ITU Corporation Acquires Ameritron and Mirage RF Amplifier Brands from MFJ Enterprises

I wish the "New" Hy-Gain company would bring back the #244 Hy-Quad (a tri-band 20/15/10-Meter 2-element Quad.) I've had several of them over the years, and always had such excellent results with them! They were a diamond-shaped quad, using metal spreaders, unlike the fiberglass quads offered by other companies.

 

After MFJ said they were closing I hit a major ham show.

The table missing all the cool gear all in black was missing. That was sad.

With MFJ you can have it any color you want: As long as it's black.

 

I also have that same antenna. MFJ never advertised it other than for 10/12M but it can do so much more. With my Palstar AT2K tuner, that antenna us actually usable from 40-6M. No joke. I have run legal limit through mine from 20-6M without any failure. On these bands it always has outperformed my 204FT G5RV at about the same height. It also has very quiet receive on 40M compared to the wire. My antenna is only on a rooftop tripod and not some massive tower and it performs very well. Give it a try through your tuner and see how much extra usable bandwidth you can actually get.
Good Luck 73's de KB8OTK

 

A close enough drive from Michigan to see it for myself!

 

Unless "the new" Ameritron/Mirage is able to supply parts for amplifiers such as the AL-80B for example, I personally couldn't give one flying flip. The debris field left in the wake of Martin initially pulling the plug on the product line has left a heap of hams in a lurch. Not to mention the employees in Mississippi left without a job.

 

I hope they bring back their HF LPDA Log, they could get good commercial sales also on that one.

https://www.k0uo.com/post/log-periodic-dipole-array-or-lpda

 

The bigger question is this:

With so much time that has gone by, is ITU (MFJ) going to be relevant?
When MFJ closed it's doors, it wasn't anywhere near being well planned!

Animosity happens that way.

 

Actually, Mr. Jue announced MFJ's closure nearly a year in advance; this was no big surprise to anyone.

Once they stopped manufacturing, they continued to supply whatever products they had left in stock and continued selling them, and left their Service department open for a long time, maybe it's still open to some extent. I do not believe any employee was advised "this is your last day, see ya around..." they were advised many months in advance. This is more than many employers have done.

Retailers continue to sell MFJ products if they have them in stock.

The "closure" wasn't so long ago. Bringing back some popular products could be successful, but the market has to be convinced they are actually "stocked," that warranty service and spare parts are available, and prices are reasonably competitive.

The Hy-Gain (CDE design) rotator line was popular for 65+ years and preferred by some over the Yaesu rotators mostly for the CDE design simplicity -- very easy to service at home, with a controller having very few components. We LOVED that. Bring 'em back.

 

I don't know about that. They ceased manufacturing in May, 2024...only 2 years ago. They still remain closely in ham's minds, and those who religiously bought their products will continue to do so when ITU starts producing antennas and amps with the Hy-Gain, Cushcraft, and Ameritron brand names.

In contrast, the ongoing resurrection of Alpha and Ten-Tec actually shipping product after ten years is gonna be a tough road to hoe for the current owner.

I don't know what you mean by MFJ's closure "wasn't anywhere near being well planned". It was Martin Jue's company, not anyone elses. As such, he had a right to do whatever he wanted with it based on his personal situation...let it die or sell it off. I don't regard it as anyone's business but Martin's.

Edit: I see now that WIK hit the send button before me with a similar post.

 

IMHO...

The MFJ announcement of closure really took me by surprise.
Their residual stock of the big stuff went very fast at list price.

With all of this, the only thing we can do is wait and hope.
It would be wonderful if ITU can bring back complex electronics other than antennas.

 

Greate

 

They did not buy MFJ products. They bought cushcraft and hygain products.

 

It will be great that someone like me will now be able look at getting a classic Linear amp as KC2VWR and made in the USA too.

 

And now have added Ameritron and Mirage to those acquisitions.

MFJ and Vectronics and possibly some other brands remain with Martin.

 

It can and will happen if they stick to their strengths. One of MFJ's problems was that they had a million products.