HobbyKing is now selling much cheaper versions of some 3DR products:
(*This is an update of my old post which only referred to the two products available at that time.)
The latest addition to the list is especially well-timed because the 3DR Radio Telemetry Kit is currently out-of-stock, making HK the only place to get this item at any price right now. This could bring a welcome change to the tone of the DiyDrones Twitter feed as buyers stop venting their frustration with shortages and simply buy elsewhere.
HobbyKing changing strategies?
Even as HobbyKing is adding more ArduPilot accessories, the MultiWii and MegaPirate autopilots which they were selling are now being liquidated or have already been removed from the site entirely. It is easy to imagine that this pullback is the result of the rather infamous support nightmare they suffered when the entire run of MegaPirate boards shipped with an unworkable voltage regulator installed.
This shift in autopilot lineup could mean that HobbyKing has decided to get out of the autopilot business, sticking with accessories and staying away from complicated autopilots which have so many parts that can fail. A more likely explanation is that HobbyKing just wants an autopilot solution that works, and they're clearing the shelves to make room for something else, maybe ArduPilot, but probably DJI.
Personally, I like to imagine that somebody at HobbyKing is a rabid ArduPilot fan who clones a different 3DR part every time 3DR goes out of stock, just to make sure he can always get his fix.
Your ideas?
Last time I posted on this topic, I was expecting a rather dry discussion of the effect of clone manufacturing on the 3DR business model. That suggestion was rightly ignored, so this time I'll just ask: Do you plan to buy any clone hardware yourself?
For myself, I think my next purchase will be a 3DR PX4 with HobbyKing's telemetry and GPS. Frankly, buying the autopilot feels like enough of a donation to the developers without paying double for the accessories, as well.
Comments
No matter if you order a cheap product from HK or a complex autopilot, their customer service is the worst if you need to deal with faulty items....
This reminds me of the old RFC days, when the internet was essentially controlled by Cisco. They were so over represented on the committees. Now RFCs are mostly history, and Cisco still rules the internet.
The git depository is strictly controlled, and you have to be part of the dev team to submit code into it. In fact most developers don't automatically get submit privileges. This is not a bad thing, as we don't want the code to break, and cause potential injuries.
Also addressing the "want to" part. I've been using open source since 1990, and from my experience, true open source like GNU is driven from the outside, and not by a single source. Basically you get a copy of the code, make changes that you think will benefit the community and submit it for inspection to the community, and it goes in. No one decides whether it goes in the code or not as long as it doesn't break anything or causes performance issues. That's true open source.
Robert, I'm not sure that the presenters are programmers or have a hardware design background. Although some of them may be Project Manager, and we all know how useless they are. [I'm a former PM, but of course I was not very good at it, so as a corollary, I'm probably not useless. ;-) ]
HK are certainly very good at mass producing, and sourcing cheap products, but I'm not sure they're as good at participating in any kind of open source project.
Ellison, HK is owned and operated by an Englishman. Well, maybe not Englishman, but a guy who speaks English very well, Anthony Hand. They also have no trouble getting English speaking people when they really want to, such as their product presenters. It's just a matter of having to want to do it.
Michael, I think the language issue is a major factor, against HK participation in open source projects. They probably have good technical people, but they are not always the most fluent in English.
However, on the flip side of the coin, the APM project was started by Chris Anderson, championed by Chris Anderson, and mostly being run by Chris Anderson's company. In fact one of 3DR's project managers is running the dev calls. In fact, how many in the community knows what's going on, in the development side or is really involved in the development? It's hard for another outside company to get a foot in. That's probably another reason that companies, like HK are just consumers and not contributing.
People need to realize that the products offered by HobbyKing are not "clones" or "copycats". This IS supposed to be open source, right? The developers cannot call it open source, if they are writing software and designing software for only one manufacturer in mind. In fact if it was truly open sourced, HobbyKing would be contributing software and hardware designs to the whole project as well and should feel free to to make changes and fixes within the open source community.
It seems a little hypocritical for developers of open source to design for only one "preferred" manufacturer, to me. I can understand, for instance a validation program, where one manufacturer's products have been "vetted" by the open source development community. In fact one way to make this open source thing work is that, the designers design, and manufacturers manufacture. They can send hardware to the community for validation, at their own cost. This keeps designer expenses low, and helps to make a more robust product.
Again I must emphasize that open source developers, should not design for the sake of one manufacturer.
Matthew, you sure about that whole "Hobby King Customer Support" thing? I haven't had to use it yet, but from what I've heard, pretty unanimously is that there is none whatsoever. Best case scenario is that they ask you to spend $50 to ship a $20 item back to them before they will consider a replacement.
In most cases, I would be against 3rd party hardware (I acknowledge it is legal, but I would not buy from a copy cat company). However in this case, I am pretty sure my next order will be with a copycat company. Why? The customer support that I've gotten from 3DR has continued to be rediculous. They take over a week to respond to many requests, sometimes not until I've written 2-3 times and finally have to write an "angry customer" email, forum post, or facebook post. If hobby king is willing to replace bad parts at their expense and responds to my email the same day I inquire; I appreciate that we now have an option Frankly they could sell the product at the same price that 3DR is selling for and I would probably still place my next order with them if I know that I am going to have someone that is willing to answer sales or quality related requests within a reasonable time frame.
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