[TenTec] OT: Chinese Amplifiers

Thu May 29 09:26:22 EDT 2014

Two points:

1. Isn't the FT-450 designed by Yaesu's Japanese engineers - same team as their other rigs?  Isn't Yaesu quality control still the issue, not the Chinese build?

2. This isn't the first dirty transceiver.  The Kenwood TS-430, for example had horrible tranmit phase noise and other spurious in-band garbage.  I was never so happy as when my neighbor ham, two streets away, got rid of his TS-430 and replaced it with a TS-570.  Huge improvement at my QTH.

	73, Duane  

(American designed and built Orion 565AT still available here!  Inquire within!)

Duane Calvin, AC5AA
Austin, Texas
www.ac5aa.com  

-----Original Message-----
From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP
Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 8:15 AM
To: 'Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment'
Subject: Re: [TenTec] OT: Chinese Amplifiers

George, that is a fair point.
However so far, the radios I have seen manufactured in China have had very dirty transmitters.
The VHF radios I own (two different Chinese brands) both have very poor front ends in them.
I've "heard" their transmitters are dirty, but I haven't seen actual measurements, so for the moment, that's hear-say.

So far it seems the track record of radios made in China is not very good.

However you are correct, we should not generalize unless we have known facts.
So I'll repeat my point; the FT-450 is FILTHY.  That's a known fact.
Its harmonic distortion is as much as 29dB (twenty nine dB) worse than a Collins 30S3.
This was measured and reported by Rob Sherwood.

If that is an indication of what is coming, we're in big trouble on the ham bands.
If we don't criticize it as it comes, then it will be our own faults when it is pervasive.

73 - Rick, DJ0IP
(Nr. Frankfurt am Main)

-----Original Message-----
From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of george fritkin via TenTec
Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 2:20 PM
To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
Subject: Re: [TenTec] OT: Chinese Amplifiers

As the former CEO of a large electronics company, I really object to this out of hand criticism of not made in USA manufacturing, and stating that we just slap labels on products without justification.  Have any of you ever been in a modern factory in Chine?   Under my command, our quality standards and honesty were world wide and the same

George, W6GF

On Thursday, May 29, 2014 5:11 AM, Bob McGraw - K4TAX <RMcGraw at Blomand.net> wrote:

Indeed true.  Very well stated and one to which we should all take heed.

73
Bob, K4TAX

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "José Félix Ballester" <jfballester at gmail.com>
To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment" <tentec at contesting.com>
Cc: "Kimberly Elmore" <cw_de_n5op at sbcglobal.net>
Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2014 10:41 PM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] OT: Chinese Amplifiers

Been there suffered that.   That’s the way totalitarian governments 
(economies ) operate and if they are run by communists who like many 
religions want to dominate those who don’t think like them, they will do 
whatever they believe will work to their advantage and to their “enemies” 
disadvantage.  Yeah, let’s continue to purchase their stuff… They are not 
Japan (today) nor Taiwan though Taiwan may soon soon be absorbed my her 
bigger neighbor and we won’t be able to do anything to prevent it.   I won’t 
be around to suffer the consequences but unfortunately my grand kids or 
great grand kids will.   We continue to invest in their power building to 
our detriment.   Hope and pray that I an completely wrong.
73, Pepe WP3HW

On May 28, 2014, at 2:22 PM, K8JHR <jrichards at k8jhr.com> wrote:

On 5/28/2014 1:48 PM, Kimberly Elmore wrote:
> How is it that the Chinese make these so cheaply? Is all the cost in 
> labor, or do the Chinese make

_____________________________________________

Communism, Comrade. The Chinese government supports and runs its whole 
economy and it has decided to run certain sectors at a loss while it builds 
up infrastructure and steals business from the established Western markets. 
Undercutting the Western markets with what is known (to companies like 
Walmart) as "predatory pricing."  Walmart has been cited for this in GA and 
AL and the like - it moves in and sells bottles of aspirin for seventeen 
cents, and when Mom and Pop local store goes under, it puts the price back 
up to regular and owns the market.  No I am not dissing Walmart pe se, but 
this is a fact and has been in the news for many years, and Walmart has paid 
millions in fines for doing it, but it just eats the fines as a cost of 
doing business, and moves on to the next town and thereby became the 
economic leviathan it is today.

So, how can a Chinese guy on eBay sell a $2 switch for $1 and include 
shipping?  Easy, the whole deal from building the plan, to acquiring 
resources, and shipping to customers, is subsidized by the government and 
the rest of its economy, and it sells at a loss -- toss in cheap labor, 
lower cost of development (they copy our stuff and violate patents with no 
apparent remorse or shame), and use cheap substandard components (spend a 
little time researching transistor quality and bootlegging issues on the 
i-net)  and they employ lower mfg tolerances, and ignore the cost of 
pollution and put up with it instead of cleaning it up, and consider loads 
of other factors, and you get stuff for cheap, undercutting the US and EU 
markets, and shifting the balance of trade, and the flow of currency..., and 
more... and know eventually they will be the only guys making stuff - then, 
as in the Walmart example, they will up the price and recoup the losses they 
incurred early on.  Look at the Beijing Olympics... they had to shut the 
town down for several days to allow the pollution to subside just to keep 
from choking the competitors... even then it was awful and was a problem. 
We must pay to clean up our environment.  This is just one saving we cannot 
legally afford.

Anyone can do this if they have sufficient opportunity, capital, and 
financing to run at a loss until the competition succumbs.  US companies 
shift their manufacturing facilities there, their design facilities there, 
and wonder why no one is working here any more... Hmmm... can you say 
"bankruptcy?"  I can and made a pot full off it.  But when nobody has a real 
job any more, TT and the rest of us will be up a tree.

The good news is that SOME US companies are getting creative and digging in, 
making stuff in different ways, and with different materials, and with 
higher quality, and there is a bit of a surge in US manufacturing of late. 
Whether it will make it overall is a question we cannot yet answer, but 
there IS a bit of a positive trend.  The Electrolux plant closed about 7 
years ago, and moved to Mexico;  but they want to come back because US 
workers work harder, more carefully, and don't siesta on really hot days. 
Oddly, the Union tried to block it.  So there are nutty trends all over.

But not hard to imagine how they make cheap parts and distribute and sell 
cheap all over the world.  Easy when you don't have to pay your own bills. 
Monitor international debt figures... it is confusing, and amazing, at the 
same time.

Just My take.

All I can say... is all this negativism is bring me down and hardly helping 
TT reorganize and make a profit.

Some have wondered why TT got into that arduino thing... but looking at the 
covers of QST and other ham magazines, and seeing what was presented at 
Dayton forums,  and looking at the rise of the Maker thing and seeing the 
THEME of the Dayton Hamvention was "MAKERS"...  and seeing how much of that 
is going on... one should realize TT is ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF IT... and the 
only difference between now and then, is what they are making is different. 
They are not making Heathkit type kits...  but the ARE MAKING STUFF... 
digital and small computer stuff... and the local guys are into it big 
time... and maybe, must maybe, TT IS ON THE LEADING EDGE AGAIN.

But still, all this doom, gloom and negativism based on mere speculation is 
getting depressing.

Just MY take... your mileage may vary.

===================== JR ================================

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