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You could buy one of the less expensive models and get used to how they work, then sell it and make the leap to a more sophisticated unit. If you’re new to the hobby, starting out small and working your way up might be a good strategy. You certainly have to take the reviews there with a grain of salt, but if several reviewers mention a particularly good or particularly bad feature of a product, then it’s certainly something worth taking a hard look at. Reading the reviews on eHam is also a good way to gather information before making a purchase like this. If you ask nicely, they might even let you borrow their analyzers or come over and show you how it works on your antennas. He ended up buying a miniVNA instead.Īsking your fellow hams about the antenna analyzers they have is actually a good way to figure out what’s best for you. Unfortunately, they never did come out with a 6m version, and he was sorely disappointed. At the time, they said that they were planning to come out with a model that covered 6m, as well as the HF bands. A friend of mine bought the Palstar antenna analyzer after talking to the company at Dayton. That’s a bummer if you like operating 6m, or like to experiment with VHF/UHF antennas. Many antenna analyzers only cover the HF bands. Next, you need to consider what bands you’ll be using it on. Palstar also says that you can use the ZM-3 as a low-level signal source. So, you can use the antenna analyzer as an LC meter as well. For example, what sold me first on the Autek VA1 and then on the Palstar was that they also measured reactance. Some antenna analyzers do more than just SWR. It uses a computer to generate graphs like this. For more sophisticated frequency analysis, consider the miniVNA. It shows the SWR of a multi-band vertical antenna from 3 – 33 MHz. The figure below, for example, shows a plot generated by the miniVNA software. These instruments can help you do a lot more in-depth analysis of your antenna system. If you want to do some more serious frequency analysis, then you should be looking at the W4RT miniVNA or, if you have more cash, the Timewave TZ-900s.
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The Autek RF-1 is inexpensive, and its small size makes it easy to use outdoors where your antennas are. It’s the least expensive unit, is reasonably accurate, and is small and lightweight, making it easy to use outside where your antennas are located. If all you’re going to do is to check the SWR of your HF dipoles, then buy the Autek RF-1. So, how do you choose just one from this list? Well, I think the first thing that you have to ask yourself is how you’re going to use the analyzer. It seems kind of expensive, but the graphical display might be worth it. This is a very cute, little analyzer with a small graphical display. MFJ has several other models with different feature sets.
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This is arguably the most popular antenna analyzer on the market. This is actually the antenna analyzer that I first purchased. He actually missed several other good choices: How does one decide? Where does one go to find out the differences? Other than asking a fellow ham, how does one find out which one is the best antenna analyzer without paying an arm and a leg (unless the feature(s) so purchased are deemed worth the cost)? In order of increasing purchase price this is what I’ve turned up: I am finally getting around to thinking about purchasing an antenna analyzer, but I am stumped by the choices. In the past you told me you started with the Autek RF-1, and later moved to the Palstar ZM-30.