MFJ's Martin Jue, K5FLU answers questions on YouTube

I would have asked why his employees are so transient? Yes I had to Merriam-Webster that one... transient: lasting only for a short time; impermanent. High turnover would be a more transparent term but that's too damning. Use big words that no one understands and hope they just nod their heads in agreement and smile. There is a reason MFJ stands for Mostly ***** Junk. It''s the Walmart of amateur radio. On a side note this interview was as dry as a popcorn fart.... speaking of popcorn, back to my bowl. Carry on.

 

Let's be honest about things. MFJs claim to fame is to copy, make as cheaply as possible, absorb and push sales over quality. They have never been true innovators in the hobby unless to capture some hams innovation. Never leaders in the hobby except to Walmart the industry. Multiple others have innovated and raised the standard and it's them I most appreciate.
I tried to watch this but could not finish it. Like MFJ the quality was terrible.

 

A transient workforce has been a growing problem for most employers for decades. Also, Martin said finding technicians in the Deep South is not easy. I think he’s done a really remarkable job at his unlikely location especially considering that they are largely vertically integrated. The workforce isn’t merely doing final assembly.

The first MFJ product I purchased was the venerable 949 antenna tuner. It’s been in constant use since 1993 and still works great. And what other company readily supplies schematics and reasonably priced spare parts (even new parts for experimenters)?

 

MFJ Roller Inductor tuners and ham sticks have worked very well for me. I'm still using one of their legal limit roller inductors now. They're not my FAVORITE manufacturer of ham radio equipment but I'm very glad they're in business.

 

I've had a bunch of MFJ stuff over the years (who hasn't) and have never had any real problems with any of it. Reflow a few cold solder joints? Sure. That's been about it. I like MFJ.

 

I own a MFJ 9420 travel radio that I use mobile and puts out less wattage than the specs and with a ham stick and a mag mount I probably worked 30 countries going down the highway during the lousy end of the sunspot cycle. I had to return one of the new versions due to quality issues and then bought a used one on eBay there was a previous old lot number and assembly crew.

I hope they don’t go out of business.

 

So there quality control and service issues are due to employee turn over. So what he is saying we cant keep a steady group of trained employees. Seems to me that's the issue, what can he do to keep his employee's from quitting. Then there is the issue of so called "cost improvement" which of course means make it as cheap as possible regardless of future issues. A perfect example is there antenna tuners. Compare a MFJ and Palstar tuner side by side and you will understand. I have owned both, still have the Palstar in use for many years. I offer this post as construction criticism, not a soap box to complain.

 

I've used MFJ ground plane antennas & some of their other products for a few years with no problems. The coffe mug works fine too..lol. That's a good video. Thanks for posting.

 

I had a mfj 986 tuner that they claimed they repaired, replaced the inductor coil and they claimed they touched up all the solder joints and I put magic marker marks on all the solder joints to see if they actually did touch them up and they DID NOT. So after 7 times of repairing the tuner and it failed on warranty and the last time they had it was in 2003, they claim I owed them $142.90 and it was their mistake, not mine! They also claimed i didn't know how to hook up a tuner, they claimed it worked down there. I had 5 others up here try it and they said it would make a great dummy load. So it sits down there! Not all their products are junk, some work great. the mfj 949e,1275 works great. But to send a tuner back 7 times because it does not work and lie about that they claimed to have resoldered everything? Guess they think we Vermonter's are stupid.

 

look at my post about my 986 t tuner...talk about crappy work!

 

Congratulations to all of you who have had great luck and service with Mighty Fine Junk. I am not one of you, unfortunately. I would like to be but with every single unit of MFJ gear I have purchased it just wasn't meant to be. They may as well be kits in the first place with all the re-soldering and tightening I've had to do.

 

It's a company I would really like to buy from, but I haven't had much luck with their gear. At this point, I equate them as the Harbor Freight Tool of radio gear. You may get a good one, but there are many more times you may get a bad one. They will fix it, but the turn around time is steep, and their customer service (at least in the last year or two) is far from stellar. My experience and opinion. YMMV

 

If MFJ had a significantly large percentage of Lemons as sometimes reported they would have gone out of business decades ago. The fact that they did not tells me much about this remarkable man and his Company's huge variety of products,
G3SEA/KH6

 

I've only owned 3 MFJ products, all antennas.

The two MFJ-18xxT antennas (15m and 20m) I own have been brilliant. With my KX2, it's like having a slightly large HF HT. I've made numerous pedestrian mobile contacts, including some DX (France from Virginia) and several contacts to the West Coast from the East Coast (practically DX distance-wise).

My 6m ladderline J-Pole wasn't as brilliant at the start. I bought it rather than building my own because the mechanics of building, testing, and tuning a 6m j-pole at home was going to be annoying. I figured I'd just buy it and be done. Nope. It was tuned for a frequency above the 6m ham band and the SO-239 connector was ridiculous on an antenna intended for an HT. I replaced the connector with a BNC-Female so I could connect my lightweight 25' BNC-equipped coax jumper to it. I then retuned the antenna to the FM Simplex portion of the band by moving the feedpoint down a couple inches on the tuning stub. Now the SWR at 52.525 is better than 1.5:1. I've made several contacts with it and my VX-7r HT, including one VA-to-GA contact a couple weekends ago. It works, but with the amount of work I put into it, I might as well made my own with the 300-ohm ladder line I have here already (would have been lighter and more flexible too).

Chris

 

I have had an MFJ-986 tuner for about 15-20 years. I love it! About two years ago the roller inductor became intermittent and I determined it needed to be replaced. I contacted MFJ by email to inquire if that part was available. I got a prompt response telling me it was “out-of-stock” but they would send one when available. A few months later, I received the inductor and replaced it myself. NO BIG DEAL! This tuner’s guts are not that complicated and, in my opinion, most anyone should be able to repair it and touch up any cold solder joints.