Chinese UHF handhelds

So, how do they do it? You can now buy a pair of UHF handhelds with free airmail shipping for £13.86 a pair. Somehow, a profit is made too.

How long have ICOM, Yaesu and the other Japanese manufacturers got? Just a few years and the Chinese will wipe them out. The best I can see is they design in Japan, but make in China. The more likely scenario is they decide there is no longer money in amateur radio products and they just stop being in this market altogether. I can see this happening within a few years.

At the moment ICOM seem to be most likely to survive. The future does not look good.

Women drivers in Saudi - NOT amateur radio

At last Saudi women will be allowed driving licences.

This is a nation we trade with. One could be forgiven for believing this is a backward, primitive nation. At last a step towards the 21st century. Saudi Arabia is, allegedly, the only place on the planet where women are not allowed to drive.

How can the UK see the Saudi nation as a beacon in the Middle East? Some of their laws and customs are barbaric. OK, we should not judge other nations when we are far from perfect ourselves, but surely we expect certain minimum standards. All that matters, it seems, is money. Sad.

I have my worries about places like China, where there is a suspicion of very low wages and poor working conditions for some. Some prices for amateur radio gear from China beggar belief.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-41408195 .

Low low cost Baofeng Dual Bander

This came in yesterday from Steve G1KQH:

Just over a Tenner inc P&P and it is yours!

http://www.409shop-two-way-radio.com/products/baofeng-uv-5rb-136-174400-480mhz-5w-two-way-radio-problem-no-beep-off-funtion-1

73 Steve

G1KQH

The price is just insane! No wonder the Japanese manufacturers are having a hard time. It would not surprise me if at least one went bankrupt unless they find a way to compete.

More (about China) via Steve G1KQH

This came from Steve yesterday. He like his Chinese bargains!

China cuts TAX, Cuts, not increase! Standby for even Cheaper Baofengs!

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-05/01/c_135327077.htm

73 Steve
http://www.g1kqh.talktalk.net/

BeoFeng Dual Band Transceiver for £18.99 (or lower) with free postage!

See http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BaoFeng-UV-5R-136-174-400-520-MHz-Dual-Band-DCS-DTMF-CTCSS-FM-Two-Way-Radio-/252233483100?hash=item3aba49835c:g:6RAAAOSwL7VWhdxu

Some of the prices for new amateur radio gear is just incredible. At these prices how can anyone make a profit? This is shipped from the UK too.

UPDATE 1235z:  OK, I give up! I have just seen it available even cheaper (£15.75) on eBay!! See http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BAOFENG-UV-5R-Dual-Band-UHF-VHF-Two-Way-Ham-FM-Radio-Speaker-Mic-Walkie-Talkie-/262371437743?hash=item3d168e6caf:g:JXkAAOSwJQdW-zkK
 No doubt Steve G1KQH will find the lowest price ones! Once he reads this he will be "on the case".

UPDATE 1246z: Or maybe a smart watch with Bluetooth for just over £7? See http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bluetooth-Smart-Wrist-Watch-Phone-Mate-For-Android-IOS-iPhone-Samsung-HTC-UK-/172150503333?var=&hash=item2814f837a5:m:mIJ9EQ_TPg5B29hjQ8cDS_Q

Chinese 40m Pixie Transceivers

Looking in eBay recently I see that a 40m Chinese Pixie can be obtained for just £2.27 including free postage from China. Last year I bought one from a different supplier and it worked first time. I have no idea how they do these and make a profit at this price.

At these prices you cannot go wrong. If it goes wrong you've only wasted the cost of a coffee in a cafe. The amateur kit market is a tough one. If the Chinese can do kits at low, low prices what hope do the likes of the revamped Heathkit have? No, being in the amateur radio kit market is not for the faint-hearted.

China meltdown? - NOT amateur radio

Is China's stock market a threat to the whole world? This video is frightening.

How did I miss this?

This is a quote from Wikipedia:

In March 2012 Hytera acquired the German company Rohde & Schwarz Professional Mobile Radio GmbH from the German electronics group Rohde & Schwarz, which is now known as Hytera Mobilfunk.[3] In addition, there are Hytera subsidiaries in the USA and in the UK.

This was news to me. I am not sure how I missed this. In my business life we bought quite a bit of test gear from Rohde and Schwarz. I assume they only bought the mobile radio business.

China, the hard truth - NOT amateur radio

This came to me via Steve G1KQH:-

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQNurSUNNs0 .
Any slowdown in China matters to the West.

Amazingly low cost Chinese kits

See http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/262131628596?adgroupid=13585920426&hlpht=true&hlpv=2&rlsatarget=pla-131843262066&adtype=pla&ff3=1&lpid=122&poi=&ul_noapp=true&limghlpsr=true&googleloc=1006598&device=c&chn=ps&campaignid=207297426&crdt=0&ff12=67&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff14=122&viphx=1&ops=true&ff13=80

There are some amazing bargains on eBay. The link above is for a full Pixie 40m CW transceiver kit with sockets, PCB, IC and crystal all for £2.30 delivered free. There are other kits available including the Frog which is more expensive but has more power and a better RX. Last year I bought a 40m Pixie kit from a different Chinese supplier and it worked well first time on the air.

You'd be very hard pressed to buy the crystal for the price of the full kit delivered free.  With these sort of prices it is hard to go wrong.

Kaifeng Scroll - NOT amateur radio

There has been a fascinating TV programme narrated by Michael Wood about the history of China. I was particularly interested in the Kaifeng scroll  of the Sung dynasty.  Nearly 1000 years ago a Chinese artist created a massive scroll showing the capital city (of 1 million people even then) in immense detail. The scroll has been recreated with moving people and animals in a museum in Shanghai.

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kRA9it9bKk .

Whatever your views on China today, it certainly has a rich history, much if it unknown in the West.

China

It seems odd to me that the Chinese haven't taken the amateur radio market by storm already. When the Chinese do wake up I think ICOM, Yaesu and Kenwood will struggle. It would not surprise me if at least one goes bankrupt. They are "swimming against the tide". China is currently a low cost assembly area and even Apple take advantage of this.  So far, the Chinese products we have seen have not been a match for the Japanese, but surely this will change? Volumes are not the issue as some variants are made in decent numbers. No, the Japanese amateur manufacturers need to wake up fast or they will go under.

Made in China - NOT amateur radio

Today is my XYL's birthday and one of her presents was a Cath Kitson 3-tier cake stand for the table. Even this is marked "Made in China". Surely suppliers can source this from the UK? It is just 3 slabs of plates, a few screws and some wood.

In the end this "Made in China" rubbish has to end. The wealth of the UK depends, in the end, in adding value and making things. They must make huge profits on this stuff. A few pence more to source from the UK would mean a few pence less profit. So?

John Lewis - try harder!

It is very hard to find anything that is made anywhere in Europe or the USA these days.

The UK and China - NOT amateur radio

The wooing of China by the UK bothers me. This last week we have bent over backwards to "love" China. I guess this is a move to get inward investment, more exports and help with our nuclear power plants. At the same time China is carrying out a sabotage job on UK manufacturing (partly of our own making) and soon we will have no industry left at all, with all our manufacturing in China or its neighbours.

No, I have the feeling this is not in our best interests at all.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34626936 .

Yet more Chinese copies...

More from Steve G1KQH:

"Now they have copied the Raspberrypi and called it the OrangePi, expect to see loads of them coming our way soon!

Just the same as making us the reactors, they take our designs and copy them selling them back to us.

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Orange-Pi-PC-linux-and-android-mini-PC-Beyond-Raspberry-Pi-2/1553371_32448079125.html "

Steve has also found the support page  http://www.orangepi.org/.

Before we know it they will be ripping off everything and we'll depend on them for everything we consume. Where will this end? Disaster? At some point The West will wake up - if we do not then we are in for deep trouble in a few years' time. Our economy depends on manufacturing and we are destroying this, or rather letting the Chínese do this for us.

China and our nuclear power - NOT amateur radio

So the UK government is to "guarantee" China's £2 billion investment in a new nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point in Somerset. So, we are happy for China to be involved, have access to all our nuclear details? We must be desperate! Investing in better insulation, clean renewables etc. would render this totally unnecessary.

And what about the spent fuels that need safe storage for a very very long time?

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-34306997 .

FTSE up over 2% today - NOT amateur radio

Despite the bad times in China that are rocking markets around the world, the UK FTSE 100 share index is currently up 2.11%. It seems like it wants to recover lost ground but is being held back.

My own view is that what is happening in China is deadly serious and we are heading for another huge crash that, especially for the average Chinese, will make the Wall Street Crash of 1929 seem tame. This could result in revolution in China and real turmoil over there. We will not come out of this unscathed. The world is just shutting its eyes and pretending it is "business as usual". It is not!  The age of low cost imports from China is gradually ending and the world has to adjust. No doubt sweat shops in other poorer countries will replace China, but personally I hope it means more real manufacturing in the EU and USA. At the moment almost everything you buy is "made in China".

UK FTSE 100 share index - NOT amateur radio

It is too early in the day to be sure, but at the moment the UK's FTSE 100 index is well up on the dramatic falls seen yesterday.

China is still spooking the stock markets around the world. Investors are worried by the slower growth in China and are wondering if its engine is losing steam and the impact this will have on the world. Lots of us are dependent on China as big pension funds may have invested heavily in China.

At one time we were all worried by Japan. Then the Japanese ran out of steam and everyone saw China as the new engine of growth (and low costs) in the Far East.

For too long we have lived off low cost imports from China. Perhaps that era is drawing to a close? Not quite yet, but at least the prospect is now real. Maybe we'll see European manufacturing again in ascendance? The sooner we all live within our means the better. The last few years were a blip.

UPDATE 1712z:   In the end the FTSE 100 index ended up over 3% higher. This crisis is far from over.  The Chinese government has reduced interest rates. This will encourage companies and individuals to become even more indebted. When the crash finally comes, and it will,  these investors will lose big time. This will make the Wall Street Crash of 1929 look tame. No, we should be seriously concerned by developments in China. We in the west will be affected.

Chinese radio imports

With the devaluation of the Chinese currency this week, all Chinese radios and imports should be less expensive. I wonder if our nice UK dealers will simply pass this saving on to the end customer? That would be honest and nice.

Watch this space!

China: should we worry? - NOT amateur radio

In a word yes.  China is changing. Many are getting richer and are expecting a better life. Exports have struggled more lately and soon China may become too expensive, just like Japan became many years ago.

Many of the investors in China are the Chinese people themselves. The Chinese government is trying to manipulate the market but the stock markets in China are in turmoil. If China catches a cold we will all know about it.

Yes, we should be worried, but I am not sure what we can do. It may not be too long before the words "Made in China" are a thing of the past. We have grown used to low cost products made in China, but for how much longer?

The Chinese have devalued their currency twice in 2 days to help exports, but are they fighting a losing battle?