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TFT Ceases Operations

B

Brian Bowers

From a very reliable source:

TFT has laid off all the employees and is seeking an investor to purchase 40% of the company to allow it to resume operations.

Note: One of the stations in our state that is still using a TFT EAS unit with a CAP Converter advised me that they contacted TFT as to whether TFT will be supporting upgrades for new codes in the EAS rules. The station was informed that the TFT EAS unit already supports the 000000 Location Code, so that is covered. The next change that will likely be coming are three new EAS Event Codes requested by NWS - since that change is currently still out for comment, it will likely be a long time until that change is needed in EAS units, but if TFT does not resume operations it would seem that any station that is still using a TFT AS unit would likely need to replace it.
 
Last edited:
Brian Bowers said:
From a very reliable source:

TFT has laid off all the employees and is seeking an investor to purchase 40% of the company to allow it to resume operations.
Click to expand...

That's too bad. Hopefully they can find a big fish to merge/be purchased or find a qualified investor. Aside from the acronym jokes (Time For Trouble, Totally F*@*ed Trash, Try Fixing This) for being small a company as it is, I've always found TFT's gear to be pretty cost effective and reliable. The broadcast equipment manufacturing business can be a tough nut, mainly because stations keep gear for ten years or more before replacing it. Combine the cheapness of radio ownership and the total number of stations, I'm surprised that a little company like TFT has even lasted 30 years.
 
I worked for Joe Wu, owner of TFT, back in 1979-1980. One of my jobs was to visit nuclear power plants to promote the EBS two-tone system. After I left the company, I understand that they shipped out units that, in order to save money, only decoded one tone, not both.

Aside from that, I found TFT products to be technologically advanced and superior. Getting them out the door in working condition was another matter. With the changes in methods of getting signals from point A to point B, I'm amazed that Darryl Parker held things together as long as he could...
 
Well it appears that TFT is officially TU. Darryl resigned, the staff has all been officially laid off and doors shuttered. The CEO is nowhere to be found. RIP TFT.
 
Yes, the unfortunate truth is that the FCC no longer requires modulation monitors or dedicated remote control, and new technology provides other means of moving programming from studio to transmitter. It is probable that TFT was kept afloat longer than it would otherwise have been, due to EAS.
 
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