Alternatives to core component (Artemis Global Tracker)?

[AndresSepulveda]

Hi,

Seems the SparkFun Artemis Global Tracker is out of stock. Do you have alternatives to this component?

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/18712

I wonder if it is being dicontinued or it is just a temporal glitch.

Regards,

Andres

[jerabaul29]

cc-ing the people at Sparkfun whom I discussed with these issues in the past, they will be able to answer in much more details:

@nseidle @PaulZC @lewispg228 @brhoff720

I am pretty sure that it is just temporally out of stock, because as far as I understood, there is more demand than expected, and there are bottlenecks with chips shortage / production (though SF people would be the authoritative source on this :) ).

@AndresSepulveda just curious: how many do you want to buy? :)

My 2 cents:

• I think (pretty confident, I discussed with them not long ago :) ) that Sparkfun is planning / having as we speak some additional production runs
• SF usually likes that people take contact with them when wanting to order some of these expensive boards that are out of stock; may be a good idea to drop an email to sales@sparkfun.com . Also I think SF likes to be contacted when planning to order a bunch of these expensive boards

• there are alternative suppliers who have buffered some AGTs produced by SF and resell these, though at a bit higher costs (but should be fine for testing the design when you only build a couple at first maybe? or do you already plan a large production run?). See for example (I am redirected to the Norwegian website of each of them, but they are global I think, so you should have a "local" website in local currency too):

  • mouser (2 in stock just now): https://no.mouser.com/ProductDetail/SparkFun/WRL-18712?qs=Rp5uXu7WBW%2FvtVY5LVjy9A%3D%3D
  • digikey (2 in stock just now): https://www.digikey.no/en/products/detail/sparkfun-electronics/WRL-18712/15842547

Maybe some other global / local resellers that I have not heard of have it in stock too :) .

[jerabaul29]

(but my 2 cents @AndresSepulveda : if you plan a large deployment, try to start with the procurement of the parts at least 6 months in advance if possible, as things are a bit chaotic with the ongoing chips shortage; I think that contacting SF well in time, they will usually be able to set up a custom run if necessary - at least this is what I experienced :) ).

[AndresSepulveda]

Hi, glad to hear that. For now I was thinking of getting just one or two to play with this (great) idea, so I can wait. I can piggy-back this purcharse in a current project and if things go well, submit a proposal on this topic.

[jerabaul29]

That sounds excellent :) . And of course, if you have any more questions, open an issue here on the repo :) . If you want we can also have a Zoom chat some day - maybe for example after you have had a look at the repo contents, so that we can discuss any question / uncertainty you may have, future developments, etc? :) ).

Btw, depending on your timing, @TryggviLab at Labmaker is working (still WIP, you should check with him, and I think they at Labmaker are currently still building / evaluating a prototype to decide if they want to go full scale with the production) on either / both i) providing a "master PCB" that can be used to mount all components to make assembly easier, ii) producing commercially the open source design. So that may be an alternative way to procurement. I will anyways update the Readme when there is anything "firm" on this side :) .

[AndresSepulveda]

Great, thanks. Let me clear a few other deadlines and I will contact you for a Zoom chat.

[jerabaul29]

Sounds good :) . I just keep this issue open for now as other potential users may have the same question :) .

[jerabaul29]

A few are back in stock @AndresSepulveda , 4 as of just now, crossing fingers for more soon :) https://www.sparkfun.com/products/18712 .

[jerabaul29]

Already sold out again...

[brhoff720]

Hi JR and all,

We're working to get more available. We moved these from SparkX to SparkFun to try to ensure a constant stock level. However, global supply chain challenges have hindered our efforts. This is on our radar to get back in stock.

[jerabaul29]

Thanks @brhoff720 for the confirmation that you are trying to re-establish some stocks :) .

@AndresSepulveda in the meantime, looks like while SF is sold out, Mouser does have a couple in stock: https://no.mouser.com/ProductDetail/SparkFun/WRL-18712?qs=Rp5uXu7WBW%2FvtVY5LVjy9A%3D%3D .

[jerabaul29]

28 AGTs at SF website now, crossing fingers they keep producing do that stocks hold :) . Btw @AndresSepulveda have you been able to build / test the OMB? :) Let me know if there is anything I can do to help :) .

[jerabaul29]

(we have deployed nearly 80 in the last 5 months with great success, so the design is definitely good :) ).

[brhoff720]

I thought I pinged this thread as they came back in stock. And yes, we are trying to keep this in stock more consistently. If you are needing more than you see available, ping me and I will see what can be done to push to front of production queue.

[AndresSepulveda]

Not yet, dealing with other issues now, but I do keep it in mind. -------- Mensaje original --------De: JR @.> Fecha: 19/8/2022 16:28 (GMT-04:00) A: jerabaul29/OpenMetBuoy-v2021a @.> CC: Andres Sepulveda @.>, Mention @.> Asunto: Re: [jerabaul29/OpenMetBuoy-v2021a] Alternatives to core component (Artemis Global Tracker)? (Issue #52) 28 AGTs at SF website now, crossing fingers they keep producing do that stocks hold :) . Btw @AndresSepulveda have you been able to build / test the OMB? :) Let me know if there is anything I can do to help :) .

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