I agree with just about everything each of you said.
The day that the OS2 preview video hit the Interwebs I wrote a post about how the lack of a display was a huge mistake. I stand by that point to this day.
Having to keep another device connected to the OS2 just to keep an eye on what it’s doing is just not a workable strategy when you’re always on the go.
It was definitely a tremendous mistake to stop selling the OS1 if they weren’t going to add an Ethernet port to the OS2. Either make both connectivity methods available on one device or offer both devices. Don’t make people have to choose one over the other.
My OS1 stays connected to my Ethernet network at home 100% of the time. The OS2 has become my “every once in a while” hotspot because the Zumspot totally outperforms it in just about every way.
The fact that the OS2 boots insanely fast is wonderful! But the slow writes to storage (during database updates and firmware downloads) is inexcusable. It shouldn’t take 10 minutes (or more!) on a fast wireless connection to download a 5 MB file.
Lack of an external antenna...big downfall for the OS2. Just watch this video! The whole thing!!!
https://youtu.be/ukE7U6ZaRj4
The price point might be an even bigger reason why they aren’t getting the same kind of market share as they had when they first started. The OS2 is just too expensive for a lot of people.
Both the OS1 and OS2 are clear winners over the Pi-Star based hotspots in a few areas:
1. The built in calibration utility is AMAZING!!! So many people don’t bother calibrating. It’s a pain in the you know what to do with Pi-Star in comparison. The results from a peppery calibrated hotspot are incredible.
2. The OS1 and OS2 are very reliable in terms of being able to suffer a power loss and don’t ever need to be shut down gracefully. They are pretty much bullet proof. Pi-Star, until recently, had a terrible bug where the file system would get stuck in read/write mode. If you don’t have the latest update or aren’t very careful, you can easily corrupt the SD card on Pi-Star based hotspots. That’s true with any SD card based system. SD cards are terrible when it comes to corruption.
3. OS1 and OS2 are so easy to use! They just work. They’re kind of boring in a way. Pi-Star is great if you’re into tinkering. But if you’re just getting started in digital and want something quick and easy, then OS is the place to be.
I sincerely hope that SharkRF reaches out to people for input when developing the OS3. A lot of really bad things happen in most cases when you develop a product in a vacuum. It happens more often than not. Had they reached out to some advanced users in the early stages and gotten a lot of reliable feedback, it’s possible they would have been able to resolve some of these things early on. But it’s also difficult to work with people outside the organization when you’re trying to develop something in secrecy. I guess there are trade offs.
That’s all! I think I wore my thumbs out!
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Why did you even post that video?? You stopped recording when you accidentally disconnected the antenna from the Openspot & never resumed the video
Curious...
Pat, KB0OXD
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That was not my video. Someone else posted it. Admittedly I didn’t watch it again before I shared the link.
The comedy behind that video is the creator made it look like he modded the OS2 to connect an external antenna - implying he worked to resolve the WiFi connectivity issues. Of course at the tail end of the video the external antenna falls off and you realize it’s a fake! He never modified the OS2 to connect an external antenna.
The video still sends an incredibly powerful message through its implications.
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