I always consider mfj products to be a "semi-kit". That is most of the work has been done at the factory BUT you have to do some of the assembly yourself. This means replace missing hardware, remove the extra hardware that is rattling around the cabinet (usually that which is missing from the previous item "down the line"), soldering connections that were not soldered in the first place or resoldering "cold solder" connections, etc.
Then, if you do all this then the item usually works fine.
Now mfj has to be aware of the problems because in the warranty statement on a lot of the equipment they say that repairs by the owner DOES NOT violate the warranty. That is, if you try to fix the item yourself they still will honor the warranty.
I do have one mfj branded item that worked flawlessly out of the box. It is a 24 hour clock that was manufactured "off shore" and then mfj put their label on it. Everything else that I have "acquired" over the years had something wrong with it (usually bad soldering or missing hardware) that was traded to me because the person who bought it couldn't get the item to work correctly.
Glen, K9STH
Website: http://k9sth.com
--- On Tue, 5/12/09, Jim Jerzycke [email protected] wrote:
I don't know anybody who's bought the satellite antennas, but I do know some guys who've bought the recent HF antennas. Quality control is typical MFJ, with parts missing, holes drilled wrong, poor instructions, etc. I tend to be gun shy with about 90% of MFJ products. I know too many people that have been burned by their stuff. Some of their products are good, but their QC is *always* suspect. My antenna analyzer works perfectly, but then I cross my fingers every time I put the batteries in it! Just my $.02