In the end, Chinese products really will be competitive against the Japanese. They are not there yet, quite. I give it 5 years, possibly less.
4 Jan 2024
Bargains from China?
18 Sept 2022
Q900 all band, all mode ,transceiver
Yaesu, you have had your chances, but never took them in the run up to solar peak 24 and now 25. Instead, Yaesu messes around with a 100W SDR radio that looks like the one they only recently introduced!!
Yaesu, have you really lost the plot?
We could all be forgiven for thinking this. I used to like Yaesu radios. In recent years, I am really not so impressed.Like all things from China my feeling is the quality control and support are still not proven. They will get there soon and this may be it.
Lower cost amateur radio products are coming and the big Japanese manufacturers are in for a large shock. The writing is on the wall. I give it a few years only. Certainly when we are in cycle 26 things will look very different indeed. Some of the companies we have known for decades will be gone and there will be new names.
1 Dec 2021
China - NOT amateur radio
Recently, I attended a University of the Third Age lecture on China. There is little doubt that China will once again become a major world power in the 21st century.
There is always a tendency to judge China by western standards. In many ways we question their records on human rights. At the same time it was the UK that started the opium wars, and gun crime and treatment of ex-slaves in the USA is hardly great!
We have to be very careful not to judge by our western standards: we have been, and still are, far from perfect. Culturally, China differs from us in many ways. The Chinese are far from perfect, but so are we in the west.
It would be good if we could all strive for a better world, but not preaching as if we are perfect, when we in the west are not.
1 Oct 2021
USDR - HF SSB transceiver for £115 anyone?
Steve G1KQH has just sent me an eBay link to yet another multi-band HF SSB SDR transceiver from China. This retails for about £115! How do they do it and make money?
18 Mar 2021
Chinese electric commuter car - NOT amateur radio
The Chinese have launched a very low cost electric car aimed at commuters. It is a joint venture with General Motors. It is outselling Tesla cars by about 2:1. The standards in China are much lower than in Europe and the USA. At the moment it is only on sale in China.
It seems to me they have got their marketing spot on. In the west we have not got our electric car marketing correct. Our cars have (generally) got insufficient range for long distances and yet are far too expensive.
In what appears to be a stupid move, the UK government has today reduced the grant on electric cars under £35k and withdrawn it totally for cars over £35k. So much for encouraging us to go green!
In my view, the UK should launch a no frills electric car that fits the commuter range and can be charged at home. The government could actively encourage sales of these by strongly subsidising low cost electric cars made in the UK designed for commuters and local shopping trips.
See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56178802 .
5 Oct 2020
Chinese transceivers
Steve G1KQH has reminded me about a new Chinese amateur radio HF transceiver.
Many of the things we buy are made in China. It is now hard to find things not made in China. All this is because we demand lower and lower prices. We exported our UK manufacturing base to China. When China gets too expensive, we will look elsewhere. Like King Canute, we cannot stop the tides, but in the end we have to question this on many levels: we are exporting our pollution for example.
Sadly, we live in a consumer driven economy that cannot last for ever. Things are designed not to last too long so we are encouraged to replace items and so fuel our "throw away" mentality. We are all guilty.
Not sure why, but I still have issues with Chinese quality control. In the end the Chinese will get better and their quality control will be as good as the Japanese. The real question is will the Chinese be attracted by the (relatively small) amateur radio market? There are a few players, but no-one has seriously taken on the Kenwoods, Yaesus and ICOMs of this world yet. If they do, I could see some leaving the amateur radio market.
9 Jun 2020
Moon journey - NOT amateur radio
31 Jul 2019
3 year old falls from high-rise and survives
See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-china-49175524/china-toddler-three-year-old-falls-six-storeys-and-survives
11 Jan 2019
China Moon probes - NOT amateur radio
See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46836047
26 Sept 2018
FCC gets tough
At this stage I am not sure what effect this will have on rigs like the uBITX, Baofengs, Pixies and the like.
See http://southgatearc.org/news/2018/september/fcc-enforcement-advisory-on-two-way-vhf-uhf-radios.htm#.W6tCqfZFzIU
25 Sept 2018
How do they do it?
The price? £1.10 total including airmail delivery!! This price is unbelievable and they make a profit!
UPDATE 1326z: I have tried these on a couple of tablets and they work well. I have yet to try these with my Inrico network radio. This has a small touch screen, so they should prove very useful.
22 Aug 2018
Terracotta Warriors - NOT amateur radio
27 Jun 2018
60m WRC band in China
See http://southgatearc.org/news/2018/june/china-soon-on-60m.htm#.WzPrNPZFzIU
19 May 2018
Dayton disapointment
However, what I see looks like a couple of expensive transceivers aimed at those with deep pockets rather than those with more modest budgets to spend on the hobby.
Will we ever see the Japanese produce a low cost SDR (portable?) transceiver? The Chinese are coming up fast and will soon have truly competitive products in terms of performance and build quality at much lower prices. Unless they are very careful, the Japanese will be too late to the party.
18 Mar 2018
Moon based amateur radio?
See http://southgatearc.org/news/2018/march/satellites-to-transmit-amateur-radio-data-from-the-moon.htm#.Wq5Bgkx2vIU
12 Mar 2018
Importing direct from China
In the coming years the Japanese will struggle.
20 Feb 2018
Chinese transceivers
It may still be a few years before they are a really good match, but they are coming and at prices that will undercut the big Japanese companies by some way. Finally, the Japanese will have met their match.
Either the Japanese will leave the market altogether or they will design in Japan and make in China. Some will exit stage left, never to return, or some will decide on the latter course. My bets are on ICOM being the one company to adapt and survive. I am no expert though. Yaesu? Kenwood? We'll soon see.
One example is the Xiegu-108G which retails well below 500 Euros. Not bad for a 20W HF portable transceiver. It already has quite good reviews. Give the Chinese a couple of years and their products will be as good as any Japanese radio, but at much lower cost.
Most things you buy say "Made in China" whatever it is, simply because their labour costs and parts costs are so low. The best we can hope for is a price war (for survival) amongst the Japanese in the short-term. The writing is on the wall for them. Either they find some way to reduce their prices or bye bye.
5 years hence? Goodness only knows.
13 Nov 2017
Made in China - NOT amateur radio
All this come at a price and that is we are exporting our CO2 emissions! China has a high reliance still on coal and is the greatest contributor to the recent rise in global CO2 emissions. They are moving to renewables, but not fast enough it seems. The USA government policy on coal seems flawed too.
See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-41941265 .
6 Nov 2017
Low cost Chinese handhelds
Sorry, but I ordered a pair and that is what I expect to get - in the end.
Gearbest - remember the name. We'll see how they do in the end.
7 Oct 2017
Low cost miniature UHF handhelds
You can buy 2 very low cost miniature UHF transceivers from China for £22.82 with free airmail shipping to the UK. Two! These give you 400-470MHz coverage and a Band 2 FM receiver! How do they do it and make money? How can any western or Japanese supplier hope to compete? There are even lower cost transceivers if these are too expensive!
See https://www.gearbest.com/walkie-talkies/pp_775273.html?currency=GBP&vip=2674264&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyKyzvdne1gIVa6btCh37pwkvEAEYASAEEgK2VPD_BwE