[Antennas] re:MFJ986

Tue Feb 1 19:47:10 EST 2005

Re:
".... This now more than ever suggests to me that there is something 
inherent in the MFJ design that will not
> allow it to tune on 17 metres. ...."

A problem I've had with MFJ tuners and coax switches, is BEWARE OF 
SNAP-RIVETS! I found that with time, and some axial loading, the rivets 
loosen and you have poor or intermittent grounding of the coax connector, 
leading to strange behavior of the antenna tuning and loading. Early MFJ 
units had the rivets, and they must have realized the problem, as later 
units use bolts. They are easily removed by chiseling them off from the 
inside of the cabinet. Since this problem is only on 17M this probably does 
not apply, but keep it in mind.
Richard Brunner, AA1P 