Wouxun KG-UV920R: Ed Drops A Bomb!

Wow! Wow. Just wow. I got the following e-mail from Ed:

Dear Customer,

Here is the latest news on Chinese dual-band mobile radios.

Wouxun Dual Band Mobile  -  KG-UV920R

On June 21 I was informed that Wouxun would supply a small number of these radios to selected dealers (max of 10).  At that time they also quoted a dealer costs that I thought was outrageous.  The dealer costs was almost what I have always considered the retail price would be.  In an email I told them sternly that with any dealer markup at all, the radio would not sell in the US and I would decline to purchase samples.

Wouxun response was that when full production began, the dealer costs would be lower.  Since I've invested hundreds of thousands of dollars building a market for this company over the past few years, I decided I would not let others bring this radio to market before I did.  I reluctantly placed an order for 10 radios, figuring I would sell them at costs, to get them to market.

After my order was shipped, Wouxun informed me that these sample radios must NOT be sold for less than $320-$330.  They went on to say "If we found you or your dealer's end price was lower this range without our permission in advance, then we will stop supplying this model to you."

For the past two years, I've repeatedly told Wouxun that this radio must sell for no more than $250-$275 for it to be competitive with the big three Japanese companies.  It appears this advice has fallen on deaf ears.

These pre-production radios lack some of the features the full-production radios will have.  These will not be FCC Certified for Part 90 use.  They will have narrow band capability but will not have the 2.5 kHz tuning step required for Part 90 radios beginning in 2013.  The frequency range will be RX:136-174 & 350-480 and TX: 136-174 & 400-480.  They did not indicate if any wide-band receive, such as 118 MHz AM, would be available on these pre-production models.

Although these radios may lack some of the bells and whistles we've expected, I imagine they will still be good dual band radios for the ham market.  BUT, I still don't feel they are worth $325.

Wouxun says I can't sell these for less than $325.  They did not say that I can not include a FREE HT with the purchase.  (Rest assured, they will raise holy crap about it, but I'm used to that)  So here's my plan.  I will place the limited number I have on sale for $350 and include a free KG-UV2D HT in the deal.  I'll profit nothing at this but we'll see what happens.

Anytone Dual Band Mobile  -  AT-588UV

For the past two years, I have consulted with Anytone as they developed their dual band mobile radio.  Anytone send a non-working model of the radio for me to show at the Dayton Hamvention (Wouxun would not send anything).  Anytone is now sending a working model (for free!) and says full production will begin in early August.  Anytone has quoted a price that lets me know this radio will retail in the $250-$275 range.  It will be Part 90 Certified and will have some wide-band receive ranges, including AM aircraft.  I look forward to working with this company and expect their mobile to be a big seller.

TYT Quad Band Mobile  -  TH-9800

This radio covers 10 meters, 6 meters, 2 meters and 440 (only FM mode).  TYT sent a semi-working model for me to show at Dayton.  It would light up with menus working and etc.  Those who played with the display said it is a clone of the Yaesu FT-8900.  I have a close contact at TYT and am told they are working hard to get this radio into production in October.

Conclusion

I will continue to do my best to bring quality made Chinese radios to the US market and will only send these emails when necessary.
This particular email is going to about 5,000 people so please don't expect a quick response if you send me a question.

Regards,
Ed Griffin
Wouxun.US  &  Import Communications
www.wouxun.us
www.importcommunications.com

My shooting from the hip response... Ed is fed up enough with Wouxun that he is will to stress the relationship, but he's not done that without a Plan B (name change to Import Communications, Baofeng, Anytone, TYT). It also makes me think that Wouxun may have done us a great service by leading the way, but they may price themselves out of the low cost market - then they will be competing with the big boys on performance and quality. I'm sure the message board will be hopping tonight. I'm going to bed, but there will be interesting reading in the morning I am sure! I'm gonna have to read up on the AT-588UV, too.

Extending Frequencies & Warranty Support

Ed on unlocking and warranty support:

"Is unlock software really needed for the 6D? I know the models I sell are factory set for various ranges and sold at varying prices. Unlock software is not available for the 6D radio and I hope it stays that way. When Jim started working on Commander for the 6D, I personally asked him to leave out the unlock feature. I often get "warranty" request only to find bricked radios with RX & TX set for foolish ranges like 0-999 MHz for both VHF and UHF. China gives practically NO warranty support, so all this comes out of the pocket of the dealers. I hope unlock software for the 6D never makes it to the public because it's been a pain in the rear for the other models.

Regards,
Ed Griffin
www.Wouxun.US"

I understand his point, but I would think he should just have a policy that trying to extend the usable frequencies voids the warranty. It might make some people mad, but those are the people he probably doesn't really want as a customer anyway.

Geek Humor

In a comment regarding all the stolen passwords of the last week was this gem: SQL Injection Madness.

Poor Bladezor was having a bad day:

"Ugh, one of you guys dropped the table again..I'm not fixing it again.."

Punny

Richard_Dew @Pogue Saw this in Toronto. Might be the next step for your son. Another chance to brighten the day of others: pic.twitter.com/iyIBnRoxWed, Jul 11 10:57:46 from web retweeted by Pogue

Take 15, Graduate in 4

Take 15, Graduate in 4:

"When I went to college, you were expected to graduate in four years.

For today’s college students, this expectation has somehow gotten off-track.

We have embarked on an all-out effort to make on-time graduation the new norm for our students. Starting in the fall of 2013, our full-time undergraduates will be charged for 15 credit hours per semester—the number they must take to graduate in four years. They now pay for only 12 credit hours, regardless of how many they take. "

"This new plan will be a money-saver for students and their families. Adding just one year of college costs an extra $24,000."

Look how much we are saving you! Ignore that tuition is going up! Sounds like spin to me. And I took 21 hours a semester on occasion, so it is safe to say that I'm okay with people taking more than 12 hours.

Waccom WUV-6R: Jacket

I take it all back. Now that I can get a jacket for my Waccom WUV-6R, I am all over it! I wonder if they will throw in a couple of free pens.

Microsoft is Pivoting

Is Microsoft going to buy the market? From TNL.net:

"Let’s remem­ber here that Microsoft has over $50 bil­lion in cash. What if it com­mit­ted one fifth of that to the new plat­form ($10 bil­lion) and decided that its attack on the mar­ket would be on build quality and pric­ing. Doing so could push the tablet in the $100–200 range and the PC into the $400–500 range, mak­ing it sub­stan­tially more com­pet­i­tive (mes­sag­ing: you can get a tablet from Apple or you can get a PC AND a tablet from Microsoft)."

Via

andrewchen Microsoft is pivoting. bit.ly/MQKRdIThu, Jul 12 15:40:09 from Timely by Demandforce

Better Than Nothing

I'm, obviously, a big fan of inexpensive things like the Chinese radios. I'm willing to take a risk when it comes to quality and performance if the price is low enough. But there are limits... if you are chasing the absolute lowest price, you may end up with something that isn't even worth the small amount you paid. (And don't get me started about the transaction costs of scouring the whole internet to save $0.05 on a $50.00 purchase.)

Not Better Than Nothing
Hans (PD0AC) has a post up about Waccom where he wonders if they aren't buying up the early versions of various radios - early versions that have problems that were fixed in subsequent releases. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that some of these companies are actually related - that they've created tiers/brands for the various levels of quality. If a radio is good, sell it under the primary brand. If you have a bad batch, sell them under a secondary brand, so you don't dilute the stronger reputation of the primary.

These Waccoms seem to be the exception to the "better than nothing" rule in that, for essentially the same money, you could have a much better product. That's why I call this a "not better than nothing" option - you have wasted a scare resource in a race to the bottom.

Better Than Nothing
When it comes to self-defense, I'm less inclined to find the cheapest gun available, but there are some interesting options out there. (Everyday of the week and twice on Sunday, I would pick an inexpensive gun over no gun - even if it was one of these.)

Today, I saw this article about Cheaper Than Dirt's best selling gun - the Interstate Arms Hawk Model 982. The 982 is a clone of the popular Remington 870 and is less than $200. The article says it is so successful because "it does a great job of doing exactly what the manufacturer intended it to do, which is to be a rugged home defense gun." Then came this article about a polymer AR lower for only $50. There must be something in the water, because Tam also had this post about cheap fakes of the already inexpensive Magpul sights.

Not everyone can afford a Bio Force Gun 9000, so these less expensive options have their place. I would tend to think of them as "trunk guns" unless I couldn't afford something else. In that case, they would be my pride and joy. Much like I think of the Baofengs as cheap insurance. It may not be the best performer, but the low price allows me to keep one at the office, one in each car, etc. Since I don't have a complete armory at my house, maybe a 982 and a polymer lower is in my future.


Cheaper Than Dirt article via Gun Nuts Media

Wouxun KG-UV920R: Drama Llama

Steve (Founder and Moderator of the Wouxun Yahoo Group):

"I know most all members are excitedly looking forward to release and availability of the KG-UV920R. Many recall this was an oft promised release for the last almost 2 years.

I have just learned from highly reliable sources that Wouxun has chosen to play "hardball" with all/many of its vendors by mandating that their retail pricing not be lower than the $320-330 range. Backing up this threat is Wouxun's warning that dealers violating this practice will be denied shipment of these units. I believe many of us had been led to believe they were working with a price point originally around $250 retail

Wouxun management is a member of our fine group and I am sure they would welcome your views. To avoid clogging this board with your reactions you may choose to email them directly at "wouxun@wouxun.com"

We have numerous vendors and Wouxun management as members and I would welcome their clarification of Wouxun's position if I've misrepresented it."

Ed Greany (1 of 2 Eds that sell the Wouxun Radios):

"I'm sorry I cannot lend any clarification to this matter. This same story came up last year with regards to the handheld unit. I have never been notified by China of such a requirement."

And I agree with Adam:

"This is funny because it exactly resembles a certain case study in marketing I recall.  When your customers are expecting a lower price you temper their expectations by "leaking" pricing info in advance of the release that's much higher than desired, then "cave" to customer demand later, all the while reaping the benefits of free publicity and additional hype. Ed's recollection of a similar story about another unit only supports the idea that this is not much more than a marketing gimmick."

Programming Software Trouble-shooting

I've seen it enough times on the Yahoo Group and in the comments here that I think it bears repeating.

Programming Software Trouble-shooting

Step 1: Make sure the plug is firmly pushed in to the radio.
Step 2: Push the plug some more.
Step 3: Find your strongest friend and ask them to push on the plug even more.
Step 4: Check the driver, verify the COM port, download the latest version of the software, etc.