Expedition Master III
This is mainly directed at the Chinese brands, as the big 3 Japanese offerings do not seem to follow this trend. Criticisms like clarity and frequency shift, seem to be decreasing as improvements get better. If in the market for one, what makes you choose one branded version over another? Is it price ($), is it Functions?, or is it a combination of factors. Will it be a piece of gear used all the time, or infrequently, geared to emergency's. Does the possibility of customer service factor in after/during purchase?
Most Chinese radios do not have a stateside repair facility network in place, and any work has to be shipped to the Company overseas. Thus nullifying any real savings on the purchase side. Does one version offer better 'spec's' over another. Here are 3 radios, 2 of them rebranded, where the main one (RETEVIS) seems to be a better deal and be cheaper than the other 2.
Retevis RT-95.........................approximately $98-$115
Any-Tone AT-778UV...............approximately $115-$120
Midland DBR 2500..........................................$149
The Retevis comes with the programming cable included** (approx. $15) The Any-Tone may or not include it. The Midland does not, and costs about $16.
On the face of it, one seems to be a slam dunk, but as stated above, if you have a problem, you deal with a long distance factory representative or have to ship the unit back to China for repair. Now Midland being here in the USA, if a problem occurs, you can ship it back here stateside, thus making the extra front side purchase price more reasonable. Also Customs and slow turtle shipping is thus avoided.
Knowing the above options and background, what would you choose. How much does that price factor over other considerations. This same question can be applied to other things as well. The above is a good example of apples to apples to more apples.
I think I saw where the Retevis had a extra programming feature not offered on the other 2, but can't now seem to find it. One other thought, does max power output matter in your overall shopping consideration, as most users will use the least neccessary to accomplish the task at hand.
Most Chinese radios do not have a stateside repair facility network in place, and any work has to be shipped to the Company overseas. Thus nullifying any real savings on the purchase side. Does one version offer better 'spec's' over another. Here are 3 radios, 2 of them rebranded, where the main one (RETEVIS) seems to be a better deal and be cheaper than the other 2.
Retevis RT-95.........................approximately $98-$115
Any-Tone AT-778UV...............approximately $115-$120
Midland DBR 2500..........................................$149
The Retevis comes with the programming cable included** (approx. $15) The Any-Tone may or not include it. The Midland does not, and costs about $16.
On the face of it, one seems to be a slam dunk, but as stated above, if you have a problem, you deal with a long distance factory representative or have to ship the unit back to China for repair. Now Midland being here in the USA, if a problem occurs, you can ship it back here stateside, thus making the extra front side purchase price more reasonable. Also Customs and slow turtle shipping is thus avoided.
Knowing the above options and background, what would you choose. How much does that price factor over other considerations. This same question can be applied to other things as well. The above is a good example of apples to apples to more apples.
I think I saw where the Retevis had a extra programming feature not offered on the other 2, but can't now seem to find it. One other thought, does max power output matter in your overall shopping consideration, as most users will use the least neccessary to accomplish the task at hand.
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