The West and China - NOT amateur radio

China is in the ascendancy in the 21st century.  

For a long time the USA has been acknowledged as the strongest power in the world, but it looks as if this is changing.  

No doubt the USA will try to hang on to their supremacy, but I suspect long after I am pushing up daisies things will be very different. China is communist and the USA a western democracy. Both systems have merits and demerits.

Bargains from China?

Banggood is selling some very low cost transceivers and receivers. These are far below the prices we are used to. In many cases, these are with free shipping from China. In some cases I am unsure if there is VAT and duty to pay. I am also concerned about quality control.

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.

Q900 all band, all mode ,transceiver

This version 3 Q900 transceiver from China looks like the FT817 replacement we never had. It is also much less expensive and is SDR based.  It is also much smaller than it looks.

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.

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.

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?

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 .

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.

Moon journey - NOT amateur radio

There is a video about the Chinese satellite orbiting the moon. Some people dislike the Chinese, but they will be even more of a super-power this century.

3 year old falls from high-rise and survives

This is the sort of horror story you watch and hope. Apparently the 3 year old was caught in a blanket and escaped without injury.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-china-49175524/china-toddler-three-year-old-falls-six-storeys-and-survives

China Moon probes - NOT amateur radio

Apparently a couple of probes on the far side of the Moon have taken photos of each other. Being on the Moon's far side, all images have to be relayed by lunar orbiting satellites.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46836047

FCC gets tough

Not sure if this is all part of President Trump getting tough on China, but Southgate News reports that the FCC in the USA is getting tougher on cheap Chinese transceivers entering the USA. I also heard this from Steve G1KQH.

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

How do they do it?

Today, in the post, I received this package from China containing all these capacitive "pens" for tablets. 

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.

Terracotta Warriors - NOT amateur radio

There is a major exhibition on in Liverpool at the moment of the Chinese Terracotta Warriors. These were immense statues created over 2000 years ago. We went to a similar exhibition in London in 2007. It was very good.

60m WRC band in China

According to Southgate News, China is soon to get the 60m WRC allocation.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2018/june/china-soon-on-60m.htm#.WzPrNPZFzIU

Dayton disapointment

So it looks like, better late than never, Yaesu and Kenwood are joining the SDR club.

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.

Moon based amateur radio?

According to Southgate News, China is to launch a couple of lunar satellites which will send data on 70cms. The Chinese also plan a lunar rover.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2018/march/satellites-to-transmit-amateur-radio-data-from-the-moon.htm#.Wq5Bgkx2vIU

Importing direct from China

For obvious reasons I won't name him, but a friend has just imported an SDR rig (the same one MLS wanted to charge £550 for) for just over £300 delivered in a matter of days. At this price, you can even afford to buy a second unit at less cost than the new FT818, and the spec is much better. The only thing that worries me is the guarantee.

In the coming years the Japanese will struggle.

Chinese transceivers

These are coming thick and fast now and I suspect the Japanese are very worried.

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.

See https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/12587

Made in China - NOT amateur radio

In the west we have become addicted to low cost goods. It seems almost everything is made in China these days. Try it: look on the label of almost anything and the chances are it says, "made in China". I just don't understand how they make things at such low prices and still make profits.

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 .

Low cost Chinese handhelds

I ordered a pair of Chinese UHF portables for just over £13 a pair. One arrived. I have still to chase the company for the second unit. It seems they had got the order wording wrong.

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.