Saturday, March 11, 2017 — Time for a quick review of the antenna tuner I took a chance on — a used MFJ-969 300-watt roller inductor tuner that I purchased on eBay. It arrived in good time, and frankly, I was shocked by the heft of the package. Once I had the unit out of the box, I found it substantial and in excellent shape. I pulled the cover and found the internal components in excellent condition.
As you may recall, my anxiety focused largely on the AirCore roller inductor, and if it had suffered from abuse of an earlier owner. From what I can see on close inspection, the inductor was in good shape, with clean, shiny surfaces. So far, so good.
It took some time to get the tuner dialed in, mostly because finding the best roller inductor setting took some time. Since this is the 30o-watt version, the variable caps are small, and it is easy to zoom past the null or dip one is seeking. But with the settings recorded I’ve found the tuner produces settings that can be easily reproduced. Another plus.
I’m still on the hunt for a Heathkit tuner, but I’m fairly confident this MFJ is going to meet my immediate needs.
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Excellent find Jim! I have one here that I use on 6 meters. If your unit is an older version with an incandescent meter bulb, you may want to consider upgrading to an LED. MFJ sells direct LED replacements. For the 2.8″W meter in the MFJ-969, the MFJ LED part number is 335-3200 and costs $3.99. I replaced the incandescents in both my MFJ-969 and 986 tuners. It made a world of difference in readability. I also recommend you tighten up every piece of hardware and touch up any suspect solder joints while you’re in the unit just for that final quality control step that sometimes is lacking with MFJ units.
73 and enjoy! Paul N6EV