[time-nuts] eBay GPS antenna test.

[Bob kb8tq]

Hi


> On Feb 13, 2018, at 12:06 PM, Clint Jay <cjaysharp at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Agreed but stock numbers on boxes and packets  are usually Arabic numerals
> or a barcode. It's also possible the seller used a stock image which can be
> copied and pasted into Google web search to track down the maker or at
> least a distributor who has data.

The seller did post a number of images for the part that was listed. The gotcha is
that the part that arrived is not labeled the same way as the part that was listed.
Since the device also has issues, the big question is if it has any connection to
the part in the listing at all. 

The seller seems to have been doing GPS stuff for a while. He also has a very
good approval rating. My guess is: this isn’t the first time he’s seen a bump in 
the road. I’d bet he’s got the ability to check this and that out to see what is what. 
The seller *does* matter when you buy this stuff. That’s true no matter what you
are getting. No matter how good they are, problems do come up. The question
is always how well they address them. We tend to dump pretty hard on these 
guys. I’m not sure that’s always warrantied. 

Bob

> 
> On 13 Feb 2018 16:18, "Bob kb8tq" <kb8tq at n1k.org> wrote:
> 
>> Hi
>> 
>> That can be a bit harder if the labels are all in Chinese. Maybe posting
>> pictures of the label? That way those (not I) who can read Chinese might
>> spot something that allows a search to proceed.
>> 
>> Bob
>> 
>>> On Feb 13, 2018, at 11:06 AM, Clint Jay <cjaysharp at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Sounds like a drop shipping operation, they've found a supplier in China
>>> who is willing to send goods either in plain wrapping without any
>> supplier
>>> name or the name of the agent who's selling it. It can be useful to
>> Google
>>> anything that looks like a part number on the packaging, you'll often
>> find
>>> the main wholesaler or even the manufacturer.
>>> 
>>> On 13 Feb 2018 15:48, "John Green" <wpxs472 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Bob wrote:  Sitting here casually reading the data sheets for some of
>> the
>>>> modern Trimble
>>>> survey receivers - they have gone to 7.2V (just below your 7.5V trigger
>>>> point)
>>>> as an antenna supply voltage.
>>>> 
>>>> Who knows what that might imply relative to this antenna.
>>>> 
>>>> After getting my refund, I sent the seller a message saying that I would
>>>> buy another if he could assure me it would work at 12 volts. He replied
>>>> that he needed to get his hands on a couple and do some testing first.
>> The
>>>> antenna that I received seems to be different to the one pictured in the
>>>> eBay listing. At least the labels are different. I get the feeling he is
>>>> kind of a third party dealing with someone in China who is wholesaling
>>>> antennas made by someone else. Who really knows what spec. these are
>> made
>>>> to, or by who. In my former place of employment, we made an SMB
>> terminator.
>>>> Basically, a 75 ohm resistor soldered across the pins of an SMB
>> connector,
>>>> then molded in black plastic. We bought the connectors from a Chinese
>>>> supplier who supplied them in individual plastic bags. We had to cut the
>>>> parts out of the bags before processing, which added a labor step. We
>> tried
>>>> to get the supplier to sell them to us packaged in bulk, but they
>> refused.
>>>> We decided that they were actually buying them from someone else and
>> just
>>>> doing a passthru. The connectors themselves would change from time to
>> time,
>>>> which caused problems in molding, and sometimes caused the electrical
>>>> performance to degrade. Getting parts to reliably meet a specification
>> from
>>>> China can be a problem. I can't even imagine the issues that could arise
>>>> when you try to source an assembly, or completed product.
>>>> 
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