MFJ 993B Tuner Review Amazing Automatic Tuning!

I've added an MFJ-993B automatic tuner to my ham shack and I couldn't be happier with it. The one of the fastest automatic tuners I've seen on the market and offers truly hands free operation.
www.mfjenterprises.com/Product...
Interested in Peak Design products? Check out my link!
COUPON CODE: Hoshnasi www.peakdesign.com/?acc=36 for a free gift!
Monthly Ham Radio Crash Course Newsletter: / hoshnasi
Discord.....................► / discord
Facebook.................► / hoshnasi
Twitter......................► / hoshnasi
Instagram.................► / hoshnasi
SnapChat..................►@Hoshnasi
Music by:
Sonic D:
Soundcloud.com/sncd
Twitter.com/sncd
Facebook.com/djsonicd
Music wanted!! Send me a message on any of the above if you have some deep cuts you want me to use!
Mail: P.O Box 5101 Cerritos, Ca. 90703-5101. (If your send me something PLEASE include a name or something you want me to give a shoutout to!)
Thanks!

[@MrTommy001]

I just bought this tuner yesterday. It will be installed between my Kenwood TS 570 D transceiver and my Vibroplex Endfeed 135' antenna. Looking forward to putting some of your advice to work. DX had the tuner but not the interface cable (here in their Sparks, NV store). They are shipping the part from their headquarters and it arrives tomorrow. The manual is 44 pages long but I'm hoping to get this up and running with minimal trouble. Thanks for the helpful video. I have since dumped the Kenwood (gave it back to the friend who loaned it to me). I now have a Yaesu 710 AESS. The radio is magnificent (to my thinking anyway) and this tuner is working flawlessly. ------------------------- Two weeks later: I watched your video again and picked up some things that my 78-year-old memory and retention skills missed the first time around. I LOVE this tuner! It helps me get more contacts easier and the tuning helps me get good audio and signal reports. Thaaank you!

[@Thejohnnyoshow]

I have this tuner, i'm very pleased with it.

[@graywolf1911]

Excellent video, very professional yet down to earth presentation.

[@barneyphife6998]

I have 2 of them and very happy with the way they work.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Nice!

[@WB8BRA]

Thank you for your information and I am thinking about getting this one...

[@barkermjb]

Great review!

[@rclark999]

This video was very well done!

[@danielmaine45]

Nice video!

[@batfalcononyoutube]

I do have a comment regarding this particular A/T. Having used for a number of years the 941, I was able to fine tune it, in a way that the reflected needle, would not move. Now this one, even though I have selected via the menu, to have 1,0 SWR, in some cases, it simply can not do it by itself. Now the question is, can I fine tune using the C up/ down and /or L up/down, without reducing the power to 10 -20 W? As you know, with less power is less SWR. If I can not fine tune with full power of my transceiver (ic 7300), then, how shall I reduce even more the SWR manually?

[@QSkyLive]

I just bought one of these to go with my 200watt rig. I have the control cable in place and it tunes nicely using my rig's tune button. But at full power my tuner appears to be limiting output to 118w. I can increase the power up to this point and the indicated power onthe tuner matches the increase shown on the rig but will not pass 118. Switch tuner off and re-engage internal tuner and I get the full 200w output. Anyidea what's occurin ghere, is this in anyway normal? Tumer is tuning down to 1.0 - 1.5 swr

[@georgebecht6357]

Back in the brown shoe days it was called a Transmatch or antenna matching unit. Antenna Tuner is a misnomer, it does not "tune" the antenna, the antenna is still NOT resonant, so the power in the form of heat has to be dissipated somewhere, like in the coax that heats up and can burn if you use too much power. There are better matching solutions like the MFJ- 993BRT, 994BRT & 998BRT remote tuners (I have two in service and they work very well) that put ALL the power into the antenna and not the coax, plus it keeps the RF out of the shack. I will never use a "antenna tuner" in the shack again. George N2SQ

[@AdamosDad]

I realize this was 2 years ago, but this tuner is at a nice price right now. Do you know if it will tune without input from a radio (sensing RF), I have a Xiegu G90 and an old Ameritron als 500m and am trying to get things running, even to the point of using a foot switch to key the old amp. kd9oam.

[@q95oldies57]

Nice review. I know many have made fun of MFJ over the years. I have several of their products, and have never had an issue. I've never encountered shotty craftsmanship either. Others I know have.

[@xdroid1jm]

Good advices...thank you

[@glenmartin2437]

Thank you. I was wondering about mfj tuners. I gave my old one to my son. N0QFT

[@djflexlive]

Any clue if the MFJ993b can tune without txing ? I know some ATU are able to get the frequency from the radio and change the data saved related to frequency. Thanks

[@polishpicl]

You might have taught me enough to purchase this tuner

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

I shopped around a bit. This is a nice ham shack tuner.

[@tglenn3121]

So, I just recently bought this antenna tuner and have the interface cable for Yaesu (FTDX-10). Even though my radio shows I'm transmitting 100w, the tuner shows only about 2-3 watts forward, no reflected power, and an SWR of 1.0. Any ideas of why the tuner would show such low forward wattage even though the radio says it's putting out 100?? Thanks.

[@AD6DMDennis]

Your background music at 9:09 sounds like the Webex hold music. 😄 Thanks for making me want yet more gear. 73 Josh, hope to QSO some time soon!

[@bdhd206]

Will this, or any tuner, help with reception?

[@jakep5121]

From what I've heard on the coax... you might want to pull the case off and go through it before you just drive in that screw. Thanks for the video. Very informative.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Discretion is the better part of valor, in war and screwing things into the unknown :D

[@jakep5121]

oh yeah!! I'm picking up what your putting down. :) BTW... thanks for introducing me to the awesome world of ham radio. Your videos are what got me going and I love this hobby!

[@kb2zya]

Mine is about 13 year's old . Think it will tune a wet string on 160 hihi

[@robertlackey9742]

Hi Josh, it's Robert Lackey. Sorry for the lack of missing out on your live shows . Got that flu for way too long. All studied up. Gotta wait one more month for nearby license test. Important question? Because my $ is so tight for a while this is my last splurge for a long time. Hot a pro quad vhf/uhf, they stryker sr94hpc. Unlocked. So 25-30 mhz. Got the Hesenate HT-UV8R PLUS (3800mah) 8 watt. Other than my mobile antenna set, I'm going to build my own base antenna's. So I can sorta afford the MFJ 941e hf. 135$. Non- automatic. Seems more important than a vector analyser? Remember, I'm building my own base antenna 's . Lol more like alot of different types, best tool? I'll be listening tonight. Peace my friend.

[@truthfilterforyoutube8218]

Will the interface on this tuner work with a Kenwood TS-50S. If so....how would I find the cable ?

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Idk. Google it.

[@chuckmcdermott7053]

Do all tuners require that you place on CW,AM, or FM? Can you tune on SSB? Sorry for dumb question but Im new to the hobby.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

It’s best to give it something with a constant carrier signal.

[@robertlackey9742]

Hi Hosh , bouvbt the MFJ 941e versa-tuner 2. Since I need to stay legal till my test, I hooked it up to the cb band. A stryker sr94hpc mat ched to a A-10 antenna. Love that radio and antenna. Soon as I hook it up as a base with the tuner all I can get is super hi swr All is grounded , even put some radicals for a ground plane. Completely in useable. Any ideas ?? Funny thing is in my .mobile I get 1.2 to one swr. I must be doing something stupid. Besides screwing around on cb bands. Though I talk all over go us on its stock ten watts mobile, no ssb.Thanks

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

MFJ 941e is a manual tuner.

[@cathrynm]

Think I'm going remote antenna tuner for mine. Partly to declutter station, but also to reduce line losses.

[@batfalcononyoutube]

The interface cable for connecting the mfj to the 7300, is sold together with the mfj or seperetly? And how much does it cost?

[@alzeNL]

you will need to buy a specific cable for the tuner for your radio, as each radio has its own different connectors. Be sure to read the docs, as you will need to adjust the jumpers or ensure they are correctly set for your radio !

[@batfalcononyoutube]

@@alzeNL Thank you

[@tomgarcialmt]

Good video. Having a tuner "cant hurt" and will protect your final amps in your transmitter. But I still maintain it doesn't help you radiate more RF. It just "fools" your radio into thinking it is tuned. (But I will get one to experiment with various antenna types and have piece of mind.) It should be noted that there are circumstances and antenna configurations and what you should never use a tuner. If you were using a magnetic loop antenna that incorporates a remote variable capacitor you should never use an antenna in addition.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

It is likely no power will be transmitted out on the antennas mentioned in the video without a tuner. That trick the tuner plays on the radio is pretty important.

[@Pioneer936]

You misunderstand what tuners do Tom, they provide a conjugate match by adjusting the capacitive and inductive reactances of the whole system to zero, to allow maximum power transfer to the antenna, in this state the system is resonant, the reflected power from the mismatch joins the forward power and is reflected back to the antenna at the tuner, the voltage and current are now in phase, so you see the tuner is doing a lot more than fooling the transmitter

[@notthepainter]

5 years late, still like it?

[@phillipzx3754]

To add a bit of info, just in case. This tuner is advertised as a 1.8-30 MHz tuner, but it works just fine on 6-meters too. What doesn't work (on 6) is the frequency counter.

[@grayhit]

Mine works on 6 no probs bud

[@phillipzx3754]

@@grayhit So when you're on 6 meters the tuner also SHOWS the frequency? Mine works fine too...except for the frequency readout part. :-)

[@1967krafty]

Can I use this tuner on cb radio with an max 2000 antenna?

[@georgebecht6357]

There is no need for a tuner on this antenna, it is very broad banded. The tuner will do nothing to improve your station. Save your money.

[@Mark300win]

Do you recommend mfj929 or mfj993b? 20$ apart only however mfj929 is significantly smaller for protability so what do u think

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

They have different features. The 993b for example connects to your rig for control and power. The 929 is more of a dumb tuner, which is fine, just different feature set. Do a comparison on the site.

[@Mark300win]

hoshnasi thanks for the swift response! Lets say i only need basic automatic tuning up to 100w yet it has to be controlled by icom7300, no need for 4:1 baluns etc, would it be 929 or 993? And what do u personally recommend

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

I'd get the 993b and the cable to connect to the ICOM specifically.

[@Mark300win]

hoshnasi thanks

[@user-vm2ke3yk9n]

will it tune a dual band antenna made for 2 and 70 meter to work for 10meters

[@djflexlive]

It can tune a fork. But your results will be disastrous in tx/rx

[@Robbie-sk6vc]

Not really. This unit is for HF, not V/UHF. There are units available for those bands. Get the right tool for the job!

[@clivewi9103]

You say that a swr of 2 is fine, just to point out that a swr of 2 is a load impedance of 25 Ohms connected to an expected 50 ohm , and when you impedances don't match you don't get an efficient energy transfer.

[@rickeaston3228]

There is something no body talks about.......which is that most tuners available today are high pass networks. There are low pass tuners that will work as a tuner but can also lower harmonics by 50 or more db. You might say, who needs a low pass tuner at this point in time?? One thing you might try is to measure the harmonic output of your transmitter or amp especially tube amps. You may find something you did not expect. I have been designing and building low pass tuners for years and my SS amps are much simpler since they don't need $500 harmonic filters. And reflected power is not dissipated in the output devices.

[@jeepien]

I like where you call YQ YQ @9:03 :-)

[@n1kkri]

Have you tried the 993 on 6 meters ?

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Yes, works fine.

[@n1kkri]

I have a 993 and 993B. One of them will not display the 6m freq the other will. It sort of works on one of them but I never measured with a 50 ohm dummy load the power going in and coming out for any losses.

[@RickGreenPhoto]

ARRL Handbook 2014 edition chapter 20.4.2 "...The antenna tuner’s function is to transform the impedance, whatever it is, at the transmitter end of the transmission line into the 50 Ohms required by the transmitter. Remember that the use of an antenna tuner at the transmitter does not tune the antenna, reduce SWR on the feed line or reduce feed line losses!..." This means that the system has been coupled to the transmitter and is balanced. However it does not mean that the radio will receive or transmit the signals better. The best way to accomplish that goal is to use good quality coax and connectors and tune the antenna for the frequency being used. A tuner can be of great benefit in certain situations but not more efficient.

[@BaldurNorddahl]

your interpretation of the ARRL text is wrong. Without a tuner the reflected power will reenter the transmitter and usually be lost as heat. With a tuner the reflected power will be retro-reflected back to the antenna. By using very short transmission lines, low loss transmission lines (ladder line not coax) or connecting the tuner directly to the antenna, you will have most of the power transmitted. With very high SWR but with sufficient low loss connection to the antenna, almost no power might be transmitted without a tuner, but most will be transmitted with a tuner. This is why random wire antennas are possible and not horrible inefficient if you use a tuner correctly. There is even a remote version of the 993B tuner that connects directly to the antenna to eliminate coax losses completely.

[@RickGreenPhoto]

@@BaldurNorddahl What part? Also never start off with your wrong it's rude.

[@BaldurNorddahl]

@@RickGreenPhoto the conclusion "However it does not mean that the radio will receive or transmit the signals better" which is not implied by the ARRL text. There will in fact be more power transmitted. If the feed line is short or high impedence there will in fact be a lot more power transmitted.

[@RickGreenPhoto]

@@BaldurNorddahl I disagree... USE A TUNED ANTENNA AND QUALITY FEED LINE AND CONNECTORS. enough..

[@BaldurNorddahl]

@@RickGreenPhoto some of us I do not have the space for that. I love the 40 meter band but lack the space for a tuned 40 meter antenna. The solution is a random wire antenna using a tuner. This takes up much less space and works great.

[@ralph9987]

impact driver will get that screw in!

[@n1kkri]

can a 993B be upgraded to a 993B ?

[@pjo1964]

Of course. It's an instant upgrade! 😎

[@n1kkri]

After the tuner reduces the SWR have you ever noticed when your speaking with SSB the display jumps all over the place causing the SWR to change?

[@djflexlive]

Yep that's sad. We need to activate the AUTO button once the SWR is ok for the freq.

[@n1kkri]

@@djflexlive I did a reset of my 993 and seemed to have helped with the problem.

[@djflexlive]

@@n1kkri Are you using a remote cable (tx to atu ?) or at all. Without cable , probably harder , even with reset. But I think this atu is susceptible to make the eeproms crazy if any rfi in the shack.

[@n1kkri]

@@djflexlive No, my setup was just the output of the rig straight to the tuner and was letting the RF sensing in the tuner start it up . What I would have to do is once it reduced the SWR I would take it out of AUTO so when I spoke on SSB it would not change the tuner settings increasing the SWR. I read somewhere resetting the tuner would help with the problem . It was a full reset and it did help it quite a bit. About a year ago I picked up the remote box that uses a serial cable between the remote box to the tuner to. My tuner was next to the windows and I would have to get up to do any fine tuning. It was a good add on.

[@sandraabarca6029]

Yes new antenna ! I can just see the look on your wife just as you made that comment haaa . Ty 73👍🍺🤠

[@LM-sc8lu]

Kind of like when my wife used to asked me if I "needed" a new gun, tool, camera, my NVB's (night vision binocs.) The true and honest answer is, no, with the key word being "need." Now I'm trying to learn about HAM radios. Got my Tech license last month, a couple of mobile rigs, and antennas for my truck, and some antennas for a field day, when I get things figured out.

[@verystupidhandle]

wow come down to Earth lol

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Wut? What’s the issue?

[@wxfield]

Prediction: in < 1 years time the features of the MFJ will be in all the new transceivers.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

I think that is unlikely. The L match networks are pretty large and baluns take up space too. I think if you put it all in a box it'd be too unwieldy.

[@wxfield]

If you look inside your 7000 series ICOM you'll see we already fit a lot of what's inside the MFJ on the motherboard. Plenty of room inside for more shenanigans. ;-)

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

I think yours is an interesting idea. Still though, the fact that alot of the components are separate is a pretty good thing. In alot of cases, people don't want or need more than a 3:1 tuner. If that was included some may not want to pay extra for the feature cannot use, relegating the radio to only a specific niche other than "entry level", "mid" and "competition".

[@wxfield]

Point taken. I tend to approach things from a milspec point of view sometimes and forget the civilian markets have different needs.

[@HKey_Root]

For new viewers FFWD to 7:50 :(

[@1OFGODSOWN]

A far better tuner than the LDG tuners.The MFJ tune is much quicker than the LDG and will tune antennas that the LDG cannot tune on any given day.

[@operation_2121]

2nd

[@crlguitar1]

AT a price of around $350 you'd think that the screws would fit perfectly....hi.....

[@markg0410]

1st!

[@verystupidhandle]

its ok dude...

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

What is?

[@clivewi9103]

If your antenna is not resonant, its not going to transmit any electromagnetic energy so you may have a match, but you are still wasting your time.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

You are aware there are quiet affective non-resonant antenna right?? Look up a Dublet.