Matt:

Well, knock on wood here. ... I've had no problems with my MFJ 998 thus far.

I kind of think some of the quality control issues were with earlier units,
but, of course, that's only speculation on my part.

I know others on the list have had good luck with there units as well.

I guess I felt it was worth the risk, especially since the tuner is covered
by warranty for the first year.

Tom Behler: KB8TYJ


-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Matthew Chao
Sent: Monday, May 04, 2015 9:29 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Question about Auto Antenna Tuners

Hi, Tom.  Thanks for the info.  How would you rate the quality control of
that tuner?  I've heard not-so-good things about MFJ's overall quality.
Thoughts?  And based on the interface cable, definitely a deal maker.--Matt,
N1IBB.

At 08:53 PM 5/3/2015 -0400, you wrote:
>Matt:
>
>To add to what Ron has said, I just recently purchased an MFJ 998 
>high-power auto-tuner, and like it very much.
>
>By high power, I mean it will work with up to 1500 watts, which is what 
>I needed since I use an ALS600 amplifier here.  Actually the amp puts 
>out roughly 500 watts, so it is well within the acceptable operating 
>range for the tuner.
>
>A few of us on the list use the MFJ 998, and, although it isn't totally 
>accessible since the menus don't talk, there are enough beeps and other 
>indicators to allow the basic functions to be quite manageable.
>
>I think the only thing I needed sighted assistance for was when I had 
>to tell the tuner to recognize my TS590 via the Kenwood interface.
>
>As for price, I bought mine from Ham Radio Outlet this past March for $569.
>
>If you will only be operating 100 watts with your TS480, I know there 
>are cheaper models by MFJ and LDG to meet that requirement.
>
>One other thing you might want to think about is that, as far as I 
>understand, LDG tuners can't directly be interfaced with Kenwood rigs 
>like the TS480 and TS590.  The MFJ models do interface well with 
>Kenwood rigs, via the 5114K interface cable, and this was one of the 
>main selling points for the MFJ over the LDG, as far as I was concerned.
>
>Tom Behler: KB8TYJ
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: For blind ham radio operators 
>[mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>On Behalf Of Dr. Ronald E. Milliman
>Sent: Sunday, May 03, 2015 1:10 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Question about Auto Antenna Tuners
>
>The Palstar is an excellent external automatic antenna tuner, but it is 
>quite pricy for many people. As less expensive alternatives, both MFJ 
>and LDG also sell excellent external automatic antenna tuners that are 
>very accessible. At least two of us have LDG tuners and Tom has one of 
>the MFJ tuners, and as far as I know, we all like our tuners quite well.