Amy at MFJ constructing my EFHW antenna (MFJ-1982HP)
In preparation for the Fox Mike Hotel Portable Ops Team to activate Issaquena County (see post on this blog), I discovered that we did not have two antennas that would tune to 80 meters. Team member Glen KW5GP was bringing a Buddipole that tunes from 40-10 meters (he didn’t have the 80M coil). I was bringing my MFJ Big Stick which does the same bands. And Mike K5XU was bringing an 80-10 meter windom. Lots of antenna changing would be needed and way too much switching for our taste. No one wanted to take down a currently hanging antenna at home to take it portable for a day.
So, I was heading to Starkville to get my three month check up with my ophthalmologist (a former Honor Student of mine) and could swing by MFJ Enterprises and get a low-cost wire antenna that would work. I settled on the MFJ End-Fed Half Wave antenna (MFJ 1982HP) since trees would be at a premium in Mayersville based upon my site visit. When I stopped by, Richard Stubbs told me that they had just shipped their current inventory of this very popular product to a big vendor in the general area of Ohio. Darn. Ok, what are my options then? At every other manufacturer that I know, it would be tough noogies.
What happened is why my phrase for MFJ is not what those various cranky-pants hams call it on eHam or elsewhere but Mississippi’s Finest Juel. I was able to watch a batch of them being manufactured by Amy, MFJ Technician, on the floor of the factory itself. After chatting with Martin, who was already in a conversation on a new product design with another employee, I was happy to pick up my just-in-time assembled EFHW package in a box just like FedEx had delivered it to my door. (You’re gonna like the product they were discussing…) The antenna worked great, by the way, after adding a counterpoise that Martin suggested.
No, there aren’t granite counter tops or other fancy workbenches at MFJ. There aren’t a lot of unnecessary things that would drive up prices beyond the limit of what the ham dollar can effectively afford to buy. But when I think of where amateur radio would be if MFJ were not in business or if it were not managed as it is today, it would be a far, far poorer marketplace for amateur radio enthusiasts. That’s why MFJ has long-term employees who stay there because they like the atmosphere and enjoy the work, led by HR Director Randy Romero. And who gets to watch while their product is actually being built? It’s not the first time something was built for me when I stopped in to buy something.
Thanks, Martin. Your company is Mississippi’s Finest Juel! And you can quote me on that…