UK dealers

At one time there were many UK dealers, whereas now there are far fewer. 

In the end these are businesses whose aim is to generate profits for their shareholders. To succeed, you have to provide customers with what they need at a price they can afford.

Sometimes rigs seem to be at daft prices, yet people still buy for something they must have. Those dealers that remain on the scene are desperate to please their customers as they may stay loyal in the future. One of the most successful UK dealers is MLS who have a video on their origins.

One thing I always say is will they still be around to honour their guarantee?

In the past I have dealt with several UK dealers that still remain.

MLS and the Yaesu FTX-1

Unsurprisingly, MLS is singing the praises of the new Yaesu FTX-1. They clearly want to sell it, especially to the customers that put down a deposit. 

In my view it was seriously over priced in the UK and lacks many features as standard. I decided not to bother.

MLS and the FTX-1

With great fanfare the UK dealer MLS has announced that soon people who pre-ordered the rig will get deliveries after the first UK unit arrived.

I fail to see what the attraction is: it is £400 more than the ICOM IC-705 and, as far as I can see, offers less than the ICOM rig apart from 4m in European versions and the larger battery.  The IC-705 is now several years old .

When I saw what was on offer I was seriously underwhelmed. In my view at under £1000 they might have stood a chance.  At £1599, no chance. 

People who must have a shiny new radio, maybe, but the vast majority will give it a miss at this stupid price. 

If ICOM next make a true mutlimode, multiband portable, they could make a killing. In my view Yaesu has seriously "lost the plot"..... and the market.

Yaesu cashback

Yet again, I see MLS is offering cashback on certain Yaesu rigs. With the discounts, these look good value for money.

UPDATE 1248z:  with the cashback the FT710 is well below £1000, whereas the FTX-1 is a stupid price. I  my view Yaesu has kicked itself in the shins with the stupid, stupid FTX-1F prices.

I think Yaesu has lost its way.

Each to their own?

The latest MLS video "something for the weekend" is about learning CW. 

I could not help noticing their advert for a deluxe straight key for nearly £210 . 

Now, each to their own, but my first CW key was tapping a wire on a piece of copper laminate used for the rig. Price? £0. 

I have nothing against good dealers making a fair profit, but is this really sending out the right message to attract new amateurs?

If MLS have any issues with me posting this I shall remove it immediately.

Incidentally over the years I have had excellent service from MLS.

New radios at Friedrichshafen

The MLS video is about new radios on display at Friedrichshafen.  

It never fails to amaze me how much some people are prepared to spend on our hobby. 

Each to their own, but as I keep saying, spending a lot is not a requirement. At a fraction of the cost of these radios the whole planet may be contacted.

Ham radio costs

MLS was supposed to have been on the air earlier on HF.  What bothers me is the impression that is put on people that amateur radio is an expensive hobby. The MLS kit would not give you much change (if any) from £10k.

Let me say you do not need to spend much to enjoy the hobby.  You can spend lots if you want to, but you can communicate across the planet with gear costing a small fraction of the MLS price. 

Now, I have no wish to stop those who wish to spend a lot on our hobby, but this is a choice, not a necessity.

Hilberling PT-8000A and linear bundle from MLS

MLS is advertising this bundle for the small sum of £17999. Maybe if you are an Arab Sheik you can afford this, but I certainly can not! 

Add on a tower and beam you would be talking about £20000!  Not my idea of amateur radio. Each to their own. 

If I was paying that, I would expect the buttons and knobs to be solid gold. Mind you, if you were a rich sheik I expect you can ask for that for a few thousands more!

The basic design is about 12 years old. You place the order and wait for it to be hand-built.

See The BEST Ham Radio You've Never Heard Of - Hilberling PT-8000A - YouTube

Each to their own

In amateur radio different people enjoy the hobby in different ways. It is a good thing we are all different! 

In my case, I enjoy getting the most from the least. Others chase DX and are happy to spend lots to get the very best gear. Others like amateur television. And so on...

I am still puzzled why MLS is advertising a microphone for almost £600. For a darn microphone!! Some people must have money to burn.

Eco-Worthy batteries

MLS is doing a promotion  of /P gear including the IC705, no doubt expecting many IC705s to be traded for the new Yaesu field portable transceiver next year.

One of their items is the Eco-Worthy 30A, 12V lithium battery pack for use with the IC705 out portable. I was about to blog how expensive this was. Then I checked on Amazon and the battery was £99.99 to which you have to add the charger. Overall, not a bad price from MLS with the charger if you really need a 30A battery. However, there are lower capacity batteries and chargers available from other suppliers for far less.

UPDATE 0827z Sunday:  Steve G1KQH says the same capacity battery may be bought elsewhere for far less. Shop around?

Yaesu competitor to ICOM IC-705?

Although not available until next year MLS has announced a Yaesu competitor to the ICOM IC-705. At the moment I don’t know the price, but it has to be well below £1k to compete with the Chinese . This HAS to sell well for Yaesu's sake. Expect the IC-705 to drop in price!

The exchange rate against the Yen has improved a lot in the last few months.

I wonder if Yaesu has considered designing in Japan but manufacturing in a low cost area?

See https://www.hamradio.co.uk/ftx-1f .

MLS announce new portable

MLS has announced a new ICOM hand portable to coincide with ICOM's 60th anniversary. 

£619.99 for a hand portable? Hmm.  A lot more than I would pay, although I expect some will pay up for a fairly unique transceiver. Look for the ID-52 anniversary edition. 

See https://www.hamradio.co.uk/id-52-plus .

Kenwood TH-D75

The latest MLS price for this handheld is £789. 

Who pays this stupid money for a handheld? 

I guess people with very deep pockets and very small brains.

Yaesu cashback - last hurrah?

 MLS is again offering cashback on some Yaesu products. When they get it right, Yaesu create some great products, but I get the distinct impression they have lost their way in recent years. They now follow others whereas a while back they were clear leaders.

It is my contention that manufacturers and dealers are only really interested in profits. Once the amateur market ceases to deliver profits, they will move on or close.

In my view, MLS will be around longer than most, but both Japanese manufacturers and dealers will be questioning their options. The amateur market is OK now, but for how many years?

I hope I am very wrong.

Kenwood handheld TH-D75

MLS is advertising the new Kenwood 2m/70cm handheld for pre-order at £789.  In my view, why would anyone pay this much for a 2m/70cm handheld?  Kenwood makes some good gear and has a loyal following, but at this price I cannot see them staying in the amateur radio market for many more years.

My prediction:  the next 5 years will be a torrid time for Japanese manufacturers of amateur radio gear, dealers and magazines.

MLS call it a "game changer"  .....hmmm.

See https://www.hamradio.co.uk/thd75.

ICOM's IC-905 microwave transceiver price

MLS has just announced the expected price of the ICOM microwave transceiver , the IC-905. It is expected to be £3549.95.  It covers 2m,70cm, 23cm, 13cm and 6cm. 3cm needs another transverter.

At this price, I really cannot see huge sales.  Remember the GPS receiver and a 10 GHz transverter are extras on top. I cannot see change from £4000. This sort of price is only for the well off. Also, microwave antennas are on top as well!

No, I predict this will flop and be withdrawn within 2 years.

ICOM make some very good products and I really hope I am wrong. Sadly these manufacturers and dealers are, ultimately, in business to made profits. I just cannot see how this will make them money. They will sell a few to the well off, but I cannot see this ever becoming a mass seller.

See https://www.hamradio.co.uk/icom-ic-905-vhf-uhf-shf-transceiver-deposit-only .

Miniature UHF transceiver

In this week's newsletter from MLS, I see they are selling a miniature UHF transceiver (the G63) with MiDel branding for £49.99. From Ali Express with shipping is less than half this figure shipped from China.  It looks like it is sold under various brand names.

See https://www.hamradio.co.uk/amateur-radio/handheld-radio/all-handhelds .

I have no idea about guarantees, extras and programming. MLS  have given me good service in the past, but I wonder why the price is so different? Surely MLS could sell this for far less and still make a good profit?

As you know, I am all for dealers making fair margins.

You can even get three from Ali Express with shipping from China for less!

Yaesu FT-710 MLS price

Puzzled. 

MLS has just announced the price of the new 100W SDR transceiver, that seems to have a very similar spec to the FTDX-10. It seems the price is lower than the FTDX-10 and the rig a little smaller. What I cannot understand is why Yaesu has done this.

Was the FTDX-10 not quite right? Where is a proper FT817 replacement? It still seems to me that Yaesu is in a muddle and trying to find its way.

See https://www.hamradio.co.uk/top-deals/ft-710 .

Yaesu FTDX-10

As readers will know, I have been strongly considering one of these. 

At the moment MLS is offering a very good deal, but I am still undecided. I am probably not buying one, although it is very highly rated in the Sherwood RX tests. With the £100 MLS gift voucher and Yaesu £85 cashback, now is probably the very best time.

It has a very good receiver, 4m and an auto-ATU, but not 2m or 70cm. At 100W on HF it has about 20 times the power I would ever use!

Yaesu FTDX-10

At the moment MLS is offering some good deals on this with a £100 gift voucher to use on future purchases. This offer runs until Monday. The gift voucher can be used at any time. Yaesu also has a £85 cash back offer. 

The rig has received rave reviews, but does not have 2m or 70cm, but does have 4m and an auto ATU. Although seriously tempted, at the moment I am inclined against it. My fear (hopefully unfounded) is that Yaesu is leaving the market. To me, the MLS move is to retain custom.

In these hard times, all dealers will struggle. Amateur radio usually depends on disposable income. There is less.