SDRplay analogous to the "Salae" logic analyzer situation? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / rf-microwave

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 04, 2022, 08:02:30 pm
content: Many of us here remember when a US company put their label on an EZ-USB chip and tried to accuse makers who sold logic analyzers which used the affordable chip of piracy for using the reference design for the logic analyzer, because they wouldnt charge $150 for a $6.00 logic analyzer. Anyway at the time it was "dificult" to get a straight story out of anybody but the historical record was clear about one thing, the manufacturer had released the reference design for their chip and I think also sold a dev board which could be used to implement the questioned piece of hardware, So nobody was "copying" anybody. And one manufacturer was literally making a killing by selling a very inexpensive chip wrapped in a fancy looking chip, for a lot of money. A huge markup.I am wondering if something similar might be happening with the (expensive but innovative, SDR re-manufacturer SDRplay? Which might be better described as SDRPay(TM). Certainly the RTLChip which made it affordable to own an SDR, as they sold for as little as $6.00 online, perfectly legitimately, spawning an active aftermarket as vendors in the expensive countries bought these dongles, put their own labels on them and resold them for a lot more money. Some attempted successfully to customize and improve the base unit, but some didnt, instead trying to fall back on PR snazz.. instead of hardware. Is Something similar happening now in the state of England, now? Or not?While MSI 001 and 2500 chips seem to be available from chip sellers. (The chips seem to be legitimately sold.) we're being told not to buy the radios. But what are the competitive products selling for? Less.. But they have fewer "bits".The new radios seem to be sold as "MSI.sdr" "malachit" and MSI2500-MSI-001 SDR,SDRpay accuses them of counterfeiting them. copying their trademark. (IP) Maybe yes, maybe no? I think its a legal mess, if the chips were bought legitimately. Word is (from others) that the actual radios work decently- kind of. Is it legal? Or not? I'm sure SDRPay would like us not to, out of the kindness of their hearts, they offer them for four or more times as much. Are they worth that much more?Its my understanding that starting with the Uruguay Round negotiation, what amounts to a global grab of the future is in progress. If indeed the Western companies are getting everything they want as I have sometimes heard.. (things like patents and huge drug prices, like $15,000 a year to save the life of a person with HIV.; Much less, IF youare in a developing country, one that stays poor. ) and in exchange for drinking the IP KoolAid in its totality, the poor countries get the jobs..As many as they can handle, IF they are the cheapest bidders.. I cant see this ending well.But the fact ius, I am not very well informed about the electronics industry and I am biased on the jobs issue.. having seen that conflict from a US jobseekers perspective. Indded it seemed that the jobs had been stealthily promised away to foreign staffing firms.Slavery was very profitable too.. And also very difficult to end for that reason. The financial motive was a magnet pulling in the participants.. with its promise of dirty profits in the trade in human bodies. Is the kafala trade in the Middle East much different now? Well, its voluntary, so its legal.I know this post is likely to be controversial but what I suspect is that they are trying to have their cake and eat it too. But so is everybody else, without exception.Do they want SDRs to be out of reach of all but the retired aging male ham, with money (earned during the now gone salad days of the past when workers made decent wages) to burn? Its clear their marketing is trying to appeal to that market especially. And reflect an air of exclusivity? Snatch up that money while there is still some of it around, thats understandable.Correct me if I am wrong.

author: artag
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 04, 2022, 09:46:54 pm
content: Saleae may have used the same circuit as the ez-usb appnote, but they didn't try to stop anyone else selling it.They did, however, provide some truly excellent software to use it with. If the price I paid for their hardware helped pay for that work it was money well spent.I haven''t used anything except cheap DVB dongles for SDR. I have no doubt some people are adding a hefty margin for the service of checking whether a specific item uses the correct chip, and I am unimpressed by their business if they do that without contributing to the software base. But the cheap options are still there, and if you read the SDR documentation you won't get caught out.

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 04, 2022, 10:51:33 pm
content: I don't have any problem with people selling compatible SDRs for whatever they want.However, if other people dont tell the truth as I see it, for example, try to pass other products off as a branded unit, thats not good. I do have problems with the misrepresentations, when they make them.https://www.sdrplay.com/fakealert/Since the MSI chip is being sold openly I suspect just using it is not a crime in any way, despite what they say.The manufacturers of MSI HW are not concealing their identity. Unlike what the SDRplay site implies.One is made by Shenzhen TOMTOP Technology Co. Ltd. G-4 zone 5-/F No 1 exchange Square Huanan City, Pinghu Town Longgang District, Shenzhen. They have reps in the UK and Ireland. The SDRPlay web sites makes all kinds of insinuations which seem likely to be overstated.. given the fact that the chips are for sale normally, more than I can say for many other chips.None of the several MSI-based SDRs I have seen claim to be SDRPlay hardware. They do disclose they use the MSI chip. So what? Its for sale.

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 05, 2022, 12:25:04 am
content: Some of the people here went so over the top on the issue it seems as if they were trying to complain that cheap logic analyzers which used Pulseview (sigrok) were somehow illegal.And I was really annoyed by that.. because they were lying.What was wrong was using the saelae software - which hurt my eyes..