Will you be sending us a shipping code so we can track the package?

Has anyone in the US received their package yet ?

Has anyone in the US received their package yet ?

Has anyone in the US received their package yet ?

Yeah, and no way to catch up without more detectors :)

That's an interesting spike on your graph today.....

I want such a detector too ^^

Im living in Austria/Vienna, what i must do to get it, and how much (in Euros plz ;)) i must minimum donate?

We are a AKW free country, but neighborcountry has a AKW next to Vienna (only 100km distance)

How i connect the detector? Has it USB or does it need Serial or something?

Thx!

That's an interesting spike on your graph today.....

One sample is ABOUT 35 seconds...

Has anyone in the US received their package yet ?

I think they are via rowboat :)

I think they are via rowboat :)

How big of a package is it being delivered in? Maybe it was a box too big for my mail box, and was delivered to my door, and then stolen?
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Dublin, CA
Team SETI.USA

Images in the My Detector thread in the Cafe give a good indication of size. Add a little more for packaging material and you might have about 6" X 6" X 4". My mailbox can hold 5 that size so I know I haven't missed delivery. Probably the packages to Canada and USA are just sitting in customs waiting for clearance.

Uh oh, just thought of something... Moammar Gaddadfi Duck had a Polish nurse. That means there must be Islamist extremists, al Qaeda and WMD in Poland. That device could pass for a detonator. You're goin to Gitmo until you confess. Can I have your Macs?

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6 weeks and nothing... bordering on the ridiculous.

I'm just about giving up on these ever arriving now.

I would think if customs had them, they would send a message somewhere to the tune of WTF is this? You did the paperwork wrong, this can't get in, something for you to see there is a problem.

I have had stuff 'stopped' before and they always got in contact with the shipper / sender or both essentially saying; "these are your choices, what do you want to do?".

Tracking gets difficult at best when you start crossing borders, even between US to Canada they can get spotty with it.

I hope they show up soon, it would be a shame to see the project run into a problem over something stupid like US customs idiots.

Aaron

6 weeks and nothing... bordering on the ridiculous.

I'm just about giving up on these ever arriving now.

Dagorath, I'm in the US (though originally from the UK).

My thoughts exactly on customs, one way or another we should have heard something.

Dagorath, I kind of doubt the packages were insured. From overseas the price if they were would probably be triple, because of the reasons you just mentioned. You are in Canada right? Would not surprise me if our customs was playing who is stupider with your customs and that is why the stuff isn't getting where it belongs.

Aaron

Triple because of insurance? No way. Do the math... you're saying an item worth $50 would cost $100 to insure against loss. Pay twice what the item is worth to insure it against loss in a system that rarely loses anything? Ridiculous!!!

I've insured packages against loss many, many times and the Canada Post rate is $1 per $500 declared value to any destination in the world. If the Polish postal service charged triple that rate the detectors would cost $3 to insure.

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Customs rules can be different for every country.

I don't import a lot, but I occasionally at work send stuff out. I had a problem once sending package to Bermuda. It sat in Bermuda customs about 14 days before it was returned. Customer could never get an answer from there where his package was or what the holdup was, this was using a major carrier with tracking number and it was sent next day delivery, so it was urgent. Later to find out the invoice was not hand written, it was one of our computer generated. They do not accept packages with a typed invoice, handwritten only. How silly is that.

Recently to i've read that the U.K. I think it was had a limit on "ink cartridges" in one box.

Thinking on this now, if US customs x-rays the package, it is going to look very suspicious. It will have a timer looking device and a small metal tube. Red flag that one. Possibly they might think it is an explosive device, regardless of what any paperwork says. It can get stuck somewhere isolated, sit for a long time until someone feels like opening it carefully to inspect by hand the items trying to determine what it is. It might be fortunate that there is no battery attached but lack of a professional printed instruction manual might make it harder to determine it's purpose.

Yes they should contact someone, but packages can sit for a long time before they have time to look at them and make that attempt. As in the case of my Bermuda pacakge, why did it take them 10 days to decide it did not have hand written paperwork on it. Certainly that could have been done immediately and it returned same day, not 10 days later. So for any reason a package can be delayed in customs.

If Canadian or US customs had even the slightest suspicion that the package might be a bomb there would be a bomb squad with an explosives sniffing dog there within minutes. There is not a snow ball's chance in hell that they would toss the package in a corner and ignore it because lives are at stake, their lives. An explosives expert would see immediately that the tube is far too light to contain an explosive. Also, nobody builds a programmable timer/detonator with a transformer and a buzzer on it and terrorists don't build such a circuit anyway, they pull one out of a microwave oven or buy a kitchen timer for a couple bucks and adapt it. Make a nice PCB just to get blown up? Not likely. A bomb theory would last about 10 minutes, if that.

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I see your point on what you think on the insurance but you are looking at it from a hard tangible point of view. In this case yes, why would I pay 70 bucks to insure something only worth 50 it don't make sense.

Now lets say that something belonged to YOU in the first place, and there really is no replacement part or replacement item readily available. If it gets lost there is going to be hell trying to find one somewhere, in that case yes the insurance might make sense because it's well.... insuring there are extra eyes on this thing to make sure it gets where it belongs. If it does get lost, the onus is more on the carrier to 'find it' or refund the money than on me since technically *I* was not the one who lost it.

What if I am sending you a package of vital information or something? Yes the paper and ink might be only worth a 5 bucks but the time to put it together, the intellectual data perhaps? Again yes this might become worth while to insure it.

Finally, once a package leaves the states / canada, the rules and responsibility for lack of a better term change dramatically. We may complain about our postal systems here in the US and Canada but for what they are, they are actually pretty good compared to some other places.

The postal service or UPS may be able to insure a package here for a small fraction of the value because it's in their hands pretty much the entire trip, they have a solid custody chain. Send it to Kazakhstan now and and it might have to be signed over to another carrier, who doesn't really have a tight tracking like we do. Either way, you are going to have to pay a lot of extra people to keep an eye on it, that costs money.

I have had UPS tell me, you want tracking, once it leaves the country, pretty much all bets are off on tracking, it gets lost once it leaves our borders and good luck. They would only offer 'insurance' 'tracking' on it if I sent it priority or overnight as well. THAT is expensive!!

On the boom thing, yes, if they even thought it was something dangerous, they'd be looking at it real fast, not to mention the sender would have someone visiting them real fast too.

Let's hope they can find something out fairly fast and you guys get your packages soon.

Aaron

Just got back from Canada Post a minute ago so this is not old rates.

Package, weight = 1 pound, to Somalia, won't ship to Somalia at any price, probably because they haven't had a government for 20 years.

Same package to Kenya (Somalia's neighbor), not a developed country but they at least have an army big enough to kick some Somalian jihadist rebel butt on weekdays (but not weekends, that's overtime), cost $17.28 which includes loss/damage insurance up to a value of $100, $1000 insured value for an additional $1 cost. Cost with no insurance is $17.28.

Same package to Poland, a developed country, cost $16.97 which includes loss/damage insurance up to a value of $100, $1000 insured value for additional $1 cost. Cost with no insurance is $16.97.

All rates are for surface mail which means over land by truck and over water by air.

Postal insurance is not a big, expensive deal. It does not take a lot of eyes to watch/track/guard the parcel. It goes into a bag with all the other insured or not insured parcels, gets loaded on a truck with a locked door and off it goes, no big expense involved, nobody riding shotgun, not even to Kenya. One of the project admins said the detectors were shipped by registered mail which I assume means the same thing it means in Canada, that there will be documentation stating whether it was or was not delivered.

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Were the parcels insured?

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Krzy I do hope you are right, but if they are being held in customs, if you shipped them all the same day, they most likely arrived at customs the same day and then yes, they easily all could have been detained. They might have even arrived in the same bag from your country. As for the one Canada package, I can not offer a logical explanation that I have experienced, or would have genuine knowledge about, but do say, maybe US was first stop, canada second. Since the US got 5, Canada 1, logistics might have said, send them all to new york... as an example, then the one from there, put on a truck to canada. Maybe Our customs grabbed it?

Dagorath, I was talking about UPS, but then again, the last time I talked to them about overseas shipments, it was probably close to 5 years ago now. Im not saying you are wrong, just what I went through when I tried to ship some stuff before. It's good to see that there are other options that are not stupid insane priced. Thank you for taking the time to look it up.

It will be interesting to hear what the status is on these. If they were insured, you will eventually get the money back... after a long hastle. Last time I claimed insurance for a lost package from the US Postal Service, it was nearly 8 weeks before they finally got done with their investigation and let the money loose.

Aaron

So you're saying you didn't investigate the maximum size of the letter *before* sending the package and the post office accepted the letter but tossed them in the garbage because they are too big? WTF!!!!?????

What's next... you didn't put a return address on the packages so now they cannot be returned to you?

So tell me please how is maximal size of the letter in Canada & the US!

Because I can sent a letter which has:
"Sum of the length, width and thickness is less than 35.43", but length can not exceed 23.62" and it can weights even 2 kilograms!

So tell me please how is maximal size of the letter in Canada & the US!

Because I can sent a letter which has:
"Sum of the length, width and thickness is less than 35.43", but length can not exceed 23.62" and it can weights even 2 kilograms!

I just get confirmation that one parcel arrive to USA...

Generally, worse case, IF the package was 'too big' for a certain category, ie you were 5 cm too long or something stupid like that, they would just tack on the extra postage and it would be 'postage due' at the receivers end. The person getting it would have to give the post office their 13 cents for the letter :x

With everything computerized nowadays though, I do not think this will be an issue, because 'the computer' knows what sizes goto where and what rate to charge.

It's just dragging through the customs. I would have a feeling, that with christmas, (yes I know it's in december) but folks start shipping early, that the post offices are getting busier with parcels and that might be adding to the delay as well unless you selected a priority method of shipment.

Aaron

Well I ordered one back in July 2011 via paypal in the amount of 40 EUROs. Still have not received anything as of 11/27.


Could you check on this and email me, please.

johnkerr@magiclink.com

My detector arrived today (Canada) and it seems to be working properly.

Oh, I see a green dot appeared in Canada on the map.

Nothing showing in the US yet.

Dagorath > Congrats for the first point in America !

Thanks, otax, I am proud to be on the map. For anybody in America still waiting for their detector... I don't think my package was opened by anybody for inspection, eg. customs officers, so the reason for the delay is still a mystery to me. Hope to see some green dots in USA soon.

Btw, Szopler did a very good job building and soldering the detectors. Very nice solder joints! I inspected with a magnifying glass and they are flawless.

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Still nothing here. Has anyone else in the US received theirs? Two months is ridiculous. One could drive three times around the planet at 60mph in that time.
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Dublin, CA
Team SETI.USA

FWIW, I've been waiting for some electronic components from China for 3 months now. Reputable supplier that I've used before, usually get the items in 2 weeks or less.

Maybe customs around the world are being more careful/stupid/paranoid about electronics.

Al.

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Hold your horses.

I didn't get mine yet, BUT, i did get a notice about a registered mail from "M.Szoplik". i have to go to the post office tomorrow to pick it up. The registered number ends in "PL", could that be Poland ?

Stay tuned....

Ding!

It arrived today! Yea!

Now, how do I use it? I see where I plug in the USB cable. But how do I attach the tube? Are there instructions somewhere?
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Dublin, CA
Team SETI.USA

Ding!

It arrived today! Yea!

Now, how do I use it? I see where I plug in the USB cable. But how do I attach the tube? Are there instructions somewhere?

Thanks! I didn't know that other site even existed. Is there anything on the BOINC site that points out that other site?

In any case, is there anything with pictures? The instructions are a bit vague. It talks about the "right side", and I want to be sure which side they are talking about. A picture would make that impossible to misinterpret.

Edit: Also, I am having a hard time understanding this part:

The next step is to connect the GM tube which is a part of our radiation detection. Two wires (preferably in different colors or with alligator clips in different colors to distinguish them) must be connected to the blue screw connector marked CON3 (and the words of "GM-Tube"). The end of the tube marked '(+)' to be connected to the cable going to the ends also the marked '+', by analogy with the tip of the tube without any indication to the second cable."\

Uffff :D

So, our USA friends would like to quickly join to current batch? :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2-bgWNswqk

Pretty sure mine has arrived too, again it's at the Post Office like KK's as I'm not at home this week. I'll pick it up monday...... :)

Thanks! I didn't know that other site even existed. Is there anything on the BOINC site that points out that other site?

[snip]

I am not trying to slam the directions. But I think there may be some translation issues. And again, a picture is universal.

And I see @zombie67's green dot on the map:)

Al.

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