From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: from snark.thyrsus.com (static-71-162-243-5.phlapa.fios.verizon.net [71.162.243.5]) by huchra.bufferbloat.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id 9151120024C for ; Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:46:03 -0700 (PDT) Received: by snark.thyrsus.com (Postfix, from userid 1000) id 1799440617; Mon, 12 Mar 2012 18:45:47 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2012 18:45:47 -0400 From: "Eric S. Raymond" To: Patrick Maupin Message-ID: <20120312224546.GA18404@thyrsus.com> References: <20120312210345.GC17357@thyrsus.com> <20120312212608.GC17895@thyrsus.com> <20120312213946.GE17895@thyrsus.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: Organization: Eric Conspiracy Secret Labs X-Eric-Conspiracy: There is no conspiracy User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.21 (2010-09-15) Cc: thumbgps-devel@lists.bufferbloat.net Subject: Re: [Thumbgps-devel] Build vs. modify vs. what should we be doing anyway? X-BeenThere: thumbgps-devel@lists.bufferbloat.net X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.13 Precedence: list Reply-To: esr@thyrsus.com List-Id: List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2012 22:46:03 -0000 Patrick Maupin : > On Mon, Mar 12, 2012 at 4:39 PM, Eric S. Raymond wrote: > > Sorry, my eyes aren't educated enough. (I'm an ex-mathematician; what > > relatively little I know about electronics design I've picked up by > > osmosis doing software). What does it say? > > It says: > > I am a very simple board. My major components are: > > - USB module > - USB patch antenna > - Small PL2303 clone (fitting in with your lawsuit theory) > - Simple 5v -> 3.3v voltage regulator > - Coin cell battery > - Diode so as not to drain battery during operation > - USB connector Yes, I identified most of these myself. > There is nothing there that would require 4 layers, and all the > traces seem to "go somewhere". That is *exactly* what I thought when I looked at it. Perhaps I am less clueless than I feared. :-) So, this is probably cloneable with relatively little effort, then? > There doesn't seem to be a real 8 pin SOIC PL2303. > > It almost certainly isn't illegal to clone one of these chips > (although there might be an infringed patent or two there, that isn't > necessarily true either). It probably is illegal to exhort people to > download the copyrighted Windows PL2303 driver and use it with this. > Probably not a problem with Linux :-) At that, PL2303s are cheap. This page http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=pl2303+usb clues us that they're probably less than $2 a unit. -- Eric S. Raymond