Antenna analysers

Was thinking of buying a antenna analyser but there seems to be quite a lot to choose from. I was thinking about the MFJ’s as I used one at my local club but seen a few videos on YouTube of the rigexpert’s so was wondering if they might be the better option. Would want one that covers HF and VHF. So would be grateful for people who have tried both what probably are excellent products for their options. 
Thanks in advance, Mark.

I have the Rigexpert Zoom and like it but it only does HF.
They cost and i think to do VHF as well is going to COST big money.

Rigexpert's start out cheep but the price goes up quickly as you add to the frequency range.  That being said, they are significantly more capable than anything the MFJ line has to offer, even the devices that are at the same price point.  They are also simpler to use.  Rigexperts are great for beginners, except their cheapest version, the AA-35 Zoom, which if anyone is considering I highly recommend just saving up for the next version up, the AA-55 Zoom.

If this is still to expensive for you, or you just want more capability, look up the Nano-VNA.  Its far cheaper than anything Rigexpert and MFJ, and for that matter anyone else, offers, and is actually more powerful than not only the a-fore mentioned brands, but also most anything else on the market short of engineering level equipment.  The catch is the learning curve.  There are several youtube videos that show its basic operation.  You can also get software and run it from a computer, which actually has more features than the device itself, and I personally think is easier.  If you think you will use the screen on the device more than just a little bit, I highly recommend getting the version that has a larger screen as the device itself lives up to the name "nano"...

I'm not the only person on this forum with a NanoVNA, and I know several people own Rigexpert devices as well (which I have used in the past but don't personally own), so don't be afraid to ask questions.


The DB

Thanks for the info. I think I agree that if I was to go for a rigexpert, it wouldn’t be the AA-35 zoom as I don’t think it covers what I need so it would, have to be the AA-230 which is similar in price to the mfj-259d in coverage if am correct but the riigexpert does do more things. Think I have to do a bit more looking into them.
Cheers
Mark

The DB wrote:

Rigexperts are great for beginners, except their cheapest version, the AA-35 Zoom, which if anyone is considering I highly recommend just saving up for the next version up, the AA-55 Zoom.

The DB

Out of interest, why do you say that?  Other than including the 6m band, what has the 55 got that the 35 hasn't?

Looking at the comparisons I think apart from the wider coverage, the Bluetooth version also has a couple of things like memory slots and a slight improvement on the data you can collect. Not sure if is worth the extra money though.

43CT016 wrote:

The DB wrote:

Rigexperts are great for beginners, except their cheapest version, the AA-35 Zoom, which if anyone is considering I highly recommend just saving up for the next version up, the AA-55 Zoom.

The DB

Out of interest, why do you say that?  Other than including the 6m band, what has the 55 got that the 35 hasn't?

The AA-55 Zoom and higher has the ability to calibrate out the feed line from its measurements and make it like it isn't there, so with said devices, you can get accurate antenna data regardless of the feed line lengths between the device and the antenna.


The DB

The DB wrote:

The AA-55 Zoom and higher has the ability to calibrate out the feed line from its measurements and make it like it isn't there, so with said devices, you can get accurate antenna data regardless of the feed line lengths between the device and the antenna.


The DB

Can’t you just do the OSL calibration at the end of the feedline?  I was thinking of getting one, didn’t fancy paying for the 650 Zoom, and hence didn’t really need anything above 30MHz if I wasn’t going to pay to get 477MHz.

The AA-35 has not got the Smith Chart.

Alan Pilot wrote:

The AA-35 has not got the Smith Chart.

Good catch…..completely useless to me then. 

Can’t see the point of the 55, so it’s back to sulking about the cost of the 650.

The 35 does what i want plus easy to use well for my brain it is lol.

43CT016 wrote:

Can’t you just do the OSL calibration at the end of the feedline?  I was thinking of getting one, didn’t fancy paying for the 650 Zoom, and hence didn’t really need anything above 30MHz if I wasn’t going to pay to get 477MHz.

The last AA-35 Zoom I had my hands on did not support the OSL test (AKA calibration), nor was the feature in the manual. AA-55 Zoom does support this. If they have since added this feature to the AA-35 Zoom, then I both support this update and stand corrected.


The DB