Didn’t see it coming.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who felt completely blindsided to hear that MFJ Enterprises, a name that is surely known by every ham radio operator, is going out of business. The end of MFJ will also result in the sunset of its subsidiary brands, HyGain, Cushcraft, Ameritron, and other famous names. This is not a minor loss. MFJ, which had plenty of both fanboys and haters, was a giant in the amateur radio world.
When I saw the rumor on an amateur radio internet forum, I initially thought it was fake news. Being rightly suspicious, I waited to see if anything would be forthcoming from an authoritative source such as the ARRL or perhaps directly from MFJ. Unfortunately, the news turned out to be completely real.
So many questions. No clear answers.
As far as “why?” and “what happened?’, MFJ is a privately held company so details about their business operations or the motives of the management are difficult to determine. However, we can make some inferences from the statement made by the company owner. Founder Martin F. Jue stated he’s now 80 years old. Already well past normal retirement age, no one can credibly blame him for pulling the plug. The dude is a legend; he’s been a huge part of ham radio for over half a century and will continue to influence the hobby for generations to come.
Jue also mentioned that Covid was a hardship from which the business never fully rebounded. Other unconfirmed reports claim that MFJ had been losing money since before Covid and simply did not have enough cash flow to continue.
The common denominator.
There are “Icom guys” and “Kenwood guys” and “Yaesu guys” and more. But almost everyone is an “MFJ guy” whether they realize it or not. Nearly every serious ham, at least in the United States, has at some point owned or used MFJ equipment. MFJ was the common denominator between the various tribes of otherwise brand-loyal operators. Though MFJ was often the butt of jokes (“mighty fine junk”), even the detractors had a quiet respect for how ubiquitous & influential MFJ had become.
The most meaningful contribution MFJ made to ham radio was their one of a kind niche products. If you wanted a pocket-sized antenna tuner for your QRP radio, or a preselector for your shortwave receiver, MFJ was more or less your only option. And their prices were pretty good, too. As a young kid with very little money to spend on a hobby I was crazy about, MFJ was my go-to for ham radio stuff even a teenager could afford.
No one was left.
Among the shocked and disappointed on line reactions was a recurring exclamation: Why didn’t anyone step up and buy MFJ so it could continue? There’s no conclusive answer to that question. Some rumors stated that the company had been trying to find a buyer for a long time and no one ever came through. This is not surprising. MFJ itself had already “rescued” several legendary brands. No one was left to save the savior. Furthermore, ham radio accessories is a shaky business model. We’re not talking about flat screen TVs, smartphones, bluetooth speakers, and similar high demand products with a very wide appeal. The pool of potential customers who want the devices MFJ sells is not very large. Who is willing to invest in magnet mount antennas and wattmeters for hobbyists? How many coax switches would someone have to sell to make a worthwhile profit? The questions are easy but the answers are not.
As hams we should be concerned. We are that small pool of clients. Where will we go now? There are Asian manufacturers who are probably delighted to dance on MFJ’s grave as they stand to profit from partially filling the vacuum, but no single company currently existing has anywhere near the same depth and breadth of ham radio accessories as MFJ.
Legends never truly die.
As crestfallen as we may feel over the loss of a ham radio legend, it’s some comfort to know that the used market will keep MFJ products in circulation for many years to come. And hopefully along the way someone else will start a new company and fill the need.
In the meantime, I have nothing but the highest respect & gratitude for Mr. Jue and his employees for their enormous contributions to amateur radio. He has nothing more to prove and certainly earned his retirement. So yes, it sucks but we’ll be ok. The disappointment is deep but so is the confidence that ham radio will thrive and move on.
Might turn out to be a hoax ?
Hi Gordon, if it is a hoax, it’s a brilliant one.
I have nothing but respect for him, his company and his employees as well. Like you I have a lot of MFJ branded items tucked away all over the place. Meters, 12V power strips, antenna analyzer, 2 Ameritron amps, a couple of CW keys, antenna bits, etc. With some of this stuff, no one seems to carry it or even make it. And if it is available elsewhere it’s often at two or three times the price. And while the build quality of some of it wasn’t the best in the world, I can’t remember ever having a bit of MFJ branded equipment failing on me.
Some of the curmudgeons over on QRZ seemed to make it a hobby of theirs to bash MFJ but a lot of us over there also did our best to defend the company because the detractors were just plain wrong.
I knew this was coming, though. It was announced over on QRZ officially some time ago that he was trying to sell the company because he wanted to retire.
As for why no one bought it, let’s face it, amateur radio is a very niche market. The money just isn’t there.. The market for things like, oh, QRP antenna tuners, is miniscule. I doubt if they sold more than a few dozen a year, if that. Same with most of the other stuff they sold. They made up for for that by the enormous variety of devices, doo-dads, gubbins and everything else they sold. They had a whole line of relatively inexpensive mag-loop antennas, along with variable caps and other parts needed to build your own, etc. Don’t like to build your own antennas? You could pick up a OCFD for, what, something like $100? Where others like the Buckmaster were up around $300+.
Hi Randy, well you got it all 100% correct. The products MFJ sells have a very narrow appeal. The demographic of clientele looking to buy a mag loop antenna or an artificial ground is not large. Even though MFJ offered unique, reasonably priced products, the market segment was not large enough to support the business. They lasted as long as they did, I think, by picking up other brands such as HyGain. But industry consolidation only goes so far; without fundamental changes eventually the gas runs out.
If everyone with an MFJ product chipped in 5 or 10 bucks, could we could buy the company? Then give it to the employees to run as an EOC (employee owned company)? Could be a winner for all, Jue, employees, hams. How much would it take? Would Jue and employees be interested? Is there someone capable of picking up the ball and finding out? Best wishes to the Jue family, I hope you have many happy memories yet to build!
Hi Robert, I think you have a great idea but I believe it would take more than ten bucks a person. And even if we were somehow able to pull it off, it does not address what I believe is MFJ’s fundamental problem: The market segment is just too small. I certainly hope someone swoops in and rescues MFJ, and hopefully structure the company for long term success.
Well it may be a niche market, but MFJ and others made a go of it. You have to have different expectations. A ham radio company is not going to be another Apple or GM, but it can be successful on a smaller scale. I don’t have the resources to do it, but maybe some other ham looking to run a ham business can pick it up, now that the word is being spread far and wide. 73 de K1WXY
…a very sad day for Ham radio….
Absolutely. We haven’t experienced a loss this significant in a long time, and it sucks.
Very well said.
Thanks Jed, I always appreciate your input.
I am shocked. Whenever I needed an inexpensive device, chances were that MFJ sold it. Its disappearance will leave a noticeable black hole in my ham radio world. KI7UED
Hi Greg, I think MFJ is going to leave a lot of black holes in many operators’ world…including the operators who made fun of MFJ and didn’t understand how important they were.
I have an mfj power supply. It’s been a good unit. I bought it after getting my license. I stopped using it for a few years after getting batteries, but started using it whem my sla batteries bit the dust
Hi Doug, I think almost everyone has a cool “MFJ story”. Thanks for checking in.
From Pete, W6LAW,
Please remember that Martin Jue
was / is a wonderful designer.
He has walls full of papers, diagrams, inventions for everything in their catalog,
and even more that was never turned into products!!
That source would be hard to duplicate with people from inside and outside of his realm.
I do hope for a solution, but it may not happen.
I do hope there will be a place where we can go to have manuals and schematics available.
Martin…..A long life, and much happiness for all you have done for us!
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