What an impressing radio the KiwiSDR really is.
I bought my first KiwiSDR in the autumn of 2016. It has been on 24 hours all days and years since. That is over 70000 hours without any problems. It has been an amazing journey with a constructor that really stands behind his product. The continuous evolution of the firmware is itself impressive enough. I have many radios after 50 years as a licensed ham radio operator. KiwiSDR is by far one of my best investments ever. Many many thanks John. 73 de Hans LA9LT
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Thanks.
Unfortunately things are not good on our end. And haven't been for a long time. So it's always nice to get a positive message every so often.
I have to agree with Hans: every day I'm impressed anew with how well this radio does it's job. And beyond! I didn't know half the things it could do until I owned one and saw all the extensions and how to use them. Best utility receiver of all time, hands down. Man I'm grateful this exists.
Bruce KF7K https://kiwi.kf7k.com
I agree. I love my Kiwi. I havent had it for too long, however have learnt a lot already, and use it just about every day.
There is always something to tweak, change or, buy..... sorry credit card.
I have said this before, but I consider the KiWi to probably be the best radio hobby related purchases I've ever made, and it has reinvigorated my interest in Short Wave listening, and utility monitoring.
Nearly every week I discover something new, or an enhancement that John has implemented. Which is in stark contrast to other developers, who often immediately dismiss legitimate requests from users and admins.
The TDoA function is a stand-out feature, that has made an otherwise difficult aspect of the hobby, IDing the location of unknown transmitters, become relatively straightforward.
I have recently swapped out my computer monitor from the 22" model I was using, to a repurposed 44" 4K TV, and it's a game changer. Being able to see a vast swathe of spectrum, in relative HD, is superb, and makes spotting unusual signals, or patterns of signals, very easy.
My sincere thanks to John for continuing to support the KiWi, despite the extremely difficult trading environment, and to all the others who have contributed in some way, it is much appreciated.
Regards,
Martin
Although I should add that despite Martin's well-chosen words "extremely difficult trading environment" we still have some cool stuff in the pipeline. We haven't given up.
What an impressing radio the KiwiSDR really is.
https://forum.kiwisdr.com/index.php?p=/discussion/comment/20551#Comment_20551Well, except that's not happening anymore. For whatever reason (and there are many).
And that makes it tough justifying major financial and time commitments to future projects when the likely uptake is now very uncertain.
What an impressing radio the KiwiSDR really is.
https://forum.kiwisdr.com/index.php?p=/discussion/comment/20555#Comment_20555Well - that sucks........
Would you consider making those projects available, like from JLCPCB or PCBWay? (assuming they are electronic in nature)
Any hints as to what kinds of projects they are?
I could probably get your products up on our need a nerd website to help with some local exposure
The key element of the KiWi is the software and after sales support that John provides free of charge, which unfortunately has been utilised by various competitors, to produce and sell "cheaper" products.
This undercutting erodes John's profit margins still further, and is basically what has contributed to the current situation.
There is a difference between publishing "hobby" type projects to share with the radio community, vs. trying to run a commercial enterprise, where hopefully you can generate some income, from what many would consider to be an excessive amount of work, for only minimal returns.
By proposing that John gives away his hardware designs for free, and not having any direct income from those sales, it would simply make it impossible to finance any support or future development.
Regards,
Martin
What an impressing radio the KiwiSDR really is.
https://forum.kiwisdr.com/index.php?p=/discussion/comment/20558#Comment_20558Apologies, my hands typed before my brain stopped farting - while only halfway through my first coffee of the morning - like now - will I never learn?
Regarding giving away hardware designs, was in response to "Well, except that's not happening anymore. For whatever reason (and there are many)"
More over (I haven't checked) a marketplace to sell the boards from those places could also be an option?
The intention here is to at the very least have some good from what appears to be a rough situation :-(
When I bought my first KiwiSDR it was important for me to do several measurements and temperature readings on some critical components. All those measurements gave me no concerns about having the KiwiSDR running 24H year around for many years. Later I bought the aluminum casings from Seed, the fans did not last more than a year but ball bearing replacements has worked well for years now. I do not think the fans really are needed though.
When I made my first posting in this thread I was not aware of competing products with similarities to the KiwiSDR receiver. I had to educate myself.
One of the competitors seems to need a massive fan to keep things cooled, an after market fan solution is highly recommended by one supplier. See photo. I am not convinced that you can rely on many years of trouble free use from that receiver.
And most important, why would I buy a receiver from an Aliexpress vendor without any real product support ?
Agree! I was one of the first to purchase the KiwiSDR 2, and it has been rock-solid ever since. One of the best products I've spent my hard-earned money on.
I've had a KiwiSDR running 24/7 since 2020, installed in a non-climate controlled shed in my backyard. Seeing temperatures well below 0°F (-20°C) in the winter to as high as 110°F (45°C) in the summer. It's been trouble free ever since. I use it almost every day, even often during the day to listen to the local news-talk and music stations. For MW DXing, it's the most sensitive receiver I've owned to date. I know other MW DXers who have said the KiwiSDR easily holds its own in performance when compared to other much more expensive SDRs such as the Perseus. Being able to open my receiver on my phone and watch the waterfall while adjusting the antenna, or DX while laying in bed, or poke around the bands while away from home is a whole other level of cool.
The global network of public Kiwis is really damn cool too. Seeing what the bands look like in other parts of the world. They're also very useful for tracking down and IDing an extra weak signal I'm hearing that I otherwise wouldn't have been able to make out an ID on here.