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MFJ 1700 ANTENNA/RADIO SWITCH

Stellasstillarat

Active Member
Aug 14, 2014
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Do you use one? Have you ever owned /used one?
Worthy of acclamation or just piece of junk? Whatever your answer is there another antenna/radio switch that is well built and works to the specs. of the manufacturer?
 

basically like this video this is not me but some one who made some switches





there are 3 part to vid,, but mine are made about same way except i use a flip switch instead of slide switch,, i have made them in different metal boxes,,,, they are really easy to make,,, and i have never had any problem with them...
 
The diawa ones are the ones to go with like CK posted. 2 of my locals got them after seeing and readings some old posts here and they are both very happy with them. Well constructed.
 
basically like this video this is not me but some one who made some switches

there are 3 part to vid,, but mine are made about same way except i use a flip switch instead of slide switch,, i have made them in different metal boxes,,,, they are really easy to make,,, and i have never had any problem with them...


The problem with those switches shows up under high power conditions. They are not RF rated and can cause an impedance bump in the transmission line which causes an increase in SWR. They are OK for low power however. They also are no good for anything above HF.
 
The diawa ones are the ones to go with like CK posted. 2 of my locals got them after seeing and readings some old posts here and they are both very happy with them. Well constructed.


I have a couple of those CS-201 switches and they are indeed great. One is on HF and the other is in a VHF line and the SWR is perfect and the loss is negligible.
 
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Captain. When you say "high power".. I need to ask because everyone seems to have different ideas of what high power is.
One man's high power is another's mid as one's mid is one's lo.
The fact these switches may not only work properly but can actually cause higher swr readings at high power,. may keep me from owning one, depending on the outout power at which it may begin to cause unwanted issues? P.s. my idea of hight power would begin at the 2 - 300 range.
The problem with those switches shows up under high power conditions. They are not RF rated and can cause an impedance bump in the transmission line which causes an increase in SWR. They are OK for low power however. They also are no good for anything above HF.
 
The Diawa switches are good to 2.5 Kw so no issue there. The switches I have concerns with are those toggle or slide type switches midnight special mentioned. 100 watts may not be an issue unless you hot switched them. A few hundred starts to make me cringe. Given what can be damaged if a switch should fail it pays to pay a few dollars for a GOOD RF rated switch. Even that MFJ-1700 is only good for HF. I had the discontinued modeled 1700B and put it behind my FT-857. Mistake. The radio has two RF Out ports. One is for 2m/70cm and the other is for HF and 6m. The problem was that the switch was rated for HF only and the SWR on 6m was crazy high shutting my rig down. I had to completely rewire the switch using short pieces of coax cable to replace the long unshielded wires inside the switch. It was a real bitch to do but it allowed the switch to operate satisfactorily on 6m. I since replaced it with the Diawa CS-201 series to split the HF/6m port to the respective HF or 6m antennas.

BTW the MFJ-1702C is the same as the Diawa CS201. The "C" means it grounds the unused antenna port.
 
Hear i go again. I need clarification. My purpose for wanting a switch is to switch between transceivers as I've only one antenna.
The mfj 1700 is clearly made for the purpose of switching between six antennas and or six transceivers.

The Dawia link you left for the 401 (which was much appreciated), reads the 401c is used to switch between one transceiver and four antennas. Is my misunderstanding stemming from the the fact that all one need do is install their pl259 antenna connector into the single transciver so239 and use the four so 239's as transciver inputs?

Concidering I specicecly want to switch between two/three transceivers and one antenna would make purchesing the 1700 over kill.

My max output (ssb) reading is 1100 probubly lower (cheap workman meter an efficiency of my amps) but I'm just playing it safe. If i recall both the mfj and Dawia are rated 2 k and or above. If the Dawia can be used for my specic need the choice is simple. I'd rather purchase the Dawia 401. Thank you for your patience.
 
Thank you for the clarification. In the case i decide to install my 11 meter wire dipole for dx'ing I will then need a switch with two inputs and 3 out puts. I know I will not be running three radios as I barely have enough room for two but on never knows. is there a Dawia that has 2-3 inputs/outputs?

I do recall many posts stating that after purchesing certain switchs soldering would have to be done on the inside connections due to poor quality control. Im hopeing there's a swith of excellent build and factory control qulity. Mfj seems to have a poor reputation for quality control. Id also like to stay away from one's using toggle switches as per your advice. Money's not an issue quality is. Thanks. Good looking out.
Switches work either way. Connect the antenna to the common port and the radios to the other ports.
 
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Thanks CKW. Unfortunately the 401 has been discontinued. I'm gonna purchase the 201
i'm gonna purchase it from universal radio via the link You've posted above.
the 201 will be fine for now. There's at least one 401 up for auction on egay but I'm not comfortable buying a used antena switch.
It looks nice cosmetically but it's what inside that worries me.
I wonder why the 401 was discontinued? I checked out ever ham radio supply seller on four pages that pooped up during my search and apparently Dawia doesn't even sell a three/one. Switch.
All I found on the popular ham supplier sited wss the 201.
I would go ahead and purchesing it right now but will wait until Monday morning just incase someone knows a supplier that has some 401's for sale so I'll wait until then. Thsnks.
Diawa 401c has four ports with one common. The Diawa 201c has two ports with one common. IIRC they are both shown in the link I posted above.
 

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