Sporkupine
Member
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.
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.