It's disappointing to see any US based manufacturer of any kind of equipment close up business. I can't tell what the percentage of it that was made in US, but if this means more things being made overseas then it's a loss for everyone.
@@BalticLab For 50+ years, Martin employed hundreds of Americans building, assembling, packaging and shipping 1000s of ham related products. can't fault him for that at all.
@@K6UDA You've got the cart before the horse. Those hundreds of Americans no longer have an employer in part of those business decisions that lead to the inevitable end. While sure, the the employment opportunities and market penetration depth back in the days were awesome, they also hold a responsibility towards their employees. And their customers ultimately. And I'll gladly restate that they would have never even survived this long if Americans wouldn't have such an extreme "made in the USA" fetish. Americans will absolutely prefer that "American" label over quality any time of the day. Don't get me wrong, they have good stuff and in my early days I used lots of MFJ gear. Doesn't change the fact though that it's poor business decisions leading to this end. I mean it always is when a company closes shop, so that claim of mine is kinda irrefutable. Don't know of many companies that had to close down because of smart, strategic business decisions.
MFJ will be missed. We have all relied upon this company for years. Their closure will create a void in ham radio equipment supply. It is tough enough now to find what we need. MFJ's closure isn't going to make it any easier. You will be missed Martin. Thank you for your years of service. Go and enjoy what is left of your life.
You didn't read elsewhere yet: been up for sale since Nov but no interest. Lots of businesses going belly up in this high interest & inflation environment, MFJ is far from alone. If you look closely at Gigaparts I think they'll be next for dropping their ham radio lines.
@@ms_nop MFJ made a lot of products over several brands, I can't imagine that none of them were profitable. If any were profitable, there would be interest in acquiring them. Didn't know they were up for sale, and details are probably not public, but it's unlikely there were no interested buyers. It is possible that this is a M&A tactic to bring better offers to the table.
MFJ has been a staple in my shack and I'm sorry to see it all come to the end. It's the end of an era and as I'm ageing myself I can understand why Martin is calling it quits. Best wishes for him and all of us who enjoyed this hobby over the decades who will certainly miss the MFJ brand items that played an important part of our life in the radio hobby.....73 Martin, you were really appreciated my friend, and thanks Bob for the video tribute. ... From NQ0A...
He should let the employees take over the business and keep the business going best way to employees are always going to have a job and you know they're going to go work if they own the business
I'm both Shocked & Saddened to Hear This 🙏 We are moving towards the closure of Ham Radio as we have known it too. In Australia we are transitioning from Apparatus licenses into Class Licenses (Like CB). We need to keep an eye out and also fight against some potential changes that may further disempower we the People.
I'm pretty sure that intrested parties will find the MFJ line of products a good place to invest their money. The market for mfj's products is still here. Somebody will probably buy that business and continue serving the ham radio community. It's not the end of the world.
MFJ might not always be the highest QC, but they have been a constant American manufacturer of Amateur Radio products. They were there when I first licensed in 1992. Many of their products are more than adequate for the price and availability. It’s time for Martin to enjoy his family. Yes it would be nice if he could find a buyer for MFJ, but I’m sure that process has its own set of hassles.
I have purchased numerous MFJ products over the past 32 years, never had a problem with them performing. Will miss the several companies and their products, as other higher priced products will try to fill the void...
I never was a big fan of MFJ. So much of their stuff was re-branded, like power supplies. MFJ bought them, put a MFJ sticker on them and added more to the price. I've read a lot about their poor quality but not sure if that is reason for closing; probably Martin just had enough at age 80.
Heard about this toady, very sad, I love MFJ products, I have one of their manual tuners, auto tuner and Loop tuners and I love them. Their Loop tuners are particularly amazing ! What a shame.
sorry to hear that, I don't know a ham who doesn't have some MFJ product in his shack, i have one of their analog tuners in my own station 73 to him kl4gu
I see a lot of BS from hams who know nothing about running a manufacturing business. I worked in electronics manufacturing for most of my career. All the US employers I had are long shut down. The Chinese were literally handed our IP by large corporations that didn't give a shit about American workers or our quality of life here. We happily accepted so-called lower prices when Walmart turned on a dime from trucks with American flags on them to 100% Chinese made goods. The owners got filthy rich beyond our pathetically poor ability to comprehend math and our inability to think long-term. All of MFJ products are quite basic and outdated designs. I can only imagine how outdated their production lines and manufacturing systems must be. For a few million bucks it could be turned around if highly automated. You can't expect the people working there to suddenly become high quality, high automation manufacturers without the knowledge and investment needed to turn the mess around. I am sure they are also on the end of the list to buy components at low prices. The big makers have annual contracts and they absorb most of the production from the high quality suppliers in Asia before a shop like MFJ would even get a shot at buying from them. This is a big deal for us hams because literally half the ads in the final printed QST magazine last December was from MFJ. It must have been their hail Mary pass in hopes of a miracle. I would imagine some of the lines will be picked up, but when you strip out MFJ from the HRO catalog, there goes 20 pages of goods. This will put a big hurting on the last standing retailers in our space. Expert a rush of demand and sharply rising prices on everything related to ham radio.
The one word that sticks out is COVID started the ball rolling that killed the Business. Two weeks hiatus turned into the current situation getting this Ham History Lesson in Bio weapon terror victims. Thanks for the years of hard work and great products MFJ.
Probably more to that than just Covid. Insane interest rate hikes, utilities, short term capitol loan rate hikes, labor shortages from continuing government handouts ect...
Who pandemic treaty passing through us dept of health right now, same entity doing the funding and teacher trainings for equity and inclusion. 14 trillion dollar reparations bill passing through ca. Is federal through executive order and UN global covenant of mayors mandate.
Predicatble development. MFJ primarily thrived on the fact that many Americans prefer to pay for a "Made in the USA" label than for quality. I am sure we all know plenty of MFJ quality (or lack thereof) stories. Don't get me wrong, it's sad. But was nonetheless very predictable. They would have had so much potential, even nowadays, if they'd just focused a bit more on quality. And yes, they might have been there for hams for 55 years, but rethink my second sentence in that regards. Before I moved to the US, I never heard of MFJ, and after I left the USA, I never came across it again in the real world. If the quality would be at least acceptable, the brand would be just as popular outside of the USA. That said, I feel bad for the people behind the business. 73s DE AI5GW
I like MFJ don’t care what anyone says
It's disappointing to see any US based manufacturer of any kind of equipment close up business. I can't tell what the percentage of it that was made in US, but if this means more things being made overseas then it's a loss for everyone.
For a lot of the products they sell, there is no other producer.
Assembled in the USA would be more accurate than made in the USA.
@@BalticLab For 50+ years, Martin employed hundreds of Americans building, assembling, packaging and shipping 1000s of ham related products. can't fault him for that at all.
@@K6UDA You've got the cart before the horse. Those hundreds of Americans no longer have an employer in part of those business decisions that lead to the inevitable end. While sure, the the employment opportunities and market penetration depth back in the days were awesome, they also hold a responsibility towards their employees. And their customers ultimately. And I'll gladly restate that they would have never even survived this long if Americans wouldn't have such an extreme "made in the USA" fetish. Americans will absolutely prefer that "American" label over quality any time of the day. Don't get me wrong, they have good stuff and in my early days I used lots of MFJ gear. Doesn't change the fact though that it's poor business decisions leading to this end. I mean it always is when a company closes shop, so that claim of mine is kinda irrefutable. Don't know of many companies that had to close down because of smart, strategic business decisions.
Losing Ameritron will be a huge loss! Not to mention the tuners that MFJ makes - not many other manufacturers of killowatt auto-tuners out there!!
It is so sad to see this. Hopefully the company will be purchased and continued by someone that loves radio.
They will be missed! I have a bunch of MFJ products, never had any real issues with any of it.
Thanx Bob. You just broke the news to me here.
Glad to help.
I love MFJ. This is a gut punch. 73
MFJ will be missed. We have all relied upon this company for years. Their closure will create a void in ham radio equipment supply. It is tough enough now to find what we need. MFJ's closure isn't going to make it any easier. You will be missed Martin. Thank you for your years of service. Go and enjoy what is left of your life.
Good!! I was one of the original employees of West Mountain Radio, screw those copying scumbags.
I don't understand why he doesn't find someone to take over operations and restructure the company.
Cash, location, employees, real estate. Who knows maybe someone will step up.
You didn't read elsewhere yet: been up for sale since Nov but no interest. Lots of businesses going belly up in this high interest & inflation environment, MFJ is far from alone.
If you look closely at Gigaparts I think they'll be next for dropping their ham radio lines.
@@ms_nop MFJ made a lot of products over several brands, I can't imagine that none of them were profitable. If any were profitable, there would be interest in acquiring them. Didn't know they were up for sale, and details are probably not public, but it's unlikely there were no interested buyers. It is possible that this is a M&A tactic to bring better offers to the table.
@@ms_nop Wow. I didn't read that. I imagine some chinese company will eventually buy up most of the assets and take it all apart.
Their crap QC has destroyed the name and the good names of all the companies he bought. No one wants that steaming pile of dog shit.
MFJ has been a staple in my shack and I'm sorry to see it all come to the end. It's the end of an era and as I'm ageing myself I can understand why Martin is calling it quits. Best wishes for him and all of us who enjoyed this hobby over the decades who will certainly miss the MFJ brand items that played an important part of our life in the radio hobby.....73 Martin, you were really appreciated my friend, and thanks Bob for the video tribute. ... From NQ0A...
Feel really young in the hobby but got a lot from MFJ, they will be missed. Thank you Bob for your channel and all of your helpful info & tips
He should give it to his employees.
He may have offered, we don't know the details.
He should let the employees take over the business and keep the business going best way to employees are always going to have a job and you know they're going to go work if they own the business
And if he lets his employees take over the business and you can still buy American-made Goods built by the owners so you know it's got to be good
Norm's rotor service is now under new ownership. I think some of the employees took over the business. So hopefully the same happens with MFJ
I'm both Shocked
& Saddened to Hear This 🙏
We are moving towards the closure of Ham Radio as we have known it too.
In Australia we are transitioning from
Apparatus licenses into Class Licenses
(Like CB).
We need to keep an eye out
and also
fight against some potential changes
that may further disempower we the People.
I'm pretty sure that intrested parties will find the MFJ line of products a good place to invest their money. The market for mfj's products is still here. Somebody will probably buy that business and continue serving the ham radio community. It's not the end of the world.
I sure hope so. Someone gotta take over the business
What a shame. I always enjoyed MFJ products.
Me too.
MFJ is reading the Tea Leaves.
And what do you think the tea leaves are saying?
@@K6UDA Sell, get out while you can. businesses are closing all over.
Yes no more buying up successful companies with good equipment, cheapening it with inferior Chinese parts and turning it into Mighty Fine Junk!!
MFJ might not always be the highest QC, but they have been a constant American manufacturer of Amateur Radio products. They were there when I first licensed in 1992. Many of their products are more than adequate for the price and availability.
It’s time for Martin to enjoy his family. Yes it would be nice if he could find a buyer for MFJ, but I’m sure that process has its own set of hassles.
I have purchased numerous MFJ products over the past 32 years, never had a problem with them performing. Will miss the several companies and their products, as other higher priced products will try to fill the void...
I never was a big fan of MFJ. So much of their stuff was re-branded, like power supplies. MFJ bought them, put a MFJ sticker on them and added more to the price. I've read a lot about their poor quality but not sure if that is reason for closing; probably Martin just had enough at age 80.
Terrible news! I remember as a newbie skimming thru their catalogs salivating I've all the cool gadgets they offered.
I tried to watch this on Rumble but it's not there yet.
It up now. Thanks for supporting me on Rumble.
Some on Twitter was suggesting that they might start production at some other low production cost regions? 73 de Jon, VU2JO
Yes it's a real tragedy. From, AK5FM. 🥺
I have many MFJ antenna and tuners. Too sad to hear that.
Tuners were one thing they got right.
I heard about this yesterday
I did too. Just trying to play catch up with video production.
Heard about this toady, very sad, I love MFJ products, I have one of their manual tuners, auto tuner and Loop tuners and I love them. Their Loop tuners are particularly amazing !
What a shame.
sorry to hear that, I don't know a ham who doesn't have some MFJ product in his shack, i have one of their analog tuners in my own station 73 to him kl4gu
I see a lot of BS from hams who know nothing about running a manufacturing business. I worked in electronics manufacturing for most of my career. All the US employers I had are long shut down. The Chinese were literally handed our IP by large corporations that didn't give a shit about American workers or our quality of life here. We happily accepted so-called lower prices when Walmart turned on a dime from trucks with American flags on them to 100% Chinese made goods. The owners got filthy rich beyond our pathetically poor ability to comprehend math and our inability to think long-term.
All of MFJ products are quite basic and outdated designs. I can only imagine how outdated their production lines and manufacturing systems must be. For a few million bucks it could be turned around if highly automated. You can't expect the people working there to suddenly become high quality, high automation manufacturers without the knowledge and investment needed to turn the mess around.
I am sure they are also on the end of the list to buy components at low prices. The big makers have annual contracts and they absorb most of the production from the high quality suppliers in Asia before a shop like MFJ would even get a shot at buying from them.
This is a big deal for us hams because literally half the ads in the final printed QST magazine last December was from MFJ. It must have been their hail Mary pass in hopes of a miracle. I would imagine some of the lines will be picked up, but when you strip out MFJ from the HRO catalog, there goes 20 pages of goods. This will put a big hurting on the last standing retailers in our space.
Expert a rush of demand and sharply rising prices on everything related to ham radio.
And what about MFJ copying and undercutting other "mom and pop" ham radio businesses? Screw em, they get what they deserve.
Brown Paul Smith Sharon Gonzalez Dorothy
The one word that sticks out is COVID started the ball rolling that killed the Business. Two weeks hiatus turned into the current situation getting this Ham History Lesson in Bio weapon terror victims. Thanks for the years of hard work and great products MFJ.
Probably more to that than just Covid. Insane interest rate hikes, utilities, short term capitol loan rate hikes, labor shortages from continuing government handouts ect...
Time to stop putting off the G5RV
Yep, get now while they're still around
Who pandemic treaty passing through us dept of health right now, same entity doing the funding and teacher trainings for equity and inclusion. 14 trillion dollar reparations bill passing through ca. Is federal through executive order and UN global covenant of mayors mandate.
You'd think someone would certainly want to buy a company with this much name recognition!? 😢
73.
End of an era of disappointed customers, I’m surprised they lasted this long with that shit QC.
Mostly F'n Junk.
Predicatble development. MFJ primarily thrived on the fact that many Americans prefer to pay for a "Made in the USA" label than for quality. I am sure we all know plenty of MFJ quality (or lack thereof) stories. Don't get me wrong, it's sad. But was nonetheless very predictable. They would have had so much potential, even nowadays, if they'd just focused a bit more on quality. And yes, they might have been there for hams for 55 years, but rethink my second sentence in that regards. Before I moved to the US, I never heard of MFJ, and after I left the USA, I never came across it again in the real world. If the quality would be at least acceptable, the brand would be just as popular outside of the USA. That said, I feel bad for the people behind the business. 73s DE AI5GW