On 3/15/2023 10:05 AM, Ethan O'Toole via cctalk wrote:
If you posted your design as Open Source, someone else producing it
isn't a knockoff, it's the system working as intended.
-- Chris
I remember a talk by LadyADA of Adafruit at HOPE about starting a
company making open source hardware and success and all that. It's
easy if you have the marketing and big revenue stream, but eventually
people will copy the designs. Also there are cases where multiple
people have the same idea, I have projects that I started and didn't
finish but I bet if I look around someone else has made the same thing
and filled in the gaps.
My FLOSS experience has not been all bad. Many linux distributions
include tcpser or make it a package to install, and I have no doubt the
OSS nature of it influenced that. I've created lots of software that
others have forked, improved, and folded back in. I'm always appreciative.
The same has happened with hardware designs. And, if someone takes the
files, modifies the design for a different use case, I actually
appreciate that. One can only itch so many scratches at once, and
knowing that there are derived options for other use cases is a good
feeling.
Also, big HP versus USB logic analyzer. I had one of those old HP
logic analyzers a while ago and it was really slow. Way easier to use
the USB ones when it comes to portability and software speed. Plus
easier to store captures, share data without a GPIB plotter, etc.
I'll agree the HP is not my first go to when I want to debug something.
But, I found I had two distinct LA needs. One was a spot or low
quantity need, where 8-32 channels provided plenty of capability and
simple triggers were fine (watch for a falling edge, etc.) But, the
other was 40-80 lines (full address and data busses for multiple busses,
along with control signals) and complex triggering was needed (start
tracing when address1 = $dfea and address2 = $00ea, etc, R/W low, Phi2
high, DMA low, the second time this occurs). At least when I checked,
USB options providing those features were far out of my price range.
But, take nothing I've said as dissing the USB options. I literally
have a unit in my carry on bag, along with some leads, since you never
know when a bit of LA access will quickly help someone.
It's the same with the scope situation (well, in my case, it's
backwards). I *love* my Tek2465 and I'm jsut so comfy firing it up and
scoping a signal of interest. But, it's not portable, so it stays on
the bench. I bought a Siglent1202 when they were too cheap to pass up
(at Hamvention a few years back, show special), and it offers a lot of
cool features the 2465 doesn't offer. It's also more portable. And,
recently the Hantek 1070A was on sale at too good a price to pass up, so
I picked one up. Hantek is awesome ti throw in the box for shows, in
case someone needs a scope. Siglent sits on the bench and is used for
capturing glitches and such, and the Tek is my comfy scope I use
otherwise. Thus, I trend to use the old school option, but I have the
newer tech available since it offers advantages in some cases. That
said, I may sell teh Siglent/Hantek combo and look for a 200MHz dual
channel USB scope with a built in screen (requiring a PC to read the
trace is not always best use)
Jim
