New NWT clone appeared on Banggood - *** NOT COMPATIBLE ***

Hi,

I was pointed to this new NWT clone, available at Banggood:

Click here to open the product page!

What one can notice immediatly is the very competitive price of just 40 Euro/45 US$. This is an amazing price for a device featuring two ADF4351, allowing simultaneous TG functionality.

But, there is always a catch...

While the device is reported to work correctly with WinNWT/LinNWT, it does currently NOT work with my VMA Simple Spectrum Analyser software.

I had the same issue with another NWT clone, called "D6". This board did originally not work with my software, either. I had to implement an alternative algorithm to support it. The reason was a not 100% correct firmware implementation, compared to the original SMA/NWT devices.

My guess is that once again, this new board has some firmware issues. More precisely, because my software is optimized for speed and a fast spectrum refresh rate: when it expects to receive for instance 500 samples, it will really expect that those 500 samples are sent! If the device only sends 499 samples back (i.e. due to some rounding error), then my software freezes.

I know - this sucks!

But without such a device in my hands, there is not much I can do at the moment.

I am considering buying one, just to support it - but that would take at least one month, just for the device to get here. And that is if I decide to go for it, at all...

Why have I not bought this device right away? Well, I do fear that we will see more and more of these clones, each competing for an even lower price. The D6 already had a poor performance compared to the SMA/NWT devices...

Also, in one of the Q&A on the Banggood page, it says that a new device with case will be launched, soon. I ask myself: will they update the firmware? Should I wait for this new version?

I can't possibly buy ALL similar devices, but I am doing my best here...

If someone has information about flashing the firmware, SDK of the firmware (like it is available for the D6), etc., please get in touch.

Regards,
Vitor

Update - 08/07/2019

I just ordered the new model from Banggood. It has a slightly different PCB layout and comes with a metallic case and status LED's.

This is the link:
https://www.banggood.com/Geekcreit-Spectrum-Analyzer-USB-LTDZ-35-4400M-Signal-Source-with-Tracking-Source-Module-RF-Frequency-Domain-Analysis-Tool-With-Aluminum-Shell-p-1494125.html

Note: This board is currently NOT compatible with my software - but I ordered it to see if I can make it compatible. Wish me luck and stay tuned...