COMET CAA 500 Antenna Analyser Review

[@fieldofscreams]

I was watching for a price drop after seeing this video, saw one, and I am now a happy owner. Very intuitive and well-built.

[@Rubedo777]

Whoooo I’ll never visit your place… I’d go bankrupt 😂. Nice presentation Peter and I’m going to be getting an analyser…. Maybe this one as it looks a good build quality and I like the analog meters. Best wishes to everyone.

[@mikes6844]

This is a very nice, accurate piece of kit. We’ve come a long way since the early MFJ days. Thank you👍🏻

[@adzbasslines268]

Nice review Peter. A great bit of test gear and underrated. I have a MFJ-223 for SOTA due to its convenient pocket size. The Comet CAA 500 has a good frequency range!

[@patricklozito7042]

Thank you for another great review and presentation. I have a CAA 500 and your evaluation simply echos what I find with mine. Best Regards. Pat KC2EEB

[@brian.7966]

and the price is ???? must be high as you have not mentioned it.

[@MONTY-YTNOM]

They aren't on the website

[@ervano798]

I just purchased my COMET CAA-500 for two weeks so i don't have much experience at this moment with this analyzer. But my first impressions and test are very satisfying. There is only one point i regret, the placement of the two screws of the battery compartiment. When i lay the meter on the table it wobbles. But i have fixed it with 4 small rubber feet. So that was not a big problem. Maybe a tip for the COMET company "Please find a solution for those two screws so the instrument wil wobbling nomore ."

[@watersstanton]

Many thanks for that info. 73 Peter

[@Jonshome337]

RigExpert all the way 👍

[@goodoz9942]

Peter -- a question if you don't mind...I own and use the CAA500. The Digital readout for SWR consistently reads higher than is displayed by the analog meter. Which one should I use (trust) for my rig? (I've been erring on the higher number to be safe) TIA

[@ClayKillion]

The manual states (pg 11/16) for subtle differences in SWR the mechanical meter has priority.

[@Lastaii]

Looks nice and chunky, but other than familiarity, I wonder why people would splash out on this rather than a VNA for a fifth of the price?

[@adzbasslines268]

I've dabbled in those Arduino and Pi powered ebay VNA's. They are good up to a point, but lose accuracy through wider bandwidths. Maybe other people's tests produced more favourable results. The German FA-VA5 is probably the cheapest you'll get for quality, but they sell out fast.

[@andye2005]

Agreed, A VNA for between 30 and 70 quid(H4) and you get a piece of test equipment that can do much more. Andy

[@karlmadsen3179]

Maybe because the Nano VNAs must be re-calibrated whenever the band is changed. What a pain. Maybe they are better now and have eliminated that necessity? Most of the reviews I see talk about their fragility and poor quality of manufacture. I'm going to stay away a bit longer.....but might be persuaded later.

[@Lastaii]

@@karlmadsen3179 For what it's worth, I just calibrate through HF +6m, and the VNA interpolates the bands inbetween. You only need to change the calibration if you use different leads/connectors. I haven't re-calibrated mine at all this year, and it's still within the ballpark of my stick pro, so I'm happy to drag the VNA up the side of damp mountains whilst the rigexpert stays nice and dry at home :)

[@ae1tpa92gwtom2]

This unit on my list, !!!

[@SheepDogActual]

Thank you. Just bought one.

[@watersstanton]

Hope you enjoy it! 73 Peter

[@ammocraft]

Looking at their local pricing here, I don't think they represent good value over either the RigExperts, or the cheaper MFJ analysers.

[@radio73s]

Thanks for sharing 👍

[@watersstanton]

No problem 👍

[@G7VFY]

I am still using a Palomar Engineers Noise bridge.

[@Tommyr]

Very nice but I love my Rig Expert AA-55 zoom!

[@stacyadiaz]

The AA-55 appears to be a great analyzer but only covers the HF bands. If you need to test UHF and VHF, you would have to step up to an AA-600 or something similar...about $200 more than the cost of the Comet.

[@Tommyr]

@@stacyadiaz I recommend a NanoVNA H4 for vhf/uhf. Cheaper and seems to be pretty accurate as well.

[@littlebear5219]

Do you have this in stock ??

[@101jumpit]

Cant for the life of me understand why you promote items that are not in stock at your store ! and the price is ???????????

[@watersstanton]

In transit

[@stacyadiaz]

They aren’t in stock at several US dealers either.