MFJ closing down manufacturing facilities effective May 17th 2024

As a moderator in another amateur radio forum, I know! But ya got to be willing

 

All Ameritons still in sealed boxes will be worth big big bucks so I can retire again!

 

There is another MFJ going out of business thread also in the General Technical Questions and Discussions Forum

https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/mfj-out-of-business.911492/

 

I agree that if HRO can find where MFJ outsourced manufacturing of some of their products, they could make a deal with that off-shore manufacturer to bring them in as an 'HRO branded' product, and let the MFJ name go to sleep. But I still believe that taking over the MFJ manufacturing plant with all of its inherent problems (and there are a ton of them) would be a big mistake.

You're correct...HRO (and DXE) offers the Palstar LA-1K. A bit of an enigma because neither one reliably has them in stock, as you can buy that amp direct from Palstar, and many believe buying direct is a better way to go. The same with DXE carrying the Flex PGXL amp and tuner, but nothing else from the Flex line. At least they have them in stock.

IMO, as far as Ameritron, continued manufacturing of their tube amps would have a limited life expectancy anyway, as solid-state amps will be taking over the market sooner than you think. There's a lot more SS manufacturers now, more on the way, and their lower prices will drive down prices of those mega-buck ones (Elecraft, Flex, SPE, Acom) in order for them to somewhat compete. And Ameritron SS amps can't hold a candle to anything else on the market.

 

The Ham Radio hobby just got a lot more expensive!

 

As it should have been all along...

 

Can't agree. Recent MFJ prices are/were *not* cheap anymore. They don't/didn't sell transceivers, and look what kind of features you get with an Icom IC-7300 or Yaesu Ft-710 at $1K or less. One of those radios, a $90 SS power supply, and a home-brew dipole...you're on the HF airwaves! How much "cheaper " do you want? You could cheap out even more with a Chinese product.

 

How about a "MFJ going out of business" forum!

 

Maybe we should start a new thread

 

MFJ's announcement said they were shutting down the manufacturing in TN. It said they would continue to supply equipment made in China, such as power supplies. I read that to mean that Martin has passed operating control on to someone - perhaps a family member. So I would not rule out the possibility that they would outsource some of their traditional products to China. This seems more likely than someone else, like HRO, cloning MFJ products. There is the intellectual property issue, among others.

One could design directly competitive products from scratch and introduce MFJ clones.

 

https://intellitron.com/

Hmmm….

 

There are 33 Intellitron products sold by Gigaparts. I'd be willing to bet that Chinese manufacturer provided some MFJ labeled products.

 

MFJ manufacturing and distribution location is Starkville, Mississippi not Tennessee.

The Martin Jue announcement made no mention of specifics concerning made in China products. Can you point to a link that corroborates what you stated. I can't seem to find any reference to that information.

 

You are right. I cannot find it now either. It is NOT in the formal announcement letter. I must have picked that up from a secondary source that embellished the announcement, or had inside information. But I can't find any reference to it now either. So, as Roseanna Roseanna Danna used to say. "never mind".