Flight Tracker LED Ripoff
How my Raspberry Pi Flight Radar project was cloned and sold without credit
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Views: [272]
Categories:
[projects]
Tags:
[flight-tracking],
[FlightTrackerLED.com],
[flight tracker led]
Is FlightTrackerLED.com a scam?
And is imitation the sincerest form of flattery? Or do we just tell ourselves that so it bothers us less when someone's clearly taking the piss?
A while back, I built a flight tracker that lives on my kitchen fridge. A couple of years on, and I still get a kick out of seeing it running. It's not just me enjoying it either. I put full build instructions online and regularly hear from folks who've built their own. A lot of them have even been kind enough to provide feedback and improvements to the code and instructions.
It's through this little community of builders that I found out someone was selling them on Etsy. I can't say I was shocked. Like I said, it's all open-source and the instructions are public. I reached out to the store owner to ask if they'd add attribution to the original project on their store. I never got a reply.
That didn't really bother me until last week, when I was browsing Reddit and saw someone posting on r/raspberry_pi about their new flight tracker. Turns out they'd bought it from a company specialising in flight trackers identical to my own. You won't find the original post as the redditor kindly took it down after I explained that shenanigans were afoot.
Guess what? The Etsy store owner is now running a whole business selling the flight tracker as their own invention over at FlightTrackerLED.com
At FlightTrackerLED, we specialize in crafting custom-made Flight Radar LED Matrix devices by hand. Each unit is meticulously designed and built to offer a unique experience that combines innovation with a retro aesthetic.
Yeah, dude... meticulously designed by me.
To cut to the chase, what's annoyed me is the dishonesty. There's zero attribution to anyone who's worked on this, and they're pretending it's entirely their own creation. That just pisses me off. As I've said elsewhere: open-source projects like this are our CVs. Passing someone else's work off as your own robs us of the chance to showcase what we can do.
I've emailed the store, tried messaging them on Facebook, and even reached out to a guy on LinkedIn who seems like he should know (more on him later). This would all bother me a lot less if there was any recognition of where this project came from.
Now, do I get the appeal of buying one of these prebuilt trackers? Absolutely. They look great, they're tricky to build, and yeah, I probably should have set up my own store a long time ago. The guy even added a little web-based configuration GUI, a nice touch for folks who don't want to deal with SSH. Cute. He's selling them at a “discounted” $299, down from $475. Not bad, considering there's only about $150 worth of parts in there.
So, why aren't I selling them? The number one reason is I respect (read: scared of) the data use policy of FlightRadar24, which this device hammers to get the live feed. There's a bit of code in there to try and mitigate the effects of polling, but the correct solution if you're going to sell these is to purchase a commercial key with FR24 and act as a mirror.
I'd bet good money these devices are shipping with no key, or worse, the same key for every device. That means:
a) they're in violation of a heap of T&Cs, which is a terrible look when you're making money off it, and
b) they're one email away from being cut off by FR24, with the end user powerless to fix it.
So who is actually selling these?
There are a few clues, and honestly, there's someone I'd really like to have a chat with.
From the Etsy store, we know it's someone named John based in Chicago. That same name and location show up on Facebook and on the flight tracker website. There's also an Instagram page with a grand total of eight followers (nine now, hi John).
This could just be a coincidence, but among that auspicious group of people who have gone out of their way to follow this endeavour, there's one John and a couple of folks that share his surname. A quick Google later and I found what looks to be the same guy on LinkedIn who also happens to live in Chicago. Within that Instagram friend list, there are also connections who work in the same field.
Etsy/Website John and Instagram/LinkedIn John may not be the same person. But I bet Instagram/LinkedIn John knows who Etsy/Website John is, so I'm really hoping he says hello back on LinkedIn.
And also, Etsy/Website John, if you're reading this:
Could you please just link to the GitHub repo, or my blog, or something? Stop pretending you came up with this whole thing. It's weird. I'm sure you've got great ideas of your own. No need to pass mine off as yours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who originally created the Flight Tracker LED sold on flighttrackerled.com?
The original project was designed and open-sourced by me, Colin Waddell. Full build instructions and code are available on my blog and GitHub.
Is flighttrackerled.com a legitimate seller?
The hardware works, but the seller has repackaged open-source work without attribution. No indication of a FlightRadar24 commercial license is given.
Is it safe to buy and use the commercial version in my home?
The commercial product likely lacks the safety certifications typically required for electronics sold for home use (such as UL, CE, or FCC certification). That means you’re plugging in a device that hasn’t been tested to meet safety standards which could pose risks ranging from electrical faults to fire hazards. When you DIY a project, you accept that risk. When someone else sells it to you as a product, they must meet a higher bar.
Can I build my own Flight Tracker LED?
Yes! You can follow the original DIY Flight Tracker guide here.