Re: [Discuss-gnuradio] On Starving Students

[Jeff Brower]

To the students:

Suggest that you give Matt your Professor/Advisor contact info, and also get 
your Prof to send a note to Matt on your
behalf.

Bringing your Prof into the dialog is a good idea for several reasons.  For 
example, there might be an opportunity to
set up an instructional lab or otherwise help other students, not just you.  
And it's always more impressive if there
is a group of students asking, not just one.  Team efforts are more likely to 
produce results.

BTW, this is how we handle it at my company.  Students have to explain what 
they're doing and why, and get a faculty
member to vouch for them and their work (i.e. a faculty member who is 
searchable on the Univ web site).  It has worked
for many years with DSP boards.

-Jeff

> Dear List,
>
> This is the GNU Radio mailing list, and its purpose is to discuss the
> use and development of GNU Radio.  I try to refrain from talking about
> our business out of respect for the purpose of this list and the
> community.  However, due to the tenor of the recent conversation, I feel
> that I must say a few things.
>
> GNU Radio can be and is used with _many_ different hardware devices, not
> just those of our company.  Some of those are completely different from
> the USRP, some emulate the USRP, some are  based on the USRP design to a
> greater or lesser degree, and some are complete clones of it.  Some cost
> less, most cost more.  To my knowledge none of them  other than the SSRP
> actually give out schematics or other technical details, but that is the
> choice of those designers/companies.
>
> You have the freedom to use or not use any of these, or even to make
> your own.  If you wish to make your own in a collaborative manner, I
> think the GNU Radio mailing list is the perfect place to find like
> minded people to work with, and I would encourage you to use it as such.
>   There are a lot of intelligent people here with a lot of experience to
> draw upon.
>
> At Ettus Research we get daily requests from students (and people
> falsely claiming to be students) all over the world for free or
> nearly-free hardware.  Most (but not all) of them are at least a bit
> more courteous than the outright demands we have been receiving for the
> last 2 months from the multiple people who go by the name "Marten
> Christophe".  If we were to accede to all of these requests/demands we
> would be sending out more free USRPs than paid ones.
>
> Very early on, I fell for this trick.  I sent nearly-free hardware to
> several so-called starving students.  Most of those boards were sold on
> eBay at a profit.  The rest, to my knowledge, were never even turned on
> and the "students" disappeared.
>
> I have always found a way to get hardware to those students who actually
> contribute to the GNU Radio or OpenBTS projects and demonstrate
> competency and a willingness to collaborate.  I fully intend to continue
> to do so.  I will not send out free hardware to someone who just shows
> up and demands it under a fake name.
>
> If you feel that our prices are too high, then I would encourage you to
> make your own hardware.  If you think you are a starving student now,
> wait until you try to sell USRPs for $450.
>
> Matt Ettus
> President, Ettus Research LLC
>
>
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