Paul; Graupner distributes JR brand equipment in Germany and Europe. Horizon does the same in the U.S. They each tailor the product to their specific market. The German market has been very demanding and they have reconfigured JR equipment to meet those demands, hence the pizza box designs with unlimited switch and stick assignments plus more or less open mixing.(MC 24) While at the same time offering the standard JR line.
One example is the JR 9X from Japan. Totally different programming features from the 9303. Interestingly, Graupner took that chassis made it a 12 channel and calls it the MX 22. Again it uses Graupner firmware which differs both from the 9X and 9303. I know pilots who have owned all three and say that the 9303 goes the farthest with sailplane specific preprogrammed mixes and firmware. So look at it this way. Germany has 25% unemployment, the relatively small modeling community is aging as it is here, and shrinking as well. Hitec in Korea now owns Multiplex. They supposedly bought the company for their radio technology. Where do you think they are going to target there marketing of any forthcoming products? Germany? Well they will most likely keep the German Multiplex alive for the foreseeable future, but they are already stripping it to the bone. No more Contestline kits, they were recently sold off to one of their venders. What is new for Multiplex in 2005?? Elapor unbreakable foam gliders. As far as the U.S market. Hitec/Multiplex USA offers foam planes, evos a few servos, rxs, electric motors, and not much else. No accessories like servo boxes or hardware. The Profi is available in very limited quantities until such time it disappears entirely from the U.S. I have no real info on what to expect in the future from Hitec, but my feeling is we will see more Evo like offerings with perhaps a high end radio with 12-14 channels looking like any other Japanese or Korean unit. Multiplex name or not, it will all be made in Asia. Some of it already is... not necessarily a bad thing. JD Endless Mountain Models http://www.scalesoaring.com email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > -----Original Message----- > From: Paul Jacobson [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Sunday, March 13, 2005 10:13 PM > To: John Derstine > Cc: [email protected] > Subject: RE: [RCSE] Re:Profi Multiplex 4000 > > Hi John, > > Thanks for clearing that up. I don't live in the US and I'm not into > scale so I'd usually have little reason to visit your site, but the > multiplex vs jr debate prompted me to take a look. > > I'm interested in why you think HiTec will drop support for > Multiplex? It's seems like a bizarre strategy to purchase a high end > equipment manufacturer only to run it into the ground. A similar case > could be JR's handling of Graupner: correct me if I wrong but it > seems that while JR owns Graupner(?) they don't distribute their > radio gear to the US, or at least it appears that way judging by a > quick google search and the infrequent mentions they get on RCSE. So > perhaps you will be proven right and Multiplex will disappear from > the US, but I'd be very surprised if they shut up shop anywhere else. > > cheers > Paul RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
