KiwiSDR supplier

bensonbenson
edited February 2020 in Installation, Antennas and Interference
A recent lightning strike nearby took down took down my KiwiSDR plus 2 of the 3 active antennas that feed a combiner circuit. Even the AC mains circuit breaker tripped and various other electronics did not survive.

While looking for a new KiwiSDR board I came across a supplier not listed at kiwisdr.com that appears to sell the Kiwi board at almost half the regular price. The online shop link is: https://www.goxanhsale.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=50839

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this re-seller.

73 Ben

Comments

  • jksjks
    edited February 2020
    The domain "goxanhsale.com" was registered on January 15, 2020. Also note the complete lack of any location identifying information on their webpage, especially the "about us" page. The "follow us" links on their page to Twitter and YouTube don't go to their Twitter and YouTube pages, just the generic Twitter and YouTube front pages. Why is their listed contact email "service4@vinayotap.com" instead of using their own domain name? Etc, etc, etc.
    Caveat emptor. 
    > whois goxanhsale.com
   Domain Name: GOXANHSALE.COM
   Registry Domain ID: 2480412225_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
   Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.namesilo.com
   Registrar URL: http://www.namesilo.com
   Updated Date: 2020-01-18T07:38:31Z
   Creation Date: 2020-01-15T04:43:13Z
   Registry Expiry Date: 2021-01-15T04:43:13Z
   Registrar: NameSilo, LLC
   Registrar IANA ID: 1479
   Registrar Abuse Contact Email: abuse@namesilo.com
   Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.4805240066
   Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited
   Name Server: AITANA.NS.CLOUDFLARE.COM
   Name Server: WEST.NS.CLOUDFLARE.COM
   DNSSEC: unsigned
   URL of the ICANN Whois Inaccuracy Complaint Form: https://www.icann.org/wicf/
>>> Last update of whois database: 2020-02-09T05:55:26Z
  • jksjks
    edited February 2020
    The claimed manufacturer and/or supplier "Ziyun" has an interesting history. For a long time they've advertised the KiwiSDR board version (not the more complete "kit" version) on Amazon USA at 1.7x the MSRP from Seeed. I've always ignored them since their pricing was so ridiculously high. I've seen similar situations on some of the China sites. The listing is still active: https://www.amazon.com/ZIYUN-longwave-broadcast-transmissions-world-wide/dp/B074YYFN5G
  • bensonbenson
    So in the end it is probably best to purchase from the bonafide distributors and stay away from these unknown and questionable web re-sellers. This assures a good quality product, some form of warranty or return and last but not least a payment of royalties due to jks for his outstanding Kiwi project, which we all enjoy using so much.
  • PowernumptyPowernumpty
    That site reminds me of one I found accidentally.
    Imagine there was a site called fbuyer.com and then I stumbled on another called kbuyer.com with 1:1 graphics and products.
    I reported the duplicate to the first site and they were, A. unaware, B. Surprised that such a thorough scrape had occurred and was still presenting as a valid site ready to take payment.
    The site might be legitimate as everyone has to start at some time but I'd do some searches for product descriptions or other data, see where else the exact same wording is used.

    I just did a search with some words (an unusual long phrase then use search in quotes), I found a few other sites, hard to say at this stage if any are legit but I'd do more research before risking a penny.
  • jksjks
    I would worry that goxanhsale.com would take your money and then you'd never hear from them again and have no recourse.

    It's really unfortunate that drop.com (ex-Massdrop) isn't offering the Kiwi on periodic deep-discount anymore despite all the open requests. I assume it's due to the problems caused by the China tariffs.
  • PowernumptyPowernumpty
    Yes has all the signs of a scam.
    Google “All orders are treated with the utmost care to meet the needs. Our customers appreciate the importance of your purchase, “ and there are loads of other junk sites.
    Alternate "Please allow an additional 3-5 days for orders including printing and/or patches. While most lettering is held in stock" lots of .xyz domains (parked ready for rename?)

    Avoid.
  • ChrisSmolinskiChrisSmolinski
    edited February 2020
    Re Drop.com: I think many/most of the China tariffs have been dropped now, I have received emails from several of my electronic component vendors mentioning that. Of course now China has the coronavirus to deal with, so that throws another monkey wrench into it.

    I see they are out of stock at SEEED right now. AliExpress has someone selling just the KiwiSDR board and SD card, no CPU board, for $293.80, which is not a great deal. The coronavirus has to be wrecking havoc with AliExpress, I tried ordering a nanoVNA a week or two ago that was supposedly shipping from the USA, the order was cancelled. Although maybe that was a blessing, I understand a new version of the nanoVNA is under development.

    My Kiwi is often fully occupied, so I'd love to be able to put up a second or even a third for users. Plus I have a lot of antennas to choose from :)
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