[Amps] MFJ products

[Jim Brown]

On 9/10/2012 5:46 PM, Roger (K8RI) wrote:
> Both Cushcraft and Hy-Gain would likely be gone if not for them.

They ARE gone. Like RCA, GE, Altec Lansing, only the NAME is still 
around, purchased by someone with enough money to buy the the name or 
what's left of the company from the bankruptcy (or before the 
bankruptcy).. Mighty Fine Junk bought the business, and thus the legal 
RIGHT to use the name, but the companies that BUILT those names are LONG 
GONE.

What makes a company worthwhile is quality product and quality support.  
You can't BUY that, you have to BUILD it.

I too have looked inside MFJ amps with the Ameritron name on them, and 
tried to patch them together long enough to run a contest from a DX 
station.  I agree that they are crap.

BTW -- WE are responsible for the bankruptcy of GOOD companies when we 
decide that their quality products, built with Americans making a living 
wave, are TOO EXPENSIVE, and we buy cheap junk from MFJ or China.  I 
don't know about the rest of you, but I buy quality products from good 
companies, even it if costs a bit (or a lot) more.  Am I a patriot? 
Maybe. But really I'm acting in my own best interests by buying stuff 
that I'll still be using 20 years from now (if I'm still alive).

FWIW, I'm getting great use from the three Ten Tec Titans I bought used 
between 2004 and 2006.  These US designed (around 1978) and built amps 
aren't fancy, but their build quality is decent, they publish the 
schematic, they're easy to work on, most parts are easy to find, and I'm 
running them at contesting duty cycles with very good reliability.  Two 
are in active use, one is a spare. (Hey -- I'm a serious contester. :) 
)  And they are 30 years old!  I seriously doubt that an owner of MFJ 
amps can tell a similar story with amps that are much newer.

73, Jim K9YC