KiwiSDR production status and availability
This discussion was created from comments split from: Save money on another Kiwi or tell a friend [KiwiSDR is now available on massdrop.com $100 off MSRP].
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We're about to hit Chinese New Year / Spring Festival which shuts everything down for almost two weeks which doesn't help.
I was about to purchase a second one until i saw N8UR's comment.
The latest build was started with parts procurement on December 10 (I had known this). Seeed didn't specifically say so, but I know that the MLCC (capacitor) shortage problems are continuing to cause trouble within the industry. That plus the Chinese Spring Festival have pushed the schedule out a bit. But there is no fundamental long-term problem with Kiwi production.
I exchanged some nice emails with the Massdrop folks and we're going to try and add the aluminum enclosure as an orderable drop option in the future.
But remember that if you can't wait for the next drop the Kiwi is in-stock at distributors worldwide (except Seeed) as listed on the kiwisdr.com website (albeit without that sweet Massdrop discount).
Thanks for your understanding and patience about this.
But some indirect news. Mouser has been out of stock for some time. But as of this morning now shows 10 units available. And you can successfully add them to your shopping cart. So I have to believe they exist (Mouser is good about not showing stock unless it's actually orderable). I'm hoping this means there was a Kiwi production run and they are being delivered with distributors getting priority. The Seeed website still shows "no stock" however.
I've added a link on the kiwisdr.com page to Octopart, the distributor search engine.
Anyway, they are supposed to receive 350 parts tomorrow and hopefully production will resume shortly thereafter.
I must mention however that I am extremely grateful for Seeed's involvement with the Kiwi. Their production quality is top notch. And their efforts to develop the distributor network has helped the project tremendously.
But these questions came up because they have built another batch of Kiwis and are now testing them. So that is good news.
The Kiwi "board only" version is back in stock at Seeed (30+ units available). I hope the kit version will follow in a few days.
Mnnn could add another cape to my spare BBG(s), will have to see if mouser UK shows stock after the "11 on order".
But about 100 boards are in final test at Seeed. And many of the distributors indicate they expect stock to arrive by end of April / early May.
There were 100 units built about a month or so ago. We get telemetry from the factory when they are in final test.
But interestingly the double-digit number of kits and boards that were available at Mouser (USA) a few days ago are now completely gone. I know of one person who was about to place a large order, but I didn't think he was going to clean them all out! lol
The other problem is that the Seeed IT systems are famous for screwing up stock quotes and probably also things like EOL notification to distributors and their own support people (hence what you were told). Mouser showed the Kiwi as EOL sometime last year. I had to quickly straighten that out..
If Seeed starts up production again because the part becomes available at a reasonable price, or gets designed out of the product, the Kiwi will magically reappear on their website and available for distributors to order. And the previous "EOL" designation will have been totally improper. Perhaps this is why all the units, kits and boards, on Mouser were suddenly bought up. Someone who has been steadily buying over time (e.g. government agency) saw the EOL designation and thought "Gosh, I better make a lifetime buy of everything I can get my hands on". A "lifetime" buy is a term semiconductor manufacturers frequently use to warn customers well in advance of making a part EOL so they can stock up and not disrupt their own production plans.
Right now I am working with Seeed to understand exactly what the price increase has been and what the production situation is. We'll get through this, but it will take a little time.
I understand this could be a key component without any direct equivalents that could be substituted, so if the increase is due to that component no longer being made, and the available inventory drying up over time, this might continue, and eventually become unobtanium. It's unfortunate that components don't have the lifetime that they used to, something I've sadly observed since I became a EE back in the late 80s.
https://octopart.com/search?q=+LTC2248CUH#PBF
That part was $23 in any quantity you wanted for years and years. Now all of a sudden twice the price in small quantities? WTH?
One of the reasons I picked Linear Technology (LTC) for the ADC was their policy of non-obsolescence for their parts. But I never suspected they might be the target of a takeover by Analog Devices (AD). Sure, I'm grateful AD continued to produce the LTC parts. But to put a price squeeze on customers with no notice really sucks.
Seeed was apparently not aware that all the North American sources has been wiped out of stock. So they're going to see if a small manufacturing run can be organized sooner rather than later.
As a developer of SDR related software, I have quite a collection of SDRs (netSDR, SDR-14, AirSpy, AirSpyHF+, Airspy Discovery, several SDRPlay units, a few RTL dongles and probably something I am forgetting about) in addition to the KiwiSDR. But I have to say, for convenience, it is difficult to beat the KiwiSDR. No software to mess with. No drivers. I can use it all over the house from any computer or tablet. I can take my iPad outside and tweak an antenna and see what is happening in real time, no running in and out, in and out... etc).
Speaking of unobtanium parts... spare parts for appliances, like what I need for my 24 year old GE fridge. Which I spent 2 hours working on this afternoon. Oh well, now I will go outside and take out my frustration on some weeds.