Surecom SF401 Plus 27Mhz-3000Mhz Radio Portable Frequency Counter Meter with CTCCSS DCS Decoder

My unit works and properly reports the TX frequency and CTCSS tone, if sending, as indicated in the manual. Attenuation was off and you really need to get the supplied antenna next to the TX antenna to get a reading. Please review my notes below carefully. DMR was the only mode to provide a frequency reading when the meter was set to digital. P25 and C4FM (Yaesu Fusion) could be identified only when set to analog. I tested the following all with correct frequency results: - 10 meter band using analog FM - 6 meter band using analog FM - 2 meter band using analog FM/P25/C4FM - 70 cm band using analog FM/P25/C4FM - 33 cm band using analog FM - 70 cm band using digital DMR I am pleased with the function of this meter and that it charges via USB as well. Still, if your unit appears to not be working after it powers up, you probably do not have the antenna literally next to or touching the TX antenna. I also tested by adjusting the "RF detect level" in the settings and moving it from 5 to 40. It did not appear to make a difference on the close proximity needed of the TX antenna to the meter antenna.

This is a cheap frequency counter and it works well for what it is, just don't expect it to rival a $500 machine. It picks up everything, I tried it with my FRS radio to map it to use paired with a GMRS radio. It worked great, then I tried on a second radio and it was all over the place. That was until I realized my phone was next to it. Moved my phone away and it was back to working great. You have to be careful and aware of what it around it. Also for picking up tones, you have to hold the TX button for a moment to get the tones. It picks up frequency really quick, tones take another few seconds to read.

Review of the SF401 Plus. I only need this to use on the 2 meter ham band. I did test this with a Kenwood TH-F6 hand held unit set to 1/2 watt transmit power on 2 meters and this is what I discovered. 1) The Ctcss frequencies captured were spot on. 2) The frequency counter reading was about .6 mhz low. 3) The 'frq offset' adjustment only gave me about +/- 4 hertz, not nearly enough. Conclusions: 1)The frequency accuracy claimed is off by 600kc, there is no way to zero the unit effectively. 2)The Ctcss decoding is absolutely accurate. The SF401 PLUS worked about as well as I expected and is a useful tool for sniffing out unknown ctcss tones. Its use as a frequency counter might not be so good. Being off .6mhz at 147mhz is worse than advertised but actually is not too bad for a $50 RF tool. The sensitivity seems pretty low. I tried running the 'Rf detect level' up and down, not much of an improvement, with my 1/2 watt transmitter, I needed to have the antennas within about a foot to get a good reading. I would actually recommend this to a friend, after explaining what I have discovered. Enjoy, de K6WGX Oxnard CA

So I bought this unit to test frequencies, though after reading a few reviews I found many others had to hold the antenna near or on the device emitting the signal. That said, it makes sense. Otherwise it will pick up any noise/frequencies in the air and will not be accurate to what you're trying to measure, this still the case when I held my test unit to the counter. It works well, though it could be better. However, I found going direct by feeding the signal directly into the input of the counter with an appropriate cable to both units, the counter measured far more accurately and consistently. That and it no longer picked up any surrounding noise in the air. Recommended not testing in the house with WiFi, cell phones, or any other device that transmits so it doesn't skew your results. Also connect directly using the right connection is by far the best way. Hope this helps. I'm sure someone with much more knowledge on frequencies and electronics would be able to fill in proper info and suggestions.

A great Cheap addition to my ham setup

Buen equipo, me gustaria un poco mas de sensibilidad en la deteccion de frecuncia. Como en la mayoria de los equipos chinos el manual ess pobre.

Does what I needed it to do and more right out of the box. We have old radios at work and I needed a new antenna for one. Didn't know if the radios were UHF or VHF. This showed up with enough charge to tell me the frequencies of every channel. Checked multiple radios and got the exact same frequencies on all of them. It was very simple and intuitive to use.

This does NOT work on anything below 400MHz. Not sure it even works on 800-900 either to be frank. Mine kept picking up 2.4 GHz wifi when i was in analog mode. ok great. I think this device is not worth the price or effort and should be improved. It's fairly easy to use, but the fact it just doesn't work correctly and that's a deal killer. Sending it back. Would love to help test if they fix/improve the product. It's a great idea but absolutely poor execution.

Très pratique

C était pour un ami qui est très content

Il ne couvre pas les ondes du CB 40 canneaux.

Pour savoir le ctcss qui est très utile et facile a comprendre .