[aprssig] Cheap HTs

[Scott Miller]

If you buy them in China, yes, you're probably not going to get an FCC 
certified model.  Or at least, not one with the right sticker even if 
it's the same model.  I'd like to know where you found them for 145 RMB 
- I think I paid about 300 RMB for a sample of the PX-777 (not the PLUS 
model) at a market in Shenzhen.  Even by the thousand you can't get them 
from the factory for anything close to 145 RMB.

And yes, you can order them on eBay, mostly from Hong Kong.  Again, you 
might or might not get a certified model.  Delivery is usually a couple 
of weeks, and good luck if you need repair or replacement.

At a glance, I see the PX-777PLUS from Hong Kong for $118 + $60 shipping 
for a pair, which works out to $89 each.  I'm selling individual radios 
for $87, and shipping will cost you $6 or $7, so a $4 difference gets 
you fast domestic shipping and a 1-year warranty.  The $87 price also 
includes import duties, which the HK sellers are generally dodging by 
marking them as toys and declaring them gifts.

The knee-jerk reaction a lot of hams have against Chinese imports (no 
matter that by now probably all of the Yaesus, Motorolas, and so forth 
are made there) is exactly the reason I'm not taking these to hamfests. 
  The SW division convention is only an hour from here, but it's not 
worth the modest profit margin on these things to spend a weekend 
defending them against armchair lawyers, and for whatever reason 
armchair lawyering seems to fall somewhere between t-hunting and 
contesting as a popular ham activity.  (Perhaps it can be made a Field 
Day activity, with points awarded for FCC rules quoted out of context, 
obsolete regulations cited from one's dimly-remembered license test 30 
years ago, and willfully misunderstood passages.)

Scott
N1VG

K8YS wrote:
> I saw these the last time I was in Beijing. Yes, they are CHEAP, about
> 145RMB.
> 
> Trouble is, they are not FCC Certified and if someone in the US ordered one,
> it might not get delivered.
> 
> Bob K8YS 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: aprssig-bounces at tapr.org [mailto:aprssig-bounces at tapr.org] On Behalf
> Of Keith VE7GDH
> Sent: Monday, August 03, 2009 4:06 PM
> To: TAPR APRS Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [aprssig] Cheap HTs
> 
> Scott N1VG wrote...
> 
>> https://www.argentdata.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=74
>> I've been carrying these Chinese HTs for a while (the Puxing PX-777)
> 
> The price is right, and they look like they would be a good match to
> connect to a Tracker 2 for APRS or your ADS-SR1 Simplex Repeater for
> emergency use, and connection would be easy as you have pre-made cables
> for both to fit the radio. Just curious... what is the charge time in
> the supplied drop-in charger for the stock 1200 mAh battery or the
> optional 1600 mAh ($18) battery? TIA!
> 
> 73 es cul - Keith VE7GDH
> --
> "I may be lost, but I know exactly where I am!"
> 
> 
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