RigExpert Stick 230 Antenna Analyzer Review

Thanks to DX Engineering and RigExpert for supplying the Stick 230.

[@500VulcanRider]

Love that TDR Function, saved me a LOT of work when I was in the Navy trying to find bad spots in the airplane where the antenna cables ran.

[@WilliamParmley]

Very helpful! Thorough review and demonstration.

[@DK5ONV]

Hello Randy! Nice to see you still video recording what you doing and sharing your experiences with us. 73's & stay healthy de Günter

[@DK5ONV]

@@dl9rby117 Hello Klaus, I don't have any of those sticks. yet. I am very oldschool still using my old Vectronics Antenna Analyzer. 73's de DK5ONV

[@joejoslyn9745]

Excellent full review and instructions! Thanks!

[@RandyUpchurch]

Happy Thanksgiving Randy! Great to see a new video! Thanks for all you do!

[@johng7rwf419]

Very clearly explained. Nice to see you again..J

[@jimedwards9310]

Now I don’t have to download the manual. You took care of that for me. ❤. Thank you sir.

[@barrygkx]

Thanks for the great informative video. I just ordered one yesterday. I already have the AA 650 Zoom but I needed a smaller unit I could carry in my back pocket for POTA activations. Barry, KU3X

[@kj7vid]

Thanks for the review.

[@PH2LB]

Nice review of a nice and handy device. Think the ePaper display has a little getting used to but the small size is a big plus for field trips. (I own a AA54 and AA600 myself)

[@lawrencethompson465]

I have watched only one other review for the 230. After watching yours I have what I needed. Excellent tutorial. Thanks👍👍

[@ac0m-glennthompson432]

I've learned more in the first 15 minutes of the video. Much better than other videos I've watched. Thanks Randy providing great information.

[@donausmus4281]

This is the best 230 tutorial I've seen. Thanks!

[@K7AGE]

Wow, thanks!

[@ITOinfoo]

Good review!

[@andyw3720]

Awesome review. You’ve got a new subscriber

[@K7AGE]

Thanks

[@garnerboyd4206]

Great Video, really good explanations of mode, best I seen, Thanks Randy

[@mistermac4118]

Nice video, well detailed, thank you!

[@forgetyourlife]

Seems they have discontinued the aa-230. Probably hoping to sell this lesser device at more of a profit. e-ink in cold weather gets viscous btw. Leave it outside for a night this winter Randy and tell us what happens.

[@miafla305]

Thank you so much!!!

[@John-K6RXD]

Excellent. Thank you Randy.

[@johnsmiley2922]

Absolute best video on the 230 stick I've seen.....thank you!

[@K7AGE]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@BobBroeking]

If you were using this with an ICOM 705 and mat Tuner and a JPC-12 antenna would you measure SWR after you have tuned your freq coming out of the tuner (before it gets to the radio) or on the front side, directly from the coax running to the antenna to know your SWR is in the ball park and then use your tuner to get the SWR down as low as possible. I use the SWR display on the ICOM 705 to check SWR after I have tuned my antenna now. Thanka... I am slightly confused. Bob

[@K7AGE]

You should be able to tune the antenna by using the analyzer. Once the antenna is tuned for low SWR, you can connect the antenna to the radio. The MAT tuner isn’t really needed. The MAT is handy to use if you move away from the tuned frequencies without having to readjust the antenna.

[@BobBroeking]

@@K7AGE Do you still believe this is a good product sometime after your review. If I as going to get one analyzer for mainly portable use would you still say this is a good enough one to get to measure primarily SWR of various antennas? Thank you for your time.

[@Marty48034]

I appreciate this so much. I just bought this. The quick card is almost useless. The PDF is not there on the site. This shows so much, including software. Awesome. Thanks!!

[@K7AGE]

Glad to help

[@ProLogic-dr9vv]

What he never said is it will cost $239.95 - $259.95 and the Stick-Pro Antenna Analyzer . 1 - 600 MHZ $399.95 that's way out of my price range :-(

[@forgetyourlife]

You know the rules of getting stuff for free ;)

[@TomG2NV]

Hi Randy, Glad to see you put up a new video, I guess you've been too busy testing out your new beam on that fantastic tower to make many videos of late? I bought a Rig-expert AA_55 zoom earlier this year and what a great tool it is, the Cadilac of analyser's. I'd love to see an update on the beam/tower in action on the air now propagation is on the up. I'd also like to work you on the bands and finally bag Oregon ( I still need OR!). Happy thanksgiving & 73 G2NV Tom in England!

[@twohandsandaradio]

Ease up with the snark. ( I guess you've been too busy testing out your new beam on that fantastic tower to make many videos of late?) The pandemic has delayed everything including people making videos. Here's an idea... Think before you comment next time or do you need a video telling you how to do that?

[@davidcolson5924]

Bought this and it seem to work well. However documentation of The AntScope2 does not exist and setting parameters the TDR is not "intuitive obvious to the casual observer" . Is there a good reference someplace for AntScope2? The closes I found was in this manual: AA-230_ ZOOM_ Software-EN.pdf. Describes AntScope which I assume is close to the AntScope2.

[@dlabyer]

Thanks for your review. What were they thinking ? A display that seems to be about two fingernails wide.? A lot of us old timers will need a magnifying glass to read it.

[@jaberie308]

Oh great. Thanks for showing me how obsolete my AA170 is now.

[@HAMRADIOJOE4178]

I WANA SEE MORE OF YOU

[@Mark-hb5zf]

Somewhat odd that screen # 3 shows series L and C (with the C being negative - meaning inductive, I assume) at the same time. I'm surprised they don't blank one (i.e. in this case, the -55.3nF since it is inductive). Seems like that could be a confusion factor for some. Showing just the L or C and maybe the equivalent +/-j might be a better option. While I'm a Ham (not very active) - I design transmitters for a living - meaning about 99% of my time is designing matching circuits, usually on the Smith Chart. So seeing an L AND C at the same time really caught my eye as being rather strange, but maybe I'm missing something (i.e. the example above would tell you the C needed to cancel the L?). One nice option to have would be the ability to export a S1P file to allow for creating your own matching circuits. Looking on their web page, I didn't see that option (sorry if I missed it if you can). Maybe AntScope lets you do that... Interesting device, nonetheless.

[@W4BIN]

The ITU region sets the bands and their limits. In Europe 6 meters is 50 to 52 MHz only. Ron W4BIN

[@vr6isfaster]

That thing looks like a ph tester for gardening. Very compact.

[@n5pa]

Great review Randy and glad to see another video from you! Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!

[@Mike500912]

Thanks Randy. I was interested to compare with my cheap nanoVNA (approx US$80) which goes from 50KHz to 3GHz. While I can see that the RigExpert is a well made instrument, it however is very limited in its functionality when compared to the cheaper nanoVNA which includes both S11 and S21 analysis.

[@daveN2MXX]

I asked another popular KZbinr the same question, and he basically said that it is easier for most hams to understand this device and this one is more rugged compared to a nonovna....I guess he was suggesting that most hams are dumb and abuse their equipment. I'll stick with my nanoVNA.

[@daveN2MXX]

I forgot to mention...this device appears to come with a neck strap! That's a game changer.

[@kuyckxandre268]

Thx and 73 from Belgium Europe

[@jacksontodd79]

This work for a cb mobil radio antenna

[@K7AGE]

yes

[@Frank_K4FMH]

Just got one a few weeks ago, Randy. Great tutorial video!

[@sptvids]

Good video, What do you think of it compared to the MFJ269?

[@K7AGE]

This nice with the graphs. I have use my MFJ 269 for probably 15-20 years.

[@helnatinty7631]

Merci Randy. Good job. 🇫🇷