Issue #44: Copycats Stomp on Ham Radio Innovation

"Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services"

Clay understood that many folks would lose track of the definition of innovation. He thus clarified this with defining:

'sustaining innovations'-- devices or processes that make incremental improvements.

Most innovations are sustaining innovations. It the heart of most models for established businesses.

No under-pricing model in ham radio is either new or improved. It is old and has precedence in prior years of sales.

Now, one may argue in that Baofend business model-- that is a 'corporate' model where the state is the corporation and the workers are underpaid and are sociobiologically analogous to ant colonies-- THAT is an innovation, yeh, I guess. But there, the innovation isnt in the product. Nor the pricing.

73
Chip W1YW

 

Any cost or other advantages of micro-PC's are simply further applications, "sustaining innovation", derived from a far more disruptive technology invented by another Nobel winning radio amateur W9GTY.

 

I would agree that microPCs are just a continuation. But the replacement of minicomputers by a single IC, even though it was initially pretty lame, was clearly disruptive tech. We have not been talking about MicroPCs, like the BMAX.

 

Interesting development . . . If you enjoyed this article, you may remember the query I had for Dmitry in the interview. It was, "Why not go to a quality manufacturer and have the WOLF 2 brought to market with a solid build, and cut these Chinese off at the knees?" We even suggested Lab599, the makers of the great little TX-500 QRP rig. Well those two got together and there's a final prototype circulating now of the same new radio, which will be the TX1000 from Lab599. This is an exciting development as to date the only assembled WOLF radios you could buy were the cheazy and nearly inoperative WOLF radios from Banggood and Aliexpress, etc. Nice to see those clones go away and a quality radio with these features introduced! Dave, W7DGJ