Does All This “Stuff” REALLY Make a Difference? – MFJ-16010??

Working off of my random wire antenna this morning. And it is a good morning for it – very quiet conditions.

Here is what your seeing in the video – FEBC – Far East Broadcasting Company – 15620khz – pushing 100 kilowatts – not the brightest flashlight in the room – but a GOOD signal – dead on frequency with excellent modulation . . .

I can go at this explanation several ways but let’s try the K.I.S.S. way – Keep It Simple Stupid . . . ( and NO this is not a course in Radio 101 – this is just as bottom line simple as I can explain it! )

Although it was marketed as an antenna tuner for transmitting / receiving – by changing the impedance between the relative low impedance of a transmitter and the relative high impedance of a random wire antenna – guess what? It also improves that match for receiving signals as well. Because – what is radio? You hang a piece of metal out in the breeze and magnetic waves pass across it and induce an electric current in said piece of metal – meanwhile your radio is looking for a ( where ever you tuned it ) specific frequency of electrical energy to process with all its smoke and mirrors magic into sound that you can hear / listen to . . . ( yes i know that’s horribly simplistic – no hate – ok? )

Remember we are primarily focused on receiving! Watch the noise floor on the clip as I scroll back and forth on the capacitance knob – which is changing the impedance match between the radio and the antenna . . .

If you notice in the lower left corner of the clip – I have the gain on the SDR cranked all the way up – it is that quiet this morning . . .

So . . . the short answer – it does work on random wire antennas when you use it just to receive – and most of the reviews ( if you want to fall into a YouTube rabbit hole – say Hi to Alice while your there – at about 7:00 minutes into the clip ) will show it working on transmit AND receive. ( And if you want to watch the whole movie GO HERE )

I recommend stuff – because it works – and the MFJ-16010 actually helps with short wave listening when using random wire antennas – and for those who think I’m bad – a guy that is on the “net” traffic around 7.190mhz most mornings out of the Pacific North West is running on a 1200 ( yes – twelve hundred ) foot loop suspended 60 feet up in the air – I admit I’m impressed – and somewhat jealous. But really folks – it doesn’t take a lot – 30 foot – plus or minus – of 14 gauge stranded strung right – an LDG 9:1 Unun – proper grounding is critical – a halfway decent radio ( or SDR ) – the MFK-16010 in the mix can help – and you would be more than likely surprised at the stuff you can hear . . .

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!