[TowerTalk] MFJ repairs

[David Gilbert]

I don't find that to be the least bit surprising.  A few years ago 
(2007) a ham website posted a 30 minute video tour/interview of the MFJ 
facility ... it is still available on YouTube at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_J4ax3RzX4

beginning at the 28:45 minute mark.  Anybody who has the least bit of 
knowledge of how to run a modern manufacturing line would gag watching 
it.  It was exactly as if you took a hobbyist's workbench and expanded 
it a hundred times over.  There was no recognizable flow to anything and 
virtually no effective organization of anything.  Everything was handled 
manually and both product and components were simply stacked where 
convenient.   It was clearly impossible to keep track of anything to 
today's expectations for quality levels.

It's not difficult to picture why MFJ is able to ship product with 
missing parts, missing wires, and missing solder joints after watching 
that video, or how they could mistake your RCS-12 for something else.  
During my career I visited various manufacturing facilities in China and 
never saw anything worse than what I saw in that video.

MFJ has many satisfied customers ... some of whom value price above all 
else, some who simply don't need anything better, and some who got 
lucky.  If your expectations are higher than that, though, watch that 
video before you buy.  MFJ was actually proud of what it shows ... that 
should tell you something.

73,
Dave   AB7E


On 9/1/2014 7:57 AM, Herbert Schoenbohm wrote:
> I don't know who is running things in Starkville but they really need 
> help.  I got a reply from the finally and they said they found my 
> "tuner."  Problem is I never sent them a tuner. They also said that my 
> RCS-12 was found to have salt in the coax connector which they cleaned 
> and tested.  Problem with that is the RCS-12 does not have any coax 
> connectors and is an inside to shack control box. Certainly they 
> should have someone there who knows what is going on. I am about to 
> just call it quits with MFJ and buy from more knowledgeable vendors. 
> No customer should be required to go through this madness.
>
> Herb, KV4FZ
>
> Date:     2014-08-21 15:55:13
> Name:     John
>
> *Message:*
>
> We have found the RCS-12. Mike says that during his conversation with 
> you, it was sent down to the engineer. We found the information 
> showing that it had been shipped. We have left a message with the 
> engineer and are waiting for him to call back and let us know what he 
> has found with it.
>
> Best regards,
>
> John
> Ameritron
> 116 Willow Road
> Starkville, MS 39759
>
> http://www.ameritron.com <http://www.ameritron.com/>
>
> Date:     2014-08-22 15:31:26
> Name:     John
>
> *Message:*
>
> The engineer has determined the problem. You will need to replace your 
> coax as it is full of salt water. He found residue of salt on the coax 
> connector that was causing the problems. He removed the connector and 
> cleaned it and the problem went away. The switch that you currently 
> have with you, you can take the coax connector off of it and soak it 
> in rubbing alcohol to dissolve the salt out of it, and it will be 
> fine. Again, you will need to replace your coax and take steps to 
> prevent this issue again.
>
> The engineer is sending your switch back to us. when we get it, we 
> will send it back to you.
>
> Best regards,
>
> John
> Ameritron
> 116 Willow Road
> Starkville, MS 39759
>
> http://www.ameritron.com <http://www.ameritron.com/>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 9/1/2014 10:17 AM, Craig Clark wrote:
>>
>> Can we get back to towers and antennas instead of bashing MJF?
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> TowerTalk mailing list
>> TowerTalk at contesting.com
>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>