Whiz-bang technology pulls customers and rings cash registers - High-Tech 98

Shooting Industry, March, 1998 by Roy Huntington

Never Lost

Since their inception in the 1980s. Global Positioning System receivers, or GPS, have traveled the road which has become routine for new generations of electronics. Early units were large, priced in the thousands and were complicated and awkward to use. Prices dropped through the years, along with size while quality and features soared. Today's units. like those from Magellan, Eagle and Garmin, are shirt-pocket sized and often sell well under $200, even at a comfortable mark-up for the dealer.

The Magellan "Pioneer," a basic GPS that offers all the features most entry level users would need, is advertised at very close to $100 retail in some catalogs and stores. A few boxes of ammunition, a mid-range compact binocular or even a decent rifle case can easily cost as much. This is a far cry from the bulky early units that, even when heavily discounted, retailed for $1,500 to $2,000.

From special carrying cases, external power sources and antenna accessories to special software that can be downloaded from a personal computer, personal GPSs generate consumer interest. These little profit makers take up little shelf space while still being capable of holding their own in today's increasingly competitive market, generating profits beyond their diminutive size.

Keep Talking

The Family Radio Service (FRS) band, recently introduced by the FCC, is specifically geared to meet the needs of the private, casual person's needs for personal communication. The FRS band is open to all recreational users and has been welcomed heartily by hunters, fishermen, campers and families. No license is required and the frequency is free from interference from business band radios. It offers quiet, economical communication in a small package and the range can be up to five miles depending upon the terrain.

Several companies offer personal radios in this class. Motorola, Midland and Maxon lead the way with several models from each manufacturer. Motorola is sweeping the market right now with their line of "TalkAbout" and "TalkAbout Plus" units. Small, around 7 ounces and loaded with features, such as 14 channels and privacy codes, these radios have rapidly become commonplace in the field. Moro's use them to keep track of kids at camp and husbands and wives use them across crowded supermarkets to keep in touch. Priced at $100 to $160 or so for more features, these small radios are also available in several colors, including camo, which is sure to please hunters everywhere.

Midland's FRS units and Maxon's FRS-114 offer similar features and pricing, but with their own look and options. All radios in this class can talk to one another, regardless of manufacturer.

For more power and range, look toward the likes of Motorola's "Sport 10x." Bumping the power to two watts (over the smaller unit's one watt) means these radios can often reach out as far as five miles when conditions are right. Range on the smaller radios is usually around one mile, with two miles possible at times.

These are truly something that many of your customers have either never thought to buy, or have always considered costly. Now, a few minutes of your time and an in-store demonstration of how clear these little radios are can easily result in multiple sales. Suddenly, Dad realizes how convenient they would be for the Boy Scout Troop and Mom thinks how handy they would be for the school fair the next week. Hunters can alert their partners of oncoming game animals and bird hunters can direct their partner in to the site of a downed bird.

Night Eyes

Once only seen on TV and in movies, or in the hands of the military, economical night vision equipment is now priced well within the reach of virtually anyone. It started with an influx of Soviet equipment, which helped to educate consumers to the possibilities of this almost magical technology. Animal watchers, birders, hunters, security, police, boaters all ran toward this new tool, inventing uses as they went along. Joining the rush, domestic producers of high-end night vision, like ITT Technology, rapidly began to produce quality products at prices hovering at slightly under $1,000. A far cry from the $5,000 to $10,000 prices of just a few years ago from these same manufacturers.

Since many outdoorsmen don't need the clarity and quality of the more expensive units, most find the mid-range equipment well up to the job. Moonlight Products led the way starting a few years ago and now Tasco joins them in offering quality at an economical price. Moonlight's Mini Night Scope and their NV1000 (with illuminator) are both priced about the same as a mid-range handgun and offer quality and performance beyond their price. Tasco's NV356 and NV-360 are similarly priced and equal to the task.

Why do they sell?

"The thrill of technology products is an important part of why they sell," said Kim Johnson, of Moonlight Products. "Night vision in particular has a powerful draw, especially since its use in movies and TV action adventure films. This modern generation of night vision is very user friendly and has helped to demystify this technology for the average consumer. It's almost as if the manufacturers have put the consumer to school, creating a client who is savvy about today's high-tech products. Not to mention the amazing value of today's equipment over that of just two or three years ago."