Rig Expert AA-1000 Review

5stars

Rig Expert AA-1000 Review

Street Price: $899

00000


2 User reviews

5stars


Editors rating

  • Frequency range
  • Ease of use
  • Ergonomics
  • LCD Screen quality

Street Price: $899

I can already tell that the Rig Expert AA-1000 is going to be a helpful tool. It includes all the necessary accessories:

* carrying case and strap;
* rechargeable batteries WITH charger;
* N-connector to SO-239 adapter; and
* USB cable for connecting to a PC.

Some of my favorite features are the multi-SWR, Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR) and PC connectivity. The multi-SWR mode made it so easy to tune my multi-band Diamond CR8900 on the vehicle because it showed all four bands at the same time. As I tuned for 10 meters, it showed me how the change affected the other three bands. I don’t have to do each band and then go back through them again to see what their values are like I would with most other analyzers. The TDR is great to test a length of feed line to see if you have any shorts or opens in the coax, like at a barrel, or a cut/splice. To use the AA-1000 with a PC, you simply download the software directly from the manufacturer’s website, go through the easy installation process and connect the analyzer to your PC with the supplied USB cable.

A couple of other useful features include Smith chart/Polar chart and the ability to test resonant coils. It also allows you to make and tune your own matching stubs for various antenna designs.

The Rig Expert AA-1000 has nearly every feature you would look for in an antenna analyzer and is great for testing any antenna on any frequency up to 1GHz including:

  • Vehicle mounted antennas (VHF, UHF, or HF);
  • Multi-band trapped verticals;
  • Beam/Yagi antennas; and
  • Multi-band wire antennas like the G5RV, Windom and off-center fed dipoles.

Whether you’re building your own antenna, installing a manufactured antenna or maintaining your existing setup, I consider a good antenna analyzer an essential tool for serious amateur and commercial radio operators and the AA-1000 is one of the few that will cover HF through 1.4GHz

 

Function Specification
Frequency range 0.1-1,400 MHz
Frequency entry step size 1 kHz
Min. sweep range 10 kHz
SWR2AIR™ mode Yes
MultiSWR™ mode Yes
Reactance sign measurement Yes
Antenna connector type N-connector
(SO-239 adapter included)
Output power -10 dBm
Output amplifier CML logic chip
Output signal shape rectangular
Reference impedance for SWR measurement 25, 50, 75, 100 Ohm
Analog-to-digital converter 16-bit
Batteries three 1.5V alkaline or three 1.2V Ni-MH, AA size
Battery voltage sensor Yes
External battery charger Yes
Operation with external power supply (without battery) from USB
LCD Color TFT,
320×240
Time Domain Reflectometer mode Built-in
Flash memory for storing graphs 90 R/X or SWR memory slots,
10 TDR memory slots
Multilingual support Yes
Presets for radio amateur bands Yes

 

Conclusion Rating
With a street price of well under a grand, the Rig Expert AA-1000 is a sound investment in a quality piece of test equipment that will continue to serve you well for years to come.
5 stars

2 Comments

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*