. Had my neighbor that has the same unit come down with his, and his work fine. Im going to apply for a refund.

Way too touchy when tuning.

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.

I bought it to use with a MFJ multiband HF vertical antenna. Info said it will match any antenna. WRONG! I got a 1.1 to 1 SWR on 15 meters, alll other bands were infinite or almost infinite. However I feel the tuner is good, I think the antenna is junk. I also have a MFJ 949C (slightly older) and it works in pretty close agreement with the MFJ 949E. Im gonna junk the MFJ vertical and put up a G5RV. Im sure tuner will work with it.

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.

Just setting up a radio area. using this for both my 10m 5/8w vertical and 20m dipole. I can tune either antenna to what every band. Quick tune just by peaking the reception strength. built in antenna switch is a HUGE key feature. Handles two Coax feeds and 1 line feed at the same time. Built in decent dummy load safe with most stock rig output power. Takes a little getting used to, but the cross needle meters do make it easier to tune. A buddy of mine didnt like these cause the inductor selection is just alphabetical, and doesnt list the band. but you get used to what tuning you need. He did say, from his experience, get a tuner with a antenna selector, and boy was he right, huge asset.

Love this tunner. It does what it should. I am using it conjuction with a Yeasu 450D radio and a Windom off-center antenna. My tunner tunes all bands that this antenna makes available.