thoughts on the chinese units

[W5LZ]

Almost anything can be -used- in amateur service as long as it meets the regulations about signal quality etc. That does not mean that a particular radio can be -sold- for such use in the USA without being 'type accepted' first.
The FCC's first response to such use would not be to revoke your license. But it certainly could be a possible response for continued use of such a thingy if it doesn't meet normal specifications/requirements for a particular mode, band, etc.
The rest of this is just my personal opinion so treat it as such.
I'm very 'leery' of things that seem to be 'too good to be true', they typically are. I'm afraid that from dealing with the typical Chinese products in other fields, I'm not too sure I'd bother even looking at these so called 'deals'. If they are all that you can afford, then they would at least get you on the air. (A little 'scrimping and saving' for something better really is a better idea though.)
Would I be surprised if these 'deals' were really the deals they are purported to be? Yes, but I'm certainly willing to be surprised! Unfortunately, I usually end up on the 'wrong' end of that 'surprised' thingy. Good luck.
- 'Doc

 

[GLR]

Ok I bought an Icom IC91A for normal use but I also picked up a Feidaxin 450A and the quality of the chinese unit is unbelievable. I know of several others around here that have the same unit and no one has had any problem with them. I can't speak for any of the other chinese units but that particular model seems to be an excellent purchase.

 

[rescue1017]

I have an Feidaxin 150A and have had no problems with it at all

 

[smokey]

Nice and cheap. Easy to program. May need FCC acceptance depending on rig getting in US. BUT, try to get one fixed. It would be cheaper to toss and get a new rig. You may consider staying with a reputable name and find mods. Yaseu is part of Motorola and service/production style has changed.

 

[GLR]

I had forgotten about this thread.

After...well after however long ago I stated that I bought one it still works perfectly as do the ones owned by other people I spoke with before purchasing.

Great product, great price.

 

[leoibb]

hello

i have a fd450 and a ne 328 both from china and i think they are very fine most of my pals got these too, considering the motorolla and kenwood are in the hudreds of pounds range to buy, these were 30 ish i think great value for money , i am no expert with handhelds but if they do the job who cares, and they do the job i require

 

[packrat]

They do not require any certification to be used by a ham. How can they require any certification if a ham can build any type of radio in his basement from any type of junk parts he can scrounge up and it is perfectly legal to own and use?

They might require certification to import, but like export cbs, once they are here, tough luck, as long as they are used in a legal manner. Thats the key. Legal manner. Dont use them out of band.

To the original poster, they work quite well, as I have one for knock around service that I bought second hand off of the for sale section, and it holds up pretty good. Never had a bad report from anyone I talk to.

 

[Shockwave]

No offense to the Chinese however, the country has been able to export one defective product after another for over a decade. Everything from the GHB date rape drug being in children's aqua dot games to contaminated drywall. How hard is it to keep melamine out of milk or lead out of kids toys? Now that they can't use the lead in toys I think they have used it to replace the steel in their tools since they all bend like rubber. If you trust you are buying a good Chinese product, I'd like to hear about it.

 

[leoibb]

hello

most of the products in every day use are from china are they not or taiwan, i cant see a prob with these radios for the money, yes the kenwood might be better but is it worthh al the money charged for them when you can have a very similar product for less than a quarter of the cost

 

[GLR]

I spent the morning talking on a FD-160A, the pride of China and thus far no lead poisoning.

 

[mackmobile43]

My opinion is that China has enough U.S. currency as it stands.

 

[GLR]

My opinion is that China has enough U.S. currency as it stands.

So where are your radios made?



Oh and my opinion is that the US government has enough of my money as it stands and anything I can do to keep from paying them any more in taxes is just fine with me.

 

[mackmobile43]

So where are your radios made?



Oh and my opinion is that the US government has enough of my money as it stands and anything I can do to keep from paying them any more in taxes is just fine with me.

I run kenwood which unless I'm mistaken is still produced in Japan where my forefathers spent tons of money to have their way instilled.

 

[GLR]

My apologies. It's comforting to see that we have at least one true patriot among this group.

 

[kc9owm]

LOL, I love it. I have the icoms and the yeasu radios also but I bought two of the 160A's just because I was curious and have found them to be really solid 4 watt radios. The antenna had to be upgraded, because the one that came with it was junk, but it has all of the tones and is very easy to program. The manual that comes with it is translated from chinese and something is lost big time. I found out that they are exactly the same radio as the Zayres ZLVHF01 and it is sent with a really good set of instructions that make the radio a snap. The keys are marked for the functions and work well, and all of the normal extras can be ordered such as spare batteries and hand mic, along with a battery eliminator to run it in your car. Best of all I got all of these additional extras and the radio for right at 120 dollars each. Try that with the jap stuff. LOL If anyone can't find the instructs for the zayres radio to make their FDC easier to program E-mail me at MIKMARJONP@ATT.NET and I will copy and send you a copy. 73's
mike