Too_Many_Tools wrote:
A company would not hesitate to do a redesign IF the product was
profitable.

There are several reasons not to do a redesign.
1) There are no resources available to do the redesign.
2) The available resources can do something with a much better
return on the investment.
3) Amortizing the cost of the redesign into the future sales would
make the redesigned product unprofitable even when the original product
was probably profitable.



Even in a large company, a redesign usually only involves a few people.


That really depends upon how extensive the redesign is and the effort
needed to take a new product to market. A redesign may require new
certification. Also, only Drake knows how extensive the redesign would
have been.

Doing a redesign is not a big deal and again would have been done if
the company thought the product was profitable.

Not knowing the extent of the redesign means that 'not a big deal' most
likely does not apply or at least there is no data to support that
statement. The underlaying technology is many years old. It might be
necessary to refresh much of the design to significantly increase the
market life of the product.


Having a key component become unavailable happens all the time and
companies will do a last time buy to insure the product can be built
for decades to come IF the product is profitable.

I suspect that more than one component was near the end of its life.
Also, carrying material in inventory is very expensive for a company, it
ties up money that can be used to get a better return. Very few products
have a useful market life of decades, especially when you consider
consumer products. Technology based products generally have a very short
life due to the speed at which technology changes.


The death of the Drake R8B is due to economics and not to technical
specs.


Most likely true. After all, most companies are in business to make a
profit. So economics is a factor. However, without knowing any of the
details, and that information is Drake's business, not ours, nobody
outside of Drake knows how economics entered into the decision.
Technical specs drive the value in the marketplace, leading to sales and
profits. The technical specs for the R8B allowed it to be a viable
product for many years. Without those specs, the product would probably
have been history years ago.


The Grundig 800 also continues to live due to economics and not to
technical specs.


Only partially true. The technical specs are part of what makes the
radio successful in the marketplace. It also takes marketing and low
cost manufacturing. Many areas enter into the economics. When the
economics dictate, the 800 will no longer be available.


TMT


While those who like the R8B find it unfortunate that Drake is no longer
selling the product, we have to also acknowlege that the market for a
high end SW receiver is rather small.

I think many would like to see some new high end receivers introduced
into the market. The success of some of the Chinese manufacturers to
bring sub-$100 mediocre radios to the market indicates that there is
interest in SW. However, it also indicates that the marketplace isn't
willing to spend big dollars for a high end radio.

If manufacturers saw a solid, stable demand for high end radios, then
you would see more available. Unfortunately, I don't see the demand.

Perhaps this means SWLs will need to get back to building their own
radios. There are probably enough folks in the group that can make this
a reality if we all work together.

craigm