"Chinese Radios Are Just Junk!"

[OffRoaderX]

I don't usually like to post videos, but this video was inspired by many comments that I have read here and in a few ham-radio forums.

 

[jgillaspy]

That was awesome! Keep up the good work on your channel. I really enjoy it.

JG

[mbrun]

Ok, you got me laughing really good.


Michael
WRHS965
KE8PLM

[phottomatt]

Love your channel. 

[WRHS218]

That hurt, Randy. That hurt.

[TOM47]

THAT VIDEO CONVINCED ME TO GIVE MY DAUGHTER (WHO IS REALLY HARD ON ELECTRONICS) ONE OF MY KG-935G'S!

[DanW]

3 hours ago, TOM47 said:

THAT VIDEO CONVINCED ME TO GIVE MY DAUGHTER (WHO IS REALLY HARD ON ELECTRONICS) ONE OF MY KG-935G'S!

What sold me was the toilet test.  Nothing to do with the radio, just that scene! 

[OldRadioGuy]

A guy in our ham club was a project engineer on the hp 8920A transceiver tester.  He gave us a presentation on radio testing and one of the examples he used was a Chinese  dual band HT.  I think it was the Baofeng UV5.  It met most of the specs very respectably but one or two of them were WAY off the published numbers..... like 5x worse.  It still met the legal requirements but not the published specs.  I believe it was sensitivity that it failed.  He only tested one sample so who knows what 20 others would do.  His ancient Kenwood radio passed every published spec with margin. 

Overall he considered the Baofeng to be a decent radio but certainly not passing their own published specs.  So some of the Chinese radio thing may be hit-miss quality control.   I  do like my Wouxun 805G radios and they seem to perform well but I can't prove it.  For recreational use they are fine.    

These videos are fun and show that the radios are rugged but there may be more to the story.  Making a contact shows that it's functions but nothing more.  I would be curious to see what my Wouxuns would do on the 8920 tester.  

Vince

 

[MichaelLAX]

11 minutes ago, OldRadioGuy said:

...I think it was the Baofeng UV5.  It met most of the specs very respectably but one or two of them were WAY off the published numbers..... like 5x worse.  It still met the legal requirements but not the published specs.  I believe it was sensitivity that it failed. 

Sensitivity is the ability to receive weaker signals.

For $25 you either can hear what you want to hear and if not, buy a better radio! 

[Lscott]

9 hours ago, MichaelLAX said:

Sensitivity is the ability to receive weaker signals.

For $25 you either can hear what you want to hear and if not, buy a better radio! 

You get what you pay for, and sometimes not even that.

[MichaelLAX]

@LscottWhat is so sad about my observation to @OldRadioGuy's comment about perceived lack of sensitivity of UV-5Rs?

We double-posted: see my response below.

[MichaelLAX]

5 minutes ago, Lscott said:

You get what you pay for, and sometimes not even that.

That's not @OldRadioGuy's point: He noted that sensitivity is the only spec that the test determined was less than specs.

I would bet dollars to donuts that no one buys a UV-5R based upon its sensitivity spec: they just see if it receives the stations that are important to them.

Then they can always gain some experience cheaply and then upgrade as needed!

[Lscott]

1 minute ago, MichaelLAX said:

@LscottWhat is so sad about my observation to @OldRadioGuy's comment about perceived lack of sensitivity of UV-5Rs?

 Nothing. Your right on the money. My point is what can one expect for a $25 radio? You pay $25 you get get a $25 design, if you’re lucky. You also can pay $25 and get something that can’t bear down the street too. There is a reason why they’re so cheap.

[MacJack]

IMHO there is two types of "Chinese Radios"... someone (unnamed) gave my Ham ticket grand daughter a Baofeng and it had features like GMRS and Ham but could not work... we donated it to a 501 c 3 non profit looking for radios.  None the higher end radios from Wouxun sold by https://www.buytwowayradios.com have been the best radio for the price and we have several.  I have a lot of the GMRS and Ham radios and they are priced right, have more programing effect as I use https://www.rtsystemsinc.com to cross from KG-935 to KG-UV8H.  

So you can not say all "Chinese Radios" are trash... ask us users of the higher end "Chinese Radios".  FYI I have two adopted Chinese daughters and their family here in USA and they are like high end Chinese.... the CCP bring down the Chinese products that copy what we have... the higher end Chinese firms who do it right are the ones you need to look for.  

Enjoy whatever radio you have and make it work for your lifestyle.  

MacJack

[Lscott]

46 minutes ago, MacJack said:

IMHO there is two types of "Chinese Radios"... someone (unnamed) gave my Ham ticket grand daughter a Baofeng and it had features like GMRS and Ham but could not work... we donated it to a 501 c 3 non profit looking for radios.  None the higher end radios from Wouxun sold by https://www.buytwowayradios.com have been the best radio for the price and we have several.  I have a lot of the GMRS and Ham radios and they are priced right, have more programing effect as I use https://www.rtsystemsinc.com to cross from KG-935 to KG-UV8H.  

So you can not say all "Chinese Radios" are trash... ask us users of the higher end "Chinese Radios".  FYI I have two adopted Chinese daughters and their family here in USA and they are like high end Chinese.... the CCP bring down the Chinese products that copy what we have... the higher end Chinese firms who do it right are the ones you need to look for.  

Enjoy whatever radio you have and make it work for your lifestyle.  

MacJack

Not all CCR’s are complete junk. The original model D878UV I have is an alright radio. Is it the equivalent of a higher end Motorola, Kenwood, ICOM etc., no but it gets the job done I wanted it for and didn’t break the bank. The later models I question if the performance and features justify the significantly higher prices, which I don’t think they do.

People use to laugh at Japanese electronics, like the current Chinese stuff, but they got better and higher quality. The Chinese radios will likely do the same sooner or later. If you start looking at test equipment designed and manufactured in China you quickly find out it isn’t junk and the higher end stuff is really causing manufacturers like Techtronics and Keysight (spin-off of of the old HP) headaches in the low to mid-tier equipment range. 

[OldRadioGuy]

My point mostly was that these radios may not be tested in production.  So you may get a good one or you may get one that under-performs or even interferes with other services.  Testing is expensive and tossing the ones that don't pass is even more expensive.  So they just build and ship. Maybe they do a functional test or something very basic.  Lots of cheap Chinese stuff tends to be this way.  Harbor Freight, for example, has some great stuff for cheap, but sometimes you have to pick through the stock to make sure you get a good one.  Quality is inconsistent.

I think Wouxun is a level above this.  I think they do test their radios.  One reason is that Ham Radio Outlet sells them but will not sell Baofeng.  They test some samples to make sure they are legal and basically in spec. before deciding to carry them.  Of course the major brands Kenwood, icom, Yaesu, Alinco, are reliably good.

And even if you see a Yeasu that appears to be made by somebody like Baofeng it isn't necessarily the same.  They production test everything and they don't sell what doesn't pass.  So you're getting a hand picked Chinese radio. 

The radio tester guy from our club does use the Baofeng.  So it's a serviceable radio.  He just understands the limitations.

Vince

[MacJack]

On 11/24/2021 at 10:06 PM, Lscott said:

Not all CCR’s are complete junk. The original model D878UV I have is an alright radio. Is it the equivalent of a higher end Motorola, Kenwood, ICOM etc., no but it gets the job done I wanted it for and didn’t break the bank. The later models I question if the performance and features justify the significantly higher prices, which I don’t think they do.

People use to laugh at Japanese electronics, like the current Chinese stuff, but they got better and higher quality. The Chinese radios will likely do the same sooner or later. If you start looking at test equipment designed and manufactured in China you quickly find out it isn’t junk and the higher end stuff is really causing manufacturers like Techtronics and Keysight (spin-off of of the old HP) headaches in the low to mid-tier equipment range. 

I agree... pick your poison... and live with it... 

[PACNWComms]

I currently use Aeroflex 3920 Radio Communications Service monitors for many types of digital radios. I also hear at work how some radios are junk because of cost, name or function. Some say the Kenwood 5300's are junk, others Motorola Trbo series radios, and many Icom, Yaesu, Wouxun, Baofeng, etc. Then there is the buy American crowd, where I pull out my personal Harris Unity XG-100P.....that I use for both FRS/GMRS. Recently, I bought both a Radioddity GM-30 and DB20-G. Virtually everything made in China is "sloppy" specification wise, because it is made to a cheaper price point. If everyone had to use a Harris XG-100P/Motorola APX8000, or something high dollar a lot less people would be in this hobby, and possibly profession.

[MacJack]

3 minutes ago, PACNWComms said:

I currently use Aeroflex 3920 Radio Communications Service monitors for many types of digital radios. I also hear at work how some radios are junk because of cost, name or function. Some say the Kenwood 5300's are junk, others Motorola Trbo series radios, and many Icom, Yaesu, Wouxun, Baofeng, etc. Then there is the buy American crowd, where I pull out my personal Harris Unity XG-100P.....that I use for both FRS/GMRS. Recently, I bought both a Radioddity GM-30 and DB20-G. Virtually everything made in China is "sloppy" specification wise, because it is made to a cheaper price point. If everyone had to use a Harris XG-100P/Motorola APX8000, or something high dollar a lot less people would be in this hobby, and possibly profession.

PACNWComms, I have not heard of some of the radios you listed so looked them up...  I agree with you to a point... I told my wife I will not be radio poor with so many radios....  I have the best radio that does everything, FM U/V, MURS, GMRS, DMR and most of all not code plugs and cellular as well... It is a RFinder B1 and in the last few months the software updates make it so I can talk around the world using BM over VOIP...  off my cell or wifi...  Does not do multi channel scanning but not a problem with a very good regional DMR network and NPR network that covers 5 states...  This is the radio of the future.

MacJack

[AdmiralCochrane]

VOIP radio is the future of the internet

[kevsh]

Actually not all of the chinese radios are bad quality. Most of the HT's that have the big names like Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood and others are made in China, Phillippians, Tawian. Made with the same parts but with different designs. The TYT, HYT, Hytera are decent, but majority of the baofengs are cheap designs. What hurts the baofengs are the receiver selectivity. When I get a spectrum analyzer I will be making some observations of the the transmit signals

[Lscott]

2 hours ago, kevsh said:

Actually not all of the chinese radios are bad quality. Most of the HT's that have the big names like Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood and others are made in China, Phillippians, Tawian.

All the Kenwood commercial grade HT’s I have are manufactured in Singapore.

[SUPERG900]

The Chinese do make some great stuff, but they just don't have the brand visibility that western companies do. Also, they're not going to invest much in operating western based import divisions due to the politicization of market access by those countries. Many have heard of the difficulties that Western companies have in operating in China - this is because western nations use commerce as a cudgel to force other countries to follow their policies. The Chinese know this. However, they aren't adverse to selling to local importers based in the countries they are exporting to. This maintains an arms-length distance between Chinese companies and western political jurisdiction. Who can blame them? We read in the news about Chinese companies under sanction for doing the exact same thing western nations have done for decades - but the irony of it seems to be lost on many.

As to the quality of imported Chinese goods - that's simply producing products at the price points western importers are willing to pay. After all, in countries like the US, the average working stiff has been losing his purchasing power since the 70's and he really can't afford the good stuff, and the importer likes his over the top markups. And that's another story.....

 

[Lscott]

13 hours ago, SUPERG900 said:

The Chinese do make some great stuff, but they just don't have the brand visibility that western companies do. Also, they're not going to invest much in operating western based import divisions

One very important point is local service and support. Most of the CCR's if you have an issue you either have to send it all the way back to China or hope the local seller will swap the defective radio for a good one.

I went round and round with TYT, by email of course, about a TH-350 tri-band radio. There was no TX audio using the builtin speaker, however an external speaker microphone worked fine. I asked for a service manual for the radio, won't supply one. Asked for at least a circuit section for the audio section with the external mic/speaker ports shown, nope. I was told I could send the radio back for service. I told them I only paid $70 new for it and the cost of shipping would likely equal or exceed what I paid so a return made no sense. They finally sent two internal mic elements and phone jacks free of charge thinking that was the likely problem. I just haven't bother to open up the radio to tinker with it yet. Neither of the parts may fix the problem so a schematic at least would have been the best option and then I could figure what parts if any I need once I identified the issue. So for the time I wasted on emails etc. I just got another one. The funky one I just use with a speaker mic for now. When I get really bored I might take it apart and try swapping out the parts at some point.

I also had a BTECH tri-band with audio output distortion problems after dropping it on a cement floor at the local Twin Peaks while out with some work buddies. I'm a bit disappointed that's all it took to mess it up. No external, or internal, visible damage I could see.  Lucky for me I just sent it in to BTECH and had it replaced under warranty.

With these CCR's if they F-up you can likely count on throwing them in your junk box and buying another one. If that happens too many times one would be money ahead just buying a high quality radio to begin with. Some of the commercial Kenwoods I purchased used look like they were thrown at a brick wall, busted cases. worn out key pads etc., and they still worked, just got an aftermarket rebuild case kit off of eBay.

[dhardin53]

Many years ago my work place place a Vietnamese refugee (boat People) to me to supervise, let say i learned a lot form Min van Tran.  More to this topic Chinee, Taiwan or Vietnam all have been producing electronics for many years. A good amount of the are American design but built in these countries. Min van Tran told me American design was good, Chinees was crap. Built cheap so the poor of there country could afford them. Back them no American design but built over there was never available to the common man.

Now today much of the same can be said with one caveat, There still are a few American made and designs the they could are made over seas cheaper but the over seas. What is happening is once they make it for say Midland Inc. some one illegibly steels the design but cheapens. Now we have what I call "knock offs" not all knock offs are junk but the chances are good they will not last.

In short there is no need for a blanket statement of "All chines radios are junk". 

 In my humble opinion.