A wave of fake Spektrum products about to appear?

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A wave of fake Spektrum products about to appear?

Postby RCModelReviews » Sun May 23, 2010 6:34 am

Are Asian bootleggers about to launch a wave of fake Spektrum receivers onto Western markets?

As outlined in this article, it appears that unauthorized copies of Spektrum receivers are now being made in Asian and S.E. Asian countries, some perhaps already surfacing on eBay.

Have you encountered any of these products?

Would you buy a cheap knock-off if it worked as well as a genuine Spektrum product and saved you 50% on price?

Might Horizon be forced to lower their prices in the face of these cheaper products, or will they simply unleash their lawyers and put *up* prices to cover the extra costs that represents?
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Re: A wave of fake Spektrum products about to appear?

Postby wldingrod » Sun May 23, 2010 11:47 pm

If they work I do not care who makes them,
They must be doing other brands of radio gear,why would they just pick spektrum,
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Re: A wave of fake Spektrum products about to appear?

Postby RCModelReviews » Sun May 23, 2010 11:58 pm

wldingrod wrote:If they work I do not care who makes them,
They must be doing other brands of radio gear,why would they just pick spektrum,

Probably because Spektrum is the single most popular brand of 2.4GHz RC -- therefore the largest market. It's also probably easier to copy the Spektrum than (for instance) the FASST receivers.

And they do work -- but offer a little less range than the "geniune article", at least according to reports. Also, the QC is quite a bit lower (ie: what QC?) so I've been told.
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Re: A wave of fake Spektrum products about to appear?

Postby wldingrod » Mon May 24, 2010 12:35 am

Ok I did not know spektrum was so popular,
I ordered some from a friend of mine and yes abit under half of the retail price in nz,
I have e mailed him about it after seeing it on your site,
The RX turned up at his place this morning and he is checking them out,hope they are the real deal.
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Re: A wave of fake Spektrum products about to appear?

Postby Fugitive_Bill » Mon May 24, 2010 11:04 pm

As I mentioned on the HK Forum, Hate me, Kick me, Beat me, Flame me, I'll take 10 of the fake ARXXX reievers right here, right now - if they were available.

Next stop ebay - will let you know if I find any, when (and if I do) I do, I honestly will buy at least a couple to play with.

I bet I'm not the only who would chasing these things to experiment with.
They are just gunna go into cheap foamies that I dont give a cr#p if they crash.

I notice also in the picture of that AR6250 (whatever that is, I don't stay up to date, I only ever buy 6100(e)) that the thing has the brand name "PEKTRUM" or is the 'S' blanked because it's a fake or some other reason?

(EDIT: Yes I know it's deadbeats like me who do things like that might send 'honest' companies like HH/Spektrum to the wall)

-B!
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Re: A wave of fake Spektrum products about to appear?

Postby wldingrod » Tue May 25, 2010 4:30 am

Haha futitive bill.
So the story goes they are been sold for about $7 US,
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Re: A wave of fake Spektrum products about to appear?

Postby ToxicToast » Tue May 25, 2010 5:46 pm

To be perfectly honest, the market is going to be ripe for fake spektrums. There will be a huge demand for them and they will penetrate into the western markets. The problem I think is HH's is pretty much bending us over backwards for their technology. The manufacturing to retail margins have to be absolutely enormous on their receivers. I understand this if it was 5 years ago when we paid 50$ for our AR6000s. Back then it was a gamble and they were still hoping the market would embrace their tech but they had to recoup their R&D costs. Sooner or later, Horizon is going to have to adjust its prices to the market since a lot of us feel like we are getting pulled through the mud every time we drop change for RXs to be put in $5 worth of foam.

Earth to Horizon: sooner or later cheaper and reliable systems will come online and your near monopoly on 2.4 market will be eroded. Its time to adjust your prices to reflect real-cost or a flood of fakes will damage you. Clamping down on the fake manufacturers doesn't change the fact that many of us feel like were getting punked by you. Please, look at the recording industry and pharma industries. Don't think you can hold on to this revenue stream at these levels forever. You'll find the market, your customers, will shift in resentment.

</rant>
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Re: A wave of fake Spektrum products about to appear?

Postby GeicoGecko » Tue May 25, 2010 6:17 pm

Unfortunately I have to agree! I went from paying £15 for a receiver to £55!! It's ridiculous! Before there was the worry that someone might be on the same channel as you. This was managed by a very good frequency control system and I have never had interference. Now I'm paying 3 times as much for a system that I've had interference on... something isn't right.

Wakey wakey rise and shine Horizon
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Re: A wave of fake Spektrum products about to appear?

Postby errsemr » Wed May 26, 2010 7:02 pm

Probably does not count as "fake" rather than compatible:

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/stor ... _(PREORDER)
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Re: A wave of fake Spektrum products about to appear?

Postby sturdybird46 » Wed May 26, 2010 9:29 pm

I have mixed feelings about all this. On one hand it is great to be able to pay less then half the cost for a receiver that works with my big name brand radio system. But how reliable can they really be? What is the warranty nightmare going to be like if I get a couple of bad ones and I have to send them all the way back to China? How long is the warranty? I would rather pay $40 for a receiver that will last a couple of years with no problem at all then spend $14 on a receiver that is going to have intermittent problems or corrosion issues after a couple of month? Meanwhile what is Horizon Hobby going to do to keep people from being seduced into buying the cheaper knock offs? I am inclined to order one and compare for myself. Maybe I will just wait for Bruce to get his hands on one first. Bruce, how do we get one in your hands quickly?
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