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Re: NanoVNA vs. MFJ-259B Antenna Analyzer

 

This is a good argument if you are well versed in antenna analysis and really understand the capabilities of the MJF 259 family, nanoVNA, and others. I have owned and used the MFJ and nano but when I am in the field and sometimes at home I still fall back on my YouKits FG-01, a not cheap SWR meter (at least in my thinking) but it shows a nice understandable graph of my SWR and impedance as I adjust an antenna or antenna matcher). The manual is so simple and it doesn¡¯t mention calibration, just plug and play. For what it is it easily does the job to tune my antennas and antenna matching devices to MY SATISFACTION, but probably not accurate enough for the experts here. The simple wire antennas and verticals I use seem to work well to my satisfaction and I seldom need the Elecraft internal antenna ¡°tuners¡±. My good old 269 worked the same out of the box (without recalibration) but was big and a battery eater. If a ham wants cheap just use an old eBay noise bridge (like before we ever had these fantastic tools) or a coil and a GDO. You will be close enough for ¡°government¡± work. This hobby is still fun for me after 60 years and I make contacts with 100 watts or less, usually 10 watts or even less. Too many Rolaids are consumed getting the perfect match and that extra one or two watts. That probably means a lot to those who collect wall paper and need the latest DX to brag about with your friends, but I think there are a lot of us out there who just want to communicate with our rigs, home built or factory built.

I have a flame suit on and don¡¯t really care. This is a hobby and I read the super technical stuff just for fun even though I don¡¯t understand a lot of it. Still learning.

K8WPE still learning at 75, licensed in 1960. Still having fun. And it¡¯s cheaper than a psychiatrist and less trouble than a mistress........ and my wife of 47 years always knows where I am.

David J. Wilcox K8WPE¡¯s iPad

On Sep 10, 2020, at 8:45 PM, Shirley Dulcey KE1L <mark@...> wrote:

?MFJ sells some products that claim to be VNAs:





Only the last of those three has two ports and therefore can plausibly
claim to be a VNA. The description suggests it's based on the miniVNA. It
costs $340 and covers 1-170 MHz. Aside from that I know nothing about it.

I will pass. If I were planning to spend that much on a VNA I'd look
somewhere other than MFJ. I'll stick with my H4 for now; if I were doing
UHF and low-microwave work I'd be thinking about the SAA2.

On Thu, Sep 10, 2020 at 9:33 PM Frank Howell <frankmhowell@...>
wrote:

Dave,

I'm not arguing. I am discussing the statements about the MFJ-259 and the
NanoVNA. The 259 does not claim to be a VNA ("The NANOVNA's come *far*
closer to
the HP 8753C capability than the MFJ products which claim to be VNA's").
That was part of my point. I've used ALL of MFJ's analyzers...at the
factory, walking through them with Martin. So I do beg to differ in your
first posting which is what I wished to clarify.

Yep, we can all see who's is bigger..eh, whose workbench is deeper, more
expensive, etc. That's not what I'm doing here. I'm merely pointing out the
the 259 and the NanoVNA are not legitimately comparable as they are
differently designed products and, as Pierre has posted, have different
markets. A torx and a Phillips are both screwdrivers. But neither work in
place of the other. An expensive Torx shouldn't be compared to a very cheap
Phillips either.

Have a nice day,

Frank
K4FMH
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