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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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýI have 10 Hy-gain monoband Yagis and I hate the thought of not having access to aluminum replacement element parts. ?They break occasionally. ? Add to that a 2m Cushcraft, a 6m Ariane Arrays and a 40m JK.? Arian is out of business.? JK is solid.? Cushcraft and Hy-gain, ouch. ??? ? Rob, NC0B ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
On Behalf Of Steve Toth via groups.io
Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2024 8:44 PM To: [email protected]; Richard Knoppow Subject: Re: [DRAKE-RADIO] 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 |
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýWhat I don¡¯t understand is the owner mentions covid affected his business???? Covid gave ham radio the biggest shot in the arm that anything could ever do!!! The lockdowns caused many many people to turn to hobbies like radio. A Ameritron 811 went from $850 to $1400. Just as one example of how much amps went up. Maybe the overpricing of certain items effected his business but not the lack of interest. ? ? ? ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Rob Sherwood
Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2024 9:54 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [DRAKE-RADIO] MFJ to go out of business ? I have 10 Hy-gain monoband Yagis and I hate the thought of not having access to aluminum replacement element parts. ?They break occasionally. ? Add to that a 2m Cushcraft, a 6m Ariane Arrays and a 40m JK.? Arian is out of business.? JK is solid.? Cushcraft and Hy-gain, ouch. ??? ? Rob, NC0B ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Steve Toth via groups.io ? 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 |
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýDon¡¯t ignore the many supply chain issues that affected manufacturers¡¯ production volume.? ? I hope one or two ¡°white knight¡± buyers surface.? But, given the tone of the letter it could be that an 80-year-old man with enough money simply wants to call it quits and avoid the many logistical and legal problems associated with the sale of a business. ? Paul, W9AC ? ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Dan K9DTC
Sent: Friday, April 26, 2024 8:50 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [DRAKE-RADIO] MFJ to go out of business ? What I don¡¯t understand is the owner mentions covid affected his business???? Covid gave ham radio the biggest shot in the arm that anything could ever do!!! The lockdowns caused many many people to turn to hobbies like radio. A Ameritron 811 went from $850 to $1400. Just as one example of how much amps went up. Maybe the overpricing of certain items effected his business but not the lack of interest. ? ? ? ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Rob Sherwood ? I have 10 Hy-gain monoband Yagis and I hate the thought of not having access to aluminum replacement element parts. ?They break occasionally. ? Add to that a 2m Cushcraft, a 6m Ariane Arrays and a 40m JK.? Arian is out of business.? JK is solid.? Cushcraft and Hy-gain, ouch. ??? ? Rob, NC0B ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Steve Toth via groups.io ? 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 |
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýYes there were some issues but that keep the supply and demand going. Yes I believe the age is a factor. Like some many others of our generation who own businesses they can¡¯t find people or siblings how want to take over so they just have to close. ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Paul Christensen
Sent: Friday, April 26, 2024 7:59 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [DRAKE-RADIO] MFJ to go out of business ? Don¡¯t ignore the many supply chain issues that affected manufacturers¡¯ production volume.? ? I hope one or two ¡°white knight¡± buyers surface.? But, given the tone of the letter it could be that an 80-year-old man with enough money simply wants to call it quits and avoid the many logistical and legal problems associated with the sale of a business. ? Paul, W9AC ? ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Dan K9DTC ? What I don¡¯t understand is the owner mentions covid affected his business???? Covid gave ham radio the biggest shot in the arm that anything could ever do!!! The lockdowns caused many many people to turn to hobbies like radio. A Ameritron 811 went from $850 to $1400. Just as one example of how much amps went up. Maybe the overpricing of certain items effected his business but not the lack of interest. ? ? ? ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Rob Sherwood ? I have 10 Hy-gain monoband Yagis and I hate the thought of not having access to aluminum replacement element parts. ?They break occasionally. ? Add to that a 2m Cushcraft, a 6m Ariane Arrays and a 40m JK.? Arian is out of business.? JK is solid.? Cushcraft and Hy-gain, ouch. ??? ? Rob, NC0B ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Steve Toth via groups.io ? 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 |
Because those lockdowns also shuttered businesses, which couldn't operate due to either the mandates or the fear that people had of going out and to work.? Not hard to figure that out. The government also started handing out payments for people to? NOT work. So yes, it gave a lot of us more leisure time to stay home and play radio but that additional leisure time came at the expense of productive work, which was not happening or happening a lot less. Steve Wedge, W1ES/4 Time flies like an arrow.? Fruit flies like a banana.
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On Friday, April 26th, 2024 at 8:50 AM, Dan K9DTC <dcsfree@...> wrote:
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I'd seen chatter from six months ago that Martin was trying to sell the business.? I've also heard that there were buyers but the parties could not achieve a meeting of the minds on the terms of sale. Steve Wedge, W1ES/4 Time flies like an arrow.? Fruit flies like a banana.
Sent with secure email.
On Friday, April 26th, 2024 at 8:59 AM, Paul Christensen <w9ac@...> wrote:
|
Maybe it caused problems with manufacturing. That could account for both the price increase and the problems he is having now. Lack of personnel perhaps.
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On 4/26/2024 5:50 AM, Dan K9DTC wrote:
What I don¡¯t understand is the owner mentions covid affected his business???? Covid gave ham radio the biggest shot in the arm that anything could ever do!!! The lockdowns caused many many people to turn to hobbies like radio. A Ameritron 811 went from $850 to $1400. Just as one example of how much amps went up. Maybe the overpricing of certain items effected his business but not the lack of interest. --
Richard Knoppow Los Angeles WB6KBL SKCC 19998 |
I was thinking this might be a smart tactical move by Martin. Shutting it down may light a fire under some potential buyers to come to terms.
Or maybe I just don't know anything about business. On Fri, 26 Apr 2024 13:59:49 +0000 "Steve Wedge, W1ES/4 via groups.io" <w1es@...> wrote: I'd seen chatter from six months ago that Martin was trying to sell the business. I've also heard that there were buyers but the parties could not achieve a meeting of the minds on the terms of sale.-- 73 -Jim NU0C |
??? 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.
Hopefully if MFJ is sold to a new owner, it doesn't end up like the Ten Tec debacle, with a continuing website and information about new products and promises of a bright future ending with a small fizzle. Lots of Hams out there with Ameritron amps that'll be rushing to liquidate in fear of lack of future service/parts (like Ten Tec).? I knew that my decision to purchase a JK Antennas "Force 12" XR6 over the Hy-Gain TH-7DX was a good move.? No looking back.? I suppose it'll seem like they never closed for the next decade or so with EBAY and others having to have a special section dedicated just for? "MFJ Items for sale".? Thousands upon thousands of? pieces/parts available, as we're all proud owners of this ubiquitous shack clutter. Peter VE9KX |