Frequency Electronics (FEIM) 10-K29 Jul 142014 FY Annual reportFinancial data

Company Profile

Document_And_Entity_Informatio

Document And Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
Document And Entity Information (USD $)	Apr. 30, 2014	Jul. 21, 2014	Oct. 31, 2013
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]	'	'	'
Entity Registrant Name	'FREQUENCY ELECTRONICS INC	'	'
Document Type	'10-K	'	'
Current Fiscal Year End Date	'--04-30	'	'
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	'	8,585,503	'
Entity Public Float	'	'	$60,700,000
Amendment Flag	'false	'	'
Entity Central Index Key	'0000039020	'	'
Entity Current Reporting Status	'Yes	'	'
Entity Voluntary Filers	'No	'	'
Entity Filer Category	'Smaller Reporting Company	'	'
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	'No	'	'
Document Period End Date	30-Apr-14	'	'
Document Fiscal Year Focus	'2014	'	'
Document Fiscal Period Focus	'FY	'	'

Consolidated_Balance_Sheets

Consolidated Balance Sheets (USD $)	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Current assets:	'	'
Cash and cash equivalents	$7,698	$3,460
Marketable securities	16,030	18,270
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $234 in 2014 and $288 in 2013	7,741	7,781
Costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings, net	10,439	8,617
Inventories, net	41,227	37,521
Deferred income taxes	3,220	3,170
Prepaid income taxes	213	680
Prepaid expenses and other	1,294	1,517
Total current assets	87,862	81,016
Property, plant and equipment, at cost, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization	11,240	8,316
Deferred income taxes	6,650	6,320
Goodwill and other intangible assets	689	781
Cash surrender value of life insurance and cash held in trust	11,321	10,763
Other assets	1,699	1,713
Total assets	119,461	108,909
Current liabilities:	'	'
Short-term credit obligations	0	158
Accounts payable - trade	2,336	1,205
Accrued liabilities	7,361	7,964
Total current liabilities	9,697	9,327
Credit obligations- noncurrent	10,100	6,000
Deferred compensation	10,724	10,374
Deferred rent and other liabilities	594	756
Total liabilities	31,115	26,457
Commitments and contingencies	'	'
Stockholders' equity:	'	'
Preferred stock, $1.00 par value authorized 600 shares, no shares issued	'	'
Common stock, $1.00 par value; authorized 20,000 shares, 9,164 shares issued and 8,571 outstanding in 2014; 8,463 outstanding in 2013	9,164	9,164
Additional paid-in capital	53,181	51,913
Retained earnings	24,702	20,662
	87,047	81,739
Common stock reacquired and held in treasury - at cost (593 shares in 2014 and 701 shares in 2013)	-2,715	-3,200
Accumulated other comprehensive income	4,014	3,913
Total stockholders' equity	88,346	82,452
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$119,461	$108,909

Consolidated_Balance_Sheets_Pa

Consolidated Balance Sheets (Parentheticals) (USD $)	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Allowance for doubtful accounts (in Dollars)	$234	$288
Preferred stock, par value (in Dollars per share)	$1	$1
Preferred stock, shares authorized	600	600
Preferred stock, shares issued	0	0
Common stock, par value (in Dollars per share)	$1	$1
Common stock, shares authorized	20,000	20,000
Common stock shares issued	9,164	9,164
Common stock, shares outstanding	8,571	8,463
Treasury stock, shares	593	701

Consolidated_Statements_of_Inc

Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Revenues	$71,550	$68,932
Cost of revenues	46,800	43,822
Gross margin	24,750	25,110
Selling and administrative expenses	14,064	14,704
Research and development expenses	5,813	5,727
Operating profit	4,873	4,679
Other income (expense):	'	'
Investment income	880	671
Interest expense	-156	-195
Other income (expense), net	703	-69
Income before provision for income taxes	6,300	5,086
Provision for income taxes	2,260	1,400
Net income	4,040	3,686
Net income per common share:	'	'
Basic (in Dollars per share)	$0.47	$0.44
Diluted (in Dollars per share)	$0.46	$0.43
Average shares outstanding:	'	'
Basic (in Shares)	8,526,576	8,412,633
Diluted (in Shares)	8,816,957	8,604,651
Statements of Comprehensive Income	'	'
Net Income	4,040	3,686
Other comprehensive income (loss):	'	'
Foreign currency translation adjustment	505	-782
Change in market value of marketable securities	-659	821
Deferred tax effect of change in marketable securities	255	-296
Total other comprehensive income (loss)	101	-257
Comprehensive income	$4,141	$3,429

Consolidated_Statements_of_Cas

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Cash flows from operating activities:	'	'
Net income	$4,040	$3,686
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided in operating activities:	'	'
Deferred income tax benefit	-160	-320
Depreciation and amortization	2,471	2,413
Deferred lease obligation	120	-68
Provision for losses on accounts receivable, inventories and warranty reserve	254	2,146
Gains on marketable securities	-367	-47
(Gain) loss on sale of fixed and other assets, net	-667	45
Employee benefit plans expense	1,246	1,072
Stock-based compensation expense	1,105	947
Tax benefit from exercise of stock-based compensation	-182	-152
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:	'	'
Accounts receivable	-1,631	465
Inventories	-3,102	-6,017
Prepaid expenses and other	423	-133
Other assets	-703	-614
Accounts payable - trade	614	-502
Accrued liabilities	-88	895
Income taxes refundable/payable	688	-1,071
Other liabilities	-419	88
Net cash provided by operating activities	3,642	2,833
Cash flows from investing activities:	'	'
Purchase of marketable securities	-3,162	-2,836
Proceeds from sale or redemption of marketable securities	4,993	3,006
Proceeds from sale of fixed assets (a)	0	67
Capital expenditures	-5,405	-2,250
Net cash used in investing activities	-3,574	-2,013
Cash flows from financing activities:	'	'
Proceeds from credit line borrowing	4,100	5,000
Payment of short-term credit and lease obligations	-15	-5,357
Proceeds from exercise of stock options	0	20
Dividends paid	0	-1,684
Tax benefit from exercise of stock-based compensation	182	152
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities	4,267	-1,869
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents before effect of exchange rate changes	4,335	-1,049
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents	-97	-273
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	4,238	-1,322
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year	3,460	4,782
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year	7,698	3,460
Cash paid during the year for:	'	'
Interest	153	186
Income taxes	$1,735	$2,993

Consolidated_Statements_of_Cha

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders' Equity (USD $)	Common Stock [Member]	Additional Paid-in Capital [Member]	Retained Earnings [Member]	Treasury Stock [Member]	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Member]	Total
In Thousands, except Share data	Common Stock [Member]	Additional Paid-in Capital [Member]	Retained Earnings [Member]	Treasury Stock [Member]	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Member]	Total
Balance at Apr. 30, 2012	$9,164	$50,797	$18,660	($3,659)	$4,170	$79,132
Balance (in Shares) at Apr. 30, 2012	9,163,940	'	'	800,787	'	'
Contribution of stock to 401(k) plan	'	214	'	242	'	456
Contribution of stock to 401(k) plan (in Shares)	'	'	'	-52,715	'	'
Stock-based compensation expense	'	947	'	'	'	947
Stock-based compensation expense (in Shares)	'	'	'	100	'	'
Tax benefit from stock option exercise	'	152	'	'	'	152
Exercise of stock options and stock appreciation rights - net of	'	-197	'	217	'	20
Exercise of stock options and stock appreciation rights - net of (in Shares)	'	'	'	-47,582	'	-113,075
Cash dividend $0.20 per share	'	'	-1,684	'	'	-1,684
Change in unrealized gains and losses on marketable securities, net of taxes	'	'	'	'	525	525
Foreign currency translation adjustment	'	'	'	'	-782	-782
Net Income	'	'	3,686	'	'	3,686
Balance at Apr. 30, 2013	9,164	51,913	20,662	-3,200	3,913	82,452
Balance (in Shares) at Apr. 30, 2013	9,163,940	'	'	700,590	'	8,463,000
Contribution of stock to 401(k) plan	'	277	'	189	'	466
Contribution of stock to 401(k) plan (in Shares)	'	'	'	-41,775	'	'
Stock-based compensation expense	'	1,104	'	1	'	1,105
Stock-based compensation expense (in Shares)	'	'	'	-300	'	'
Tax benefit from stock option exercise	'	182	'	'	'	182
Exercise of stock options and stock appreciation rights - net of	'	-295	'	295	'	'
Exercise of stock options and stock appreciation rights - net of (in Shares)	'	'	'	-65,384	'	-196,000
Change in unrealized gains and losses on marketable securities, net of taxes	'	'	'	'	-404	-404
Foreign currency translation adjustment	'	'	'	'	505	505
Net Income	'	'	4,040	'	'	4,040
Balance at Apr. 30, 2014	$9,164	$53,181	$24,702	($2,715)	$4,014	$88,346
Balance (in Shares) at Apr. 30, 2014	9,163,940	'	'	593,131	'	8,571,000

Consolidated_Statements_of_Cha1

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders' Equity (Parentheticals) (Retained Earnings [Member], USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2013
Retained Earnings [Member]	'
Cash dividend, per share	$0.20

Noncash_operating_and_investin

Non-cash operating and investing activities:	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2014
Supplemental Cash Flow Elements [Abstract]	'
Cash Flow, Supplemental Disclosures [Text Block]	'
	Non-cash operating and investing activities:

	(a)	During the year ended April 30, 2014, the Company delivered certain fixed assets called for by a license agreement with Morion, Inc. (See Note 10. Investment in Morion, Inc.) A portion of the $925 deposit previously received and recorded as deferred revenue at April 30, 2013, was recognized as proceeds on the sale of those fixed assets in fiscal year 2014. No additional cash was received for that provision of the license agreement.

1_Summary_of_Accounting_Polici

1. Summary of Accounting Policies	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2014
Accounting Policies [Abstract]	'
Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block]	'
	1. Summary of Accounting Policies

	Principles of Consolidation:

	The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Frequency Electronics, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries (the "Company" or "Registrant"). References to “FEI” are to the parent company alone and do not refer to any of its subsidiaries. The Company is principally engaged in the design, development and manufacture of precision time and frequency control products and components for microwave integrated circuit applications. See Note 14 for information regarding the Company’s FEI-NY (which includes the subsidiaries FEI Government Systems, Inc., FEI Communications, Inc., Frequency Electronics, Inc. Asia (“FEI-Asia”) and FEI-Elcom Tech, Inc. (“FEI-Elcom”)), Gillam-FEI, and FEI-Zyfer business segments. Intercompany accounts and significant intercompany transactions are eliminated in consolidation. To accommodate the different fiscal periods of Gillam-FEI, the Company recognizes its share of net income or loss on a one month lag. Any material events which may occur during the intervening month at Gillam-FEI will be accounted for in the consolidated financial statements.

	These financial statements have been prepared in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) and require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts reported and disclosed in the financial statements and related notes. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

	Cash Equivalents:

	The Company considers certificates of deposit and other highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company places its temporary cash investments with high credit quality financial institutions. Such investments may be in excess of the FDIC insurance limit. No losses have been experienced on such investments.

	Marketable Securities:

	Marketable securities consist of investments in common stocks, including exchange-traded funds, corporate debt securities and debt securities of U.S. Government agencies. All marketable securities were held in the custody of financial institutions; four and five institutions at April 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Investments in debt and equity securities are categorized as available for sale and are carried at fair value, with unrealized gains and losses excluded from income and recorded directly to stockholders' equity. The Company recognizes gains or losses when securities are sold using the specific identification method.

	Allowance for Doubtful Accounts:

	Losses from uncollectible accounts receivable are provided for by utilizing the allowance for doubtful accounts method based upon management’s estimate of uncollectible accounts. Management analyzes accounts receivable and the potential for bad debts, customer concentrations, credit worthiness, current economic trends and changes in customer payment terms when evaluating the amount recorded for the allowance for doubtful accounts.

	Inventories:

	Inventories, which consist of finished goods, work-in-process, raw materials and components, are accounted for at the lower of cost (specific and average) or market.

	Property, Plant and Equipment:

	Property, plant and equipment are recorded at cost and include interest on funds borrowed to finance construction. Expenditures for renewals and betterments are capitalized; maintenance and repairs are charged to income when incurred. When fixed assets are sold or retired, the cost and related accumulated depreciation and amortization are eliminated from the respective accounts and any gain or loss is credited or charged to income.

	If events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of a long-lived asset may not be recoverable, the Company estimates the future cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset and its eventual disposition. If the sum of the expected future cash flows (undiscounted and without interest charges) is less than the carrying amount of the long-lived asset, an impairment loss is recognized. To date, no impairment losses have been recognized.

	Depreciation and Amortization:

	Depreciation of fixed assets is computed on the straight-line method based upon the estimated useful lives of the assets (40 years for buildings and 3 to 10 years for other depreciable assets). Leasehold improvements and equipment acquired under capital leases are amortized on the straight-line method over the shorter of the term of the lease or the useful life of the related asset.

	Amortization of identifiable intangible assets is based upon the expected lives of the assets and is recorded at a rate which approximates the Company’s utilization of the assets.

	Intangible Assets:

	Intangible assets consist of the ISO 9000 certification arising from the acquisition of FEI-Elcom in the assignment of fair value to its acquired assets including intangibles. The certification is valued at fair value and amortized over the estimated useful life of 3 years from the date of acquisition.

	Goodwill:

	The Company records goodwill as the excess of purchase price over the fair value of identifiable net assets acquired. Goodwill is tested for impairment on at least an annual basis at year end. When it is determined that the carrying value of goodwill may not be recoverable, the Company writes down the goodwill to an amount commensurate with the revised value of the acquired assets. The Company measures impairment based on revenue projections, recent transactions involving similar businesses and price/revenue multiples at which they were bought and sold, price/revenue multiples of competitors, and the present market value of publicly-traded companies in the Company’s industry.

	Revenue and Cost Recognition:

	Revenues under larger, long-term contracts, which generally require billings based on achievement of milestones rather than delivery of product, are reported in operating results using the percentage of completion method. For U.S. Government and other fixed-price contracts that require initial design and development of the product, revenue is recognized on the cost-to-cost method. Under this method, revenue is recorded based upon the ratio that incurred costs bear to total estimated contract costs with related cost of sales recorded as the costs are incurred. Costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts, net of billings on uncompleted contracts in excess of costs and estimated earnings, are included in current assets.

	On production-type orders, revenue is recorded as units are delivered with the related cost of sales recognized on each shipment based upon a percentage of estimated final program costs.

	Changes in job performance on long-term and production-type orders may result in revisions to costs and revenue and are recognized in the period in which revisions are determined to be required. Provisions for anticipated losses are made in the period in which they become determinable.

	For customer orders in the Company’s subsidiaries, and smaller contracts or orders in the other business segments, sales of products and services to customers are reported in operating results upon shipment of the product or performance of the services pursuant to terms of the customer order.

	Contract costs include all direct material, direct labor costs, manufacturing overhead and other direct costs related to contract performance. Selling, general and administrative costs are charged to expense as incurred.

	In accordance with industry practice, inventoried costs contain amounts relating to contracts and programs with long production cycles, a portion of which will not be realized within one year. Program costs for which production-level orders cannot be determined as probable are written down in the period in which that assessment is made.

	Comprehensive Income:

	Comprehensive income consists of net income and other comprehensive income. Other comprehensive income includes changes in unrealized gains or losses, net of tax, on securities available for sale during the year and the effects of foreign currency translation adjustments.

	Research and Development expenses:

The Company engages in research and development activities to identify new applications for its core technologies, to improve existing products and to improve manufacturing processes to achieve cost reductions and manufacturing efficiencies. Research and development costs include direct labor, manufacturing overhead, direct materials and contracted services. Such costs are expensed as incurred.

Income Taxes:

The Company recognizes deferred tax liabilities and assets based on the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements or tax returns. Under this method, deferred tax liabilities and assets are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. Valuation allowances are established and adjusted when necessary to increase or reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.

The Company analyzes its tax positions under accounting standards which prescribe recognition thresholds that must be met before a tax benefit is recognized in the financial statements and provides guidance on de-recognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure, and transition. An entity may only recognize or continue to recognize tax positions that meet a "more likely than not" threshold. When and if the Company were to recognize interest or penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits, it would be reported net of the federal tax benefit in the tax provision.

Earnings Per Share:

Basic earnings per share are computed by dividing net earnings by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding. Diluted earnings per share are computed by dividing net earnings by the sum of the weighted average number of shares of common stock and the if-converted effect of unexercised stock options and stock appreciation rights.

Fair Values of Financial Instruments:

Cash and cash equivalents and short-term credit obligations are reflected in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets at amounts considered by management to reasonably approximate fair value based upon the nature of the instrument and current market conditions. Management is not aware of any factors that would significantly affect the value of these amounts. The Company also has an investment in a privately-held company, Morion, Inc. (“Morion”). The Company is unable to reasonably estimate a fair value for this investment.

Foreign Operations and Foreign Currency Adjustments:

The Company maintains manufacturing operations in Belgium and the People’s Republic of China. The Company is vulnerable to currency risks in these countries. The local currency is the functional currency of each of the Company’s non-U.S. subsidiaries. No foreign currency gains or losses are recorded on intercompany transactions since they are affected at current rates of exchange. The results of operations of foreign subsidiaries, when translated into U.S. dollars, reflect the average rates of exchange for the periods presented. The balance sheets of foreign subsidiaries, except for equity accounts which are translated at historical rates, are translated into U.S. dollars at the rates of exchange in effect on the date of the balance sheet. As a result, similar results in local currency can vary upon translation into U.S. dollars if exchange rates fluctuate significantly from one period to the next.

Equity-based Compensation:

The Company values its share-based payment transactions using the Black-Scholes valuation model. Such value is recognized as expense on a straight-line basis over the service period of the awards, which is generally the vesting period, net of estimated forfeitures.

The weighted average fair value of each option or stock appreciation right has been estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following range of weighted average assumptions used for grants:

		Years ended April 30
		2014			2013
Expected volatility			34	%		40	%
Dividend yield			0	%		0	%
Risk-free interest rate		2.45% to 2.50%			1.31% to 1.35%
Expected lives		8.5 years			8.5 years

The expected life assumption was determined based on the Company’s historical experience. The expected volatility assumption was based on the historical volatility of the Company’s common stock. The dividend yield assumption was determined based upon the Company’s past history of dividend payments and the Company’s current decision to suspend payment of dividends. On December 21, 2012, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a special cash dividend of $0.20 per share, payable on December 31, 2012 to shareholders of record on December 24, 2012. Due to the one-time nature of the special dividend it was not factored into the Black-Scholes fair value calculations. The risk-free interest rate assumption was determined using the implied yield currently available for zero-coupon U.S. Government issues with a remaining term equal to the expected life of the stock options.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments, which potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk, consist principally of cash and cash equivalents and trade receivables. The Company maintains accounts at several commercial banks at which the balances exceed Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation limits. The Company has not experienced any losses on such amounts. Concentration of credit risk with respect to trade receivables is generally diversified due to the large number of entities comprising the Company’s customer base and their dispersion across geographic areas principally within the United States. The Company routinely addresses the financial strength of its customers and, as a consequence, believes that its receivable credit risk exposure is limited. The Company does not require customers to post collateral.

New Accounting Pronouncements:

In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). ASU 2014-09 eliminates most of the existing industry-specific revenue recognition guidance and significantly expands related disclosures. The required disclosures will include both quantitative and qualitative information about the amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue from contracts with customers and the significant judgments used. Entities can retrospectively apply ASU 2014-09 or use an alternative transition method. This ASU is effective for public companies for annual reporting periods beginning on or after December 15, 2016 and for the Company, must be adopted for its fiscal year 2018 beginning on May 1, 2017. The Company is in the process of determining the effect that ASU 2014-09 may have on its financial statements.

In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU No. 2013-02, Other Comprehensive Income. The amendments require an entity to provide information about the amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by component. In addition, an entity is required to present, either on the face of the statement where net income is presented or in the notes, significant amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by the respective line items of net income but only if the amount reclassified is required under U.S. GAAP to be reclassified to net income in its entirety in the same reporting period. For other amounts that are not required under U.S. GAAP to be reclassified in their entirety to net income, an entity is required to cross-reference to other disclosures required under U.S. GAAP that provide additional detail about those amounts. This ASU is effective for periods beginning after December 15, 2012 and the Company adopted ASU 2013-02 in fiscal year 2014 which began on May 1, 2013. Such adoption is reflected in the Company’s financial statements resulting in additional disclosures. (See Note 15.)

In July 2012, the FASB issued ASU No. 2012-02, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Test Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment. Under the requirements of ASU 2012-02 an entity has the option to assess qualitative factors when testing indefinite-lived intangible assets annually to determine whether it is more likely than not that the asset is not impaired. An entity also has the option to bypass the qualitative assessment for any indefinite-lived intangible asset in any period and proceed directly to performing the quantitative impairment test or resume performing the qualitative assessment in any subsequent period. If, after assessing the totality of events and circumstances, an entity concludes that it is more likely than not that the indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired, then it is required to determine the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset and perform the quantitative impairment test by comparing the fair value with the carrying amount in accordance with Subtopic 350-30. ASU 2012-02 is effective for annual and interim impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012. The Company adopted ASU 2012-02 for its fiscal year 2014 which began on May 1, 2013. The adoption of this ASU had no material impact on the Company’s financial statements.

2_Earnings_Per_Share

2. Earnings Per Share	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2014
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]	'
Earnings Per Share [Text Block]	'
	2. Earnings Per Share

	Reconciliations of the weighted average shares outstanding for basic and diluted Earnings Per Share are as follows:

		Years ended April 30,
		2014		2013
	Basic EPS Shares outstanding (weighted average)		8,526,576		8,412,633
	Effect of Dilutive Securities		290,381		192,018
	Diluted EPS Shares outstanding		8,816,957		8,604,651

	Dilutive securities consist of unexercised stock options and stock appreciation rights (“SARS”). The computation of diluted shares outstanding excludes those options and SARS with an exercise price in excess of the average market price of the Company’s common shares during the periods presented. The inclusion of such options and SARS in the computation of earnings per share would have been antidilutive. For the years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013, the number of excluded options and SARS were 270,875 and 939,375, respectively.

3_Costs_and_Estimated_Earnings

3. Costs and Estimated Earnings in Excess of Billings	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2014
Contractors [Abstract]	'
Long-term Contracts or Programs Disclosure [Text Block]	'

	3. Costs and Estimated Earnings in Excess of Billings

	At April 30, 2014 and 2013, costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings, net, consist of the following:

		2014			2013
		(in thousands)
	Costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings	$	11,965		$	10,228
	Billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings		(1,526	)		(1,611	)
	Net asset	$	10,439		$	8,617

	Such amounts represent revenue recognized on long-term contracts that had not been billed at the balance sheet dates or represent a liability for amounts billed in excess of the revenue recognized. Amounts are billed to customers pursuant to contract terms. In general, the recorded amounts will be billed and collected or revenue recognized within twelve months of the balance sheet date. Revenue on these long-term contracts is accounted for on the percentage of completion basis. During the years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013, revenue recognized under percentage of completion contracts was approximately $43.2 million and $35.6 million, respectively.

4_Inventories

4. Inventories	12 Months Ended
4. Inventories	Apr. 30, 2014
Inventory Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Inventory Disclosure [Text Block]	'
	4. Inventories

	Inventories at April 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively, consisted of the following (in thousands):

		2014		2013
	Raw Materials and Component Parts	$	24,986	$	21,066
	Work in Progress		12,385		13,665
	Finished Goods		3,856		2,790
		$	41,227	$	37,521

	As of April 30, 2014 and 2013, approximately $33.4 million and $29.9 million, respectively, of total inventory is located in the United States, approximately $7.1 million and $6.9 million, respectively, is located in Belgium and approximately $0.7 million and $0.7 million, respectively, is located in China.

5_Property_Plant_and_Equipment

5. Property, Plant and Equipment and Leases	12 Months Ended
5. Property, Plant and Equipment and Leases	Apr. 30, 2014
Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]	'
Property, Plant and Equipment Disclosure [Text Block]	'
	5. Property, Plant and Equipment and Leases

	Property, plant and equipment at April 30, 2014 and 2013, consists of the following (in thousands):

		2014		2013
	Buildings and building improvements	$	5,976	$	5,477
	Machinery, equipment and furniture		49,651		44,758
			55,627		50,235
	Less, accumulated depreciation		44,387		41,919
		$	11,240	$	8,316

	Depreciation and amortization expense for the years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013 was $2,309,000 and $2,250,000, respectively.

	Maintenance and repairs charged to operations for the years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013 was approximately $940,000 and $993,000, respectively.

	The Company leases its Long Island, New York headquarters building at an annual rent of $800,000 following the Company’s exercise of its option to renew the lease for a second 5-year period. The lease will end in January 2019. Under the terms of the lease, the Company is required to pay its proportionate share of real estate taxes, insurance and other charges.

	In addition, the Company’s subsidiaries in New Jersey, China, France and California lease their office and manufacturing facilities. FEI-Elcom leases 32,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space at current monthly rental of approximately $28,000 in the last two years of the lease which expires in March 2016. The lease for the FEI-Asia facility is for a one-year term with monthly rent of $6,800 through February 2015. FEI-Zyfer leases office and manufacturing space encompassing 27,850 square feet. Monthly rental payments are currently $29,500 and increase each year over the remaining 40 months of the lease term. Satel-FEI, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gillam-FEI, occupies office space under a 9-year lease, cancelable after three years, at an approximate rate of $1,100 per month.

	Rent expense under operating leases was approximately $1.5 million and $1.3 million for the fiscal years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013. The Company records rent expense on its New York building and FEI-Zyfer facility on the straight-line method over the lives of the respective leases. As a result, as of April 30, 2014 and 2013, the Company’s balance sheet includes deferred rent payable of approximately $380,000 and $310,000, respectively, which will be recognized over the respective rental periods.

	Future minimum lease payments required by the operating leases are as follows (in thousands):

	Years ending April 30,	Operating Leases
	2015	$	1,503
	2016		1,473
	2017		1,174
	2018		925
	2019		600
	Total future minimum lease payments	$	5,675

6_Marketable_Securities

6. Marketable Securities	12 Months Ended
6. Marketable Securities	Apr. 30, 2014
Investments, Debt and Equity Securities [Abstract]	'
Investments in Debt and Marketable Equity Securities (and Certain Trading Assets) Disclosure [Text Block]	'
	6. Marketable Securities

	The cost, gross unrealized gains, gross unrealized losses and fair market value of available-for-sale securities at April 30, 2014 and 2013 are as follows (in thousands):

			30-Apr-14
					Gross			Gross			Fair
					Unrealized			Unrealized			Market
			Cost		Gains			Losses			Value
	Fixed income securities		$	8,927	$	116		$	(36	)	$	9,007
	Equity securities			6,267		909			(153	)		7,023
			$	15,194	$	1,025		$	(189	)	$	16,030

			30-Apr-13
					Gross			Gross			Fair
					Unrealized			Unrealized			Market
			Cost		Gains			Losses			Value
	Fixed income securities		$	10,285	$	297		$	0		$	10,582
	Equity securities			6,490		1,266			(68	)		7,688
			$	16,775	$	1,563		$	(68	)	$	18,270

	The following table presents the fair value and unrealized losses, aggregated by investment type and length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position:

			Less than 12 months					12 Months or more						Total
			Fair		Unrealized			Fair			Unrealized			Fair		Unrealized
			Value		Losses			Value			Losses			Value		Losses
	30-Apr-14
	Fixed Income Securities		$	501	$	(3	)	$	448		$	(33	)	$	949	$	(36	)
	Equity Securities			366		(1	)		925			(152	)		1,291		(153	)
			$	867	$	(4	)	$	1,373		$	(185	)	$	2,240	$	(189	)

	30-Apr-13
	Fixed Income Securities		$	-	$	-		$	-		$	-		$	-	$	-
	Equity Securities			-		-			512			(68	)		512		(68	)
			$	-	$	-		$	512		$	(68	)	$	512	$	(68	)

	The Company regularly reviews its investment portfolio to identify and evaluate investments that have indications of possible impairment. The Company does not believe that its investments in marketable securities with unrealized losses at April 30, 2014 are other-than-temporary due to market volatility of the security’s fair value, analysts’ expectations and the Company’s ability to hold the securities for a period of time sufficient to allow for any anticipated recoveries in market value.

	Proceeds from the sale or redemption of available-for-sale securities and the resulting gross realized gains and losses included in the determination of net income (loss) are as follows (in thousands):

			For the years ended April 30,
			2014		2013
	Proceeds		$	4,993	$	3,006
	Gross realized gains		$	367	$	47
	Gross realized losses		$	-	$	-

	Maturities of fixed income securities classified as available-for-sale at April 30, 2014 are as follows (at cost, in thousands):

	Current		$	4,014
	Due after one year through five years			3,086
	Due after five years through ten years			1,827
			$	8,927

	The fair value accounting framework provides a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (level 3 measurements).

	The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described below:

		Level 1	Inputs to the valuation methodology are unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets that the Company has the ability to access.

		Level 2	Inputs to the valuation methodology include:

		- Quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets;

		- Quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in inactive markets

	- Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability;

	- Inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means.

	Level 3	Inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable and significant to the fair value measurement.

The asset’s or liability’s fair value measurement level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Valuation techniques used need to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. All of the Company’s investments in marketable securities are Level 1 assets.

7_Debt_Obligations

7. Debt Obligations	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2014
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Debt Disclosure [Text Block]	'
	7.	Debt Obligations

	On June 6, 2013, the Company obtained a credit facility (the “Facility”) from JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (“JPMorgan”) pursuant to a credit agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) between the Company and JPMorgan. The maximum aggregate amount of the Facility is $25.0 million, of which the Company immediately borrowed $7.2 million, using the proceeds to repay the outstanding balance under the $9.3 million line of credit with another financial institution which formerly managed a substantial portion of the Company’s investment portfolio. As a result of this refinancing of short-term credit with a long-term obligation, as of April 30, 2013, the Company reclassified the $6.0 million balance payable under the replaced line of credit to long-term debt. Proceeds from the Facility will be used for working capital and to finance acquisitions. During the year ended April 30, 2014, the Company borrowed an additional $4.1 million under the Facility, primarily to finance the acquisition of additional manufacturing equipment.

	The Company may make borrowings under the Facility, from either Tranche A or Tranche B or a combination of both, not to exceed $25.0 million. Pursuant to the Credit Agreement, the amount of Tranche A borrowings may not exceed the value of the Pledged Investments (as defined in the Credit Agreement). The amount of Tranche B borrowings may not exceed the lesser of (i) $15.0 million and (ii) the Borrowing Base (as defined in the Credit Agreement). Current outstanding borrowings under the Facility are all under Tranche A. The Facility is fully guaranteed by certain of the Company’s subsidiaries and is secured by, among other things, a pledge of substantially all personal property of the Company and certain of the Company’s subsidiaries.

	Borrowings under the Facility are evidenced by a line of credit note (the “Note”) and bear interest, payable monthly, at a rate equal to the LIBOR Rate, as determined from time to time by JPMorgan pursuant to the terms of the Note, plus a margin of 0.75% for Tranche A borrowings and 1.75% for Tranche B borrowings. The principal balance on the Note, along with any accrued and unpaid interest, is due and payable no later than June 5, 2018, which is the maturity date of the Facility. In addition, the Company is required to pay JPMorgan fees equal to 0.1% per annum on any unused portion of the Facility.

	The Credit Agreement contains a number of affirmative and negative covenants, including limitations on the incurrence of additional debt, liens on property, acquisitions, loans and guarantees, mergers, consolidations, liquidations and dissolutions, asset sales, and distributions and other payments in respect of the Company’s capital stock. The Credit Agreement also contains certain events of default customary for credit facilities of this type, including nonpayment of principal or interest when due, material incorrectness of representations and warranties when made, breach of covenants, bankruptcy and insolvency, unstayed material judgment beyond specified periods, and acceleration or payment default of other material indebtedness. The Credit Agreement requires the Company to maintain, as of the end of each fiscal quarter, a funded debt to EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) ratio and, if there are any borrowings under Tranche B, an interest charge coverage ratio. The calculation of both ratios is defined in the Credit Agreement. For the year ended April 30, 2014, the Company met the required covenants for its borrowings under Tranche A.

	Under the Company’s subsequently replaced $9.3 million line of credit, noted above, during the fiscal year ended April 30, 2013, the Company borrowed $5.0 million and repaid the same amount. The highest borrowings under this line of credit during fiscal year 2013 was $8.5 million. The line was secured by the investments and had no maturity date so long as the Company maintained its investments with the financial institution. During fiscal year 2013, advances against the line of credit bore interest at variable interest rates between 1.70% and 1.80%.

	The Company’s European subsidiaries have available 250,000 Euros (approximately $350,000 based on current rates of exchange between the dollar and the Euro) in a bank credit line to meet short-term cash flow requirements. As of April 30, 2014 and 2013, no amounts were outstanding under such line of credit. Borrowings under the bank credit line, if any, must be repaid within one year of receipt of funds. Interest on this credit line is at 1.0% over the EURO Interbank Offered rate (EURIBOR). At April 30, 2014 and 2013, the rate was 1.235% and 1.117%, respectively, based on the one-month EURIBOR.

8_Accrued_Liabilities

8. Accrued Liabilities	12 Months Ended
8. Accrued Liabilities	Apr. 30, 2014
Payables and Accruals [Abstract]	'
Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities Disclosure [Text Block]	'
	8. Accrued Liabilities

	Accrued liabilities at April 30, 2014 and 2013 consist of the following (in thousands):

		2014		2013
	Vacation and other compensation	$	1,761	$	1,794
	Incentive compensation		1,389		1,634
	Payroll taxes		1,613		1,323
	Deferred revenue		1,023		1,620
	Warranty reserve		617		598
	Other		958		995
		$	7,361	$	7,964

9_Product_Warranties

9. Product Warranties	12 Months Ended
9. Product Warranties	Apr. 30, 2014
Product Warranties Disclosures [Abstract]	'
Product Warranty Disclosure [Text Block]	'
	9. Product Warranties

	The Company generally provides its customers with a one-year warranty regarding the manufactured quality and functionality of its products. For some limited products, the warranty period has been extended. The Company establishes warranty reserves based on its product history, current information on repair costs and annual sales levels. Changes in the carrying amount of accrued product warranty costs are as follows (in thousands):

		Year Ended April 30,
		2014			2013
	Balance at beginning of year	$	598		$	778
	Warranty costs incurred		(339	)		(324	)
	Product warranty accrual		358			144
	Balance at end of year	$	617		$	598

10_Investment_in_Morion_Inc

10. Investment in Morion, Inc.	12 Months Ended
10. Investment in Morion, Inc.	Apr. 30, 2014
Investment Holdings [Abstract]	'
Investment Holdings [Text Block]	'
	10. Investment in Morion, Inc.

	The Company has an investment in Morion, Inc., a privately-held Russian company, which manufactures high precision quartz resonators and crystal oscillators. The Company’s investment consists of 4.6% of Morion’s outstanding shares, accordingly, the Company accounts for its investment in Morion on the cost basis. This investment is included in other assets in the accompanying balance sheets.

	During the fiscal years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013, the Company acquired product from Morion in the aggregate amount of approximately $213,000 and $54,000, respectively, and the Company sold product to Morion in the aggregate amount of approximately $1,044,000 and $355,000, respectively. At April 30, 2014, accounts receivable included $276,000 due from Morion and $34,000 was payable to Morion.

	On October 22, 2012, the Company entered into an agreement with respect to its licensing of rubidium oscillator production technology to Morion. The agreement requires the Company to supply production equipment and parts and to provide training to Morion employees to enable Morion to achieve certain levels of volume production of rubidium oscillators. Morion will pay the Company approximately $2.7 million for the license, the equipment, parts and training, plus 5% royalties on third party sales. For a 5-year period following an initial production run, the Company commits to purchase from Morion a minimum of approximately $400,000 worth of rubidium oscillators per year although Morion is not obligated to sell that amount to the Company. In November 2012, Morion paid the Company a $925,000 deposit under the agreement which amount had been recorded on the Company’s balance sheet as deferred revenue. In October 2013, after amending the original document to clarify certain billing events, the Company invoiced Morion for the equipment, certain component parts for the production of rubidium oscillators, training of certain Morion employees and transfer of the production technology and license to Morion. Accordingly, during the year ended April 30, 2014, the Company recorded revenues of $500,000 for the technology transfer, training and sale of parts and recognized a gain of approximately $736,000 upon the sale of fully-depreciated equipment. The $925,000 deposit previously recorded as deferred revenue is included in these revenues and gain. Additional revenues under the agreement will be recorded after the Company provides further on-site training for Morion personnel, delivers more component parts and obtains relief from certain U.S. Government limitations relating to the sales of items to be manufactured under the license. The United States Department of State has approved the technology transfer called for under the agreement.

11_Goodwill_and_Other_Intangib

11. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets	12 Months Ended
11. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets	Apr. 30, 2014
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Text Block]	'
	11. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

	During fiscal year 2004, the Company acquired FEI-Zyfer, Inc. (“FEI-Zyfer”). This acquisition resulted in the recording of $218,000 in goodwill. In February 2012, the Company acquired FEI-Elcom resulting in the recording of goodwill in the amount of $398,000 plus other intangible assets with a value of $275,000. Management has determined that goodwill is not impaired as of April 30, 2014 and 2013. The other intangible asset will be amortized over a three-year period from the date of acquisition. Amortization expense for the years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013 was approximately $91,000 each year.

12_Employee_Benefit_Plans

12. Employee Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Apr. 30, 2014

Disclosure Text Block Supplement [Abstract]

Compensation and Employee Benefit Plans [Text Block]

12. Employee Benefit Plans

Profit Sharing Plan:

The Company provides its U.S.-based employees with a profit sharing plan and trust under section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code. This plan allows all eligible employees to defer a portion of their income through voluntary contributions to the plan. In accordance with the provisions of the plan, the Company can make discretionary matching contributions in the form of cash or common stock. For the years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013, the Company contributed 41,775 and 52,715 shares of common stock, respectively. The approximate value of these shares at the date of contribution was $466,000 in fiscal year 2014 and $456,000 in fiscal year 2013. Contributed shares are drawn from the Company’s common stock held in treasury and are removed at the Company’s original cost of acquisition of such shares on a specific identification basis. In addition to changes in the treasury stock accounts, during fiscal years 2014 and 2013, such transactions increased additional paid in capital by $277,000 and $214,000, respectively. As of April 30, 2014, the profit sharing plan holds an aggregate of 464,652 shares of the Company’s common stock allocated to the accounts of the individual participants.

Income Incentive Pool:

The Company maintains incentive bonus programs for certain employees which are based on operating profits of the individual subsidiaries to which the employees are assigned. The Company also adopted a plan for the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, which formula is based on consolidated pre-tax profits. The Company charged approximately $1.3 million and $1.6 million to selling and administrative expenses under these plans for the fiscal years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Employee Stock Plans:

The Company has various stock plans, some of which have been approved by the Company’s stockholders, for key management employees, including officers and directors who are employees, certain consultants and independent members of the Board of Directors. The plans are Nonqualified Stock Options (“NQSO”) plans, Incentive Stock Option ("ISO”) plans and Stock Appreciation Rights (“SARS”). Under these plans, options or SARS are granted at the discretion of the Stock Option Committee at an exercise price not less than the fair market value of the Company's common stock on the date of grant.

Typically, options and SARS vest over a four-year period from the date of grant. The options and SARS expire ten years after the date of grant and are subject to certain restrictions on transferability of the shares obtained on exercise. As of April 30, 2012, a consultant, who is the son of the Company’s president, had been granted options to purchase 56,625 shares of Company stock under NQSO plans at a weighted average exercise price of $5.60. During the years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013, the consultant elected cashless exercises of 17,500 shares at an exercise price of $6.67 (resulting in a net issuance of 7,276 shares) and 19,125 shares at an exercise price of $3.50 per share (resulting in a net issuance of 11,011 shares), respectively. The remaining 20,000 options are outstanding and exercisable at an exercise price of $6.67. The options expire one year after the termination of the consulting agreement which has no expiration date. As of April 30, 2014, eligible employees had been granted options to purchase approximately 172,500 shares of Company stock under ISO plans, of which approximately 95,000 options with a weighted average exercise price of $13.15 are both outstanding and exercisable. The Company provides option holders the opportunity to exercise stock options either by paying the exercise price for the shares or to do a cashless exercise whereby the individual receives the net number of shares of stock equal in value to the exercised number of shares times the difference between the current market value of the Company’s stock and the exercise price. During the year ended April 30, 2014, employees exercised ISOs for 77,500 shares of Company stock choosing to do so in cashless exercises. Such cashless exercises of stock options under ISO and NQSO plans, including the consultant shares above, aggregated 95,000 shares. Accordingly, the Company issued 14,828 shares on exercise and returned 80,172 shares to the pool of available shares which may be used for future grants. As of April 30, 2014, eligible employees and directors have been granted SARS based on approximately 1,711,000 shares of Company stock, of which approximately 1,608,000 shares are outstanding and approximately 1,028,000 shares with a weighted average exercise price of $8.01 are exercisable. When the SARS become exercisable, the Company will settle the SARS by issuing to exercising recipients the number of shares of stock equal to the appreciated value of the Company’s stock between the grant date and exercise date. At the time of exercise, the quantity of shares under the SARS grant equal to the exercise value divided by the then market value of the shares will be returned to the pool of available shares for future grant under the Company’s stock plan. During the year ended April 30, 2014, employees exercised SARS representing 101,000 shares of Company stock and received 50,556 shares of Company stock. The 50,444 share difference was returned to the pool of available shares and may be used for future grants.

The excess of the consideration received over the par value of the common stock or cost of treasury stock issued under both types of option plans is recognized as an increase in additional paid-in capital.

The following table summarizes information about stock option activity for the years ended April 30:

Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights

Weighted-

Weighted Average

Aggregate

Average

Remaining

Intrinsic Value

Exercise Price

Contractual

Term

Outstanding – April 30, 2012

1,629,700

7.95

6.4 years

Granted

209,000

8.82

Exercised

(113,075

)

5.63

Expired or Canceled

(17,000

)

5.16

Outstanding – April 30, 2013

1,708,625

8.23

6.1 years

Granted

212,000

10.3

Exercised

(196,000

)

7.16

Expired or Canceled

(2,000

)

10.06

Outstanding – April 30, 2014

1,722,625

8.6

6.0 years

$3,913,368

Exercisable

1,142,750

8.42

4.8 years

$2,964,498

Available for future grants

6,816

As of April 30, 2014, total unrecognized compensation cost related to nonvested options and stock appreciation rights under the plans was approximately $2,016,000. These costs are expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.5 years.

During the years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013, 268,875 and 254,813 shares, respectively, vested, the fair value of which was approximately $993,000 and $847,000, respectively. The weighted average grant date fair value of stock appreciation rights granted during the years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013, were approximately $4.57 and $4.16, respectively.

Stock-based compensation costs capitalized as part of work in process inventory or included in the cost of sales of programs on which the Company recognizes revenue under the percentage of completion method were approximately $426,000 and $410,000 for the years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Selling and administrative expenses include stock-based compensation expense of approximately $676,000 and $537,000 for the years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

The Company classifies cash flows resulting from the tax benefits from tax deductions recognized upon the exercise of stock options or SARS (tax benefits) as financing cash flows. For the years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013, the Company realized $182,000 and $152,000 respectively, of tax benefits from the exercise of stock options and SARS.

Independent Contractor Stock Option Plan:

The Company had an Independent Contractor Stock Option Plan under which up to 350,000 shares could be granted. This plan was terminated in fiscal year 2006. An Independent Contractor Stock Option Committee determined to whom options may be granted from among eligible participants, the timing and duration of option grants, the option price, and the number of shares of common stock subject to each option. Options were granted to certain independent contractors at a price equal to the then fair market value of the Company’s common stock. The options were exercisable over specified periods per terms of the individual agreements. No compensation expense was recorded during the years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013 as no other grants were made in those years and previous grants have been fully expensed. As a result of the adoption by the stockholders of the 2005 Stock Award Plan, the Independent Contractor Stock Option Plan was discontinued. No additional grants will be made under this plan and the outstanding grant will expire in fiscal year 2015.

At April 30, 2014 and 2013, options for 30,000 shares, at a weighted average exercise price of $14.76, were issued and outstanding under this plan. No other activities occurred during the two year period ended April 30, 2014.

Restricted Stock Plan:

During fiscal year 1990, the Company adopted a Restricted Stock Plan which provided that key management employees could be granted rights to purchase an aggregate of 375,000 shares of the Company's common stock. The grants, transferability restrictions and purchase price were determined at the discretion of a special committee of the board of directors. The purchase price could not be less than the par value of the common stock. Transferability of shares is restricted for a four-year period, except in the event of a change in control as defined. As a result of the adoption by the Company’s stockholders of the 2005 Stock Award Plan, the Restricted Stock Plan was discontinued. No additional grants will be made under this plan. As of April 30, 2014 and 2013, grants for 7,500 shares are available to be purchased at a price of $4.00 per share.

Employee Stock Ownership Plan/Stock Bonus Plan:

During 1990, the Company amended its Stock Bonus Plan to become an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”). By means of a bank note, subsequently repaid, the Company reacquired 561,652 shares of its common stock during fiscal year 1990. These shares plus approximately 510,000 additional shares issued by the Company from its authorized, unissued shares were sold to the ESOP in May 1990. Shares were released for allocation to participants based on a formula as specified in the ESOP document. By the end of fiscal year 2000, all shares (1,071,652) had been allocated to participant accounts of which 402,378 shares remain in the ESOP.

Deferred Compensation Agreements:

The Company has a series of agreements with key employees providing for the payment of benefits upon retirement or death. Under these agreements, each key employee receives specified retirement payments for the remainder of the employee's life with a minimum payment of ten years' benefits to either the employee or his beneficiaries. The agreements also provide for lump sum payments upon termination of employment without cause and reduced benefits upon early retirement. The Company pays the benefits out of its working capital, but has also purchased whole life or term life insurance policies on the lives of certain of the participants to cover the optional lump sum obligations of the agreements upon the death of the participant. Deferred compensation expense charged to selling and administrative expenses during the years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013 was approximately $780,000 and $616,000, respectively.

Life Insurance Policies and Cash Held in Trust:

The whole-life insurance policies on the lives of certain participants covered by deferred compensation agreements have been placed in a trust. Upon the death of any insured participant, cash received from life insurance policies in excess of the Company’s deferred compensation obligations to the estate or beneficiaries of the deceased, are also placed in the trust. These assets belong to the Company until a change of control event, as defined in the trust agreement, should occur. At that time, the Company is required to add sufficient cash to the trust so as to match the deferred compensation liability described above. Such funds will be used to continue the deferred compensation arrangements following a change of control.

13_Income_Taxes

13. Income Taxes	12 Months Ended
13. Income Taxes	Apr. 30, 2014
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Income Tax Disclosure [Text Block]	'
	13. Income Taxes

	The income before provision for income taxes consisted of (in thousands):

			Year Ended April 30,
			2014				2013
	U.S.		$	7,565			$	7,028
	Foreign			(1,265	)			(1,942	)
			$	6,300			$	5,086

	The provision for income taxes consists of the following (in thousands):

			2014				2013
	Current:
	Federal		$	2,190			$	1,680
	Foreign			-				-
	State			230				40
	Current provision			2,420				1,720
	Deferred:
	Federal			(280	)			(145	)
	Foreign			(103	)			(585	)
	State			120				(80	)
	Deferred benefit			(263	)			(810	)
	Change in valuation allowance			103				490
	Total provision		$	2,260			$	1,400

	The following table reconciles the reported income tax expense with the amount computed using the federal statutory income tax rate (in thousands):

			2014				2013
	Computed "expected" tax expense		$	2,142			$	1,729
	State and local tax, net of federal benefit			214				(81	)
	Valuation allowance on deferred tax assets			103				490
	Foreign losses without tax benefit			222				29
	Nondeductible expenses			199				178
	Nontaxable life insurance cash value increase			(151	)			(168	)
	Tax credits			(203	)			(299	)
	Other items, net, none of which individually exceeds 5% of federal taxes at statutory rates			(266	)			(478	)
			$	2,260			$	1,400

	The components of deferred taxes are as follows (in thousands):

			2014				2013
	Deferred tax assets:
	Employee benefits		$	6,860			$	6,490
	Inventory			1,750				1,980
	Accounts receivable			570				470
	Tax credits			770				990
	Other liabilities			240				270
	Net operating loss carryforwards			3,130				3,040
	Total deferred tax asset			13,320				13,240
	Deferred tax liabilities:
	Marketable securities			280				540
	Property, plant and equipment			1,050				1,310
	Net deferred tax asset			11,990				11,390
	Valuation allowance			(2,120	)			(1,900	)
	Net deferred tax assets		$	9,870			$	9,490

	Net deferred tax assets are comprised of the following (in thousands):

			2014				2013
	Gross current assets		$	3,600			$	3,890
	Valuation allowance			-				-
	Current liabilities			(380	)			(720	)
Net current deferred tax assets			3,220				3,170

Gross noncurrent assets			9,940				9,600
Valuation allowance			(2,120	)			(1,900	)
Noncurrent liabilities			(1,170	)			(1,380	)
Net noncurrent deferred tax assets			6,650				6,320
Net deferred tax assets		$	9,870			$	9,490

The total valuation allowance relates to deferred tax assets of both domestic and foreign subsidiaries. The change in valuation allowance during the year ended April 30, 2014 was an increase of $220,000, including a foreign exchange adjustment of $117,000. For the year ended April 30, 2013, the change in valuation allowance was an increase of $445,000 which consists of the $490,000 deferred tax provision less a foreign exchange adjustment of $45,000.

At April 30, 2014, the Company has available approximately $3.6 million in net operating losses available to offset future income of certain of its foreign subsidiaries. These loss carryforwards have no expiration date. As a result of the acquisition of FEI-Elcom, the Company has a federal net operating loss carryforward of $5.6 million which may be applied in annually limited amounts to offset future U.S.-sourced taxable income over the next 18 years.

The Company has evaluated its tax positions and has concluded that the tax positions meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold as specified under accounting standards. It is difficult to predict what would occur to change the Company’s unrecognized tax benefits over the next twelve months. The Company believes, however, that there should be no change during the next twelve months. The Company's tax returns for April 30, 2006 and 2007 have been examined by the Internal Revenue Service, which resulted in no material adjustments. The Company's tax years from April 30, 2011 through April 30, 2014 remain open to examination by state tax authorities and by the Internal Revenue Service.

14_Segment_Information

14. Segment Information	12 Months Ended
14. Segment Information	Apr. 30, 2014
Segment Reporting [Abstract]	'
Segment Reporting Disclosure [Text Block]	'
	14. Segment Information

	The Company operates under three reportable segments based on the geographic locations of its subsidiaries:

	(1)	FEI-NY – operates out of New York and its operations consist principally of precision time and frequency control products used in three principal markets- communication satellites (both commercial and U.S. Government-funded); terrestrial cellular telephone or other ground-based telecommunication stations and other components and systems for the U.S. military.

	(2)	Gillam-FEI - operates out of Belgium and France and primarily sells wireline synchronization and network management systems in non-U.S. markets. All sales from Gillam-FEI to the United States are to other segments of the Company.

	(3)	FEI-Zyfer – operates out of California and its products incorporate Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies into systems and subsystems for secure communications, both government and commercial, and other locator applications. This segment also provides sales and support for the Company’s wireline telecommunications family of products, including US5G, which are sold in the United States market.

	The FEI-NY segment also includes the operations of the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries, FEI-Elcom and FEI-Asia. FEI-Asia functions as a manufacturing facility for the FEI-NY segment with minimal sales to outside customers. FEI-Elcom, in addition to its own product line, provides design and technical support for the FEI-NY segment’s satellite business.

	The Company’s Chief Executive Officer measures segment performance based on total revenues and profits generated by each geographic location rather than on the specific types of customers or end-users. Consequently, the Company determined that the segments indicated above most appropriately reflect the way the Company’s management views the business.

	The accounting policies of the three segments are the same as those described in the “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.” The Company evaluates the performance of its segments and allocates resources to them based on operating profit which is defined as income before investment income, interest expense and taxes. The European-based director of Gillam-FEI and the president of FEI-Zyfer manage the assets of these segments. All acquired assets, including intangible assets, are included in the assets of these two segments.

	The table below presents information about reported segments for each of the years ended April 30 with reconciliation of segment amounts to consolidated amounts as reported in the statement of operations or the balance sheet for each of the years (in thousands):

			2014				2013
	Net revenues:
	FEI-NY		$	55,772			$	52,567
	Gillam-FEI			9,995	**			11,825	**
	FEI-Zyfer			7,990				10,523
	less intersegment revenues			(2,207	)**			(5,983	)**
	Consolidated revenues		$	71,550			$	68,932
	Operating profit (loss):
	FEI-NY		$	6,403			$	7,334
	Gillam-FEI			(520	)**			(1,643	)**
	FEI-Zyfer			(626	)			(552	)
	Corporate			(384	)			(460	)
	Consolidated operating profit		$	4,873			$	4,679

		**For fiscal years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013, includes Gillam-FEI intersegment sales of $1.6 million and $4.1 million, respectively, to the FEI-NY and FEI-Zyfer segments. Such sales consist principally of design and development of automatic test equipment for satellite hardware production and manufacture of assemblies and units of a wireline synchronization product for ultimate production and sale in the U.S. In the Gillam-FEI segment, these transactions reduced the operating loss in each of the fiscal years. In addition, during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013, Gillam-FEI wrote down $1.4 million of accumulated costs related to hardware and software design of a product in connection with the French government’s smart electrical grid initiative. Based on slower than anticipated rollout of this project, the Company has less visibility regarding the probable schedule for obtaining production-level orders, which are now anticipated to occur no earlier than fiscal year 2015.

			2014				2013
	Identifiable assets:
	FEI-NY (approximately $3 million in China)		$	62,969			$	55,508
	Gillam-FEI (all in Belgium or France)			19,595				18,071
	FEI-Zyfer			11,220				10,418
	less intersegment receivables			(19,819	)			(18,903	)
	Corporate			45,496				43,815
	Consolidated identifiable assets		$	119,461			$	108,909
	Depreciation and amortization (allocated):
	FEI-NY		$	2,021			$	1,892
	Gillam-FEI			261				304
	FEI-Zyfer			174				202
	Corporate			15				15
	Consolidated depreciation and amortization expense		$	2,471			$	2,413

	Major Customers

	The Company's products are sold to both commercial and governmental customers. For the years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013, approximately 54% and 62% respectively, of the Company's sales were made under contracts to the U.S. Government or subcontracts for U.S. Government end-use.

	In fiscal year 2014, sales to two customers of the FEI-NY segment aggregated $29.4 million or 53% of that segment’s total sales. Each of these customers also exceeded 10% of the Company’s consolidated revenues. During the year ended April 30, 2014, in the Gillam-FEI segment, sales to one customer exceeded 10% of that segment’s revenues. In the FEI-Zyfer segment, one customer accounted for more than 10% of that segment’s sales. None of the customers in the Gillam-FEI and FEI-Zyfer segments accounted for more than 10% of consolidated revenues.

	In fiscal year 2013, sales to three customers of the FEI-NY segment aggregated $34.1 million or 65% of that segment’s total sales. Each of these customers also exceeded 10% of the Company’s consolidated revenues. During the year ended April 30, 2013, in the Gillam-FEI segment, sales to one customer exceeded 10% of that segment’s revenues. In the FEI-Zyfer segment, two customers accounted for more than 10% of that segment’s sales. None of the customers in the Gillam-FEI and FEI-Zyfer segments accounted for more than 10% of consolidated revenues.

	The loss by the Company of any one of these customers would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business. The Company believes its relationship with these customers to be mutually satisfactory. Sales to major customers above can include commercial and governmental end users.

	Foreign Sales

	Revenues in each of the Company’s segments include sales to foreign governments or to companies located in foreign countries. Revenues, based on the location of the procurement entity and excluding intersegment sales, were derived from the following countries:

		(in thousands)
		2014				2013
France		$	8,932			$	9,527
Belgium			5,719				4,240
Russia			1,046				355
China			492				565
Other			2,488				3,035
		$	18,677			$	17,722

15_Other_Comprehensive_Income_

15. Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)	12 Months Ended
15. Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)	Apr. 30, 2014
Equity [Abstract]	'
Other Comprehensive Income, Noncontrolling Interest [Text Block]	'
	15. Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

	In fiscal year 2014, the Company adopted guidance issued by the FASB that requires additional disclosure related to the impact of reclassification adjustments out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (“AOCI”) on net income. Changes in AOCI by component and reclassifications out of AOCI are as follows (in thousands):

			Change in						Foreign
			Market Value						Currency
			of Marketable						Translation
			Securities						Adjustment			Total
	Balance April 30, 2012, net of taxes					$	895		$	3,275		$	4,170
	Items of other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassification, pretax						868			(782	)		86
	Tax effect						(313	)		-			(313	)
	Items of other comprehensive income (loss)before reclassification, net of taxes						555			(782	)		(227	)
	Reclassification adjustments, pretax **			(47	)
	Tax effect			17			(30	)		-			(30	)
	Total other comprehensive income (loss), net of taxes						525			(782	)		(257	)
	Balance April 30, 2013						1,420			2,493			3,913
	Items of other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassification, pretax						(292	)		505			213
	Tax effect						130			-			130
	Items of other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassification, net of taxes						(162	)		505			343
	Reclassification adjustments, pretax **			(367	)
	Tax			125			(242	)		-			(242	)
	Total other comprehensive income (loss), net of taxes						(404	)		505			101
	Balance April 30, 2014					$	1,016		$	2,998		$	4,014

		**The reclassification adjustments represent net realized gains on the sale or redemption of available-for-sale marketable securities that were reclassified from AOCI to Other income (expense), net.

Accounting_Policies_by_Policy_

Accounting Policies, by Policy (Policies)	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2014
Accounting Policies [Abstract]	'
Consolidation, Policy [Policy Text Block]	'
	Principles of Consolidation:

	The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Frequency Electronics, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries (the "Company" or "Registrant"). References to “FEI” are to the parent company alone and do not refer to any of its subsidiaries. The Company is principally engaged in the design, development and manufacture of precision time and frequency control products and components for microwave integrated circuit applications. See Note 14 for information regarding the Company’s FEI-NY (which includes the subsidiaries FEI Government Systems, Inc., FEI Communications, Inc., Frequency Electronics, Inc. Asia (“FEI-Asia”) and FEI-Elcom Tech, Inc. (“FEI-Elcom”)), Gillam-FEI, and FEI-Zyfer business segments. Intercompany accounts and significant intercompany transactions are eliminated in consolidation. To accommodate the different fiscal periods of Gillam-FEI, the Company recognizes its share of net income or loss on a one month lag. Any material events which may occur during the intervening month at Gillam-FEI will be accounted for in the consolidated financial statements.

	These financial statements have been prepared in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) and require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts reported and disclosed in the financial statements and related notes. Actual results could differ from these estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents, Policy [Policy Text Block]	'
	Cash Equivalents:

	The Company considers certificates of deposit and other highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company places its temporary cash investments with high credit quality financial institutions. Such investments may be in excess of the FDIC insurance limit. No losses have been experienced on such investments.
Marketable Securities, Policy [Policy Text Block]	'
	Marketable Securities:

	Marketable securities consist of investments in common stocks, including exchange-traded funds, corporate debt securities and debt securities of U.S. Government agencies. All marketable securities were held in the custody of financial institutions; four and five institutions at April 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Investments in debt and equity securities are categorized as available for sale and are carried at fair value, with unrealized gains and losses excluded from income and recorded directly to stockholders' equity. The Company recognizes gains or losses when securities are sold using the specific identification method.
Receivables, Trade and Other Accounts Receivable, Allowance for Doubtful Accounts, Policy [Policy Text Block]	'
	Allowance for Doubtful Accounts:

	Losses from uncollectible accounts receivable are provided for by utilizing the allowance for doubtful accounts method based upon management’s estimate of uncollectible accounts. Management analyzes accounts receivable and the potential for bad debts, customer concentrations, credit worthiness, current economic trends and changes in customer payment terms when evaluating the amount recorded for the allowance for doubtful accounts.
Inventory, Policy [Policy Text Block]	'
	Inventories:

	Inventories, which consist of finished goods, work-in-process, raw materials and components, are accounted for at the lower of cost (specific and average) or market.
Property, Plant and Equipment, Policy [Policy Text Block]	'
	Property, Plant and Equipment:

	Property, plant and equipment are recorded at cost and include interest on funds borrowed to finance construction. Expenditures for renewals and betterments are capitalized; maintenance and repairs are charged to income when incurred. When fixed assets are sold or retired, the cost and related accumulated depreciation and amortization are eliminated from the respective accounts and any gain or loss is credited or charged to income.

	If events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of a long-lived asset may not be recoverable, the Company estimates the future cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset and its eventual disposition. If the sum of the expected future cash flows (undiscounted and without interest charges) is less than the carrying amount of the long-lived asset, an impairment loss is recognized. To date, no impairment losses have been recognized.
Depreciation, Depletion, and Amortization [Policy Text Block]	'
	Depreciation and Amortization:

	Depreciation of fixed assets is computed on the straight-line method based upon the estimated useful lives of the assets (40 years for buildings and 3 to 10 years for other depreciable assets). Leasehold improvements and equipment acquired under capital leases are amortized on the straight-line method over the shorter of the term of the lease or the useful life of the related asset.

	Amortization of identifiable intangible assets is based upon the expected lives of the assets and is recorded at a rate which approximates the Company’s utilization of the assets.
Intangible Assets, Finite-Lived, Policy [Policy Text Block]	'
	Intangible Assets:

	Intangible assets consist of the ISO 9000 certification arising from the acquisition of FEI-Elcom in the assignment of fair value to its acquired assets including intangibles. The certification is valued at fair value and amortized over the estimated useful life of 3 years from the date of acquisition.
Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Goodwill, Policy [Policy Text Block]	'
	Goodwill:

	The Company records goodwill as the excess of purchase price over the fair value of identifiable net assets acquired. Goodwill is tested for impairment on at least an annual basis at year end. When it is determined that the carrying value of goodwill may not be recoverable, the Company writes down the goodwill to an amount commensurate with the revised value of the acquired assets. The Company measures impairment based on revenue projections, recent transactions involving similar businesses and price/revenue multiples at which they were bought and sold, price/revenue multiples of competitors, and the present market value of publicly-traded companies in the Company’s industry.
Revenue Recognition, Policy [Policy Text Block]	'
	Revenue and Cost Recognition:

	Revenues under larger, long-term contracts, which generally require billings based on achievement of milestones rather than delivery of product, are reported in operating results using the percentage of completion method. For U.S. Government and other fixed-price contracts that require initial design and development of the product, revenue is recognized on the cost-to-cost method. Under this method, revenue is recorded based upon the ratio that incurred costs bear to total estimated contract costs with related cost of sales recorded as the costs are incurred. Costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts, net of billings on uncompleted contracts in excess of costs and estimated earnings, are included in current assets.

	On production-type orders, revenue is recorded as units are delivered with the related cost of sales recognized on each shipment based upon a percentage of estimated final program costs.

	Changes in job performance on long-term and production-type orders may result in revisions to costs and revenue and are recognized in the period in which revisions are determined to be required. Provisions for anticipated losses are made in the period in which they become determinable.

	For customer orders in the Company’s subsidiaries, and smaller contracts or orders in the other business segments, sales of products and services to customers are reported in operating results upon shipment of the product or performance of the services pursuant to terms of the customer order.

	Contract costs include all direct material, direct labor costs, manufacturing overhead and other direct costs related to contract performance. Selling, general and administrative costs are charged to expense as incurred.

	In accordance with industry practice, inventoried costs contain amounts relating to contracts and programs with long production cycles, a portion of which will not be realized within one year. Program costs for which production-level orders cannot be determined as probable are written down in the period in which that assessment is made.
Comprehensive Income, Policy [Policy Text Block]	'
	Comprehensive Income:

	Comprehensive income consists of net income and other comprehensive income. Other comprehensive income includes changes in unrealized gains or losses, net of tax, on securities available for sale during the year and the effects of foreign currency translation adjustments.
Research and Development Expense, Policy [Policy Text Block]	'
	Research and Development expenses:

	The Company engages in research and development activities to identify new applications for its core technologies, to improve existing products and to improve manufacturing processes to achieve cost reductions and manufacturing efficiencies. Research and development costs include direct labor, manufacturing overhead, direct materials and contracted services. Such costs are expensed as incurred.
Income Tax, Policy [Policy Text Block]	'
	Income Taxes:

	The Company recognizes deferred tax liabilities and assets based on the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements or tax returns. Under this method, deferred tax liabilities and assets are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. Valuation allowances are established and adjusted when necessary to increase or reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.

	The Company analyzes its tax positions under accounting standards which prescribe recognition thresholds that must be met before a tax benefit is recognized in the financial statements and provides guidance on de-recognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure, and transition. An entity may only recognize or continue to recognize tax positions that meet a "more likely than not" threshold. When and if the Company were to recognize interest or penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits, it would be reported net of the federal tax benefit in the tax provision.
Earnings Per Share, Policy [Policy Text Block]	'
	Earnings Per Share:

	Basic earnings per share are computed by dividing net earnings by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding. Diluted earnings per share are computed by dividing net earnings by the sum of the weighted average number of shares of common stock and the if-converted effect of unexercised stock options and stock appreciation rights.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments, Policy [Policy Text Block]	'
	Fair Values of Financial Instruments:

	Cash and cash equivalents and short-term credit obligations are reflected in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets at amounts considered by management to reasonably approximate fair value based upon the nature of the instrument and current market conditions. Management is not aware of any factors that would significantly affect the value of these amounts. The Company also has an investment in a privately-held company, Morion, Inc. (“Morion”). The Company is unable to reasonably estimate a fair value for this investment.
Foreign Currency Transactions and Translations Policy [Policy Text Block]	'
	Foreign Operations and Foreign Currency Adjustments:

	The Company maintains manufacturing operations in Belgium and the People’s Republic of China. The Company is vulnerable to currency risks in these countries. The local currency is the functional currency of each of the Company’s non-U.S. subsidiaries. No foreign currency gains or losses are recorded on intercompany transactions since they are affected at current rates of exchange. The results of operations of foreign subsidiaries, when translated into U.S. dollars, reflect the average rates of exchange for the periods presented. The balance sheets of foreign subsidiaries, except for equity accounts which are translated at historical rates, are translated into U.S. dollars at the rates of exchange in effect on the date of the balance sheet. As a result, similar results in local currency can vary upon translation into U.S. dollars if exchange rates fluctuate significantly from one period to the next.
Share-based Compensation, Option and Incentive Plans Policy [Policy Text Block]	'
	Equity-based Compensation:

	The Company values its share-based payment transactions using the Black-Scholes valuation model. Such value is recognized as expense on a straight-line basis over the service period of the awards, which is generally the vesting period, net of estimated forfeitures.

	The weighted average fair value of each option or stock appreciation right has been estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following range of weighted average assumptions used for grants:

		Years ended April 30
		2014			2013
	Expected volatility		34	%		40	%
	Dividend yield		0	%		0	%
	Risk-free interest rate	2.45% to 2.50%			1.31% to 1.35%
	Expected lives	8.5 years			8.5 years

	The expected life assumption was determined based on the Company’s historical experience. The expected volatility assumption was based on the historical volatility of the Company’s common stock. The dividend yield assumption was determined based upon the Company’s past history of dividend payments and the Company’s current decision to suspend payment of dividends. On December 21, 2012, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a special cash dividend of $0.20 per share, payable on December 31, 2012 to shareholders of record on December 24, 2012. Due to the one-time nature of the special dividend it was not factored into the Black-Scholes fair value calculations. The risk-free interest rate assumption was determined using the implied yield currently available for zero-coupon U.S. Government issues with a remaining term equal to the expected life of the stock options.
Concentration Risk, Credit Risk, Policy [Policy Text Block]	'
	Concentration of Credit Risk

	Financial instruments, which potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk, consist principally of cash and cash equivalents and trade receivables. The Company maintains accounts at several commercial banks at which the balances exceed Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation limits. The Company has not experienced any losses on such amounts. Concentration of credit risk with respect to trade receivables is generally diversified due to the large number of entities comprising the Company’s customer base and their dispersion across geographic areas principally within the United States. The Company routinely addresses the financial strength of its customers and, as a consequence, believes that its receivable credit risk exposure is limited. The Company does not require customers to post collateral.
New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]	'
	New Accounting Pronouncements:

	In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). ASU 2014-09 eliminates most of the existing industry-specific revenue recognition guidance and significantly expands related disclosures. The required disclosures will include both quantitative and qualitative information about the amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue from contracts with customers and the significant judgments used. Entities can retrospectively apply ASU 2014-09 or use an alternative transition method. This ASU is effective for public companies for annual reporting periods beginning on or after December 15, 2016 and for the Company, must be adopted for its fiscal year 2018 beginning on May 1, 2017. The Company is in the process of determining the effect that ASU 2014-09 may have on its financial statements.

	In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU No. 2013-02, Other Comprehensive Income. The amendments require an entity to provide information about the amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by component. In addition, an entity is required to present, either on the face of the statement where net income is presented or in the notes, significant amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by the respective line items of net income but only if the amount reclassified is required under U.S. GAAP to be reclassified to net income in its entirety in the same reporting period. For other amounts that are not required under U.S. GAAP to be reclassified in their entirety to net income, an entity is required to cross-reference to other disclosures required under U.S. GAAP that provide additional detail about those amounts. This ASU is effective for periods beginning after December 15, 2012 and the Company adopted ASU 2013-02 in fiscal year 2014 which began on May 1, 2013. Such adoption is reflected in the Company’s financial statements resulting in additional disclosures. (See Note 15.)

	In July 2012, the FASB issued ASU No. 2012-02, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Test Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment. Under the requirements of ASU 2012-02 an entity has the option to assess qualitative factors when testing indefinite-lived intangible assets annually to determine whether it is more likely than not that the asset is not impaired. An entity also has the option to bypass the qualitative assessment for any indefinite-lived intangible asset in any period and proceed directly to performing the quantitative impairment test or resume performing the qualitative assessment in any subsequent period. If, after assessing the totality of events and circumstances, an entity concludes that it is more likely than not that the indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired, then it is required to determine the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset and perform the quantitative impairment test by comparing the fair value with the carrying amount in accordance with Subtopic 350-30. ASU 2012-02 is effective for annual and interim impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012. The Company adopted ASU 2012-02 for its fiscal year 2014 which began on May 1, 2013. The adoption of this ASU had no material impact on the Company’s financial statements.

1_Summary_of_Accounting_Polici1

1. Summary of Accounting Policies (Tables)	12 Months Ended
1. Summary of Accounting Policies (Tables)	Apr. 30, 2014
Accounting Policies [Abstract]	'
Schedule of Share-based Payment Award, Stock Options, Valuation Assumptions [Table Text Block]	'The weighted average fair value of each option or stock appreciation right has been estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following range of weighted average assumptions used for grants:

		Years ended April 30
		2014			2013
	Expected volatility		34	%		40	%
	Dividend yield		0	%		0	%
	Risk-free interest rate	2.45% to 2.50%			1.31% to 1.35%
	Expected lives	8.5 years			8.5 years

2_Earnings_Per_Share_Tables

2. Earnings Per Share (Tables)	12 Months Ended
2. Earnings Per Share (Tables)	Apr. 30, 2014
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]	'
Schedule of Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted [Table Text Block]	'Reconciliations of the weighted average shares outstanding for basic and diluted Earnings Per Share are as follows:

		Years ended April 30,
		2014		2013
	Basic EPS Shares outstanding (weighted average)		8,526,576		8,412,633
	Effect of Dilutive Securities		290,381		192,018
	Diluted EPS Shares outstanding		8,816,957		8,604,651

3_Costs_and_Estimated_Earnings1

3. Costs and Estimated Earnings in Excess of Billings (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2014
Contractors [Abstract]	'
Costs and Estimated Earnings in Excess of Billings, Net [Table Text Block]	'At April 30, 2014 and 2013, costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings, net, consist of the following:

		2014			2013
		(in thousands)
	Costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings	$	11,965		$	10,228
	Billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings		(1,526	)		(1,611	)
	Net asset	$	10,439		$	8,617

4_Inventories_Tables

4. Inventories (Tables)	12 Months Ended
4. Inventories (Tables)	Apr. 30, 2014
Inventory Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Schedule of Inventory, Current [Table Text Block]	'Inventories at April 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively, consisted of the following (in thousands):

		2014		2013
	Raw Materials and Component Parts	$	24,986	$	21,066
	Work in Progress		12,385		13,665
	Finished Goods		3,856		2,790
		$	41,227	$	37,521

5_Property_Plant_and_Equipment1

5. Property, Plant and Equipment and Leases (Tables)	12 Months Ended
5. Property, Plant and Equipment and Leases (Tables)	Apr. 30, 2014
Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]	'
Property, Plant and Equipment [Table Text Block]	'Property, plant and equipment at April 30, 2014 and 2013, consists of the following (in thousands):

		2014		2013
	Buildings and building improvements	$	5,976	$	5,477
	Machinery, equipment and furniture		49,651		44,758
			55,627		50,235
	Less, accumulated depreciation		44,387		41,919
		$	11,240	$	8,316
Schedule of Future Minimum Rental Payments for Operating Leases [Table Text Block]	'Future minimum lease payments required by the operating leases are as follows (in thousands):

	Years ending April 30,	Operating Leases
	2015	$	1,503
	2016		1,473
	2017		1,174
	2018		925
	2019		600
	Total future minimum lease payments	$	5,675

6_Marketable_Securities_Tables

6. Marketable Securities (Tables)	12 Months Ended
6. Marketable Securities (Tables)	Apr. 30, 2014
Investments, Debt and Equity Securities [Abstract]	'
Available-for-sale Securities [Table Text Block]	'The cost, gross unrealized gains, gross unrealized losses and fair market value of available-for-sale securities at April 30, 2014 and 2013 are as follows (in thousands):

		30-Apr-14
				Gross			Gross			Fair
				Unrealized			Unrealized			Market
		Cost		Gains			Losses			Value
	Fixed income securities	$	8,927	$	116		$	(36	)	$	9,007
	Equity securities		6,267		909			(153	)		7,023
		$	15,194	$	1,025		$	(189	)	$	16,030
		30-Apr-13
				Gross			Gross			Fair
				Unrealized			Unrealized			Market
		Cost		Gains			Losses			Value
	Fixed income securities	$	10,285	$	297		$	0		$	10,582
	Equity securities		6,490		1,266			(68	)		7,688
		$	16,775	$	1,563		$	(68	)	$	18,270
Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments [Table Text Block]	'The following table presents the fair value and unrealized losses, aggregated by investment type and length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position:

		Less than 12 months					12 Months or more						Total
		Fair		Unrealized			Fair			Unrealized			Fair		Unrealized
		Value		Losses			Value			Losses			Value		Losses
	30-Apr-14
	Fixed Income Securities	$	501	$	(3	)	$	448		$	(33	)	$	949	$	(36	)
	Equity Securities		366		(1	)		925			(152	)		1,291		(153	)
		$	867	$	(4	)	$	1,373		$	(185	)	$	2,240	$	(189	)
	30-Apr-13
	Fixed Income Securities	$	-	$	-		$	-		$	-		$	-	$	-
	Equity Securities		-		-			512			(68	)		512		(68	)
		$	-	$	-		$	512		$	(68	)	$	512	$	(68	)
Gain (Loss) on Investments [Table Text Block]	'Proceeds from the sale or redemption of available-for-sale securities and the resulting gross realized gains and losses included in the determination of net income (loss) are as follows (in thousands):

		For the years ended April 30,
		2014		2013
	Proceeds	$	4,993	$	3,006
	Gross realized gains	$	367	$	47
	Gross realized losses	$	-	$	-
Fair Value, by Balance Sheet Grouping [Table Text Block]	'Maturities of fixed income securities classified as available-for-sale at April 30, 2014 are as follows (at cost, in thousands):

	Current	$	4,014
	Due after one year through five years		3,086
	Due after five years through ten years		1,827
		$	8,927

8_Accrued_Liabilities_Tables

8. Accrued Liabilities (Tables)	12 Months Ended
8. Accrued Liabilities (Tables)	Apr. 30, 2014
Payables and Accruals [Abstract]	'
Schedule of Accrued Liabilities [Table Text Block]	'Accrued liabilities at April 30, 2014 and 2013 consist of the following (in thousands):

		2014		2013
	Vacation and other compensation	$	1,761	$	1,794
	Incentive compensation		1,389		1,634
	Payroll taxes		1,613		1,323
	Deferred revenue		1,023		1,620
	Warranty reserve		617		598
	Other		958		995
		$	7,361	$	7,964

9_Product_Warranties_Tables

9. Product Warranties (Tables)	12 Months Ended
9. Product Warranties (Tables)	Apr. 30, 2014
Product Warranties Disclosures [Abstract]	'
Schedule of Product Warranty Liability [Table Text Block]	'Changes in the carrying amount of accrued product warranty costs are as follows (in thousands):

		Year Ended April 30,
		2014			2013
	Balance at beginning of year	$	598		$	778
	Warranty costs incurred		(339	)		(324	)
	Product warranty accrual		358			144
	Balance at end of year	$	617		$	598

12_Employee_Benefit_Plans_Tabl

12. Employee Benefit Plans (Tables)	12 Months Ended
12. Employee Benefit Plans (Tables)	Apr. 30, 2014
Disclosure Text Block Supplement [Abstract]	'
Schedule of Share-based Compensation, Stock Options, Activity [Table Text Block]	'The following table summarizes information about stock option activity for the years ended April 30:

		Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights
		Shares			Weighted-		Weighted Average	Aggregate
					Average		Remaining	Intrinsic Value
					Exercise Price		Contractual
							Term
	Outstanding – April 30, 2012		1,629,700		$	7.95	6.4 years
	Granted		209,000			8.82
	Exercised		(113,075	)		5.63
	Expired or Canceled		(17,000	)		5.16
	Outstanding – April 30, 2013		1,708,625		$	8.23	6.1 years
	Granted		212,000			10.3
	Exercised		(196,000	)		7.16
	Expired or Canceled		(2,000	)		10.06
	Outstanding – April 30, 2014		1,722,625		$	8.6	6.0 years	$3,913,368
	Exercisable		1,142,750		$	8.42	4.8 years	$2,964,498
	Available for future grants		6,816

13_Income_Taxes_Tables

13. Income Taxes (Tables)	12 Months Ended
13. Income Taxes (Tables)	Apr. 30, 2014
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Schedule of Income before Income Tax, Domestic and Foreign [Table Text Block]	'The income before provision for income taxes consisted of (in thousands):

		Year Ended April 30,
		2014			2013
	U.S.	$	7,565		$	7,028
	Foreign		(1,265	)		(1,942	)
		$	6,300		$	5,086
Schedule of Components of Income Tax Expense (Benefit) [Table Text Block]	'The provision for income taxes consists of the following (in thousands):

		2014			2013
	Current:
	Federal	$	2,190		$	1,680
	Foreign		-			-
	State		230			40
	Current provision		2,420			1,720
	Deferred:
	Federal		(280	)		(145	)
	Foreign		(103	)		(585	)
	State		120			(80	)
	Deferred benefit		(263	)		(810	)
	Change in valuation allowance		103			490
	Total provision	$	2,260		$	1,400
Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation [Table Text Block]	'The following table reconciles the reported income tax expense with the amount computed using the federal statutory income tax rate (in thousands):

		2014			2013
	Computed "expected" tax expense	$	2,142		$	1,729
	State and local tax, net of federal benefit		214			(81	)
	Valuation allowance on deferred tax assets		103			490
	Foreign losses without tax benefit		222			29
	Nondeductible expenses		199			178
	Nontaxable life insurance cash value increase		(151	)		(168	)
	Tax credits		(203	)		(299	)
	Other items, net, none of which individually exceeds 5% of federal taxes at statutory rates		(266	)		(478	)
		$	2,260		$	1,400
Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities [Table Text Block]	'The components of deferred taxes are as follows (in thousands):

		2014			2013
	Deferred tax assets:
	Employee benefits	$	6,860		$	6,490
	Inventory		1,750			1,980
	Accounts receivable		570			470
	Tax credits		770			990
	Other liabilities		240			270
	Net operating loss carryforwards		3,130			3,040
	Total deferred tax asset		13,320			13,240
	Deferred tax liabilities:
	Marketable securities		280			540
	Property, plant and equipment		1,050			1,310
	Net deferred tax asset		11,990			11,390
	Valuation allowance		(2,120	)		(1,900	)
	Net deferred tax assets	$	9,870		$	9,490
		2014			2013
	Gross current assets	$	3,600		$	3,890
	Valuation allowance		-			-
	Current liabilities		(380	)		(720	)
	Net current deferred tax assets		3,220			3,170

	Gross noncurrent assets		9,940			9,600
	Valuation allowance		(2,120	)		(1,900	)
	Noncurrent liabilities		(1,170	)		(1,380	)
	Net noncurrent deferred tax assets		6,650			6,320
	Net deferred tax assets	$	9,870		$	9,490

14_Segment_Information_Tables

14. Segment Information (Tables)	12 Months Ended
14. Segment Information (Tables)	Apr. 30, 2014
Segment Reporting [Abstract]	'
Reconciliation of Operating Profit (Loss) from Segments to Consolidated [Table Text Block]	'The table below presents information about reported segments for each of the years ended April 30 with reconciliation of segment amounts to consolidated amounts as reported in the statement of operations or the balance sheet for each of the years (in thousands):

			2014			2013
	Net revenues:
	FEI-NY		$	55,772		$	52,567
	Gillam-FEI			9,995	**		11,825	**
	FEI-Zyfer			7,990			10,523
	less intersegment revenues			(2,207	)**		(5,983	)**
	Consolidated revenues		$	71,550		$	68,932
	Operating profit (loss):
	FEI-NY		$	6,403		$	7,334
	Gillam-FEI			(520	)**		(1,643	)**
	FEI-Zyfer			(626	)		(552	)
	Corporate			(384	)		(460	)
	Consolidated operating profit		$	4,873		$	4,679
		**For fiscal years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013, includes Gillam-FEI intersegment sales of $1.6 million and $4.1 million, respectively, to the FEI-NY and FEI-Zyfer segments. Such sales consist principally of design and development of automatic test equipment for satellite hardware production and manufacture of assemblies and units of a wireline synchronization product for ultimate production and sale in the U.S. In the Gillam-FEI segment, these transactions reduced the operating loss in each of the fiscal years. In addition, during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013, Gillam-FEI wrote down $1.4 million of accumulated costs related to hardware and software design of a product in connection with the French government’s smart electrical grid initiative. Based on slower than anticipated rollout of this project, the Company has less visibility regarding the probable schedule for obtaining production-level orders, which are now anticipated to occur no earlier than fiscal year 2015.
Reconciliation of Assets from Segment to Consolidated [Table Text Block]	'
			2014			2013
	Identifiable assets:
	FEI-NY (approximately $3 million in China)		$	62,969		$	55,508
	Gillam-FEI (all in Belgium or France)			19,595			18,071
	FEI-Zyfer			11,220			10,418
	less intersegment receivables			(19,819	)		(18,903	)
	Corporate			45,496			43,815
	Consolidated identifiable assets		$	119,461		$	108,909
	Depreciation and amortization (allocated):
	FEI-NY		$	2,021		$	1,892
	Gillam-FEI			261			304
	FEI-Zyfer			174			202
	Corporate			15			15
	Consolidated depreciation and amortization expense		$	2,471		$	2,413
Schedule of Revenue from External Customers Attributed to Foreign Countries by Geographic Area [Table Text Block]	'Revenues, based on the location of the procurement entity and excluding intersegment sales, were derived from the following countries:

			(in thousands)
			2014			2013
	France		$	8,932		$	9,527
	Belgium			5,719			4,240
	Russia			1,046			355
	China			492			565
	Other			2,488			3,035
			$	18,677		$	17,722

15_Other_Comprehensive_Income_1

15. Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) (Tables)	12 Months Ended
15. Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) (Tables)	Apr. 30, 2014
Equity [Abstract]	'
Schedule of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Table Text Block]	'The reclassification adjustments represent net realized gains on the sale or redemption of available-for-sale marketable securities that were reclassified from AOCI to Other income (expense), net.

			Change in						Foreign
			Market Value						Currency
			of Marketable						Translation
			Securities						Adjustment			Total
	Balance April 30, 2012, net of taxes					$	895		$	3,275		$	4,170
	Items of other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassification, pretax						868			(782	)		86
	Tax effect						(313	)		-			(313	)
	Items of other comprehensive income (loss)before reclassification, net of taxes						555			(782	)		(227	)
	Reclassification adjustments, pretax **			(47	)
	Tax effect			17			(30	)		-			(30	)
	Total other comprehensive income (loss), net of taxes						525			(782	)		(257	)
	Balance April 30, 2013						1,420			2,493			3,913
	Items of other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassification, pretax						(292	)		505			213
	Tax effect						130			-			130
	Items of other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassification, net of taxes						(162	)		505			343
	Reclassification adjustments, pretax **			(367	)
	Tax			125			(242	)		-			(242	)
	Total other comprehensive income (loss), net of taxes						(404	)		505			101
	Balance April 30, 2014					$	1,016		$	2,998		$	4,014
		**The reclassification adjustments represent net realized gains on the sale or redemption of available-for-sale marketable securities that were reclassified from AOCI to Other income (expense), net.

Noncash_operating_and_investin1

Non-cash operating and investing activities: (Details) (Morion Inc [Member], USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2013
Morion Inc [Member]	'
Non-cash operating and investing activities: (Details) [Line Items]	'
Proceeds from Deposits from Customers	$925

1_Summary_of_Accounting_Polici2

1. Summary of Accounting Policies (Details)	12 Months Ended
1. Summary of Accounting Policies (Details)	Apr. 30, 2014
Building [Member]	'
1. Summary of Accounting Policies (Details) [Line Items]	'
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	'40 years
Other Depreciable Assets [Member] \| Minimum [Member]	'
1. Summary of Accounting Policies (Details) [Line Items]	'
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	'3 years
Other Depreciable Assets [Member] \| Maximum [Member]	'
1. Summary of Accounting Policies (Details) [Line Items]	'
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	'10 years
Certification Marks [Member]	'
1. Summary of Accounting Policies (Details) [Line Items]	'
Finite-Lived Intangible Asset, Useful Life	'3 years

1_Summary_of_Accounting_Polici3

1. Summary of Accounting Policies (Details) - Schedule of Share-based Payment Award, Stock Options, Valuation Assumptions	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Schedule of Share-based Payment Award, Stock Options, Valuation Assumptions [Abstract]	'	'
Expected volatility	34.00%	40.00%
Dividend yield	0.00%	0.00%
Risk-free interest rate	2.45%	1.31%
Risk-free interest rate	2.50%	1.35%
Expected lives	'8 years 6 months	'8 years 6 months

2_Earnings_Per_Share_Details

2. Earnings Per Share (Details) (Equity Option [Member])	12 Months Ended
2. Earnings Per Share (Details) (Equity Option [Member])	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Equity Option [Member]	'	'
2. Earnings Per Share (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share, Amount	270,875	939,375

2_Earnings_Per_Share_Details_S

2. Earnings Per Share (Details) - Schedule of Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Schedule of Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted [Abstract]	'	'
Basic EPS Shares outstanding (weighted average)	8,526,576	8,412,633
Effect of Dilutive Securities	290,381	192,018
Diluted EPS Shares outstanding	8,816,957	8,604,651

3_Costs_and_Estimated_Earnings2

3. Costs and Estimated Earnings in Excess of Billings (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
3. Costs and Estimated Earnings in Excess of Billings (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Revenues	$71,550	$68,932
Contracts Accounted for under Percentage of Completion [Member]	'	'
3. Costs and Estimated Earnings in Excess of Billings (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Revenues	$43,200	$35,600

3_Costs_and_Estimated_Earnings3

3. Costs and Estimated Earnings in Excess of Billings (Details) - Costs and Estimated Earnings in Excess of Billings, Net (USD $)	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Costs and Estimated Earnings in Excess of Billings, Net [Abstract]	'	'
Costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings	$11,965	$10,228
Billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings	-1,526	-1,611
Net asset	$10,439	$8,617

4_Inventories_Details

4. Inventories (Details) (USD $)	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
4. Inventories (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Inventory, Net	$41,227	$37,521
United States [Member]	'	'
4. Inventories (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Inventory, Net	33,400	29,900
Belgium [Member]	'	'
4. Inventories (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Inventory, Net	7,100	6,900
China [Member]	'	'
4. Inventories (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Inventory, Net	$700	$700

4_Inventories_Details_Schedule

4. Inventories (Details) - Schedule of Inventory, Current (USD $)	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Schedule of Inventory, Current [Abstract]	'	'
Raw Materials and Component Parts	$24,986	$21,066
Work in Progress	12,385	13,665
Finished Goods	3,856	2,790
	$41,227	$37,521

5_Property_Plant_and_Equipment2

5. Property, Plant and Equipment and Leases (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
5. Property, Plant and Equipment and Leases (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Depreciation	$2,309,000	$2,250,000
Cost of Property Repairs and Maintenance	940,000	993,000
Operating Leases, Rent Expense	1,500,000	1,300,000
Deferred Rent Credit, Noncurrent	380,000	310,000
Long Island, NY Headquarters [Member]	'	'
5. Property, Plant and Equipment and Leases (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Operating Leases, Rent Expense, Minimum Rentals	800,000	'
Lessee Leasing Arrangements, Operating Leases, Renewal Term	'5 years	'
FEI-Elcom Office and Manufacturing Lease [Member]	'	'
5. Property, Plant and Equipment and Leases (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Operating Leases, Rent Expense, Minimum Rentals	28,000	'
Area of Real Estate Property (in Square Feet)	32,000	'
FEI-Asia Facility Lease [Member]	'	'
5. Property, Plant and Equipment and Leases (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Operating Leases, Rent Expense, Minimum Rentals	6,800	'
Lessee Leasing Arrangements, Operating Leases, Term of Contract	'1 year	'
FEI-Zyfer Office and Manufacturing Leases [Member]	'	'
5. Property, Plant and Equipment and Leases (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Operating Leases, Rent Expense, Minimum Rentals	29,500	'
Area of Real Estate Property (in Square Feet)	27,850	'
Lessee Leasing Arrangements, Operating Leases, Term of Contract	'40 months	'
Satel-FEI Office Lease [Member]	'	'
5. Property, Plant and Equipment and Leases (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Operating Leases, Rent Expense, Minimum Rentals	$1,100	'
Lessee Leasing Arrangements, Operating Leases, Term of Contract	'9 years	'
Minimum [Member] \| Satel-FEI Office Lease [Member]	'	'
5. Property, Plant and Equipment and Leases (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Lessee Leasing Arrangements, Operating Leases, Term of Contract	'3 years	'

5_Property_Plant_and_Equipment3

5. Property, Plant and Equipment and Leases (Details) - Schedule of Property, Plant and Equipment (USD $)	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Schedule of Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]	'	'
Buildings and building improvements	$5,976	$5,477
Machinery, equipment and furniture	49,651	44,758
	55,627	50,235
Less, accumulated depreciation	44,387	41,919
	$11,240	$8,316

5_Property_Plant_and_Equipment4

5. Property, Plant and Equipment and Leases (Details) - Schedule of Future Minimum Rental Payments for Operating Leases (USD $)	Apr. 30, 2014
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014
Schedule of Future Minimum Rental Payments for Operating Leases [Abstract]	'
2015	$1,503
2016	1,473
2017	1,174
2018	925
2019	600
Total future minimum lease payments	$5,675

6_Marketable_Securities_Detail

6. Marketable Securities (Details) - Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'
Cost	$15,194	$16,775
Gross Unrealized Gains	1,025	1,563
Gross Unrealized Losses	-189	-68
Fair Market Value	16,030	18,270
Fixed Income Securities [Member]	'	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'
Cost	8,927	10,285
Gross Unrealized Gains	116	297
Gross Unrealized Losses	-36	0
Fair Market Value	9,007	10,582
Equity Securities [Member]	'	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'
Cost	6,267	6,490
Gross Unrealized Gains	909	1,266
Gross Unrealized Losses	-153	-68
Fair Market Value	$7,023	$7,688

6_Marketable_Securities_Detail1

6. Marketable Securities (Details) - Schedule of Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
6. Marketable Securities (Details) - Schedule of Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments [Line Items]	'	'
Fair Value, Less than 12 months	$867	$0
Unrealized Losses, Less than 12 months	-4	0
Fair Value, Morethan 12 months	1,373	512
Unrealized Losses, More than 12 months	-185	-68
Fair Value	2,240	512
Unrealized Losses	-189	-68
Fixed Income Securities [Member]	'	'
6. Marketable Securities (Details) - Schedule of Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments [Line Items]	'	'
Fair Value, Less than 12 months	501	0
Unrealized Losses, Less than 12 months	-3	0
Fair Value, Morethan 12 months	448	0
Unrealized Losses, More than 12 months	-33	0
Fair Value	949	0
Unrealized Losses	-36	0
Equity Securities [Member]	'	'
6. Marketable Securities (Details) - Schedule of Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments [Line Items]	'	'
Fair Value, Less than 12 months	366	0
Unrealized Losses, Less than 12 months	-1	0
Fair Value, Morethan 12 months	925	512
Unrealized Losses, More than 12 months	-152	-68
Fair Value	1,291	512
Unrealized Losses	($153)	($68)

6_Marketable_Securities_Detail2

6. Marketable Securities (Details) - Schedule of Gain (Loss) on Investments (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Schedule of Gain (Loss) on Investments [Abstract]	'	'
Proceeds	$4,993	$3,006
Gross realized gains	367	47
Gross realized losses	$0	$0

6_Marketable_Securities_Detail3

6. Marketable Securities (Details) - Schedule of Fair Value, by Balance Sheet Grouping (USD $)	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]	'	'
Current	$16,030	$18,270
Fixed Income Securities [Member]	'	'
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]	'	'
Current	4,014	'
Due after one year through five years	3,086	'
Due after five years through ten years	1,827	'
	$8,927	'

7_Debt_Obligations_Details

7. Debt Obligations (Details)

12 Months Ended

0 Months Ended

12 Months Ended

Apr. 30, 2014

Apr. 30, 2013

Jun. 06, 2013

Apr. 30, 2014

Jun. 06, 2013

Apr. 30, 2013

Apr. 30, 2014

Apr. 30, 2013

USD ($)

Debt Instrument, Tranche B [Member]

Debt Instrument, Tranche A [Member]

JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. [Member]

Former Financial Institution [Member]

European Bank [Member]

JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. [Member]

USD ($)

Maximum [Member]

Minimum [Member]

Eurodollar [Member]

USD ($)

EUR (€)

USD ($)

London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]

USD ($)

London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]

USD ($)

7. Debt Obligations (Details) [Line Items]

Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity

$15,000,000

$25,000,000

$9,300,000

Proceeds from Lines of Credit

4,100,000

5,000,000

7,200,000

4,100,000

5,000,000

8,500,000

Short-term Debt

9,300,000

Long-term Line of Credit

6,000,000

Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate

1.75%

0.75%

1.00%

Line of Credit Facility, Expiration Date

5-Jun-18

Line of Credit Facility, Commitment Fee Percentage

0.10%

Repayments of Lines of Credit

5,000,000

Debt Instrument, Maturity Date, Description

'no maturity date

Line of Credit Facility, Interest Rate During Period

1.80%

1.70%

Line of Credit Facility, Remaining Borrowing Capacity

$350,000

€ 250,000

Line of Credit Facility, Expiration Period

'1 year

Line of Credit Facility, Interest Rate at Period End

1.24%

1.12%

8_Accrued_Liabilities_Details_

8. Accrued Liabilities (Details) - Schedule of Accrued Liabilities (USD $)	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013	Apr. 30, 2012
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013	Apr. 30, 2012
Schedule of Accrued Liabilities [Abstract]	'	'	'
Vacation and other compensation	$1,761	$1,794	'
Incentive compensation	1,389	1,634	'
Payroll taxes	1,613	1,323	'
Deferred revenue	1,023	1,620	'
Warranty reserve	617	598	778
Other	958	995	'
	$7,361	$7,964	'

9_Product_Warranties_Details

9. Product Warranties (Details)	12 Months Ended
9. Product Warranties (Details)	Apr. 30, 2014
Product Warranties Disclosures [Abstract]	'
Standard Product Warranty Description	'one-year warranty regarding the manufactured quality and functionality of its products. For some limited products, the warranty period has been extended.

9_Product_Warranties_Details_S

9. Product Warranties (Details) - Schedule of Product Warranty Liability (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Schedule of Product Warranty Liability [Abstract]	'	'
Balance at beginning of year	$598	$778
Warranty costs incurred	-339	-324
Product warranty accrual	358	144
Balance at end of year	$617	$598

10_Investment_in_Morion_Inc_De

10. Investment in Morion, Inc. (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2014	Oct. 22, 2012	Nov. 30, 2012	Oct. 22, 2012	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
	Technology Transfer, Training and Sale of Parts [Member]	Technology Transfer, Training and Sale of Parts [Member]	Licensing Agreement [Member]	Licensing Agreement [Member]	Licensing Agreement [Member]	Morion Inc [Member]	Morion Inc [Member]
	Morion Inc. Licensing Agreement [Member]	Morion Inc [Member]	Morion Inc [Member]	Morion Inc [Member]	Morion Inc [Member]
10. Investment in Morion, Inc. (Details) [Line Items]	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Cost Method Investment Ownership Percentage	'	'	'	'	'	4.60%	'
Related Party Transaction, Purchases from Related Party	'	'	'	'	'	$213,000	$54,000
Revenue from Related Parties	'	500,000	'	'	'	1,044,000	355,000
Accounts Receivable, Related Parties, Current	'	'	'	'	'	276,000	34,000
License And Equipment Fee Receivable	'	'	2,700,000	'	'	'	'
Percentage Of Royalties Payable On Third Party Sales	'	'	5.00%	'	'	'	'
Long-term Purchase Commitment, Period	'	'	'5 years	'	'	'	'
Purchase Commitment, Remaining Minimum Amount Committed	'	'	'	'	400,000	'	'
Proceeds from Deposits from Customers	'	'	'	925,000	'	'	925,000
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Property Plant Equipment, Excluding Oil and Gas Property and Timber Property	$736,000	'	'	'	'	'	'

11_Goodwill_and_Other_Intangib1

11. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013	Apr. 30, 2004	Feb. 29, 2012
	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013	Frequency Electronics Inc Zyfer [Member]	FEI-Elcom [Member]
11. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (Details) [Line Items]	'	'	'	'
Goodwill	'	'	$218,000	$398,000
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Intangible Assets, Other than Goodwill	'	'	'	275,000
Finite-Lived Intangible Asset, Useful Life	'	'	'	'3 years
Amortization of Intangible Assets	$91,000	$91,000	'	'

12_Employee_Benefit_Plans_Deta

12. Employee Benefit Plans (Details) (USD $)

12 Months Ended

Apr. 30, 2014

Apr. 30, 2013

Apr. 30, 2012

Apr. 30, 2014

Apr. 30, 2013

Apr. 30, 2012

Apr. 30, 2014

Apr. 30, 2013

Apr. 30, 2014

Apr. 30, 2013

Apr. 30, 2014

Apr. 30, 2013

Apr. 30, 2014

Apr. 30, 2013

Apr. 30, 2006

Apr. 30, 1990

Apr. 30, 2014

Apr. 30, 2013

Apr. 30, 1990

Apr. 30, 2014

Apr. 30, 2000

Apr. 30, 2014

Apr. 30, 2013

Options at $13.15 [Member]

Options at $8.01 [Member]

Immediate Family Member of Management or Principal Owner [Member]

Employees and Directors [Member]

Stock Appreciation Rights (SARs) [Member]

Employee Stock Option [Member]

United States Post-Retirement Benefit Plan of US Entity, Defined Benefit [Member]

Income Incentive Pool [Member]

Independent Contractor Stock Option Plan [Member]

Restricted Stock Plan [Member]

Employee Stock Ownership Plan [Member]

Deferred Compensation Agreement [Member]

Employee Stock Option [Member]

Employees and Directors [Member]

Nonqualified Stock Options [Member]

Stock Appreciation Rights (SARs) [Member]

Incentive Stock Options [Member]

ISO and NQSO [Member]

Incentive Stock Options [Member]

Stock Appreciation Rights (SARs) [Member]

12. Employee Benefit Plans (Details) [Line Items]

Stock Issued During Period, Shares, Employee Benefit Plan

41,775

52,715

Stock Issued During Period, Value, Employee Benefit Plan (in Dollars)

$466,000

$456,000

$466,000

$456,000

Adjustments to Additional Paid in Capital, Share-based Compensation, Employee Stock Purchase Program, Requisite Service Period Recognition (in Dollars)

277,000

214,000

Common Stock, Capital Shares Reserved for Future Issuance

464,652

Accrued Bonuses (in Dollars)

1,300,000

1,600,000

Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Award Vesting Period

'4 years

Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Expiration Period

'1 year

'10 years

'4 years

Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Grants in Period, Gross

212,000

209,000

95,000

56,625

1,711,000

172,500

Share-based Compensation Arrangements by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Grants in Period, Weighted Average Exercise Price (in Dollars per share)

$10.30

$8.82

$13.15

$5.60

Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Exercises in Period

-196,000

-113,075

17,500

19,125

101,000

77,500

95,000

Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Exercise Price (in Dollars per share)

$8.01

$6.67

$3.50

Stock Issued During Period, Shares, Share-based Compensation, Net of Forfeitures

7,276

11,011

50,556

14,828

Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding, Number

1,722,625

1,708,625

1,629,700

1,028,000

20,000

1,608,000

30,000

Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Exercisable, Number

1,142,750

20,000

Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Number of Shares Available for Grant

6,816

50,444

80,172

375,000

7,500

Employee Service Share-based Compensation, Nonvested Awards, Compensation Cost Not yet Recognized (in Dollars)

2,016,000

Employee Service Share-based Compensation, Nonvested Awards, Compensation Cost Not yet Recognized, Period for Recognition

'2 years 6 months

Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Vested, Number of Shares

268,875

254,813

Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Vested in Period, Fair Value (in Dollars)

993,000

847,000

Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Vested, Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value (in Dollars per share)

$4.57

$4.16

Employee Benefits and Share-based Compensation (in Dollars)

1,246,000

1,072,000

426,000

410,000

Share-based Compensation (in Dollars)

1,105,000

947,000

676,000

537,000

Deferred Tax Expense from Stock Options Exercised (in Dollars)

182,000

152,000

Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Number of Shares Authorized

350,000

Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding, Weighted Average Exercise Price (in Dollars per share)

$8.60

$8.23

$7.95

$14.76

Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), Shares Contributed to ESOP

561,652

Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Number of Additional Shares Authorized

510,000

Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), Number of Allocated Shares

-1,071,652

Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), Shares in ESOP

402,378

Deferred Compensation Arrangement with Individual, Description

'Under these agreements, each key employee receives specified retirement payments for the remainder of the employee's life with a minimum payment of ten years' benefits to either the employee or his beneficiaries. The agreements also provide for lump sum payments upon termination of employment without cause and reduced benefits upon early retirement.

Deferred Compensation Arrangement with Individual, Compensation Expense (in Dollars)

$780,000

$616,000

12_Employee_Benefit_Plans_Deta1

12. Employee Benefit Plans (Details) - Schedule of Share-based Compensation, Stock Options, Activity (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013	Apr. 30, 2012
Schedule of Share-based Compensation, Stock Options, Activity [Abstract]	'	'	'
Options, Shares Outstanding	1,722,625	1,708,625	1,629,700
Options, Weighted-Average Exercise Price (in Dollars per share)	$8.60	$8.23	$7.95
Options, Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term	'6 years	'6 years 36 days	'6 years 146 days
Options, Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in Dollars)	$3,913,368	'	'
Exercisable	1,142,750	'	'
Exercisable (in Dollars per share)	$8.42	'	'
Exercisable	'4 years 292 days	'	'
Exercisable (in Dollars)	$2,964,498	'	'
Available for future grants	6,816	'	'
Options, Shares Granted	212,000	209,000	'
Options, Weighted-Average Exercise Price Granted (in Dollars per share)	$10.30	$8.82	'
Options, Shares Exercised	-196,000	-113,075	'
Options, Weighted-Average Exercise Price Exercised (in Dollars per share)	$7.16	$5.63	'
Options, Shares Expired or Canceled	-2,000	-17,000	'
Options, Weighted-Average Exercise Price Expired or Canceled (in Dollars per share)	$10.06	$5.16	'

13_Income_Taxes_Details

13. Income Taxes (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
13. Income Taxes (Details) (USD $)	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
13. Income Taxes (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Deferred Tax Assets, Operating Loss Carryforwards, Foreign	$3,600,000	'
Deferred Tax Assets, Operating Loss Carryforwards, Domestic	5,600,000	'
Tax Credit Carryforward, Expiration Term	'18 years	'
Foreign Exchange [Member] \| Valuation Allowance of Deferred Tax Assets [Member]	'	'
13. Income Taxes (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Valuation Allowances and Reserves, Period Increase (Decrease)	117,000	45,000
Deferred Tax Provision [Member] \| Valuation Allowance of Deferred Tax Assets [Member]	'	'
13. Income Taxes (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Valuation Allowances and Reserves, Period Increase (Decrease)	'	490,000
Valuation Allowance of Deferred Tax Assets [Member]	'	'
13. Income Taxes (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Valuation Allowances and Reserves, Period Increase (Decrease)	$220,000	$445,000

13_Income_Taxes_Details_Schedu

13. Income Taxes (Details) - Schedule of Income before Income Tax, Domestic and Foreign (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Schedule of Income before Income Tax, Domestic and Foreign [Abstract]	'	'
U.S.	$7,565	$7,028
Foreign	-1,265	-1,942
	$6,300	$5,086

13_Income_Taxes_Details_Schedu1

13. Income Taxes (Details) - Schedule of Components of Income Tax Expense (Benefit) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Current:	'	'
Federal	$2,190	$1,680
Foreign	0	0
State	230	40
Current provision	2,420	1,720
Deferred:	'	'
Federal	-280	-145
Foreign	-103	-585
State	120	-80
Deferred benefit	-263	-810
Change in valuation allowance	103	490
Total provision	$2,260	$1,400

13_Income_Taxes_Details_Schedu2

13. Income Taxes (Details) - Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation [Abstract]	'	'
Computed "expected" tax expense	$2,142	$1,729
State and local tax, net of federal benefit	214	-81
Valuation allowance on deferred tax assets	103	490
Foreign losses without tax benefit	222	29
Nondeductible expenses	199	178
Nontaxable life insurance cash value increase	-151	-168
Tax credits	-203	-299
Other items, net, none of which individually exceeds 5% of federal taxes at statutory rates	-266	-478
	$2,260	$1,400

13_Income_Taxes_Details_Schedu3

13. Income Taxes (Details) - Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation (Parentheticals)	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation [Abstract]	'	'
% of federal taxes	5.00%	5.00%

13_Income_Taxes_Details_Schedu4

13. Income Taxes (Details) - Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities (USD $)	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Deferred tax assets:	'	'
Employee benefits	$6,860	$6,490
Inventory	1,750	1,980
Accounts receivable	570	470
Tax credits	770	990
Other liabilities	240	270
Net operating loss carryforwards	3,130	3,040
Total deferred tax asset	13,320	13,240
Deferred tax liabilities:	'	'
Marketable securities	280	540
Property, plant and equipment	1,050	1,310
Net deferred tax asset	11,990	11,390
Valuation allowance	-2,120	-1,900
Net deferred tax assets	9,870	9,490
Gross current assets	3,600	3,890
Valuation allowance	0	0
Current liabilities	-380	-720
Net current deferred tax assets	3,220	3,170
Gross noncurrent assets	9,940	9,600
Valuation allowance	-2,120	-1,900
Noncurrent liabilities	-1,170	-1,380
Net noncurrent deferred tax assets	$6,650	$6,320

14_Segment_Information_Details

14. Segment Information (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Millions, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
14. Segment Information (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Number of Reportable Segments	3	'
Number of Operating Segments	3	'
U.S. Government and U.S. Government Subcontractors [Member] \| Sales Revenue, Net [Member] \| Customer Concentration Risk [Member]	'	'
14. Segment Information (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Concentration Risk, Percentage	54.00%	62.00%
Frequency Electronics Inc New York [Member] \| Sales Revenue, Net [Member] \| Customer Concentration Risk [Member]	'	'
14. Segment Information (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Concentration Risk, Percentage	53.00%	65.00%
Concentration Risk, Customer	'two customers	'three customers
Frequency Electronics Inc New York [Member]	'	'
14. Segment Information (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Number Of Principal Markets	3	'
Revenue, Net	29.4	34.1
Segment Reporting, Disclosure of Major Customers	'Each of these customers also exceeded 10% of the Company's consolidated revenues.	'Each of these customers also exceeded 10% of the Company's consolidated revenues.
Gillam Frequency Electronics Inc [Member]	'	'
14. Segment Information (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Sales Revenue, Goods, Gross	1.6	4.1
Inventory Write-down	'	1.4
Segment Reporting, Disclosure of Major Customers	'one customer exceeded 10% of that segment's revenues.	'one customer exceeded 10% of that segment's revenues
Frequency Electronics Inc Zyfer [Member]	'	'
14. Segment Information (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Segment Reporting, Disclosure of Major Customers	'one customer accounted for more than 10% of that segment's sales.	'two customers accounted for more than 10% of that segment's sales
Gillam-FEI and FEI-Zyfer [Member]	'	'
14. Segment Information (Details) [Line Items]	'	'
Segment Reporting, Disclosure of Major Customers	'None of the customers in the Gillam-FEI and FEI-Zyfer segments accounted for more than 10% of consolidated revenues.	'None of the customers in the Gillam-FEI and FEI-Zyfer segments accounted for more than 10% of consolidated revenues

14_Segment_Information_Details1

14. Segment Information (Details) - Reconciliation of Operating Profit (Loss) from Segments to Consolidated (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014		Apr. 30, 2013
Segment Reporting, Reconciling Item for Operating Profit (Loss) from Segment to Consolidated [Line Items]	'		'
Revenues	$71,550		$68,932
Operating profit (loss)	4,873		4,679
Frequency Electronics Inc New York [Member]	'		'
Segment Reporting, Reconciling Item for Operating Profit (Loss) from Segment to Consolidated [Line Items]	'		'
Revenues	55,772		52,567
Operating profit (loss)	6,403		7,334
Gillam Frequency Electronics Inc [Member]	'		'
Segment Reporting, Reconciling Item for Operating Profit (Loss) from Segment to Consolidated [Line Items]	'		'
Revenues	9,995	[1]	11,825
Operating profit (loss)	-520	[1]	-1,643	[1]
Frequency Electronics Inc Zyfer [Member]	'		'
Segment Reporting, Reconciling Item for Operating Profit (Loss) from Segment to Consolidated [Line Items]	'		'
Revenues	7,990		10,523
Operating profit (loss)	-626		-552
Inter Segment [Member]	'		'
Segment Reporting, Reconciling Item for Operating Profit (Loss) from Segment to Consolidated [Line Items]	'		'
Revenues	-2,207		-5,983
Corporate Segment [Member]	'		'
Segment Reporting, Reconciling Item for Operating Profit (Loss) from Segment to Consolidated [Line Items]	'		'
Operating profit (loss)	($384)		($460)

[1]	For fiscal years ended April 30, 2014 and 2013, includes Gillam-FEI intersegment sales of $1.6 million and $4.1 million, respectively, to the FEI-NY and FEI-Zyfer segments. Such sales consist principally of design and development of automatic test equipment for satellite hardware production and manufacture of assemblies and units of a wireline synchronization product for ultimate production and sale in the U.S. In the Gillam-FEI segment, these transactions reduced the operating loss in each of the fiscal years. In addition, during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013, Gillam-FEI wrote down $1.4 million of accumulated costs related to hardware and software design of a product in connection with the French government's smart electrical grid initiative. Based on slower than anticipated rollout of this project, the Company has less visibility regarding the probable schedule for obtaining production-level orders, which are now anticipated to occur no earlier than fiscal year 2015.

14_Segment_Information_Details2

14. Segment Information (Details) - Schedule of Reconciliation of Assets from Segment to Consolidated (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'
Identifiable Assets	$119,461	$108,909
Depreciation and Amortization	2,471	2,413
Frequency Electronics Inc New York [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'
Identifiable Assets	62,969	55,508
Depreciation and Amortization	2,021	1,892
Gillam Frequency Electronics Inc [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'
Identifiable Assets	19,595	18,071
Depreciation and Amortization	261	304
Frequency Electronics Inc Zyfer [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'
Identifiable Assets	11,220	10,418
Depreciation and Amortization	174	202
Inter Segment [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'
Identifiable Assets	-19,819	-18,903
Corporate Segment [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'
Identifiable Assets	45,496	43,815
Depreciation and Amortization	$15	$15

14_Segment_Information_Details3

14. Segment Information (Details) - Schedule of Reconciliation of Assets from Segment to Consolidated (Parentheticals) (Frequency Electronics Inc New York [Member], CNY)	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
In Millions, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
Frequency Electronics Inc New York [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'
Identifiable assets in China	3	3

14_Segment_Information_Details4

14. Segment Information (Details) - Schedule of Revenue from External Customers Attributed to Foreign Countries by Geographic Area (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2014	Apr. 30, 2013
14. Segment Information (Details) - Schedule of Revenue from External Customers Attributed to Foreign Countries by Geographic Area [Line Items]	'	'
Revenues	$71,550	$68,932
France [Member]	'	'
14. Segment Information (Details) - Schedule of Revenue from External Customers Attributed to Foreign Countries by Geographic Area [Line Items]	'	'
Revenues	8,932	9,527
Belgium [Member]	'	'
14. Segment Information (Details) - Schedule of Revenue from External Customers Attributed to Foreign Countries by Geographic Area [Line Items]	'	'
Revenues	5,719	4,240
Russia [Member]	'	'
14. Segment Information (Details) - Schedule of Revenue from External Customers Attributed to Foreign Countries by Geographic Area [Line Items]	'	'
Revenues	1,046	355
China [Member]	'	'
14. Segment Information (Details) - Schedule of Revenue from External Customers Attributed to Foreign Countries by Geographic Area [Line Items]	'	'
Revenues	492	565
Other Countries [Member]	'	'
14. Segment Information (Details) - Schedule of Revenue from External Customers Attributed to Foreign Countries by Geographic Area [Line Items]	'	'
Revenues	2,488	3,035
Foreign Revenue [Member]	'	'
14. Segment Information (Details) - Schedule of Revenue from External Customers Attributed to Foreign Countries by Geographic Area [Line Items]	'	'
Revenues	$18,677	$17,722

15_Other_Comprehensive_Income_2

15. Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) (Details) - Schedule of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2014		Apr. 30, 2013
Schedule of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Abstract]	'		'
Balance, Change in Market Value of Marketable Securities	$1,420,000		$895,000
Balance, Foreign Currency Translation Adjustment	2,493,000		3,275,000
Balance, Total	3,913,000		4,170,000
Items of other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassification, pretax, Change in Market Value of Marketable Securities	-292,000		868,000
Items of other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassification, pretax, Foreign Currency Translation Adjustment	505,000		-782,000
Items of other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassification, pretax, Total	213,000		86,000
Tax effect - Change in Market Value of Marketable Securities	130,000		-313,000
Tax effect - Foreign Currency Transalation Adjustment	0		0
Tax effect - Total	130,000		-313,000
Items of other comprehensive income (loss)before reclassification, net of taxes, Market Value of Marketable Securities	-162,000		555,000
Items of other comprehensive income (loss)before reclassification, net of taxes, Foreign Currency Translation Adjustment	505,000		-782,000
Items of other comprehensive income (loss)before reclassification, net of taxes, Total	343,000		-227,000
Reclassification adjustments, pretax - Marketable Securities	-367,000	[1]	-47,000	[1]
Tax - Marketable Securities	125,000		17,000
Reclassification Adjustment, Net of Taxes - Marketable Securities	-242,000		-30,000
Tax effect - Foreign Currency Transalation Adjustment	0		0
Reclassification Adjustment, Net of Taxes - Marketable Securities	-242,000		-30,000
Total other comprehensive income (loss), net of taxes, Marketable Securities	-404,000		525,000
Total other comprehensive income (loss), net of taxes, Foreign Currency Transalation Adjustment	505,000		-782,000
Total other comprehensive income (loss), net of taxes, Total	101,000		-257,000
Balance, Change in Market Value of Marketable Securities	1,016,000		1,420,000
Balance, Foreign Currency Translation Adjustment	2,998,000		2,493,000
Balance, Total	$4,014,000		$3,913,000

[1]	The reclassification adjustments represent net realized gains on the sale or redemption of available-for-sale marketable securities that were reclassified from AOCI to Other income (expense), net.