![]() I bet we’ll see more models bite the dust prematurely this year. But this is a very difficult year for companies that produce technology. We’re even having difficulty locating replacement components that we can feel confident the supplier can promise in quantity right now with acceptable lead times. It’s created a huge headache for me because changing out one of the components will 100% require an enclosure redesign. Our distributors are running out of inventory. While it’s possible they may begin production on these again in a year or two when things are back to normal and they’re running at full capacity, we can’t wait. It’s not that they can’t physically still make the part, it’s that they don’t have the capacity to make our parts which are smaller runs for them and require re-tooling. They’re trying to catch up to focus on their most popular components. While we are a reliable customer of both of these companies, both manufacturers have had to cut production to accommodate social distancing in the plant and both were completely closed for nearly two months. Other than the fact it has some wireless tech built into it, it’s not ‘a radio device’. Our most popular product is in jeopardy now and we’ll likely have to do a MAJOR redesign when we don’t want to because of two key components that we purchase from other manufacturers that have recently become obsolete. I need to be vague here for obvious reasons, but I work for a company that makes monitoring devices. $200.00 and up for a Locomotive for a 4 year old to play with. What are these companies thinking? Are they wanting this to be an rich man’s only hobby? Model Railroading went sideways 50 years ago so I suppose this van too. I’ll die before I ask my wife for one red cent. I was a volunteer firefighter and so appreciated by our Government, I get to live on LESS than $1,000.00 per month. They’re FORCING me to look at Chinese imposter equipment. These Manufacturer’s just gave me the worst kick in the teeth I’ve ever experienced. The Kenwood TS-480SAT had more than I wanted nut at least I could afford it on my gimpy income…(SSDI) My 4 year old Grandson could goof me up and it’d take me hours to figure out what button he pushed! Guys, I’m only using 10 and 6 meters and I can’t dole out stacks of Cabbage big enough to ckoke a Mule. I prefer the plain Jane with the least amount of lights and buttons. Like the Alinco above, Yaesu has announced that they are discontinuing production of the popular Yaesu FT-450D general coverage transceiver due to “parts issues.” I would certainly suggest purchasing the DX-SR8T transceiver as an alternative since the price difference is modest and it’s built on the same receiver as the DX-R8T. ![]() Retailers may still have some inventory of these models, but once those models have been purchased, there will be no more. I recently learned that Alinco will no longer produce the DX-R8T due to “parts issues.” One would have to assume that this will also affect the DX-R8E (EU version) and eventually the DX-SR8T which is the transceiver version of this model. It has been a very popular radio because it’s been one of the only “legacy” tabletop receivers still in production. I recall reviewing this fine tabletop receiver back in 2011. The Alinco DX-R8T has enjoyed a long product life. ![]() Most recently, however, I learned from a trusted source that Covid-19 has lead to the early demise of at least two popular radio models. Covid-19 issues have also delayed the introduction of a number of transceivers and portable shortwave radios we should have seen in production already. Since mid-May, however, radio retailers have struggled to maintain inventory on certain items mainly due to shipping issues from manufacturers (especially when international shipping was involved). ![]() Not only did sheltering at home seem to increase the number of operators on the air, but I found that most of the radio items I needed to purchase were largely available. Surprisingly, I found that the impact on the amateur radio world, at first, was quite minimal. No doubt, the Covid-19 global pandemic has had a mostly negative impact on our daily lives. ![]()
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