In a message dated 4/16/2005 5:20:48 AM US Mountain Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
" are both junk..." It's really unfortunate that with the ham marketplace so small, that folks feel the need to slam the few suppliers we have. I don't think you should be so hard on folks, even if they do "get carried away" perhaps. Obviously there is some frustration there, and they need to vent. All too often we get products that have maddening quirks, and generally they could have been avoided with just a little more thought, engineering, and/or better components. So, just weed out the excesses in their comments, and look for whatever might be valid. If you find nothing helpful, just chalk it up to someone having a bad day and forget it. More often than not, well reasoned responses will temper their frustration and maybe even help them see the error in their ways. I have a MFJ 259, and I like it. As far as I know, the MFJ-269 is just a 259 with UHF added. I think these antenna analyzers are just about the best products MFJ has ever made. But there's lots not to like as well. It's too big for one thing. I think it eats batteries too, but someone seemed to think it didn't. But, without question, this gadget does a lot of things, and does them pretty well. But I've given up changing batteries in it, since it's so hard to get at the batteries. I just use an outboard 12V pack instead. I have a very small 12V pack that I can just slip on my belt, and use that to power it. Besides, leaving out all those heavy batteries inside the 259 makes it a lot easier to handle. Speaking of "handles", this thing ought to have one. But I keep hoping MFJ will update this thing to a smaller and less power hungry version. Maybe someday. I also have an RF-1. I like it too. Now this thing is nice and small, and very easy to handle. It's not easy to tune however. A little jiggle of the knob, and you are several hundred khz away from your desired frequency. But I guess that's the price you pay for something so compact. I don't like the on/off switch either. It's too easy to trip if you pack this in a case or something, and then your battery goes south on you. So you need to disconnect the battery when not in use--probably a good practice anyway. The RF-1 goes with me usually when I go portable. It tells me just about everything I need to know when I set up my antenna. When not in use, you can just stick it in your pocket. All in all, I would vote for the RF-1. It's portability is really its strong suit as far as I am concerned. Now, the MFJ 259 displays a lot of info at one time, and that is a very helpful thing--you can see frequency, SWR, and impedence all at one time. But 9 times out of 10 I'm just trying to get my antenna tuned to a particular frequency, and the RF-1 tells me that just about as well as any of the other units would. A couple of switch flips, and you see the other info too. AND...........(drum roll)--it's cheaper! It sure beats the Kuranishi and the Palstar in that category. An MFJ-269 is 100 bucks more than the MFJ-259, but you get UHF coverage. But even the MFJ-259 is more expensive than the RF-1, so let your pocket book be your guide. Dave W7AQK _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
