Newsletters

[Anmer]

July 2012

When will the Kinetic Forum be Online Again?

It's now over a week since the Kinetic forum went "off-line". Apparently it had become "a hub for advertising, spam and other non appropriate activities". As someone who's been on the forum virtually every day since 2005, I don't recognise that description.

Understandably, I've had numerous emails and personal messages asking "What's going on?" and "When will the forum be back online?". The answer is "I don't know".

As someone who's always enjoyed a good relationship with Kinetic, especially Chris Taylor, I was surprised by the move. Chris and I have differences of opinion but he's always been very helpful and recognised Radarspotting as an independent forum. 

I really don't understand Kinetic's stance and why, over a week later, it's made no announcement when the forum will be back online. And why a total news blackout?  As well as Radarspotting, there are other forums where Kinetic could have posted an update.

Yesterday I sent Chris an e-mail asking when we might see the forum back online. Disappointingly, I haven't received a reply which in itself is a concern as Chris has always replied in the past. Maybe he's taken exception to the negative posts?

I sincerely hope the Kinetic forum will be online again soon as I find it reassuring when a supplier engages with its customers who can openly ask questions and offer feedback.

But the forum was more than that. It was an invaluable archive including hundreds of logos and silhouettes which no longer have a home.

In the meantime you can still get SBS-1/3 and Basestation support from Radarspotting where you can also voice your opinions about the Kinetic forum.

And, if you read this Newsletter, Chris, please let us know what's going on and if/when we can expect the Kinetic forum to be online again?

[Anmer]

Summer Newsletter - 2012

It's now the holiday season and I hope most of us will get some sun and relaxation over the coming weeks. I'm off to France soon and my SBS-3 is going too.

Before I set off I wanted to remind everyone we now have a Logos section where you can request and download operator logos. I was asked to add this feature while the Kinetic forum was offline and our regular contributors are Chris Alder, Ian K, paulm and moonie31.

There are quite a few logos there already and requests are quickly fulfilled.

Eventually Kinetic reinstated its forum on the 2nd August but as at the 1st July. That means just over a month's posts are missing but at least the forum is back online. And we have a winner of our "when will the forum be back?" competition and a prize for russ1364 if he can get in touch.

I'm told that Kinetic will start a consultation process in September to see what the members want from its forum and rationalise the historical posts which go back to 2005.

Other Kinetic news includes an announcement that a forthcoming SBS-3 firmware release will provide a scanner type functionality. I'm sure many will be delighted to get that upgrade when it's available.

And the same firmware will add two more SDR receiver channels, which will also be welcomed.

Maybe the most exciting news is Kinetic's Puck receivers. Two models have been announced - Blue Puck and Black Puck. Claimed to be "lightweight, portable and price busting", more news is eagerly awaited, including a release date and prices. You can read more on the Kinetic website and join the Radarspotting discussion.

Perhaps in response, and to placate a growing number of critical posts, AirNav has said it will be releasing "new projects for the AirNav RadarBox community. We want to release the first of these projects in the begining of Sept (90% of the work is done at this time)."

Just a week earlier it was going to be in August but we should note that there's no mention of a year. The last time I saw similar promises was for ShipTrax which was eventually released three years behind schedule. I won't hold my breath. You can read more here

Can I also thank all those who have donated to Radarspotting. I don't seek donations but having just renewed the hosting package it sure helps.

That's about it for now. Whatever you're doing over the summer, have fun.

Anmer