1090-Puck Advance Orders

[craig7653]

Phoned Taylor made Rf the other day to see where the puck are. I was told HOPEFULLY end of October now.......

[Anmer]

I hope that's reliable as I need one for a competition winner!

[craig7653]

I wouldn't hold your breath. I'm fast losing faith. They never reply to emails and it took me several attempts to speak to someone on the phone.... Very disappointed.

[shakysen]

Very poor!!!!!!!!!!!!
                                          Shaky

[Sun Worshipper]

I wouldn't hold your breath. I'm fast losing faith. They never reply to emails and it took me several attempts to speak to someone on the phone.... Very disappointed.

Have this lot attended the Air Nav Systems Customer Support course?

[hispeedbypass]

I rest my case from the other days comment. Im sure they want us to get enthusiastic, put our hands deep down in our pockets and part with hard earned cash because this puck is the new religion. mm could atheism be the way forward 'cause seeing is believing and false promises don't really inspire us.
And how many of us will feel the need to give up our portable SBS models for a puck that seems to have taken forever to come onstream. By now the technology is not new and while tweaks and refinements need to be tested to destruction the knowledge base is very comprehensive. so imho this puck has really gonna have to deliver something outstanding to persuade me to give up my sbs box. And while SBS3 was a marked way forward I see many spotters around the UK and the world who are now linking into FR24 which ironically is probably fed by SBS users at home bases. So I wait with quiet reservations both on the release dates and the bang for bucks options.

[vortex003]

The whole saga so far has been a shambles - and another Xmas is not far away (remember the competition which promised Pucks in time for Xmas 2012,and then ran into 2013?)

No feedback from either 'winner',no replies to numerous posts on the various forums - I planned to purchase one on release,but should my SBS1 ever give up I may just abandon the hobby.SBS3 has too many bells and whistles I don't need,and I have lost interest in the Puck.

[IanH]

I always wondered about the future of the Pucks. When announced, it seemed like Kinetic had figured out there were people who didn't need the bells and whistles of the SBS-3 (and would have bought an SBS-1 if still available) so this was obviously the solution.

However Kinetic hadn't allowed for the DVB-T USB dongle which appeared soon after. Initially needing Linux skills to get it working, the appearance of ADSB#, SDR# and RTL-1090 meant that Windows users could receive ATC and ADSB transmissions via these £12 dongles. Sometimes a bit of a hassle to get working judging by the requests for help. An easy to set up Puck could have been the answer. Instead how many persevered because of the lack of a Puck, got it working ok and are still happily using it/them?

Interestingly, Kinetic dumped its dealer network about the same time. relying on Chris Taylor to take up the poisoned chalice task.

So what took so long to get the Puck into production? With Airnav not seriously a competitor, the Puck might have beaten off the dongle competition. Now, though with an upgraded FR24 and a dongle option, who needs a Puck?

Ian

PS the winner of the SDR Puck has mentioned on here that he never got it working.

[vortex003]

Ian

PS the winner of the SDR Puck has mentioned on here that he never got it working.

Sorry - I should have written no feedback regards functional working Pucks.This started alarm bells ringing quite a while ago.

What about the Radio User magazine test - did that analysis ever make it into print?

[hispeedbypass]

The above comments only go to endorse the disappointment and perhaps the cynical approach to this "project"
Whether there is any future in the puck remains to be seen, but I would be very surprised if any of us older sbs users are likely to "stop me and buy one".
What could have been a lucrative spin off on the back of SBS3 has now begun to become more of a "whatever"(US accent) dismissive stance.
That's sad because while everyone is bad mouthing other companies (RB for example) it doesn't seem to have spurred any greater impetus in SBS to capitalize on the negative publicity. If anything it has just added more to the whole debacle.
Perhaps the designers/owners have lost sincere interest in us over and above making a fast return on profits. But many of us are more savvy than that and are more likely to approach any proposed "new" concept with caution and in these economical times not so swift to part with cash.

[north borneo radar]

The whole saga so far has been a shambles - and another Xmas is not far away (remember the competition which promised Pucks in time for Xmas 2012,and then ran into 2013?)

No feedback from either 'winner',no replies to numerous posts on the various forums - I planned to purchase one on release,but should my SBS1 ever give up I may just abandon the hobby.SBS3 has too many bells and whistles I don't need,and I have lost interest in the Puck.

Well said. It was towards November when the Puck was announced. an email sent for further info request just had no reply (to kinetics at that time, well at least say sorry can't provide information for now) then there was no information at all. Fast forward to now and yes it's near Christmas for 2013. Poor really. You could argue the same for the supposed to be sold FR24 receiver, but at least that is in production for FR24 for it's free receivers for applicants who passed their assessment. But yeah, definitely lost interest with the Puck. Who needs a Puck when there's a dongle?

[mhm]

I remember when Kinetic started out, the forum introduced. All kinetic were members and contributed on it. Photos of the kinetic team put on the net. Where are all these people today?.

Is kinetic just David, Keith, and AN Other, it would be nice to see who's who in the company now.

[Anmer]

I have to agree that Kinetic may have damaged its reputation with the Puck debacle and adopting AirNav-like promotional hype.

When Chris mentioned the £250 price I thought it was too high when DVB-T USB sticks could be bought for a tenth of that.  But I suspect £250 will just about cover the production and distribution costs and yield a small margin. 

Kinetic produces high quality and very reliable devices, unlike most of the alternatives.  So why the hesitation?

My guess is the delay is all to do with having to commit money up-front to manufacture an initial production run, especially at a time when Flightradar are shipping 50 free receivers a week and Flightaware, Planefinder and AirNav are offering free ones as well. 

I did a presentation at the Kinetic open day a few years ago, highlighting the massive difference is sales of Mode-S receivers and airband scanners.  In my view, Kinetic doesn't market its consumer products, instead relying on a dealer network.  But it also missed a major opportunity when it decided not to support data sharing.

Clearly there is substantial, worldwide interest in tracking aircraft but Kinetic has failed to capitalise on this, leaving it to Flightradar24 to innovate and dominate the app market.

But without an existing network of SBS and other receivers, Flightradar24 et al wouldn't have got off the ground.  Kinetic's view was that FR24 wouldn't last and the "authorities" would shut it down.  The same excuse used in 2006 when we complained about the non-arrival of the Kinetic MapModeS data sharing.

I will continue to admire David Goodman and his team for being first on the grid with the SBS-1 and I still enjoy chatting with Chris Taylor, even when we disagree.

But since announcing the Puck range in August 2012, the silence has been deafening, as it is today. 

It's a pity, as I'm sure many DVB-T users will want to upgrade to a more reliable receiver with a customisable software interface.  But it will need "marketing".

[vortex003]

Kinetic produces high quality and very reliable devices, unlike most of the alternatives.  So why the hesitation?

But since announcing the Puck range in August 2012, the silence has been deafening, as it is today. 

Exactly!!

[hispeedbypass]

I agree Mike.
While its true, raising cash flow to set up production, distribution and sales is a task in itself, the fact that we "could" pre-order devices would in earlier times been a "given" to help move project forward and because the confidence we had gained to date that would have been enough. But I think even if regularly we had been given some development news (without betraying any secrets) our patience while stretched would have still held out. After all our very hobby cultivates such a quality - you cant always get to see what you want and sometimes it takes years to bag that elusive plane (23 years in my case for one), so we're not a erratic, capricious lot of enthusiasts. Yet the guys that can make it so much more enjoyable and financially gain personal benefits (rightly and not begrudged) seem to not be that bothered. Have they made such a killing with all previous sbs devices they don't want to push their luck? mm maybe there's a hidden truth there? Im sure this thread will perpetuate for some time yet hey ho