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The end of the profiteering emporia?
On 11/30/2015 6:57 PM, Michael Black wrote:
On Mon, 30 Nov 2015, Jerry Stuckle wrote: On 11/30/2015 4:19 PM, Brian Reay wrote: On 30/11/15 20:06, turdey wrote: Brian Reay Wrote in message: On 30/11/15 12:50, Rambo wrote: And when you can pick up a chinese dual band mobile radio for £65 the writing is surely on the wall for the Japanese Companies......... While the cheap Chinese radios are good value, their overall package of performance, facilities, quality, etc. are still a long way from the offerings of the established manufacturers in the field. For a parallel, think about what happened with Lada, the old Skodas, etc. They didn't put the makers of quality more expensive cars out of business. There is a place for the 'cheap and cheerful' Chinese radios, especially the amazing cheap VHF/UHF handhelds as all but 'disposable' radios. But even the better ones don't really compare overall to, say, an FT60. Even those which set out to be apparent competitors (like the early Baofeng vs the V?8*) were not that comparable in terms of quality and ergonomics. (I can't recall if it was the VX8 or the VR8.) Those with a long association with the hobby will recall the Navico radios, which were claimed to be a cheap alternative to the various Japanese mobiles. However, the number sold was pitiful. The quality was good but the overall 'package' was, at best, disappointing- not least as the manufacturer (who has a good history in marine kit) failed to recognise what the market saw as key facilities. There are other examples, including the various Garex radios. In fact the Navico example is a good example of someone trying to break into the amateur market but thinking they could offer the narrower range of facilities which were applicable to their core business. They simply offered what was, essentially, a PMR/Marine radio to a more demanding customer who had better alternatives. Surely this is what we said about the Japanese stuff not so long ago? Not really. The Japanese are pretty good at providing what people want. Look at radios like the FT101, a doddle to operate, reliable, cheap (as things went), etc. Actually, most Japanese stuff was considered pretty cheap and poor quality back in the 60's, at least here in the U.S. There wasn't much (if any) for ham gear at the time, but the did have portable transistor radios, stereos and other electronic equipment. The vast majority of the good ham gear used here was American made (Drake, World Radio Labs, Heathkit, Collins, etc.). There was a transition. Early on, for reason I've never seen, Japan was seen as cheap knockoffs in the US. That had to exist, but they also had legit stuff, though maybe we simply didn't see the Sony stuff until later. But Japan made inroads via relabelling. So Lafayette and Radio Shack sold Japanese gear, except under their only labels. Some of it was bad, but it was early transistor period, it didn't seem like anyone knew how to make good solid state equipment. As the big names in the US faded, they were buying Japanese. So my Hallicrafters S-120A, bought in the summer of 1971, was Japanese, I assume less a case of Hallicrafters going to Japan and asking for a design and mostly an existing design that Hallicrafters put their name on it. Drake had the TR-22 in the early seventies, a portable 2M FM rig that could be had under other names. SOme of the best inraods was because of the rise of 2M FM, the existing US base being tube rigs intended for cars and the relatively expensive Motorola Handie Talkies. So the Japanese came in either as rebadged or Inoue and Standard etc. There wasn't much made in the US, at least not capable of making enough. ANd the Japanese also came via distributors. SOme of the big name ham distributors had HF rigs under their own name, it was only after that success that we started to see Yaesu and Kenwood coming under their own name. Michael Yes, there was some transition period when American manufacturers built their equipment in Japan, due to the lower cost of labor (and parts). But those American manufacturers required the Japanese to build the equipment to the same specifications as the American factories did. As a result, the American manufacturers were able to build cheaper, but the Japanese got more experience in designing and manufacturing better quality equipment. While American manufacturers won the economic battle, Japanese manufacturers won the war. -- ================== Remove the "x" from my email address Jerry, AI0K ================== |
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