Peter Maus wrote:


The exit of manufacturers from SW has to do with shrinking customer
base for SW hardware. SW is declining in use, people are exiting the
hobby for, among other things, satellite radio and internet listening,
so there are fewer sets being purchased.

SW may not be declining in use (or it may be). Degen and Tecsun seem to
have found enough of a market for them to produce several new portable
radios. Granted, these are near the low end of the market.

The problem comes with the supply and demand for higher end receivers.
Much of the worldwide listening audience may not be able to afford
several hundred dollars for a tabletop receiver. The big market for
these receivers may be the US and Europe.

There may not be a decline in use of receivers. A good SW receiver will
last several years. There have been many good receivers at various price
and performance levels produced of many years. Most people may have
found a receiver that meets their needs. If so, then there may be little
demand for a new receiver. If one has a receiver that meets their needs,
there is little incentive to spend big bucks to buy one that can only
offer limited improvement over what they already have. The decline that
is visible is in the sales of receivers.

For the manufacturers, they need to see that there is a market where
people will buy a new product. If they don't see a market, it is very
hard for them to invest the money to develop and market a new product.
The cost to bring a product to market is fairly high and the
manufacturer must be able to pay that cost from the sales of the product.

I hope some manufacturer will see that there might be demand for a new
higher end receiver. That receiver would need something that sets it
apart from others on the market and what folks already own. A 'me-too'
receiver will not be able to generate much in the way of sales.


craigm