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Re: MFJ to go out of business
Oh man, I hate it when things like this happen (and I won't even go into the politics that caused it)! I hope somebody buys Hy-Gain and Cushcraft.? I have owned antennas by both and they were great (almost bought an Ameritron amp. but found the IC-2KL I was looking for. And, FWIW. my MFJ-939 Artificial Ground antenna tuner has worked GREAT on my 135FT end fed antenna with counterpoises - no complaints. It would be a service to the ham community if some company came in and took over the lines MFJ carried. - Steve? W7SJT "Always look for a positive solution then Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome" - Adaptation of the U.S. Marine Corps motto "There are no rules here!...We're trying to accomplish something!!" - Thomas Edison "Success is not final, failure is not fatal.? It is the courage to continue that counts." -?Winston Churchill
On Thursday, April 25, 2024 at 04:20:37 PM MDT, Lyndon VE7TFX <lyndon@...> wrote:
Maybe not going entirely out of business.? From a Gigaparts note on twitter: >? ? Yesterday, MFJ Enterprises announced that they >? ? would be closing down their manufacturing >? ? facilities in Starkville, Mississippi effective >? ? May 17th, but would continue selling their wide >? ? selection of imported products including >? ? portable/mobile antennas, power supplies, clocks, >? ? and antenna switches. [https://twitter.com/gigaparts/status/1783594308030898567] There's a fairly lively thread about this on Reddit: ? Based on my personal history with MFJ gear I've bought over the years, I won't miss their in-house products. --lyndon |
Re: A Heavy Sad Heart
Joe WB9SBD
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýWith the 3 levels of filtering and all were way too narrow nd made all the signals sound like you were under water in a submarine he he heI had one on my TR-4 Joe WB9SBD On 4/25/2024 7:26 PM, John K5MO wrote:
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Re: A Heavy Sad Heart
I still have the CW filte in the little grey box,? that I believe was their first product? (wired with what I think was telephone wire) . It still works fine. John K5MO On Thu, Apr 25, 2024 at 6:15?PM Richard Knoppow via <1oldlens1=[email protected]> wrote: ? ? This is what I got. |
Re: MFJ to go out of business
Martin Jue's letter seems to indicate that they plan to sell out their stock,
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and will honor warranty obligations. Meanwhile, one has to anticipate a flurry of activity from GigaParts, HRO, and others to acquire the more profitable pieces of the business. ? ? ? ?? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?? ? April 25, 2024 Dear Fellow Hams and Friends, ??? It is with a sad heart as I write this letter. ??? As many of you have heard by now, MFJ is ceasing its on-site production in Starkville, Mississippi on May 17, 2024.? This is also the same for our sister companies¡¯ Ameritron, Hygain, Cushcraft, Mirage and Vectronics. ??? Times have changed since I started this business 52 years ago.? Our product line grew and grew and prospered.? Covid changed everything in businesses including ours.? It was the hardest hit that we have ever had and we never fully recovered. ??? I turned 80 this year.? I had never really considered retirement but life is so short and my time with my family is so precious. ??? I want to thank all of our employees who have helped build this company with me over the years.? We have many employees who have made MFJ their career for 10, 20, 30, 40 and more years. ??? We are going to continue to sell MFJ products past May 17, 2024.? We have a lot of stock on hand. We will continue to offer repair service work for out-of-warranty and in-warranty units for the foreseeable future. ??? Finally, a special thanks to all of our customers and our dealers who have made MFJ a worldwide name and a profitable business for so many years.? You all are so much appreciated. Sincerely Yours, 73s Martin F. Jue, K5FLU On 4/25/24 18:20, Lyndon VE7TFX wrote:
Maybe not going entirely out of business. From a Gigaparts note |
Re: MFJ to go out of business
Considering the financial stress the ARRL is under, this could be significant. Rob, NC0B
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-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Leland L. Bahr Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2024 4:23 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [DRAKE-RADIO] MFJ to go out of business The ARRL QST magazine is one-half MFJ! Lee, w0vt On 4/25/2024 5:20 PM, Lyndon VE7TFX wrote: Maybe not going entirely out of business. From a Gigaparts note |
Re: MFJ to go out of business
It¡¯s not fake. ?It is also on their Facebook page.? Steve Wedge, W1ES/4 Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. Sent from for iOS On Thu, Apr 25, 2024 at 6:09 PM, Richard Knoppow <1oldlens1@...> wrote:
This was via e-mail, I am on their mailing list. I don't think it |
Re: MFJ to go out of business
The ARRL QST magazine is one-half MFJ!
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Lee, w0vt On 4/25/2024 5:20 PM, Lyndon VE7TFX wrote:
Maybe not going entirely out of business. From a Gigaparts note |
Re: MFJ to go out of business
Lyndon VE7TFX
Maybe not going entirely out of business. From a Gigaparts note
on twitter: Yesterday, MFJ Enterprises announced that they[] There's a fairly lively thread about this on Reddit: Based on my personal history with MFJ gear I've bought over the years, I won't miss their in-house products. --lyndon |
A Heavy Sad Heart
This is what I got.
-------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: A Heavy Sad Heart Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2024 21:19:40 +0000 From: MFJ Enterprises Inc. <mfj@...> Reply-To: MFJ Enterprises Inc. <mfj@...> To: RICHARD KNOPPOW <1oldlens1@...> A Heavy Sad Heart April 25, 2024 Dear fellow hams and friends, <> A Heavy Sad Heart Dear Fellow Hams and Friends, ?????? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?? ? April 25, 2024 Dear Fellow Hams and Friends, ?? It is with a sad heart as I write this letter. ?? As many of you have heard by now, MFJ is ceasing its on-site production in Starkville, Mississippi on May 17, 2024.? This is also the same for our sister companies¡¯ Ameritron, Hygain, Cushcraft, Mirage and Vectronics. ?? Times have changed since I started this business 52 years ago.? Our product line grew and grew and prospered.? Covid changed everything in businesses including ours.? It was the hardest hit that we have ever had and we never fully recovered. ?? I turned 80 this year.? I had never really considered retirement but life is so short and my time with my family is so precious. ?? I want to thank all of our employees who have helped build this company with me over the years.? We have many employees who have made MFJ their career for 10, 20, 30, 40 and more years. ?? We are going to continue to sell MFJ products past May 17, 2024.? We have a lot of stock on hand. We will continue to offer repair service work for out-of-warranty and in-warranty units for the foreseeable future. ?? Finally, a special thanks to all of our customers and our dealers who have made MFJ a worldwide name and a profitable business for so many years.? You all are so much appreciated. ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Sincerely Yours, 73s ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Martin F. Jue, K5FLU Facebook <> Twitter <> Link <> Website <> /Copyright ? *2024* *MFJ Enterprises, Inc.*, All rights reserved./ *Our mailing address is:* MFJ Enterprises, Inc., 300 Industrial Park Road, Starkville, Mississippi 39759 USA. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences <> or unsubscribe from this list <>. |
Re: MFJ to go out of business
I got it as well, sad someone dosen't buy the business.
On Thursday, April 25, 2024 at 06:09:36 PM EDT, Richard Knoppow <1oldlens1@...> wrote:
? ? This was via e-mail, I am on their mailing list. I don't think it was a fake. On 4/25/2024 3:03 PM, jerry wrote: > On 2024-04-25 14:50, Richard Knoppow wrote: >> I just got an e-mail from MFJ announcing they are going out of >> business. Will continue to sell until they are out of stock and will >> offer repair services in the future. Applies to all their associated >> companies. > > Wow.? This is serious bad news.? Interesting, their website has no hint > of it. > >? ???????????? - Jerry, KF6VB -- Richard Knoppow Los Angeles WB6KBL SKCC 19998 |
Re: MFJ to go out of business
This was via e-mail, I am on their mailing list. I don't think it was a fake.
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On 4/25/2024 3:03 PM, jerry wrote:
On 2024-04-25 14:50, Richard Knoppow wrote:I just got an e-mail from MFJ announcing they are going out ofWow.? This is serious bad news.? Interesting, their website has no hint of it. --
Richard Knoppow Los Angeles WB6KBL SKCC 19998 |
Re: Old Drakes ALC
People must understand that the power distribution in speech is not very efficient. Thus speech processors. They do several things but all are to the end of modifying power distribution to make it more efficient in power limited transmission systems. Note that as a rule of thumb the ratio of peak to average in male speech is about 10db. If a transmitter is set to pass peaks without distortion its average output will be very low. A processor reduces the ratio of peak to average in various ways and also modifies the spectral distribution in the speech to accentuate the parts that contribute to intelligibility and articulation. An ALC is really a sort of peak limiter to reduce drive when it will drive the amplifier into distortion. Most ALC systems are fairly simple so an external processor is often more effective. With an external processor the ALC can be almost inactive but will provide a safety factor.
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The idea is to increase average power to overcome noise. This also applies to the modification of the speech spectrum. Since low frequencies contribute the most to speech power but relatively little to articulation it is common to limit low frequency response and enhance high frequency response since the highs contribute most to it. However, the effect of combined spectrum shaping and amplitude limiting is not simple so some care must be applied in deciding what exactly to do. There is a perfectly enormous amount of literature on speech processing (and music processing) in the technical literature. Bell Labs has research going back a century, worth doing some reading. On 4/25/2024 11:41 AM, Gary WB6OGD wrote:
Yeah, and you should not have done it back in the day. --
Richard Knoppow Los Angeles WB6KBL SKCC 19998 |
Re: MFJ to go out of business
On 2024-04-25 14:50, Richard Knoppow wrote:
I just got an e-mail from MFJ announcing they are going out ofWow. This is serious bad news. Interesting, their website has no hint of it. - Jerry, KF6VB |
Re: MFJ to go out of business
Wow. ?This is huge. ?Martin bought up many companies as they were on the verge of closing and gave additional life to many of them that they wouldn¡¯t have had, otherwise. Steve Wedge, W1ES/4 Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. Sent from for iOS On Thu, Apr 25, 2024 at 5:50 PM, Richard Knoppow <1oldlens1@...> wrote:
I just got an e-mail from MFJ announcing they are going out of |
Re: Old Drakes ALC
Yeah, and you should not have done it back in the day. If you crank up the gain and/or scream loud enough, the scope will go to a solid bar pattern... not good! Not all ssb transmitters had ALC back in the day so you were crippling your Drake to be like the cheaper rigs. Bad signals were more tolerated back then, now with all the bandscopes and SDR receivers, everyone even complains if you are 10Hz off freq.? Clipping your signal in the final WILL cause splatter! I concur, out here on the west coast, the "cut the tube pin" was the mod.? Shorting the ALC jack is more elegant, The AC-3 and early AC-4 didn't have the jack though. 73, Gary WB6OGD On Thu, Apr 25, 2024 at 10:48?AM Jim Shorney via <jimNU0C=[email protected]> wrote:
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Re: Old Drakes ALC
Yeah, you don't want to do that. We have enough trouble these days with dirty signals on the air. Don't add to it. Get an inline processor, SP75 or equivalent.
73 -Jim NU0C On Thu, 25 Apr 2024 08:58:25 -0500 "Joe WB9SBD via groups.io" <nss@...> wrote: Thanks Jim, -- 73 -Jim NU0C |
Re: Old Drakes ALC
Joe WB9SBD
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýThanks Jim,But I remember someone looking at the signal on a Heathkit station monitor and while it was a fat Christmas tree it was far from a fully filled as you say green bar. I wonder if anyone can do some scope image grabs of shorted vs open, Joe WB9SBD On 4/25/2024 7:08 AM, Jim VE7RF wrote:
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Re: L7 makes alot of smoke
To getter the tubes,? you can use the lower B+ position, apply a bit of drive ( with amp into a DL), then tweak the tune cap off resonance a bit.? ?That's from W8JI.? Another method is to use a small lab supply, with positive terminal to chassis...and negative to cathode...and apply some vdc.? ?That will bias the tubes on....and plate current can be dialed up to anything you want.? ?This is with amp keyed on, NO drive applied...and drawing idle current.? ?With the small lab supply,? you can dial up any amount of idle current you want.? Again, use the lower B+ setting.? ?This method will work? with B+ as low as 900 vdc.? On a good eimac 3-500Z, they will hi-pot test 16 kv from anode to grid...... and 5 kv from grid to cathode.? ? On the chinese 3-500Z's, they hi pot test 1 kv? between grid and cathode, normal for chinese 3-500Z's.? The chinese 3-500Z's also have a lot higher grid to cathode C? vs an Eimac.? The chinese tubes have the grid a lot closer to the cathode vs an eimac.? Grid to cathode shorts typ show up when the? cathode is lit.... and results in negative grid current on idle. ( on RX), and tube biased off.? |
Re: L7 makes alot of smoke
On my 4 x L4B's, they all use 3 x 15 ohm resistors in parallel for the suppressor assy ( IE: 5 ohms in total), then wrapped with 2 turns of 3/8" wide silver plated copper strap.? ( 15 ohm carbon comp, 2 watt resistors).? Brown-Green-Black.? The 3 x resistors look like brand new on all 8 x tubes.? ?Now figure that one out.? With no reading glasses on, I was sure the diagram showed 150 ohms each....and 3 in parallel. = 50 ohms.? But alas, the? 'zero' was actually the ohm symbol !? Then saw the Brown-Green-Black color bands.? |