There's a <i>lot</i> of old Hams retiring out of the game in their 80s and 90s now.<p>I recently attended the funeral of the wife of an Australian Ham ~ 90 who relayed Space Shuttle communications to NASA for astronauts and their families including some sensitive "possible farewell" type calls.<p>This was the same person who lead me into fun projects reverse engineering the early Navstar GPS packets before they were public, and tapping into Cold War VLF transmissions out of Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt.<p>Someone who spent their early teens defusing live bombs in England during and post WWII, and present during the Mau Mau rebellion.
For anyone confused like I was, this isn't about mailchimp shutting down, but rather a company named MFJ, which apparently makes amateur radio gear.
I have a ton of MFJ in my shack, and some MFJ hooked up to the radios I'm using on a daily basis; MFJ's loss will be felt in the amateur and public safety industries.<p>Edit to add:<p>Whenever I've had issues with one of their products, they literally walked me through disassembling and testing their products on the phone together -- and the staff there working the phones was knowledgeable, kind, and the type of folks you'd hear in the background at their tables/booths at hamvention and other radio-focused events. This isn't just a loss for everyone who uses MFJ, this is going to be felt amongst retailers as well as folks who are in that community. Their products were built well, tested to work, and rock solid: truly generational gear.
It's a bit sad to make such a decision when you're almost 80. Realizing the importance of time with your family so late gives you so little time.<p>A few years ago, I read about the regrets of dying people, and many of them related to spending more time with their families... That was one of the reasons I decided to close my company last year (after 20 years; I'm 45 now) and start over, working with just a few customers, making less money but having more time. Now, I only work part-time to have the chance to spend more time with my loved ones.
Martin personally gave me a tour of the factories back in 2002. I got to see first hand things being made from parts. I overheard him pitching an idea to an engineer, and then a year later seeing the product reviewed in QST. I still use the clock he gave me.
I wonder what the ARRL is going to do for advertising. Half their ads were from MFJ and Ameritron.<p>And sad for all the people in the Starkville area who have had jobs there for so many decades.
#HamRadio Live! 80 Minutes Live With Martin F Jue Who is Now Celebrating His 50th Year At MFJ! (2022)
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C9RBz41Q8o" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C9RBz41Q8o</a>
Despite being a ham for a number of years (no longer) I never needed anything MFJ sold. I’ve heard this from a couple of people.<p>I wonder if their market just dried up.
After decades of moving manufacturing to Asia we currently see a considerable countermovement in the US and Europe.<p>I have a hard time estimating how this will play out. Ten years from now, where do you believe will the majority of manufacturing happen?
Will it be more or less distributed compared to now?
My first HF rig was an MFJ 40m CW kit that I built with the Bergen Amateur Radio Association. What a mighty fine group that was. I got some excellent mentorship, in amateur and other matters.<p>Thank you M.F.J.! you’ve left a legacy of fond memories with this last generation of radio amateurs.
MFJ had the coolest iambic keyer:<p><a href="https://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/morse/0804.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/morse/0804.html</a>
It seems as the decision of the owner. He's got old and wants to spend time with the family. Would not it be worth to try to transfer to the workers in exchange for some share of profits?
I have never heard of this company but after reading this letter and visiting their website, it is very clear they were the real deal. My sympathies to all involved & affected.
I'm not a Ham, but my grandfather (W8IGY) was, and I credit him for letting me know a larger, more technical community existed "out there" than what was apparent from the small rural town I grew up in the pre-internet days.<p>Ham radio's time has come and gone, but I still treasure the memories of listening to him talk to people all over the world.<p>MFJ shutting down is likely one of the final nails in the coffin, but I'll be sad to see it go.