Random Rants: Accessory pricing sticker shock

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Sporkupine

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This is just something I've felt like carping about for a while...feel free to ignore or commiserate as you see fit...

My big beef with YaeComWood mobile/HT equipment is pricing. Not so much radios (although that's beginning to get a bit out of hand as well...a topic for another rant, I suppose), but accessories. Have you guys priced this stuff out lately? They charge $50+ for separation kits, which should, as far as I'm concerned, be included in the box with a $600+ radio. Same goes for $70 programming cables, $40 speaker/mics...the list goes on.

Another one that really gets my blood pressure up is the microphone extension cables for Kenwood and Icom...they're bloody cat5 ethernet cables and they want northwards of $40 for a 16-footer. I was just looking at a $60 Icom unit.

It's bloody highway robbery, and YaeComWood should hang their collective heads in shame for having the gall to do it. No wonder Wouxun, Puxing, et.al. are eating their lunch. In fairness, I realize that amateur stuff is a bit of a stagnant market, but jeez...one wonders if they have noticed that everybody's broke, and most don't feel like buying $800 HT's and overpriced accessories when they can get a Pretty Decent Unit, that does 80-90% of the stuff their units do, for $160 out the door. I feel no sympathy for the "big three," they did this to themselves.

There. Glad I got that off my chest. I may not feel any better, but at least I have a valid reason for being cranky as hell. :)
 

davidgcet

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M has done that for years. the gold spring pins in a HT1000 speaker mic used to cost close to 20.00 EACH!
 

davidgcet

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ever buy an accy for a cell phoen at the company store, that is highway robbery! back when we sold cell phones we would pay something like .50 for a housing and 1.00 for a charger. housings sold for 10-20.00 and chargers anywhere from 19.99 to 35.00! and we could not keep them in stock since we were on avg 10.00 cheaper than the local carrier store.
 

AK9R

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Another one that really gets my blood pressure up is the microphone extension cables for Kenwood and Icom...they're bloody cat5 ethernet cables...
In the case of the Kenwood TM-V71 and TM-D710, the mic extension cable is not a Cat5 network cable.

Cat5 cables have four twisted pairs with no shielding. In the Kenwood mic extension cable, the mic audio and mic ground wires are twisted together and shielded while the rest of the conductors are cabled around the mic pair. You can't buy this cable at your favorite computer parts store. Many folks have tried using Cat5 cables in place of the Kenwood mic extension cable and some report signal degradation in the transmitted audio. With the Kenwood cable, no problems.
 

Sporkupine

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In the case of the Kenwood TM-V71 and TM-D710, the mic extension cable is not a Cat5 network cable.
Many folks have tried using Cat5 cables in place of the Kenwood mic extension cable and some report signal degradation in the transmitted audio. With the Kenwood cable, no problems.

I wonder if a cat6 cable would work? I mean, I doubt it (due to the shielding thing) but you never know...Anyone tried this?
 

kadetklapp

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I feel your pain. I got a VX8R for Christmas, and in order to get the accessories I NEED (programming cable, cradle charger, and the stuff for APRS) I'd have to spend almost as much as the radio costs ($350+). Ridonkulous if you ask me.
 

AK9R

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I wonder if a cat6 cable would work?
In Cat5 and Cat6 cables with standard pin-outs, the following wires are paired: 1-2, 3-6, 4-5, 7-8. In the Kenwood mic cable, pin 6 is mic audio and pin 5 is mic ground. So, in a Cat5 or Cat6 cable, the mic audio and mic ground end up on different pairs. Therein lies the problem.

However, to your original point, yes, radio manufacturers do seem to charge a lot for accessories. I guess that's how the keep the base radio affordable.
 

davidgcet

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you could install the RJ45 connectors yourself and pair them as you like, but even so using UTP you stand a chance of getting noise when keyed as the RF produces a hum on the line. by the time you buy good STP, the connectors, and the tool, well you are getting close to the cost of a cable.

that being said, we have installed many extention cables for Kenwood/Icom/Vertex/Motorola radios and used just regular Cat 5 or even flat 4 pair ribbon cable. the only time it has been an issue is if the antenna was mounted below cab roof level or in a fiberglass roof. but your experience may vary.
 

LtDoc

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Can you make your own extension cables? Sure, you just need the tools to do it with. Can the OEM cables present RFI problems? Sure, just like those home-made cables. 'Ferrite' is your friend!
How about the control head/radio cable? The telephone cables with the proper number of conductors will work just dandy! Same for the ferrite. There is a practical limit on the length of those things though.
- 'Doc
 

KC9AXZ

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The big manufacturers can gouge people on the accessories because people pay the price. Does anyone think for a second that the manufcturer or sales outlet get rich off the radio sales? Absolutely not! Typical mark-up is 30-40%. The dealers all have to sell for a minimum price the manufacturer sets. The accessories on the other hand have HUGE profit margines. Those cable and such are mass produced for pennies. Now you know why you cant find a one cable fits all rigs. Just switch a wire around and now you need to buy a new one. Batteries are the same way, just add a ridge or move a tab and you need a whole new one. The manufacturers will continue to follow the money while we want to live PnP lifestyle. Ever notice Icom doesn't even give the tech info to build your own cable anymore? At least last I looked Kenwood still does. We'll see how long that lasts. The guy that sits down and takes a second to reverse engineer the OEM parts will make some money. He will also build it for pennies on the dollar and sell it 25-50% less than OEM. Same stuff but many people won't trust it because it doesn't have the name lable on it. Those people are the ones that allow this to continue. Lets face it these appliances need to be PnP or we'll never attract a younger generation.

Jon

The RF Adapter Guy items - Get great deals on Coax Connectors, Ham Radio RF Adapters items on eBay Stores!
 

gewecke

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This is just something I've felt like carping about for a while...feel free to ignore or commiserate as you see fit...

My big beef with YaeComWood mobile/HT equipment is pricing. Not so much radios (although that's beginning to get a bit out of hand as well...a topic for another rant, I suppose), but accessories. Have you guys priced this stuff out lately? They charge $50+ for separation kits, which should, as far as I'm concerned, be included in the box with a $600+ radio. Same goes for $70 programming cables, $40 speaker/mics...the list goes on.

Another one that really gets my blood pressure up is the microphone extension cables for Kenwood and Icom...they're bloody cat5 ethernet cables and they want northwards of $40 for a 16-footer. I was just looking at a $60 Icom unit.

It's bloody highway robbery, and YaeComWood should hang their collective heads in shame for having the gall to do it. No wonder Wouxun, Puxing, et.al. are eating their lunch. In fairness, I realize that amateur stuff is a bit of a stagnant market, but jeez...one wonders if they have noticed that everybody's broke, and most don't feel like buying $800 HT's and overpriced accessories when they can get a Pretty Decent Unit, that does 80-90% of the stuff their units do, for $160 out the door. I feel no sympathy for the "big three," they did this to themselves.

There. Glad I got that off my chest. I may not feel any better, but at least I have a valid reason for being cranky as hell. :)

$800 ht's?? Unless you're considering commercial "IS" radios then your crayolas went stale! :lol: You can get a quad band yaesu ht for $239 from gigaparts.com so what are you thinking?
 

Sporkupine

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$800 ht's?? Unless you're considering commercial "IS" radios then your crayolas went stale! :lol: You can get a quad band yaesu ht for $239 from gigaparts.com so what are you thinking?

Hummm...I guess I wasn't. I just visited the site you mentioned, and they do in fact have some pretty good deals. I stand corrected on that part; thanks for the info...
 

kv5e

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accessories = profit center

Accessories have always been a profit center for the amateur transceiver market. Companies like MFJ make their own or import and other off-shore jobbers get cheap "asian" knockoffs that work with the big triumvirate rigs.

What's wrong with a company trying to make money? Genuine Acessories = Genuine Money

Knock offs are fine if you want to pay less.

I think we are lucky that the big three have stayed in the market, but now they feel the heat in the low end of the market.

I was surprised at the Wouxun price/performance ratio, particularly on accessories, but they are not the quality of /\/\ or even the Japanese (who outsource some of it to the west of them).

Lots of folks are now into the aftermarket accessory market, so buy what you want.

Just look at the HongKong radio jobbers!!!!

Again, buy what you want and don't buy if you don't, free market economy.

Lege et lacrima

Craig
 

K2AFY

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I have been buying my cables and Speaker mikes for M and the 3 brand names for Ham equipment from a store on ebay Empire_wireless so far every cable has worked and the mike for my ht 1000 looks like a M mic but no branding on it. Prices are very reasonable.
 

Sporkupine

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I do agree with you in theory, Craig. I don't mind paying for quality, manufacturer-approved and -supported accessories.

But like you said, it's a profit center. I guess the way I see it there's a difference for paying $ for something because it's a good product and paying $x2 for something that pads the bottom line.

I will admit that I don't have the faintest idea of the R&D costs, etc...it just seems (to a big idiot like me, anyhow) like a $50 sep kit could cost $30 instead without driving the manufacturer into receivership...:)

As far as Wouxun, it seems to me that their build quality is pretty much on par with the big three. Granted, it's not /\/\-level durability, and I probably couldn't use it to club a moose to death like my old Astro Saber, but they've been pretty darn durable for all that.
 
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Sporkupine

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I have been buying my cables and Speaker mikes for M and the 3 brand names for Ham equipment from a store on ebay Empire_wireless so far every cable has worked and the mike for my ht 1000 looks like a M mic but no branding on it. Prices are very reasonable.

Very true there. I have several speaker/mics that look and function just as well as /\/\ units that I paid about $16 each for. I have no complaints about them. My general experience with aftermarket accessories is that they either tend to be completely awesome or total junk...there hasn't been much middle ground. It's a bit of a crapshoot, but when you find a winner...
 

kv5e

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Caveat Emptor

I am also careful of the accessories for the /\/\ radios I own.

There's a general price compression trend for mass produced items, hams figure in the periphery of that price compression but there's an old feud in Asia....don't think that the last card has turned yet in the market economy.

There's some very cost effective DMR radios coming out of Asia and don't think that the Big Dog /\/\ has not seen that, hence TRBO for the NB business market.

I have had good results with kawamall and a few other sellers of accessories. Kawamall is a jobber here in the US and a few of the Hong Kong guys have stand up "bargain" product, but not for mission critical.

The current trend is good for the business as the business model is changing.

Ham is still a drop in the bucket compared to public safety / commercial though.


nice thread.....Craig
 
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