[TowerTalk] MFJ, Hygain, cont'd.

[Brad Anbro]

Hello all,

I thought that I'd put in my two cents worth on the MFJ/Hygain discussion. I am a 66 year-old
retired industrial electrician, who has worked in that capacity for 40+ years in various factories.
The first factory that I worked in, where I was employed for 19+ years, manufactured fuel
controls for General Electric and Rolls-Royce jet engines and for other applications.

This company had a very strict dress code (!), requiring its male employees to be clean-shaven
and all employees were expected to wear DECENT clothes. The manufacturing floor was kept so
clean that one could literally eat off of it. Janitors didn't run around and clean up after everyone;
each machine operator kept his or her area (and machine) clean. That company rarely had any
quality issues. General Electric personnel would regularly come to the factory and "have a look
around" and they were always appreciative of what they saw.

I have been a ham since 1981 and bought a pre-MFJ Ameritron AL-82 linear amplifier many
years ago. It worked flawlessly for 22+ years before finally breaking down. I thought that I'd
get another amplifier, have the original one repaired and have it for back-up. The interior of
the new (MFJ/Ameritron) looked much different than the old one. Things just looked "cheaper"
but I'm keeping my fingers crossed in hopes that it continues to work.

I also bought an Ameritron/MFJ RCS-8V remote antenna switch a few years ago. Before I went
to install it, I took the plastic cover off of it, wanting to make sure that the "ground" terminal
really was a ground terminal. I gave the unit a close examination and found that one of the
relay contacts on the printed circuit board was not even soldered. I soldered the connection
and that was the end of that problem. Apparently, an MFJ employee was "having a bad day"
when the unit was assembled.

In my opinion, there is NO EXCUSE for that kind of "quality control." I don't care what kind of
"market" they're trying to reach. In all the time that I was an electrician, every job that I did
was one which I was proud to sign my name to. Peoples' lives depended on me doing my job
correctly. The factories where I was employed didn't want any one electrocuted!

73,
Brad Anbro, N9EN/4
Bluff City, Tennessee