When did Yaesu start making radios in China?

[Stever]

This is a serious question.

The last new amateur radio that I bought was 16 years ago. A couple of days back, I bought an FT-1900R. For the few that do not know, it is an inexpensive 2 meter radio that is half the size of the FT-2400 it replaced. It bought so I could use it in the car or truck. My old 2400 was wired to the battery in the truck.

Anyway, with China being a big player in world financial markets, I suppose that having my Yaesu made there shouldn't be a surprise.

Does anyone know when they started doing this? Do they have a plant there or are they contracting this stuff out?

 

[Moleculo]

Your post made me go look at my Yaesu stuff to see where it was made Both my VX-8r and the FT-897D say "Made in Japan" on them.

My guess is that they probably have just certain pieces of equipment that they contract to Chinese manufacturers for, but who knows? Or maybe they're testing the waters with the Chinese and plan to make more there. I'm not really surprised, really.

The funny thing is that my LDG AT897 autotuner that is attached to the Yaesu FT-897D says "Made in Taiwan", even though it's a U.S. company :redface:

 

[Stever]

I'm not surprised either. More and more stuff will be made there. In 1992, I paid $400 for my 2400. All those years later and the price i less than half - new. Technology has a role in the price drop, but you can bet that if it was made in Japan, the price would have been higher.

Thanks for the response.