I just happened to run across this story while searching for something else on the web. Just too good to ignore.
Some may remember the
MaxCom Automatic Antenna Matcher. It was advertised in the mid 80's in CQ and 73 magazines. QST did a product review and X-rayed the device. Found resistors, a toroidal transformer and a couple of partial circuit boards. The circuit boards were not connected to anything, and had no function. Everything was potted (so people could not see the "solid state" electronics). The broad-band, solid-state tuner/matcher, which was touted to work from 150 kHz to UHF, consisted of several resistors across the feedline, with terminals for the legs of a dipole. Low SWR, but about equally low efficiency. They came in several sizes, with the kilowatt size costing almost $1000. The Florida company was run by a dude named Sonny Irons. Photos of Irons appear in some of the old ads, and pretty well speak for themselves.
I recall reading in the ads: "For all SSB radios. Just connect the antenna, press the switch, and talk, talk, talk!" Just the thing for the slopbucketeer crowd. I suspect some of their customers were drug and gun runners off the coast of Florida, who needed communications capability, had money to burn, but not much technical knowledge. First class rip-off.
The following story makes scant mention of the MaxCom, however. It is about a police raid on his house, which probably
was unconstitutional.
http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/1998-04-23/news/sonny-s-last-stand/1http://www.waterfront-news.us/98/06/html/speakeasy.htm