If I put my notes here, I might be able to find them again later!
I've been cloned!
Back at the dawn of time one of the first audio circuits I worked on was the Gainclone, followed closely by The Dac of the Klones (Oh my, the nostalgia!) and of course the Phonoclone.
The VSPS was a side-project that grew out of the Phonoclone, and actually ended up first out of the gate as a working circuit.
Apart from the general design philosophy (low parts count, simplicity, careful layout and grounding) it has no particular link to 47 Labs. While the concept of a non-inverting op amp active phonostage is nothing original the circuit is mine, particularly the configuration and values of the RIAA filter which I calculated and simulated myself. The rest is an amalgam from a dozen or so different sources, textbooks, datasheets and application notes &c. All the values are quite carefully chosen.
That said I've always put the circuits and everything else on the internet, with source attribution as I felt necessary. The boards and kits came much later, and indeed I've always encouraged people to go out and make their own.
I just made two rules re. the circuits and related materials, as stated on my web page,
Don't pass them off as your own work, and don't use them for commercial gain.
So anyhow, it turns that this phono stage on eBay, the ElectronicsSalon MD-A310 (information attached below) is 100% the VSPS circuit and parts values, lifted from the VSPS web page (probably, from the looks of it, a very early version). Yep, I've been cloned., They've done their own layout though, removing the on-board voltage regulation and adding switches for the gain and cartridge loading. The assembled board sells for $12.99 including shipping. (Shipping, ebay fees, Paypal fees, the cost of the board, the OPA2134, capacitors, resistors and screw terminal blocks... never mind labor for assembly. That it can be worth someone's while to sell the module for that price .. is utterly depressing, to be frank.)
Pots and kettles, glass houses and stones: yeah, I fully realize I'm in no position to take the moral high ground on this. Fine. I don't even care. My own layout is better, and the components in the kit I sell are better. I'm fine with them offering a cut-rate alternative with the convenience of loading options. Flattered even.
It's the "don't pass them off as your own work" part that bothers me. Attribution or lack thereof. In my day job as a scientist proper attribution of other people's work and ideas is a huge deal, and I guess I just come to intuitively expect the same standards to apply to my hobbies (photography, audio) as well. ElectronicsSalon know as well as I do that even if I objected they could go about as they please so why not have the courtesy to contact me and ask my permission, or at the very least keep "RJM Audio VSPS" in the name? It seems like a small thing to ask.
The VSPS was a side-project that grew out of the Phonoclone, and actually ended up first out of the gate as a working circuit.
Apart from the general design philosophy (low parts count, simplicity, careful layout and grounding) it has no particular link to 47 Labs. While the concept of a non-inverting op amp active phonostage is nothing original the circuit is mine, particularly the configuration and values of the RIAA filter which I calculated and simulated myself. The rest is an amalgam from a dozen or so different sources, textbooks, datasheets and application notes &c. All the values are quite carefully chosen.
That said I've always put the circuits and everything else on the internet, with source attribution as I felt necessary. The boards and kits came much later, and indeed I've always encouraged people to go out and make their own.
I just made two rules re. the circuits and related materials, as stated on my web page,
Don't pass them off as your own work, and don't use them for commercial gain.
So anyhow, it turns that this phono stage on eBay, the ElectronicsSalon MD-A310 (information attached below) is 100% the VSPS circuit and parts values, lifted from the VSPS web page (probably, from the looks of it, a very early version). Yep, I've been cloned., They've done their own layout though, removing the on-board voltage regulation and adding switches for the gain and cartridge loading. The assembled board sells for $12.99 including shipping. (Shipping, ebay fees, Paypal fees, the cost of the board, the OPA2134, capacitors, resistors and screw terminal blocks... never mind labor for assembly. That it can be worth someone's while to sell the module for that price .. is utterly depressing, to be frank.)
Pots and kettles, glass houses and stones: yeah, I fully realize I'm in no position to take the moral high ground on this. Fine. I don't even care. My own layout is better, and the components in the kit I sell are better. I'm fine with them offering a cut-rate alternative with the convenience of loading options. Flattered even.
It's the "don't pass them off as your own work" part that bothers me. Attribution or lack thereof. In my day job as a scientist proper attribution of other people's work and ideas is a huge deal, and I guess I just come to intuitively expect the same standards to apply to my hobbies (photography, audio) as well. ElectronicsSalon know as well as I do that even if I objected they could go about as they please so why not have the courtesy to contact me and ask my permission, or at the very least keep "RJM Audio VSPS" in the name? It seems like a small thing to ask.
Total Comments 2
Comments
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Have you considered filing a complaint of IP infringement with eBay? They do actually tend to take these complaints seriously.Posted 13th April 2015 at 02:22 AM by kevinkr
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Thanks for the suggestion. To be honest I'm not out to stop the sale of the module. All I would ideally ask for is attribution.
I think I will contact the seller, though I doubt it will come to anything.Posted 15th April 2015 at 11:28 PM by rjm
