Just saw this on e-bay: Transmitter (Sort Of).
It's not really a transmitter or even a kit. Basically, it's instructions plus a PCB board and a few other bits to supposedly build an SSTRAN 3000 - like transmitter. You order parts from a third party, and build it yourself.
Interesting concept. They make a lot of claims, but claims are just words.
And these guys really have some nerve, essentially admitting that they copied the SSTran design, and made some improvements.
I think this is the same guy (or guys) that was referenced over at that other Forum in discussing a new transmitter a while ago. The transmitter never materialized, and now this. It's interesting that that other Forum never had a good word to say about SSTran, and yet they sung the praises of this clone, sight unseen.
If I was going to purchase an AM transmitter kit, there are others on the market that I'd feel much more comfortable with (and that have support).
Read the info., notice the 200ft distance is mentioned again?
They are just giving you instructions and a board and parts list and saying go buy the parts yourself and it meets the FCC kit section of not being a "marketed kit" and the onus is on the builder for compliance. Kind of getting it from a hobby magazine. Maybe if certification wasn't so expensive and hard to do they would just get it approved. They really try to sell it by saying everything on ebay is illegal and it my be so, so why doesn't the FCC go after Ebay for having sellers selling illegal transmitters on their site?
I agree with Artisan about no support but then it would be seen as a marketed kit.
There's nothing illegal about copying another design if there is no active patent or the company is not in business.
He says if this is completed as per instructions it will be better than "any other" transmitter on the market? I don't think so. And no support if not working right? You may have wasted all the time and money for nothing.
Myself I stay away from any kit form of transmitter. I just prefer a FCC type certified built transmitter.
I remember that DT6000 was the number used by hobbycaster over a long period of time as they promoted the future release of this odd-ball. There is no way to calculate the final price until all of the third-party parts are figured in. And it is nebulous that they indicate the DT6000 is an 'improvement' of an SSTran kit, I haven't figured out which kit: the AMT3000 or AMT5000. But they also claim not to be associated with SSTran. Artisan has a good point: After the long-lasting bashing and put-down of SSTran that got posted by hobbycast how is this kit so glorious by comparison. Oh, scroll through the images and take the religious propaganda side trip. Bizzare.
The first time I looked at this eBay posting I missed the lengthy info section which answers some of my questions. Maybe this is the work of genius. It will be interesting to see where it all go's.
There are a number of things that concern me about the transmitter, and the listing.
They do not offer any support at all (that's explicitly stated) and no returns.
It's one thing to build something in your spare time, for your own use, and eventually get it working. It's quite another to package everything up and make it a product that will consistently work. I wouldn't want to be a guinea pig, particularly since, and I'll say it once again, they offer absolutely no support, and therefore no warranty.
Compare that to the Sean Cuthbert kit, which has excellent reviews (see Jay Allen's blog), and supplies everything, including stellar support (he will fix your transmitter for free if it doesn't work). It doesn't cost all that much more, relatively speaking. I guess it depends on how much you value your time in sourcing and obtaining all the parts; even if you factor your time as $0, I suspect there's not that much of a difference between the end costs when all is said and done.
It's also difficult to tell if these guy(s) have violated any copyrights or trademarks or patents with this thing. Even though SSTran is gone, the owner would still have copyright protection at the very least on schematics and other documentation. Just like authors with books, or artists with music, that protection is automatically assigned and you don't have to do anything to get it. You can't copyright ideas, however, so it would depend on how closely the DT6000 manufacturer (and I use that term loosely) followed the SSTran 3000 or 5000 design, and what they did to get it.
I do agree with @wefr and @mark that buying a certified transmitter is the preferred way to go for most people. But if what you want can't be purchased that way, or you enjoy putting things together, there's nothing wrong with a kit or a roll-your-own transmitter. The FCC explicitly allows homemade transmitters in the U.S., and kits have traditionally fallen into that category. Canada used to have identical language in the rules for RSS210, allowing up to 5 homemade transmitters. The last time I looked, I couldn't find it, but I have yet to mount an exhaustive search, or even ask ISED (Industry Canada). I'm reluctant to do the latter, as there are few agents that know anything at all about RSS210 or BETS; they focus on where the money comes from (i.e., licensed stations).
I once asked ISED(Canada) about this and spoke to someone personally and sent an email and specifically mentioned Sean Cuthbert with a link for an example and was told no. But as Artisan mentioned the person most likely didn't know. Also technically Sean cuthbert isn't designing these for his own use which the FCC permits. He is selling them which according the FCC wording(non marketed) it's a grey area but the onus is on the end builder to comply not on the designer that says compliant. ISED just read me the riot act and said no certification no use.
The email said it could be used without certification for "experimental purposes" like if you are the designer and need to test it.
In Canada unless the wording about kits can be found, to be safe we have to stick with a certified marketed transmitter.
The maker of the DT 6000 is getting around the "not marketed" wording in the FCC by not supplying the parts or offering support and giving you the list of what you need so you get them yourself. He also doesn't have to be considered a manufacturer and running a business and have to pay tax.
Oh yeah, the on the phone person asked what I wanted to use this for and I said the AM band and he said oh no!, that's a broadcast band, you can't go there!
So how do you ask someone at ISED and get to someone who knows? I mentioned the FCC and was told the FCC is not Canada.
Artisan.....wish you could find this somewhere!
In his long Info Section the maker of the DT6000 says:
COMPLETE TRANSMITTER DETAILS AND INFORMATION, INCLUDING THE BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS, PARTS LISTS, AND STL FILES MAY BE FOUND ON GITHUB BY SEARCHING DT6000 SEE IF IT IS RIGHT FOR YOU BEFORE PURCHASING ANYTHING.
I tried to see it on GITHUB but cannot figure out how to use GITHUB. I would like to see the schematic.
Mark, I finally determined where I saw the info about homemade devices in the RSS documents.
It was in Section 2.9 of the DRAFT RSS-Gen Issue 5. Unfortunately, that section never made it to the final document. Instead, 2.9 is a link to a special authorization procedure for devices that aren't certified. Unfortunately, that process is so tedious (including public consultation, believe it or not) that it's not worth going through it for our purposes - they're ignoring the small guys, i.e., us, deliberately or not.
The fact that they were considering putting such a section in is interesting, though. In it, they did attempt to specifically exclude kits, but the definition of a kit is so vague that I wouldn't have worried about it, even if building what is generally considered one. If you have enough technical savvy to put together a device, from your instructions or others, you have enough knowledge to ensure that you meet the RSS-210 AM rules.
@carl-blare, just go to github.com, and do a search for DT6000 in the search bar (upper right). You'll find a lot of documentation. I didn't look at it, but there is an intriguing document called AMT3000.pdf, which might be your schematics. The legality of it and some other stuff there is questionable, as I don't think it's in the public domain.
@artisan-radio I just looked up RSS gen issue 5 and 2.9 and saw.......the answer....no kits in Canada legally.
Sean Cuthbert in Canada? No! SStran no! Dt6000 no! Bottom line is ISED needs third party stamp of approval(lab) for ANY transmitter to be used. Kit, self designed, whatever.
But canakit is selling transmitters in kit form and assembled in a case as we speak! For educational purposes. Go figure! Canakit is based in Canada in Vancouver.
@mark The way I look at it is as follows.
The difference between a homemade transmitter and a kit is minimal, if anything. Your instructions, someone else's instructions, what's the difference? So attempting to exclude kits (which they tried to do) while including homemade devices is meaningless. I can see them wanting to stop large scale manufacturing of kits without certification, but a few guys in their basement selling parts and instructions for experimentation purposes? Give me a break.
Industry Canada was apparently willing to include homemade devices in an exemption to certification in a draft RSS-Gen. The licensed stations probably objected to this, as they generally do to all unlicensed activity (legal or not).
Instead, they included an onerous section on obtaining approval to use an uncertified device, which includes, believe it or not, public consultation. Appropriate if you're a commercial, or even a non-commercial, licensed broadcaster, but it kills the little guy experimenter.
The intent of the rules is to stop interference with licensed (and paying) stations. If you're savvy enough to build a homemade device, or even a kit, then you're savvy enough to ensure that whatever you build meets the technical requirements, and that you don't interfere with anybody else.
The fact that Canakit has sold, and continues to sell, transmitter kits says something. They've been around for a long time.
@artisan-radio Mr. Artisan Radio says: "just go to github.com, and do a search for DT6000 in the search bar (upper right). You'll find a lot of documentation. I didn't look at it, but there is an intriguing document called AMT3000.pdf, which might be your schematics. The legality of it and some other stuff there is questionable, as I don't think it's in the public domain."
Well, I have done what you describe, but can't get anything to download.
@carl-blare question is, was it patented in the first place, if the person the had the patent is not in business, or passed away, is a patent still in force?
Also, If someone else like the makers of the DT6000 "copy" but do some alterations so now it's not an exact copy does that now not violate a patent?