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FUNcube Dongle on eBay: Going, going…
30 March 2011 | by 
Are you trying to get your hands on one of those coveted FUNcube Dongle SDRs? Well, it looks like a healthy used market is already emerging on eBay. This seller started the bidding off at $175 — just about what he (or she) paid for it. But with only about 8 5 3 1 hour left to go, there are 4 7 9 10 bids and it’s already up to $217.58 $228.75 $255.51 $270.55! How high will it go? I’d argue that it’s still a terrific value even if it were priced higher.
A tidy little profit and surely a sign that demand for these little gems exceeds supply. There is big opportunity here. Hopefully Howard G6LVB and the good folks at FUNcube will be able to ramp up to meet this demand soon.
What about a US-based distributor? Would the dongle have to be type-accepted to be sold/marketed in the US? Maybe someone with more experience with these this could chime in….
2 Responses to “FUNcube Dongle on eBay: Going, going…”
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It’s a receiver, why would it need to be type accepted? Am I missing something here?
I’ve asked Howard several times about a US distributor but he’s not really open to the idea, at least at this time.
I’d like to see a US design that also did HF and 6m instead. There are tuner chips like the Scottish one the FCD that can cover that range in addition to the European TV frequencies that the FCD does. Hopefully a tuner that isn’t under a NDA so that we could have an open-source project!
It would also be a great idea to make an exciter. But then again it wouldn’t probably be in that “memory stick” form factor either.
But then again, if it weren’t in that form factor the front end filtering could be on the actual device and not have “as broad as a barn door” receiving as the FCD does.
Once the WOW! factor wears off the FCD won’t be nearly as hot of an item. If you want one, I’d wait..
“It’s a receiver, why would it need to be type accepted? Am I missing something here?”
I was thinking along the lines of Part 15 subpart B…?