Comment Re:Ouch $550 (Score 4, Informative) 189
Especially since it appears that the $550 gets you the motherboard, without any radio modules. The $550 will get you something that you need to spend more money on until it is functional. I think this is just a case of the journalist not really digging into it more than superficially, but the guy the reporter was talking to should have also pointed out how much a minimally configured system would cost.
At a minimum you will need the motherboard, a radio module, some cable (which isn't cheap, especially for doing higher frequency work), and a useful antenna (those tiny ones they advertise on the website will be fine for higher frequencies, but if you want to do anything else, you are looking at an external antenna and more cable).
However, this is a very cool project. A lot of good will come from this work. But $550 is not the starting price. The starting price is higher.
At a minimum you will need the motherboard, a radio module, some cable (which isn't cheap, especially for doing higher frequency work), and a useful antenna (those tiny ones they advertise on the website will be fine for higher frequencies, but if you want to do anything else, you are looking at an external antenna and more cable).
However, this is a very cool project. A lot of good will come from this work. But $550 is not the starting price. The starting price is higher.
