Brian,
The radio and transponder are, as is the gyro, German made. They are from a company called Funkwerk. The only thing I don't like about the radio is that it does not allow you to monitor two channels at once (used to a Garmin radio that allows me to monitor 121.5...a must while flying in the Washington, DC area). The radio has 9 memory channels you can pre-progam but it does not allow you to put who the frequency belongs to (CTAF, Tower, Ground, AWOS etc.). I have solved the problem with typing up a list of what the memory channel belongs to... Mem 1 = KESN WX etc. It is hard to turn the memory switch with heavy gloves but i have ordered some glomits (combination of mittens and gloves) that should allow me the ability to better change channels and work the Garmin 496.
Mike