8-K

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549


                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT
                       PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF
                       THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934


         Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported): July 9, 2002


                              VARI-L COMPANY, INC.
             (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)



        COLORADO                    0-23866                   06-0678347
(State of Incorporation)        (Commission File           (IRS Employer ID
                                    Number)                     Number)


                               4895 Peoria Street
                             Denver, Colorado 80239
                    (Address of Principal Executive Offices)




                                 (303) 371-1560
                         (Registrant's Telephone Number,
                              including Area Code)







ITEM 5.  OTHER EVENTS

         Vari-L Company, Inc.(the "Registrant") issued a press release on July
9, 2002 announcing the default on covenant with Wells Fargo Business Credit,
Inc. which is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this report and incorporated herein by
reference.


ITEM 7.  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, PRO FORMA FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND EXHIBITS

         (a)  None

         (b)  None

         (c)  Exhibits

                99.1     Press Release dated July 9, 2002




Date:  July 9, 2002                        VARI-L COMPANY, INC.



                                           By: /s/ Richard P. Dutkiewicz
                                              ----------------------------------
                                              Richard P. Dutkiewicz
                                              Vice President of Finance
                                              and Chief Financial Officer









                                 EXHIBIT INDEX




         Exhibit No.              Description
         -----------              -----------
                     
             99.1       Press Release dated July 9, 2002

EX-99.1

                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                      NEWS
- ----------------------                                                OTCBB-VARL
July 9, 2002


                  VARI-L COMPANY ANNOUNCES DEFAULT ON COVENANT
                     WITH WELLS FARGO BUSINESS CREDIT, INC.

DENVER, Colorado -- Vari-L Company, Inc. (OTCBB-VARL), a leading provider of
advanced components for the wireless telecommunications industry, today
announced that the Company was notified by Wells Fargo Business Credit, Inc.
that an event of default as defined in the loan agreement had occurred.

Richard Dutkiewicz, Vice President of Finance and CFO, said that in late May,
the Company determined that it was not in compliance with the minimum tangible
net worth covenant of the loan agreement, which constitutes an event of default.
Since that time, the Company and Wells Fargo have been discussing various
remedies to cure the default, including potential improvement in future
operating results, a waiver of the default or an amendment of the loan
agreement. In early July, the Company received notice from Wells Fargo
confirming that an event of default had occurred and that a default interest
rate would be charged against amounts outstanding under the loan agreement,
effective May 1, 2002. No other default remedies have been implemented by the
lender. Wells Fargo, however, has not waived its right to exercise such remedies
in the future.

As of June 30, 2002, under the loan agreement, the Company had a $1.5 million
secured term loan outstanding and a secured revolving line of credit with no
amounts outstanding and $1.8 million of unused availability. The loans are
secured by substantially all of the Company's accounts receivable, inventories
and equipment.

Dutkiewicz said that although the Company is continuing to work with Wells Fargo
to cure the default, other means to improve its cash liquidity are under review
including a private equity infusion and the sale of non-income producing assets.
Such proceeds could be used to reduce amounts outstanding under the existing
credit facilities. The Company is also considering alternative lending sources
to replace all or a portion of its existing credit facilities. If such efforts
are unsuccessful, Wells Fargo could demand immediate repayment of the
outstanding loan amounts, which would have a material adverse effect on our
business, results of operations and financial condition.

Headquartered in Denver, Vari-L designs, manufactures and markets wireless
communications components that generate or process radio frequency (RF) and
microwave frequency signals. Vari-L's patented products are used in commercial
infrastructure equipment (including GSM/cellular/PCS base stations and
repeaters, fixed terminal point to point/multi-point,) consumer subscriber
products (advanced cellular/PCS/satellite handsets), and military/aerospace
platforms (satellite communications/telemetry, missile guidance, electronic
warfare, electronic countermeasures, battlefield communications). Vari-L serves
a diverse customer base of the world's leading technology companies, including
Agilent Technologies, Ericsson, Harris, Hughes Network Systems, Lockheed Martin,
Lucent Technologies, Microwave Data Systems, Marconi, Motorola, Netro, Nokia,
Raytheon, Textron, Siemens, and Solectron.

Some of the statements we make in this news release are "forward-looking
statements" as that term is used in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. In most cases, when we use words like "believe," "expect," "estimate,"
"anticipate," "project," or "plan" to describe something which has not yet
occurred,






we are making a forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements we make
are based on a number of assumptions by us about the future, usually based on
current conditions or on the broader expectations of others. These assumptions
may or may not prove to be correct and, as a result, our own forward-looking
statements may also be inaccurate. On the other hand, based on what we know
today and what we expect in the future, we believe that the forward-looking
statements we make in this news release are reasonable.

We cannot list here all of the risks and uncertainties that could cause our
plans for the future to differ materially from our present expectations but we
can identify many of them. For example, we may be affected by the overall market
for various types of wireless communications products, the success of the
specific products into which our products are integrated, governmental action
relating to wireless communications, licensing and regulation and the timeliness
and relative success of the resolution of pending and threatened litigation. It
is also important to remember that forward-looking statements speak only as of
the date when they are made and we do not promise that we will publicly update
or revise those statements whenever conditions change or future events occur.
Accordingly, we do not recommend that any person seeking to evaluate our company
should place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement in this news
release.

                                    CONTACTS:

Vari-L Company, Inc.                        Pfeiffer High Public Relations, Inc.
Chuck Bland, President & CEO                         Jay Pfeiffer or KC Ingraham
Rick Dutkiewicz, CFO                                                303/393-7044
303/371-1560                                                jay@pfeifferhigh.com
www.vari-l.com                                               kc@pfeifferhigh.com