Re: [Discuss-gnuradio] Re: A Humble Request....for allowing to copy Circuit into PCB

[Marten Christophe]

Hello All,

I have something to show the project which was community developed and
sold in 450$ even though
when it was in prototyping phase and FPGA Atera Cylone used to be so
costly that time coz it was not
matured that time.  USRP has been sold in $450 ,  how one can claim
proprietorship on a product which was  develop as open sourced
hardware  project. many of people have contributed to it on Mr. Ettus
alone.. he ought to bring its price to nominal and reasonable at least
for students when he is producing it in bulk.

I alone Estimated its costing on DIGI key and other sites for parts
and PCB sourcing and all
it not exceeding $200 and he is www.ettus.com claiming $150 for
handling n  shipping alone.
so outside US it would be around $1000.  my apologies  if i used harsh words.

Below old mails from Mr. Ettus

Kind regards,
=====Q=======
http://ftp.sunet.se/geda/mailinglist/geda-user25/msg00049.html
=====UQ======

To: geda-user-atMUNGEDseul_dot_org
Subject: gEDA-user: The USRP is for sale
From: Matt Ettus <boyscout-atMUNGEDgmail_dot_com>
Date: Sun, 26 Dec 2004 21:04:00 -0800
Delivery-Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2004 00:04:06 -0500
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) is a completely free
design, which is now complete and going on sale.  I used gEDA for all
schematics, PCB for the daughterboard layouts, and Icarus for all my
simulation of FPGA code.

I know a lot of people on this list have asked about the USRP in the
past, so here is the official announcement:

===============================================================


        Ettus Research LLC is pleased to announce that the USRP in now
available for purchase!  Shipment will begin in the first half of
January.  For more detailed info on the USRP, check out:

http://www.ettus.com
http://comsec.com/wiki?UniversalSoftwareRadioPeripheral
http://gnu.org/software/gnuradio/

        The USRP motherboard is US$450, and includes a USB cable and power
supply.  The supply is a universal switching type which works on
90-260 VAC, 50/60 Hz, so it will work internationally with a US-type
plug converter.

        The BasicRX and BasicTX daughterboards are also available, for US$50
each.  These boards are perfect for operation with an external RF
frontend, or for prototyping your own.  Each board provides a pair of
SMA connectors for IF signals (either two independent signals or one
IQ signal), and headers for access to 16 general purpose digital IOs
per board, as well as the I2C and SPI buses, and 4 low-speed DAC
outputs and 2 low-speed ADC inputs.

        Each USRP can accommodate 2 Basic RX boards AND 2 BasicTX boards.  A
simple receive only system would require one BasicRX board.  A basic
transceiver would require one BasicRX and one BasicTX.  A complete
system (2 of each) is recommended if you plan to do any multi-antenna
systems or custom development of code for the FPGA.

        Additional daughterboards will be available in the next few months.

        Ordering information can be found at http://www.ettus.com


        Payment is only by check or money order at this time.  A secured
website to accept credit card orders will be online at some point in
the future.  Orders will be shipped in the order received.  Checks
will not be cashed until your unit is ready to ship.  California
residents will need to add 8.25% to the price (not including
shipping).

        To place an order, fill out the form below, email it to
address@hidden, and then print it out, and mail it along with a check
or Money Order to:

        Ettus Research LLC
        604 Mariposa Avenue
        Mountain View, CA 94041

        If you need a formal quote, need to get an exact shipping cost for
non-US orders, are interested in purchasing more than 5 USRPs, or if
you have any further questions, please send email to address@hidden

                Order Form

Name:


Ship to Address:



Item                    Per Unit        Qty             Price
USRPs                   $450            
BasicRX         $50
BasicTX         $50

Sales Tax (California addresses only)  +8.25%   

Shipping and handling ($25 in US)

                                        Total


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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On Sun, Jan 9, 2011 at 4:48 AM, Brian Padalino <address@hidden> wrote:
> Hi Marten,
>
> On Sat, Jan 8, 2011 at 6:39 PM, Marten Christophe <address@hidden> wrote:
>> Hello Mr. Ettus,
>> Do you have any plan to reduce price for USRP1 or release PCB layout for
>> poor students?
>
> So I have a feeling your requests are going to go unanswered, and I
> don't blame the deaf ears one bit.
>
> Here starts some guidance, maybe a little ranting, but try to take
> from it some good direction as to where students should go and take
> their want and desire for hardware.
>
> The metaphor of a dog chasing a car really stands firm in this case.
> Once the dog catches the car, or the student acquires a USRP, what are
> they going to do with it?  In both cases, I predict - nothing!
>
> So lets figure out something that is worth while for you to do -
> simulate something.  Simulate anything!  There is a channel simulator
> built into GNU Radio.  Use it.  Get familiar with it.  Familiarize
> yourself with channels of varying types.  If you can't get that
> channel simulator to work, make your own!  Prove it accurately
> simulates different channels.  Understand frequency offset,
> synchronization problems, non-coherent and coherent reception, dynamic
> range, multipath, equalization, forward error correction, etc.
>
> What you seem to not realize or understand is that the GNU Radio
> software that you can compile and putz around with is worth
> significantly more to you than any piece of hardware that will capture
> or create EM radiation.
>
> I implore you, as a student, to write papers using GNU Radio, create
> and simulate systems using GNU Radio, and get your BER curves where
> you think they should be using GNU Radio.  When you accomplish that,
> then maybe you could ask someone for some hardware to perform
> experiments and see how your system works in the real world versus
> your simulation.  Do the models match?  Where do they differ?  Are you
> on your way to becoming a communications expert?
>
> I believe, wholeheartedly, that if you showed this level of drive,
> understanding and expertise, you could probably find someone to either
> front the money to buy you a system for you to continue your work or
> gladly donate something to you.  But until you can figure out what
> you're going to do with the car after you catch it and show you are
> competent, I doubt this line of questioning will be any better than
> interrogating a brick wall.
>
> My sincerest apologies if this comes off as crass or rude, but I
> honestly tried to be motivating and give direction.
>
> Good luck with your endeavors.
>
> Brian
>