For today’s Ham Radio Holiday Gift Guide, OnAllBands is focusing on one of the most useful items in the amateur operator’s toolbox: the antenna analyzer.
If you know a ham who’s relatively new to the hobby, it’s a gift that says, “Trust me, you’re going to really appreciate this.” For more experienced operators, now might be a great time to upgrade to a more powerful antenna analyzer model, so go head and gift yourself a device that’s sure to deliver in a big way time and time again.
Of course, you could also go the DX Engineering Gift Card route and let your recipients choose exactly what they want from more than 30,000 items at DXEngineering.com—everything from transceivers to solar panel/LiFePO4 battery/charge controller combos, warm DX Engineering logo knit caps to CW keys and paddles in a range of prices and styles, including the Vibroplex HK-STD Straight Key below (much more about Morse code gifts in a future post):
Antenna Analyzers: A Sure-Fire Gift Idea
The adjectives “essential” and “indispensable” are routinely used to describe the antenna analyzer. This troubleshooting wizard is the gift of solved problems in the field and at home, better performance, more QSOs, and peace of mind that your antenna is operating at peak efficiency. As this five-star review of the RigExpert AA-35ZOOM model points out, an antenna analyzer is also the gift of increased knowledge and loads of fun.
This RigExpert analyzer is an excellent product! I have learned a tremendous amount about antennas by using this analyzer on my homebrew experiments. The analyzer is amazingly simple to use. It lets you see at a glance what is happening over a wide range of frequencies, rather than limiting you to just a couple of numbers at a single frequency. It makes it very easy to tune your antenna. Hours of fun! Highly recommended!
Jon, DX Engineering Customer
A Perfect MATCH
For new hams who don’t need all the bells and whistles of a more advanced antenna analyzer but may want additional functionality down the road, the RigExpert MATCH Upgradeable Antenna/Cable Analyzer makes a smart gift.
Simply stated, this is a great product! Easy to use and very easy to see and read, which is a big plus. I have used this to tune in my end-fed antenna on each of our HF bands. What was particularly great was the ability to see, in virtually real time, how each adjustment was reflected in SWR throughout the bandwidth. Great stuff! A very worthwhile purchase which brought real value right out of the box. I am looking forward to future upgrades!
Joel, DX Engineering Customer
The RigExpert MATCH uniquely lets you add functionality and expand coverage without purchasing a new device, so you get the precise level of frequency range and capabilities you require—when you need them.
The MATCH base model measures SWR, return loss, cable loss, and other critical parameters in the range of 100 kHz-70 MHz. Owners can upgrade to an Advanced license (extends coverage to 230 MHz) or an RFE license (extends coverage to 500 MHz) while adding features to their analyzer.
Advanced tools users receive with upgraded licensing include stub tuner, cable length and velocity factor measurements, cable loss, characteristic impedance measurements, SWR2Air, and LC meter (with RFE license).
At all levels, users benefit from MATCH’s four-inch TFT LCD, consistency and accuracy without prior recalibration, multilingual interface, built-in Help at the push of a button, and user-upgradeable firmware for Windows and MacOS.
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Other RigExpert antenna analyzers include the AA-35ZOOM mentioned in the review above (0.06-35 MHz), AA-650ZOOM (0.1-650 MHz), AA-1500ZOOM (0.1-1,500 MHz), and the AA-2000ZOOM (0.1-2,000 MHz) models featuring bright LCD screens that provide graphic illustrations of SWR, impedance, return loss and more; the ability to connect with a PC or Mac for further functionality; and a zoom-in function to get a closer look at graphic points.
The AA-3000ZOOM (0.1-3,000 MHz) comes with built-in Bluetooth wireless communications that enable you to work with a Bluetooth-equipped smartphone, tablet, or laptop. The AA-3000ZOOM also features a large 800 x 480 pixel color TFT display with BlanView® technology, which enables the display to create high contrast and crisp images even when sunlight hits its surface directly.
Small & Mighty “Stick” Antenna Analyzers
RigExpert “Stick” antenna analyzers with integrated Bluetooth technology offer similar functionality but in a lighter, more compact package for easier transport in the field (7.3″ x 1.6″ x 1.3″; 6.5 ounces).
DX Engineering carries these stick models:
- STICK-PRO (0.1-600 MHz)
- STICK-230 (100 kHz-230 MHz)
- STICK-500 (100 kHz-500 MHz)
- STICK-XPRO (0.1-1,000 MHz, shown below)
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Add more functionality to your RigExpert antenna analyzer with a DX Engineering OSL (Open-Short-Load) Calibration Set that allows the measurement reference plane of AA-55ZOOM (out of production) and higher analyzers to be moved to the far end of the transmission line for accurate measurement of any antenna in its proper operating location.
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Also available is Comet’s popular CAA-500MARKII Antenna Analyzer (1.8-500 MHz), featuring a cross-needle analog function and full-color TFT LCD that shows SWR and total impedance with R and X values. Check out this five-star review of the 500MARKII:
This is one super piece of equipment if you are using antennas. This is a must have. To me it does more than advertised. It is so easy to use and shows SWR and impedance simultaneously, scans bandwidth, just a joy and fun to use. The construction is solid, well built. It is my new toy.
Donald, DX Engineering Customer
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For easy transport in the field, consider an analyzer/case combo that pairs a RigExpert or Comet antenna analyzer with a NANUK case in your choice of colors.
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Also check out mini vector network analyzers from Chelegance and WiMo available at DX Engineering. Below is the Chelegance JNCRadio 3G Portable Vector Network Analyzer, which features 50 kHz-3 GHz coverage. The unit can be used for measuring SWR, impedance, reactance, phase, delay, and Q factor of RF circuits, filters, duplexers, amplifier strip lines, cables and antennas, and many other applications. It displays in linear, polar, and Smith Chart plots.
Look for more Ham Radio Holiday Gift Guide articles in the weeks to come! 73!
