Chinese diving equipment
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My uncle had a story about a guy who had the local greengrocer learn Russian names for potatoes, tomatoes, etc. "Because he wants my money". We want their stuff, we should learn Engrish.
My uncle's other apropos story was about Fu King export company.
My uncle's other apropos story was about Fu King export company.
David Wilson
Contributor
Price is certainly a factor when purchasing underwater equipment. From a Chinese online retail source I recently bought an excellent quality traditional oval diving mask complete with metal rim and top screw for just a handful of dollars including free shipping.
I collect, and snorkel with, vintage-style basic gear made the old-fashioned way with traditional materials. I don't buy into any commercial slogan claiming anything must be better just because it's new. Chinese manufacturers and retailers seem ready to step in and supply a minority market with old-school masks and fins while many retailers here in the West assume the unhelpful position of "You're the twentieth person to ask for this widgit today, but we don't stock it because there's no call for it." Unfortunately, western diving equipment manufacturers come across as being only interested in supplying mainstream markets with fins, masks etc mass produced with automated machinery in so-called "space-age" materials whose production is driven by the need to save time, and therefore money, rather than by a desire to find out what every customer wants. No wonder economics is sometimes called "the dismal science".
The English used by Chinese retailers certainly leaves a lot to be desired, but who am I to complain when I compare my own knowledge of Chinese? As somebody who has a university degree in French and German and made a career out of teaching languages in a secondary school, my own response to the language problem during my retirement is to find the Chinese retailer's original web page written in Chinese and to pass the text through Google Translate. If that online application still comes up with gibberish, I split the Chinese characters into phrases and sentences and pass them again through Google Translate. Soon a clearer picture emerges of what the original copywriter wanted to say.
"Why bother?" may be your reaction to my painstaking efforts. Well, learning to read and understand Chinese and other Asian language (e.g. Japanese and Korean) texts about diving equipment is immensely satisfying for a linguist interested in diving equipment history but trained to read and write Western European languages only. From my unique perspective, the moment everything in a foreign-language text written in an unfamiliar script makes real sense resembles the "light-bulb" moment when a scientist makes a major discovery. The bonus is that learning to use a foreign language is said to stave off mental health problems in old age, which is a big consideration for somebody who has completed his biblical allocation of three-score-and-ten and whose forebears succumbed to dementia in the final years of life.
I collect, and snorkel with, vintage-style basic gear made the old-fashioned way with traditional materials. I don't buy into any commercial slogan claiming anything must be better just because it's new. Chinese manufacturers and retailers seem ready to step in and supply a minority market with old-school masks and fins while many retailers here in the West assume the unhelpful position of "You're the twentieth person to ask for this widgit today, but we don't stock it because there's no call for it." Unfortunately, western diving equipment manufacturers come across as being only interested in supplying mainstream markets with fins, masks etc mass produced with automated machinery in so-called "space-age" materials whose production is driven by the need to save time, and therefore money, rather than by a desire to find out what every customer wants. No wonder economics is sometimes called "the dismal science".
The English used by Chinese retailers certainly leaves a lot to be desired, but who am I to complain when I compare my own knowledge of Chinese? As somebody who has a university degree in French and German and made a career out of teaching languages in a secondary school, my own response to the language problem during my retirement is to find the Chinese retailer's original web page written in Chinese and to pass the text through Google Translate. If that online application still comes up with gibberish, I split the Chinese characters into phrases and sentences and pass them again through Google Translate. Soon a clearer picture emerges of what the original copywriter wanted to say.
"Why bother?" may be your reaction to my painstaking efforts. Well, learning to read and understand Chinese and other Asian language (e.g. Japanese and Korean) texts about diving equipment is immensely satisfying for a linguist interested in diving equipment history but trained to read and write Western European languages only. From my unique perspective, the moment everything in a foreign-language text written in an unfamiliar script makes real sense resembles the "light-bulb" moment when a scientist makes a major discovery. The bonus is that learning to use a foreign language is said to stave off mental health problems in old age, which is a big consideration for somebody who has completed his biblical allocation of three-score-and-ten and whose forebears succumbed to dementia in the final years of life.
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Sure, I own scubapro regulators and my wife owns a zeagle BCD. Both are made in China, and both are pretty good. There are very few brands that make stuff outside of China right now. Even fewer that make stuff in the USA.
I think you probably meant stuff like "no name" Chinese gear such as the various dive lights I have from fleabay. I have bought several. They tend to be lower quality but have served me well. For the difference in price, I could treat the Chinese lights as disposable and throw them out after every dive and it would take a very long time to add up to the price of the "American" version. I don't do that, I maintain them and they have so far held up for the most part. I did have one of six various lights that I've ordered from china crap out on me. $30 down the drain.
If you do get cheap Chinese stuff like lights make sure you disassemble, inspect, and maintain it even before you dive it the first time. They're famous for doing things like not lubricating o-rings on dive lights or including damaged o-rings. Check that stuff out before hand, lubricate your o-rings, tighten screws etc...
David Wilson
Contributor
謝謝!
Your message made total sense and I'm blushing now! Hope my response makes sense too.
When translating from English into a foreign language using Google Translate, it's really worth checking the accuracy of the rendering by running the output text through the online translator again to translate it back into English. I did so before posting the two Chinese characters above. It's an even better idea to run the foreign language text through Google itself and see what comes up in the way of text and images. I generally only use Google Translate for translation from an unfamiliar language into English.
謝謝!
Your message made total sense and I'm blushing now! Hope my response makes sense too.
When translating from English into a foreign language using Google Translate, it's really worth checking the accuracy of the rendering by running the output text through the online translator again to translate it back into English. I did so before posting the two Chinese characters above. It's an even better idea to run the foreign language text through Google itself and see what comes up in the way of text and images. I generally only use Google Translate for translation from an unfamiliar language into English.
不客气
Yep, but compared to using a printed dictionary it's while still laborious, downright a piece of cake...
divinh
Contributor
I bought a new Canon-branded, Japanese-made underwater housing for a Canon G12 that leaked. It turned out that the housing was notorious for having excess mold lines in the manufacturing process that cause the rubber o-ring to not seal properly. I paid a premium for it, over the more "generic" Meikon-styled, Chinese-made housings. In contrast, I had bought a "Polaroid", most likely a Meikon based on the silicon grease tube supplied, for a Sony NEX-5 that worked right out-of-the-box.
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