We have a small box of around 70 non-functional Outernet products. They aren’t all completely dead, but many (most?) are. These have manufacturing defects. In most cases, it’s a matter of the LNA IC not being properly placed on the PCB pads. The E4000 dongles don’t have that problem; the tuner quality is just much less consistent than the R820T2, which is in the SDRx and Dreamcatcher.
I’m sure there are a lot of takers for this BOX-O-FUN, so I’d like for the community to decide who should get them. Ideally, it is someone who has the ability to repair the radios and the interest in then giving them to places that would make good use of them. But that’s all I’ll say about that. The decision-making is left completely to all of you.
I would send them to @Seasalt in the Philippines. He has some of my older devices and PATCH antennas and is setting up several missions in the jungle with Outernet terminals. I’m asking for him
I have been thinking about this Box of broken stuff.
The big issue is freight and import taxes. Airfreight is $6.50 a pound. I can have it sent by sea and that would cost $3.50 pound.
The other issue is what is in the box. I doubt there will be any CHIP or computers.
My feeling is
I am going to use the 2 Outernet units you gave me for Satellite data reception, education and enlightenment of people here in the Philippines.
You donated equipment will arrive in the Philippines in the next few days and I will organise a seminar workshop possibly with the Amateur Radio guys here in Bohol or Cebu.
I mean i’ll like a couple units. But if no other takers. lol
how about divided them into small lots. then multi-people could get a piece of it…
just my 2 cents
james
if it contains some of the alone tuner or one of the outer-net sdrs that would be fun to try to fix if i could get a few of those ill be happy to cover shipping for a few of those
That is great. Do you think the effort reward is worth bringing broken stuff. All the old (semi / non working) that I have brought to the Philippines has been a disappointment in lots of unforeseen ways. A lot of charities often send old computers etc here so It can actually be cheaper to buy a monitor or old computer second hand here rather than pay excess baggage on the aircraft and there is a chance you may have to pay exorbitant import duties.
Ken has given me some working stuff and I think I will use that for education.
If the stuff from Outernet is REPAIRABLE and you can get the parts then the guys who fix mobile phones at a component level down at the markets can fix it. but in my experience I have had to diagnose the problem and show them a device with a working component on it that that they can swap.
The deal here is usually 50 peso ($1) to do the remove and replace a faulty component with a heat gun. But the deal I have is 100 peso’s if it works and nothing if it fails. I had a blown 5 volt regulator on a CHIP computer fixed recently.
If you come to the Philippines and I am around I would love to work with you either on my community projects or your own.
If the box is still there I’m happy to pay the shipping. I’m in ny, long island have experience at repairing surface mount and the equipment for surface solder-desolder. Also I’m frequent at the local maker space where I can redistribute further.
