[time-nuts] Fw: Different Thunderbolt versions

Stanley Reynolds stanley_reynolds at yahoo.com
Sun Feb 22 01:57:50 UTC 2009





----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Stanley Reynolds <stanley_reynolds at yahoo.com>
To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement <time-nuts at febo.com>
Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2009 7:48:06 PM
Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Different Thunderbolt versions







________________________________
From: Dave M <masondg44 at comcast.net>
To: time-nuts at febo.com
Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2009 7:13:09 PM
Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Different Thunderbolt versions

I currently have an HP Z3801A, which seems to be running well.  I've been looking at the T-Bolts on Ebay for a while, but have been holding off buying.  This post just gave me an opportunity to ask some questions.

I've seen references to the TAPR group buy in previous posts.  It obviously happened before I found this group, but am interested in the details.  
Things like: 
When did the buy happen?
Which model T-Bolt was bought?
What was the price?
Was PSU included?
Are any units still available?
Is another buy planned for the near future?
<snip>

Probably best to contact Tom Van Baak direct at tvb at LeapSecond.com

C/P of some past posts: 

[time-nuts] Thunderbolt Group Buy, part 1...
 Tom Van Baak <tvb at LeapSecond.com>
 Tom Van Baak <tvb at LeapSecond.com>...AddMonday, May 5, 2008 4:55:21 AM
To:Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement <time-nuts at febo.com>
BACKGROUND:

About a year ago, when surplus Thunderbolt GPS receivers
first appeared on eBay, several of us pursued the idea of
a time-nuts group buy. We kept it fairly quiet at the time
while we probed the source, verified actual performance,
and negotiated quantity & pricing.

Recall that the first Thunderbolts on eBay fetched prices
on the order of $300 (I know, I bought the first one).
Later the price floated down to the $200 level. Even this
price seemed like a good deal for such a name-brand GPSDO.
These almost new unused Thunderbolts are quite nice; with
performance much better than shown on Trimble's web site.

Last year about 50 of you put in "pre-orders" for a total
of about 80 units. With that leverage we negotiated a
deal with the original California supplier.

THE DEAL:

I'm very pleased to announce that TAPR is going to stock
these Thunderbolts for us and handle ordering and payment
issues. Note that TAPR is non-profit and our time-nuts
list has a non-commercial, amateur and hobby focus. So
you will get these Thunderbolts at cost.

The group price is just $115 each. You get a Trimble
Thunderbolt AND a nice universal AC input +5/+12/-12
volt DC power supply AND the mating 6-pin DC Molex
power connector AND a BNC-F antenna adapter.

I will advise you when the official TAPR.org Thunderbolt
ordering web page is ready.

For an example of what you will receive, see:
http://www.leapsecond.com/pages/tapr-tbolt/

ORDERING:

1) Those of you who "pre-ordered" last year will get
   email this week with instructions on how to submit
   payment for the Thunderbolt(s) you previously said
   you would like to buy.

2) Those of you newcomers to Time-Nuts should expect
   to wait until the first batch has been shipped and
   TAPR is ready for you. There should be enough for
   everyone; so don't panic.

Flat rate shipping will be about $9 (US), $23 (Canada),
or $37 (international). Same shipping for 1, 2, or 3
units per box, I'm told.

I hope you agree the wait was worth it. Whether it's
your first Thunderbolt or not -- this is an amazing deal
for any of us. A lot of work went into making it happen.

/tvb

[time-nuts] Thunderbolt Group Buy, part 3...
 Tom Van Baak <tvb at LeapSecond.com>
 Tom Van Baak <tvb at LeapSecond.com>...AddTo:
Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement <time-nuts at febo.com>
Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement <time-nuts at febo.co
Thunderbolt group buy: MORE kits and NEW price.

Recently, TAPR completed all outstanding orders of Trimble
ThunderBolt GPS receiver + AULT power supply kits. Those
of you who ordered should have received yours by now. Since
the stock of both TBolts and power supplies was limited, some
of you missed the opportunity to place an order or to order
a second unit. Now is your chance.

The good news is that the telecom salvage firm found more
TBolts for us and today TAPR is again accepting orders. In
case you're wondering, these are not coming from China.

The bad news is we can't find a replacement vendor for those
nice AULT power supplies. So we decided to offer this batch
of TBolt's without a power supply (but you still get antenna
and DC connectors, as before).

There's enough information out there on compatible +5 +/-12 V
power supplies that this shouldn't be a big problem (see FAQ).
And it will also reduce costs -- those power supplies had to
ship from Asia to All Electronics to me to TAPR to you.

Group buy description (updated, please read):
http://www.leapsecond.com/pages/tapr-tbolt

TAPR order page (see adjusted price):
http://www.tapr.org/kits_thunder.html

ThunderBolt FAQ:
http://www.leapsecond.com/tbolt-faq.htm

Please email specific questions directly to me rather than
bother the whole time-nuts group.

Thanks,
/tvb
tvb at LeapSecond.com


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