[TowerTalk] HyGain Antenna Quality control issues: Let's Put MFJ in Perspective

[David Gilbert]

That's actually a crock.  I spent close to 35 years in a manufacturing 
environment (semiconductors), nost of it in management, and as anyone 
who knows anything about manufacturing will tell you, proper 
manufacturing processes give you both better quality and lower cost.  
Generally speaking, tradeoffs between quality and cost occur at the 
design level, not at the manufacturing level (although Design for 
Manufacturability is an important concept).  Poor manufacturing quality 
occurs through ignorance or indifference, period.   What you don't 
understand is that how the manufacturing floor looks is key to how the 
product works. Disputing that simply shows ignorance.

MFJ designs their products to meet a particular price point and that's 
fine.  But there is simply no valid excuse for the quality level of the 
stuff they build.  I've bought roughly a dozen items from MFJ over the 
50+ years I've been a ham and at least ten of them had quality defects.  
Not design limitations ... quality defects. Missing parts, loose screws, 
bad solder joints, defective components, etc.  MFJ has probably the very 
worst reputation for quality among any manufacturer of amateur radio 
equipment and that isn't because we enjoy bashing them.  As you say, 
though, the solution was simply not to buy from them again and that is 
exactly what I have done.

Dave  AB7E



On 4/1/2018 4:38 AM, Kenneth D. Moak wrote:
> Let's Put MFJ in Perspective
>
>   
>
> It seems like ragging on MFJ has been, and may always be, a popular sport,
> but let's put the whole topic in perspective.
>
>   
>
> Can you buy higher quality and more expensive products? Sure.
>
>   
>
> Do most well-heeled hams buy these other products? Sure.
>
>   
>
> But that is NOT MFJ's target market.  Martin Jue is building equipment for
> the average ham looking for functional gear at a reasonable price.  Face it,
> most Hams are cheap.  We want it as close to free as possible when we're
> young and just starting out.  We also buy MFJ when we just don't need
> Agilent or Tektronix specification
>
>   
>
> Full Disclosure:  As a 40+ years Hams, My XYL and I have bought lots of MFJ,
> Hy-Gain, and Cushcraft gear from when we had 42 cents in the bank to as
> recently as last month.  We also have Flex radios, JK antennas, and two LUSO
> towers.  We're not MFJ "fanboys." We're just trying to look at the whole
> picture.
>
>   
>
> While we're at it, let say it up front:  Lots of folks complain about the
> need to "Buy American."  Well face it - without Martin Jue of MFJ, many of
> the "Big Names" in Ham Radio would have been extinct right now if MFJ didn't
> save these companies to keep them in the US.  Obviously the way they
> operated in the past couldn't compete in today's market.
>
>   
>
> MFJ found a way to compete, and enough people think that the occasional
> missing screw or wayward hole is not a big deal.  MFJ's No Matter What
> Warranty is also better than you get from most other manufacturers - US or
> overseas.
>
>   
>
> When we started out, we wanted gear that we could afford, that worked well
> enough to get us on the air, and if we had to "adjust it" that was ok.  We
> had plenty of time and not much money.  MFJ supplied that gear.  We used MFJ
> gear, and we had fun!
>
>   
>
> Frankly we don't care what the assembly room looks like as long as in the
> long run the product works.  Actually, we think if anyone looked at the
> actual defect rates and not just anecdotal internet "facts," we think the
> numbers are way better than suspected.
>
>   
>
> MFJ is not manufacturing computer CPUs.  In fact, we think if you visited
> several of the "high-end" custom antenna houses that you would find very
> similar conditions.  Try it.
>
>   
>
> In the end, Martin Jue provides a service for the overall Amateur radio
> community.  He fills a critical need and his sales show it.  He survives
> when the companies he saved had failed.
>
>   
>
> The bottom line is that if you don't like MFJ, go someplace else.  Many
> others will take your place in line.
>
>   
>
> Ken & Karen Moak
>
> KM8AM & KM8Q
>
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