Hi Steve!

OMG, what a nightmare!  Fortunately, my Elmer is helping me with all this
today (sighted, 40 total ham, Extra, Motorola engineer, etc.).  Following is
where we are at:

First, because the interface did not seem to be working correctly after
confirming correct cable connections and the rig selection in the 998 setup
menu, we removed the 998 cover.  Lo and behold, the "Jumper 1" was there but
not connected; as is needed for my TS-2000.  We connected it.

Next, we noticed that the 998 has been modified.  The wire antenna binding
post has been removed.  This is probably a good thing, though.  Also, there
was a wire connected to the amp enable in jack which has been disconnected.
There seems to be a fair amount of work done on this 998.  For now, we're
only worrying about the Jumper 1 issue.

Last, part of what I am doing today is also setting up an Ameritron ALS-1306
amp.  I have the interface cable for it to my rig.  The 998 manual is not
clear if it is necessary to use the amp enable phono cables.  Our present
thinking is that it does not need this phono cabling .

So much for plug and play.  Any light you can shed on all this would be
great!

73,
Richard KK6MRH

-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Steve Forst
Sent: Thursday, January 07, 2016 10:55 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Initial Questions on MFJ-998 Operations

Richard,

I assume you have the interface cable connected and have set the 
interface menu.   While there is a tune/bypass button on the tuner (top 
row, far right), you don't use it while interfaced to the radio.

With the radio interfaced correctly, use the "tune" button on the radio. 
   Do a long  press on the  "tune" button of the radio and the tuner 
will tune.   Very loud clacking sound, much louder than the clacking the 
internal tuner makes.   When it finds a match and stops tuning, you 
will hear a short beep.    A short press of the tune button on the radio 
will Put the tuner into bypass.   You will hear a beep and (usually) a 
single clunk from the tuner as the relays unlatch (or whatever is going on
inside the tuner).

Top row, far left button  of the tuner is for ant 1 /ant 2 selection. 
Press to toggle between the 2 antenna ports on the tuner: 1 beep for ant 1,
2 beeps for ant 2.

The ant 1 and single wire post on the back of the tuner are connected 
together inside the tuner.   You  use one or the other, you can't have a 
coax connected to ant 1 and a wire connected to the single wire terminal 
at the same time.   The single wire terminal will be hot with RF if you 
are transmitting on coax ant 1.  Don't reach back there while transmitting.

The LC setting referred to is the inductance / capacitance  values that the
tuner has chosen when you do a tune.  You can tweak manually if needed with
the C up and down and L up and down buttons.

73, good luck, if you smell smoke, run.
Steve KW3A

On 1/7/2016 1:07 PM, Richard B. McDonald wrote:
> Hi!
>
>
>
> I have the following two initial questions as I begin to setup my
> MFJ-998:
>
>
>
> 1( How do I toggle between a) bypass mode and b) not bypassed mode?
> I read in the manual that the 998 powers-on in bypass mode.  The 
> manual also says Press [TUNE] quickly (less than 0.5 second) to bypass 
> the tuner (one beep indicates bypass mode), and that a second quick 
> press toggles the tuner back to its last L/C setting (indicated with 
> two beeps).  When I press the [Tune] button once, indeed I hear one 
> beep.  However, when I press [Tune] again, I do not hear two beeps but 
> instead only hear one beep.  What is the "L/C setting"?
> Does that mean it is no longer in bypass mode?
>
>
>
> 2) The manual says that a single-wire antenna is by default "Antenna 
> 1."  I do not use a single-wire antenna, but instead use a coax-fed 
> antenna.  I have that coax connected to the 998's SO-239 "Antenna 1"
> connection, and nothing connected to the 998's single-wire binding 
> post.  Does this make the SO-239 "Antenna 1" the default "Antenna1"
> and not the single-wire antenna, or is there more I need to do to make 
> it so?
>
>
>
> 73,
>
> Richard KK6MRH
>