I use the simple blue "RigExpert Stick" for POTA and all the stuff outdoors, the Pro version is absolutely amazing, but was not in my "price-range" for portable. Thank you for being like you are and i whish you awesome christmas days. 73 from Germany de DK9CA
Hi Mike, thanks for your video, very helpful! Found an interesting thing, you can run the AntScope software on the Mac via usb to measure one frequency and then run the AntScope App on your phone via Bluetooth to measure another so with a multiband antenna it’s easy to see what the effect of tuning for one band has on another, just run the software/App for the two different frequencies.
Seems like I can do most all of these things (including a PC/Mac/Linux interface) with a NanoVNA for $100-$1500 with a larger touch screen and easier to navigate UI. And it has a battery inside, too. I've got a NanoVAN with a 4 inch screen and it's great to use in the field at the antenna while I'm trying to tune it. I get how this is targeted solution, but these NanoVNA's are more flexible test equipment, like when you use the other port to measure losses in filters or other devices. For example, I wondered how efficient the 49:1 UN-UN that built was? So I built two of them, connected them back-to-back on the antenna side and could directly measure the thru loss with the NanoVNA across all the HF bands. It's great that there's all these wonderful tools available these days at costs that are much more accessible to hams.
Same here, I'm a big fan of NanoVNAs. It takes a while to get familiar with them and set them up just how you like, but once that's done they're easy to drive and you can get results in seconds. I've got two, and the smaller one never leaves my POTA kit bag. Best $50 I ever spent on radio gear :) That said, there are a lot of folk out there who just don't get along with them and their occasionally glitchy UI. So I can understand a place for this sort of thing -especially with the bluetooth connectivity, that would be super useful when trimming antennas (assuming you can stay in bluetooth range). The question is, is it $389 super useful? I'm not adjisting antennas *that* often, and the walk does me good ;)
Man I bought a NanoVNA a couple years ago and absolutely hated it. Way to finicky for me. After about 10 minutes of playing with it I ended up giving it away to a friend. I know they have a huge following but it is absolutely not for me. Sure they have their features and benefits, but they also need to be calibrated every time you use them. Even if you change bands. Not so with the RigExpert. I don't possess the patience as a human to have to do that every time I want to test something. I want to do what I need to do and get on the air with as little effort as possible. Everything has its compromises.
@@hamradiotube I think a NanoVNA needs to be calibrated as often as antenna analyzers. Depends on the level of precision that you need/want. I have a set of cables that I use all the time, and I've calibrated "once" for them and saved the cal state. I just use that saved state for my HF needs. If you're doing something at much higher frequencies, then many the story is different -- but then you have to worry about the feedline between the analyzer/VNA and the antenna itself. Just watching the UI of the device you tested, it's all the same function as the VNA provides with slightly different UI (which I don't find quite as useful.) I mean, it's the same thing - you've got a smith chart in the analyzer, you can see return loss. Its a VNA with only a single port, yet it costs more?!
@@Lastaii That's pretty funny - I've got two of them as well... the one with the smaller screen also lives in my POTA "antenna box" full time, just in case I need it. The one with the 4" screen lives on the bench..
@@hamradiotube Yep, totally agree NanoVNAs are not for everyone :) Regarding the calibration issue, you don't need to calibrate if you're just looking for where the resonant point/lowset SWR is, and in the field that's what I'm after -especially if I'm using a finicky setup like my butchered SuperAntenna :D
Thanks Mike, great content! I got mine a couple of months ago. Being a new ham it's fairly intuitive, but there's a lot I still need to learn about it.
Awesome, you started off with a great analyzer. I've found as I've used it more that it's very intuitive. There's only a couple things I don't use because they are way over my head.
Yes......MAC! I bought one. I really wish someone would make a detailed flow chart listing of the menus and an explanation of the meaning of each item. I'm pretty new to using an analyzer and the relationships to antennas.
I just received one yesterday. Thanks good video. Nice to have it in The shack and see what’s going on outside without 10 trips inside to see how it’s doing.
I am enjoying the 35 zoom, great screen, like the bigger display, rig expert has taken this market, i still think the mfj223 is nice, and had my eye on the comet caa500mkii , thx mike nice review
Those Zoom analyzers are awesome. I got to play with a 1500 zoom and really liked it. This little guy packs in a lot of the same features in a portable size. Absolutely perfect for me.
I reviewed the 1500 zoom and it’s awesome. They aren’t heavy at all, but for as much portable as I do I want everything as small and light weight as it can be. Most of my activations have been qrp with the 705 in the icom backpack lately. This easily fits where the bigger one won’t. That’s the main advantage to the Stick Pro for me. Honestly I’d love to have both.
I bought one after watching quite a few videos, and nobody mentioned its one shortcoming... NO FREQUENCY COUNTER! I bought it to reduce my kit since it is smaller than my MFJ 269D, but guess what, I still have to take the MFJ 269D with me for the frequency counter feature. Also, the Bluetooth is VERY short range, like one car length, and drops out easily, so the stick pro has become the backup at home in a drawer to the 269D.
for the people this product is targeted at (amateur radio operators), we don't have a whole lot of use for a frequency counter. we're trying to get the antenna resonant, and assuming you've done your math right, you should be cutting it somewhere close to resonant...
@@p4rsec the MFJ is also targeted for amateur radio operators, and it has a full set of usable features, including a frequency counter… Not everybody lives in the ham world 100% of the time, and with a designation of stick “pro” I don’t think it’s unreasonable to think it’s also targeted for the professional user. Before you do all of that math, there’s one thing you need to know, and that’s WHERE you need the antenna resonant, the typical end-user has no clue where they transmit, they just know they need an antenna cut for it. What the stick Pro does, it does well, but as I said, it’s missing a crucial feature.
Really liked and enjoyed your review. 99% of most reviewers start at opening the box and wasting 10 minutes. Your review got right into the “ real “ question operation of the Stick Pro. I bought mine several years ago from Jim Gifford, and have enjoyed it every time I’ve used it. GREAT VIDEO!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 de WB9DBD Marc
Question. Did I hear the battery was rechargeable. If you are in the field, can you change the battery if the battery is dead or do you have to go back and recharge it up again which can really be a pain
Very good overview Mike! I love my Rig Expert Pro. It's very capable, and intuitive to use. I haven't had it hooked up to a PC yet. Are there more features through the PC software than the app? Did you have any issues with the Bluetooth dropping out on it? Mine seems to drop from time to time, while using it.
This thing is a game changer for me. Small, light wight, portable, and does everything I would need outside of just looking at SWR. I haven't had any issues with bluetooth either, but I haven't had it all that long.
Was the Stick Pro cable connected to the PC or MAC when you demonstrated the software? Or was it bluetooth? I tried the software with my MAC and it said the Stick Pro had to be turned on (which if was and bluetooth was on) and the Stick Pro had to be set to "PC", where is "PC" ?
Good sir. Please don't associate me with anything Windows related. I set my expectations a bit higher than that. I literally did nothing other than plug the Stick into my Mac and run the software. No drivers, no configuration, nothing. I did download the software from the app store if that matters.
I don't know what kind of drugs you're taking, or how much rig expert is paying you, but the ant scope2 software has virtually no documentation at all, and they won't answer any questions about supporting the software after 30 days of trying. I bought the rig expert 500 explicitly because I wanted to connect it to my computer and now it's just a paperweight because rig expert will not support this device!!
