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Posted: 4/25/2024 5:48:02 PM EDT
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Posted: 4/25/2024 5:50:26 PM EDT
[#1]
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Posted: 4/25/2024 5:53:50 PM EDT
[#2]
NOooooo! ::said in whiny Luke voice::
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Posted: 4/25/2024 5:53:54 PM EDT
[#3]
Wow, only been in the hobby a short time but it seems that everyone owns MJF products. So many American businesses destroyed by the Chinese and their germ warfare.
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Posted: 4/25/2024 6:08:46 PM EDT
[#4]
That's a bummer. They were around far before my time and like another poster said, it seems everyone owns something MFJ.
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Posted: 4/25/2024 6:15:12 PM EDT
[Last Edit: K9-Bob]
[#5]
Martin was a hell of an engineer and the genius behind many of the most popular MFJ products. I will certainly miss their automatic antenna tuners for sure.
RIP MFJ 
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Posted: 4/25/2024 6:29:51 PM EDT
[#6]
Unless my GoogleFu is weak, I cannot find anything official about MFJ closing outside of the post on Gigapart's Facebook page.
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Posted: 4/25/2024 6:33:09 PM EDT
[Last Edit: D_Man]
[#7]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By chumpmiester: Unless my GoogleFu is weak, I cannot find anything official about MFJ closing outside of the post on Gigapart's Facebook page. https://mailchi.mp/62e24f2ccc99/a-heavy-sad-heart?_aem_AX8J84a9slfBysXQwkux93hdQV_zMP9M6xxMeXO6mF9JBh_nmbVVZIWDFOkA1ALWZUzvaxoSzH7E8EfzJf7TZoxR |
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AZ, USA
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Posted: 4/25/2024 6:54:18 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By K9-Bob: Martin was a hell of an engineer and the genius behind many of the most popular MFJ products. I will certainly miss their automatic antenna tuners for sure. RIP MFJ I'm really wondering what options will be left for automatic tuners. SGC closed up a few years ago as well. I've had nothing but problems with LDG. Went to look at HRO, once you remove MFJ and sister company products all that's left is Alinco, Icom, LDG, Palstar and Yaesu, and most of those aren't even close to QRO power. |
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Posted: 4/25/2024 7:12:24 PM EDT
[#9]
This is a huge bummer... There is a mountain of radio products that will no longer be available.
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Posted: 4/25/2024 7:28:05 PM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By FlatlandBusa: This is a huge bummer... There is a mountain of radio products that will no longer be available. Yea that sucks, of course they earned the nickname of Mighty Fine Junk, but the reality is many people have some MFJ manufactured items that work fine. They were really the last kit type company out there! I joke a bit, but this is sad to see. That is 2 ham radio companies this week with Harbach being sold now MFJ closing.
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TN, USA
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Posted: 4/25/2024 7:31:55 PM EDT
[#11]
A combination of miserable propagation and too many new licensees who dont have any technical interest will do that...
Build, not buy. This is Amateur Radio, not Buy Radio. And theres no such thing as an antenna tuner. Build a correct antenna and Band Aids arent necessary. I have 3 Fooler boxes in the closet. Useless. |
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Posted: 4/25/2024 7:46:00 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By k8byp: A combination of miserable propagation and too many new licensees who dont have any technical interest will do that... Build, not buy. This is Amateur Radio, not Buy Radio. And theres no such thing as an antenna tuner. Build a correct antenna and Band Aids arent necessary. I have 3 Fooler boxes in the closet. Useless. Guess my setup is useless 
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Posted: 4/25/2024 8:05:13 PM EDT
[#13]
Not surprising given MFJ's age. Very sad that he could not or did not want to find a buyer. Tempted to stock up on a couple of tuners...
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FL, USA
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Posted: 4/25/2024 8:06:28 PM EDT
[#14]
Wow - I wonder if anyone will buy them and continue. Otherwise no more Ameritron amps, no more kilowatt tuners. They have some good products and will leave a huge hole in the market place when they leave.
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FL, USA
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Posted: 4/25/2024 9:20:29 PM EDT
[#15]
Kind of sad they bought so many brands without a better exit plan.
Anything I should try and get before they close? |
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WI, USA
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Posted: 4/25/2024 9:27:55 PM EDT
[Last Edit: NAM]
[#16]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By k8byp: A combination of miserable propagation and too many new licensees who dont have any technical interest will do that... Build, not buy. This is Amateur Radio, not Buy Radio. And theres no such thing as an antenna tuner. Build a correct antenna and Band Aids arent necessary. I have 3 Fooler boxes in the closet. Useless. You clearly have no clue.  Attached FileGlad I bought my 998 when I did. MFJ can be shit quality, but they have a lot of decent items. You just need to give them a quick peek like you would Heathkit gear that was assembled by someone else. |
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Posted: 4/25/2024 9:30:00 PM EDT
[Last Edit: KB7DX]
[#17]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By JBFJ40: Kind of sad they bought so many brands without a better exit plan. Anything I should try and get before they close? Sad to see them close up shop. All joking aside, MFJ produced some pretty good tuners even though you had to go inside them sometimes and do some QC yourself. Mainly cold solder joints. @JBFJ40 Yes. If you are in the market for a legal limit tuner, or any tuner for that matter, or an amplifier, then now is the time to strike. I've had dozens of MFJ products over the years and none of them have been big disappointments. 73 Martin! ETA -- I wonder if DX Engineering will pick up some of MFJ's brands like Ameritron? |
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Posted: 4/25/2024 9:48:38 PM EDT
[#18]
Mighty
Fine Junk Seriously though, it would be hard to find a station without a single MFJ or Ameritron item. Sad day indeed. |
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Posted: 4/25/2024 9:55:55 PM EDT
[#19]
Too bad to see. Wonder what will happen to the manufacturing equipment and if someone with the know-how could buy it and continue or refine production.
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Posted: 4/25/2024 10:00:08 PM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Macumazahn: Too bad to see. Wonder what will happen to the manufacturing equipment and if someone with the know-how could buy it and continue or refine production. Evidently it’s been for sale for months with no interest. |
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Posted: 4/25/2024 10:04:17 PM EDT
[#21]
Hopefully they dump inventory at Xenia. I would get a higher rated manual tuner.
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Posted: 4/25/2024 10:08:04 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Jambalaya]
[#22]
I hope someone buys Ameritron and keeps making the amps.
I might want to buy an amp soon, and the alternatives are all out of my price range. |
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Posted: 4/25/2024 10:23:12 PM EDT
[#23]
Originally Posted By seek2: I'm really wondering what options will be left for automatic tuners. SGC closed up a few years ago as well. I've had nothing but problems with LDG. Went to look at HRO, once you remove MFJ and sister company products all that's left is Alinco, Icom, LDG, Palstar and Yaesu, and most of those aren't even close to QRO power. KM3KM now has a legal limit auto tuner. They are a small outfit and when they release a batch for sale, they usually are gone almost instantly. People seem to like them. Based upon the experience I've had with the power amp I bought from them, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one of their tuners, if I needed one. My MFJ 998 is soldiering along just fine, though. https://www.km3km.com/product/mercuryat/  Originally Posted By FlatlandBusa: Guess my setup is useless Yup. When you are booming in here at 59+10, I always shake my head and think "that poor fellow and his useless station..." 
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Posted: 4/25/2024 10:48:46 PM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By seek2: I'm really wondering what options will be left for automatic tuners. SGC closed up a few years ago as well. I've had nothing but problems with LDG. Went to look at HRO, once you remove MFJ and sister company products all that's left is Alinco, Icom, LDG, Palstar and Yaesu, and most of those aren't even close to QRO power. Their tuners are very good when correctly assembled. I have a couple of the ATR-30 tuners here and run up to legal limit digital through them into a 110" doublet on 160-10 without issue. Most other manufacturers don't come close with power handling or matching range. |
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Posted: 4/25/2024 10:51:37 PM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By stanprophet09: Yea that sucks, of course they earned the nickname of Mighty Fine Junk, but the reality is many people have some MFJ manufactured items that work fine. They were really the last kit type company out there! I joke a bit, but this is sad to see. That is 2 ham radio companies this week with Harbach being sold now MFJ closing. They definitely earned the Mighty Fine Junk nickname, my ATR-30 tuner came with spare nuts and washers rattling around in it as well as several cold solder joints, once those issues were repaired it has functioned well. |
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Posted: 4/25/2024 10:53:50 PM EDT
[Last Edit: FlatlandBusa]
[#26]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Emoto: KM3KM now has a legal limit auto tuner. They are a small outfit and when they release a batch for sale, they usually are gone almost instantly. People seem to like them. Based upon the experience I've had with the power amp I bought from them, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one of their tuners, if I needed one. My MFJ 998 is soldiering along just fine, though. https://www.km3km.com/product/mercuryat/ https://www.km3km.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/MG_8388-ok-RE-600x413.png Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Emoto: KM3KM now has a legal limit auto tuner. They are a small outfit and when they release a batch for sale, they usually are gone almost instantly. People seem to like them. Based upon the experience I've had with the power amp I bought from them, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one of their tuners, if I needed one. My MFJ 998 is soldiering along just fine, though. https://www.km3km.com/product/mercuryat/ https://www.km3km.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/MG_8388-ok-RE-600x413.png I have been trying to snag one of the Mercury tuners for awhile now, hopefully soon. Originally Posted By Emoto: Yup. When you are booming in here at 59+10, I always shake my head and think "that poor fellow and his useless station..." It always cracks me up when a low information operator says you need a resonant antenna for it to perform well. |
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Posted: 4/25/2024 11:45:27 PM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By FlatlandBusa: It always cracks me up when a low information operator says you need a resonant antenna for it to perform well. I have an MFJ-941E manual runner that I had to make a few repairs to before it would work properly. |
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AZ, USA
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Posted: 4/26/2024 12:18:50 AM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By aa777888-2: Not surprising given MFJ's age. Very sad that he could not or did not want to find a buyer. Tempted to stock up on a couple of tuners... I'm thinking the same. In fact ordered a back 994-BRT from HRO while typing this out. Will probably go back for a second once this one arrives. |
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Posted: 4/26/2024 12:24:21 AM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By k8byp: A combination of miserable propagation and too many new licensees who dont have any technical interest will do that... Build, not buy. This is Amateur Radio, not Buy Radio. And theres no such thing as an antenna tuner. Build a correct antenna and Band Aids arent necessary. I have 3 Fooler boxes in the closet. Useless. Did you come from eHam or QRZ to post this? Lots of sad ham anger in your post. |
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Posted: 4/26/2024 1:25:40 AM EDT
[#30]
Just thinking about products I have from MFJ, I've got 3 manual tuners, an EFHW antenna, a common mode choke, an antenna analyzer (I don't use this much anymore), a power supply, and a loop tuner. That's all I can think of for now, but there may be more.
There were a few items in their catalog that I wanted to play around with, but never really took top priority so I never bought them. I have read a lot of jokes about "mighty fine junk", etc, but for the most part everything I have from them works as expected. My only gripe is excessively tight SO-239 connectors on their tuners. I'll be sad to see them go. It's a shame none of his family wanted to step up and run the business. I am surprised no one wanted it. With all the infrastructure in place, someone with the right resources and background could have a working business ready to go. But who knows? Maybe potential buyers have looked at the books and changed their minds. |
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Posted: 4/26/2024 1:35:38 AM EDT
[#31]
Im new to HF myself but well familiar with the brand. I'd love to grab something while I still can but I cant think of anything they make that I want. maybe a Dummy load?
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USA
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Posted: 4/26/2024 6:48:36 AM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By oldcatawba: Wow, only been in the hobby a short time but it seems that everyone owns MJF products. So many American businesses destroyed by the Chinese and their germ warfare. America is responsible for how it chose to react to it. Nobody twisted the arms of the tyrants of government to take tge course they did. It was a choice, & they chose poorly, just like the dumb dicks that voted for them. |
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Posted: 4/26/2024 7:09:39 AM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By K9-Bob: Did you come from eHam or QRZ to post this? Lots of sad ham anger in your post. |
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Posted: 4/26/2024 8:39:55 AM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By k8byp: A combination of miserable propagation and too many new licensees who dont have any technical interest will do that... Build, not buy. This is Amateur Radio, not Buy Radio. And theres no such thing as an antenna tuner. Build a correct antenna and Band Aids arent necessary. I have 3 Fooler boxes in the closet. Useless. an antenna matchbox ( tuner ) is built into every vacuum tube transmitter and amp. Stand alone antenna tuners are very useful, resonant antennas are so overrated by people that simply do not understand what is actually happening. Even a so called resonant antenna is only resonant on one very particular frequency, for the rest of the band it is not resonant. even after a long coax run with a very non-resonant antenna and an antenna tuner and you perhaps lose half the power from the transmitter, it equates to only 1/2 an S point down. That 3 db loss is essentially meaningless and most systems will lose no where near 3db. So instead of the recieving station giving you a 5-7 you will get a 5-6.5. really. the loss of power in the tuner and non resonant antenna is the least loss of power in the entire station / propagation system that makes radio work. you are much better off putting your effort into reducing your local man made noise level than being concerned about losses in a non-resonant antenna and tuner but if you really want to reduce losses and use a multiband non-resonant antenna and tuner, then use a real balanced line tuner and open line with a doublet antenna and get single digit % losses the way God intended. |
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Posted: 4/26/2024 9:52:35 AM EDT
[#35]
Friction between builders and buyers makes the site more interesting. I remember a GD thread where some guy was beating his chest about his best rifle money can buy and anything less was trash. A couple of builders showed up and gave him an accuracy challenge with a build on a poverty pony blem lower. Hilarity ensued and the chest beating stopped when he realized he would be up against a match barrel and precision trigger on the poverty lower with precision ammo hand crafted from the best components tuned to the rig. I would never say they way I play the game is the only way to play.
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Posted: 4/26/2024 10:39:40 AM EDT
[#36]
There is a reason it got the name Mighty Fine Junk. After seeing how bad the soldering was on stuff that didn't work right out of the box I swore to never spend the first dime with them. Swore I'd never work on any thing MFJ again. Good riddance.
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Posted: 4/26/2024 11:34:28 AM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By ManiacRat: I think he made a similar post a while back about something, I think you're onto something there. Fella has a grudge against anything new it seems. Miserable propagation? What bands has he been on, propagation has been pretty damn good most every day. |
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Posted: 4/26/2024 12:26:47 PM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By slappomatt: Im new to HF myself but well familiar with the brand. I'd love to grab something while I still can but I cant think of anything they make that I want. maybe a Dummy load? I do have one of there so called 1500 watt dummy loads and it is not a bad product. Yeah you could probably dump 1500 watts into it but only for a few seconds. I have dumped 1000 into it for under 10 seconds and it gets pretty hot. Hot enough to smell it. But this is pretty much to be expected for an air dummy that is not very large. You can dump 100 into it for quite a long time. Overall I am satisfied with it. I did take it apart to look at the solder job on the connections. All was well. No extra nuts or bolts and no cold joints. I mean after all, how can you mess up a dummy load. Everyone should own a dummy load. They are an invaluable piece of test equipment when you need one. |
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Posted: 4/26/2024 1:08:16 PM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By D_Man: His account is only 2 days old, however if you Google his username/callsign, you might find a Youtube channel that was the subject of a thread here several months ago. I remember that discussion now. The anger makes more sense now. 
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Posted: 4/26/2024 2:04:22 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Jambalaya]
[#40]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By K0UA: I do have one of there so called 1500 watt dummy loads and it is not a bad product. Yeah you could probably dump 1500 watts into it but only for a few seconds. I have dumped 1000 into it for under 10 seconds and it gets pretty hot. Hot enough to smell it. But this is pretty much to be expected for an air dummy that is not very large. You can dump 100 into it for quite a long time. Overall I am satisfied with it. I did take it apart to look at the solder job on the connections. All was well. No extra nuts or bolts and no cold joints. I mean after all, how can you mess up a dummy load. Everyone should own a dummy load. They are an invaluable piece of test equipment when you need one. I actually just ordered one of their 1500W dry dummy loads a few days ago. It's still in transit now. It is rated for 1500W for 10 seconds. So just long enough to check something. It is rated to handle 100W for 10 minutes. So it's better suited for typical transceiver power levels, but has the ability to work with 1.5kW if needed in a pinch. I had built one of the quart size paint can dummy loads that use mineral oil coolant from a thread here. I'm sure it could be found in the archives. That was a fun project. Several other members here built them at the time. I've used it many times with my 100W radio, but now that I am working on an amp, I needed something that would handle legal limit power. |
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Posted: 4/26/2024 6:55:19 PM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Jambalaya: I hope someone buys Ameritron and keeps making the amps. I might want to buy an amp soon, and the alternatives are all out of my price range. This is a big loss. I hope DXE or another company steps up and saves some of MFJ's brands. Ameritron builds affordable amps that work well. DXE is a tiny part of a much bigger company, Summit Racing Equipment. Thats the only reason I used them as an example of someone that could afford to buy them. |
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Posted: 4/26/2024 7:40:18 PM EDT
[Last Edit: mcooper]
[#42]
Is an al811 an ok amp? Tempted to pick one up before they close.
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Posted: 4/26/2024 8:14:29 PM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By k8byp: A combination of miserable propagation and too many new licensees who dont have any technical interest will do that... Build, not buy. This is Amateur Radio, not Buy Radio. And theres no such thing as an antenna tuner. Build a correct antenna and Band Aids arent necessary. I have 3 Fooler boxes in the closet. Useless. |
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Posted: 4/26/2024 8:17:23 PM EDT
[#44]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By KB7DX: ETA -- I wonder if DX Engineering will pick up some of MFJ's brands like Ameritron? |
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FL, USA
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Posted: 4/26/2024 8:43:08 PM EDT
[#45]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By mcooper: Is an al811 an ok amp? Tempted to pick one up before they close. I suggest an AL-80B over the 811 - it's a much better amp. |
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Posted: 4/26/2024 8:55:27 PM EDT
[Last Edit: ManiacRat]
[#46]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By mcooper: Is an al811 an ok amp? Tempted to pick one up before they close. I plan to save up and buy a solid state eventually. But I got this thing for $300 and it has served me well. |
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TN, USA
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Posted: 4/26/2024 9:03:17 PM EDT
[Last Edit: k8byp]
[#47]
Awful lot of childish Trolls here off topic and slinging personal attacks.
All in violation of Forum rules No intelligent comments? |
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Posted: 4/26/2024 9:18:07 PM EDT
[#48]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By k8byp: Awful lot of childish Trolls here off topic and slinging personal attacks. All in violation of Forum rules No intelligent comments? Maybe this forum isn't for you. We have a good group here, new hams, and old experienced hams, helping each other out Propagation is really excellent these days. I see new hams building things, learning CW, going out and activating POTA, learning, and having fun. Life is good |
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Posted: 4/26/2024 9:24:10 PM EDT
[#49]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By k8byp: No intelligent comments? |
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FL, USA
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Posted: 4/26/2024 10:05:17 PM EDT
[#50]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By K9-Bob: Did you come from eHam or QRZ to post this? Lots of sad ham anger in your post. Attached File |
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