[Lowfer] Antenna Analyzer

[Ralph W5JGV]

> Who on this group has what analyzer and what are your comments about it?


I have an AIM-4170, and after using it for a few months, I find that it
falls into the same category as my FLEX-5000A transceiver.  That is, after
you use it once, you just throw all of your other gear in the dumpster.
It's that good.

Thee are two things that some people may have trouble with.  The first is
that the unit only goes up to 180 MHz. OTOH, the low end coverage is great.
The second is that you do need the unit to be connected to a computer (a
cheap used laptop is fine) for it to function.  It is possible to use a
BlueTooth link to remote the AIM from the computer.

The ability to save the scanned data and replay and rework it after the fact
is very handy.  I also use my AIM to characterize various components and
networks.  Tuning a filter is easy; you can see the filter's response curve
change on the computer screen as you adjust components.  Likewise when
tuning an antenna, the results show up on the computer screen immediately.
I can "cold tune" an antenna with my AIM and when I connect the rig to the
antenna, everything just works.

BTW, you can download the free operating software and run it in the demo
mode.  If you start the program and then load a saved SCN (scan) file, you
can play with most of the data display and processing functions of the
program.  I can email you some SCN files if you are interested.

73,

Ralph  W5JGV - WD2XSH/7