Some notes on purchasing vs. building a SeedSigner...
These are just some periodic reminders about purchasing a SeedSigner kit / assembled SeedSigner that I like to make sure people are aware of:
Part of the value proposition of our project, and DIY in general, is supply chain risk mitigation; you are placing some degree of trust in the person(s) from whom you are purchasing components if they know what the components will be ultimately used for.
If you do choose this route, carefully consider the reputation of the person you choose to purchase from -- they should have a personal reputation that stands on its own within your local bitcoin community. We intentionally do not have any kind of "Buy Now" button on https://seedsigner.com. I am aware of people building and selling SeedSigners on 5 or 6 continents at this point, and we also do not attempt to maintain any kind of centralized "approved sellers" list.
Also very important for those who take this route is that the seller should not be sending a microSD card that is pre-loaded with any kind of software -- individuals should be comfortable downloading (or building), verifying, and loading their own software if they are going to be using a SeedSigner. This is a reasonably simple process that has been thoroughly documented in our Github repository.
If you choose to purchase a SeedSigner, consider purchasing the signer as a kit (or planning to disassemble the signer to examine the components), and comparing the components you receive with images of known-good parts online. This can give you some peace of mind and is a useful process to spot any inconsistencies.
One last suggestion -- consider choosing a seller who has publicly committed to donating a portion of their revenue back to the SeedSigner project to support our contributors. We do not attempt to audit these donations in any way, but it seems like a fair request given the value our contributors have created.
If you would like to build your own SeedSigner, Pi Zero W can be easily found among the retailers listed on https://pilocator.com, and if you choose to do so, can be very simply modified to permanently disable the device's wireless communication capability. The Zero 1.3 can be more challenging to source, but can be found among smaller RPi distributors, as well on AliExpress.
The needed Waveshare display hat and Pi camera can be found at a variety of different retailers, check out https://seedsigner.com/hardware for Amazon & AliExpress links for those components. In addition to reducing your supply chain risk, ordering the parts yourself will help you avoid being placed on yet another list of bitcoiners.
I continue to appreciate all of our contributors, users, donors, and others who have supported the project in various ways -- thank you everyone! 🧡
When opensats learned that nostr:npub1tv8gmfhalwnxxquxjzeh6gtdsdz6vg7vx0s3rt7s7uuw6aujh32qn77wn2 had obtained a grant through the HRF, it is my understanding that any pending SeedSigner-related applications were formally declined, and he was encouraged to re-apply after the HRF grant was concluded.
SeedSigner is not compatible with any kind of subscription model, but if you appreciate our project please consider donating to give some value back to our contributors:
https://seedsigner.com/donate-custom/
nostr:note1l2j272m44sw3qun2673w7hclmw77rwqmrgpvx568khkt2458ltssmxterg
Just purchased Damus Purple to support nostr:npub1xtscya34g58tk0z605fvr788k263gsu6cy9x0mhnm87echrgufzsevkk5s and his work. 💜 
Black dog nostr:npub1kumadawgefxjt2c293whsan5sfmdg5tylm0uk39enc6uxxfy5m4scrz2v7 vs the first 80°F sunny day of the year.
Girl stubbornly preferring to bake in the sun instead of finding some shade.
#dog #dogsofnostr #dogstr
She looks kind of like a bulldog from that angle. 🤪
Will saying a lot of quiet parts of loud here.
nostr:note1350d5j8lqwv2fpy45s5986qdnj4524k3ky67a7a4dkjf0smwgdwqmd7yvu
🤣
nostr:note1mslfx3uv0anjnr6qputpqsy2ug7qx6rt6t04pqzj4ucql2nwy74qz53lxq
It's hard to express how satisfying it is to read messages like this one.
Much gratitude to nostr:npub1rfd0hxdzcze6pzj29thuz34vur57wm9quje7w3edxjgusq6m47csnl7wrt, nostr:npub1tv8gmfhalwnxxquxjzeh6gtdsdz6vg7vx0s3rt7s7uuw6aujh32qn77wn2, nostr:npub177zfcmyscnl7805qtx7cn8v9607n3s9m096fl8nev5uzqdg6mruqshdp8e, nostr:npub1alrqg4f7kmyv0wd9vm2qreh0vrcr249ykmfjrj3p7587zw3lxz7sfe2ynd, nostr:npub1d9vusz3zdd3cp2nqfdhqv932a2e20nvkhnkngjmjepzs0fr72s2qdlzk2u all of our other contributors, and anyone else who has lent our project a helping hand.
nostr:note1q0vyjpcutl0wld55p9pv2649dy6cfgmx6jn0kudwtv6lv5wyhtls7lhe9f
Everything working OK?
🎶... waiting on the world to change... 🎶
🤢
All that is required for evil to prevail is that good people remain silent.
Yeah and some make good rules and some make bad rules. I am working on Bitcoin thanks to a grant and I'm hiring people to help me work on Bitcoin thanks to a grant and "the rules" are basically "keep doing what you've been doing".
The ETF commitments were towards for example nostr:npub10pensatlcfwktnvjjw2dtem38n6rvw8g6fv73h84cuacxn4c28eqyfn34f which probably gave nostr:npub1qny3tkh0acurzla8x3zy4nhrjz5zd8l9sy9jys09umwng00manysew95gx the insights that lead to the recent rants without naming specifics. Yes, OpenSats "makes the rules" but as long as "the community" considers OpenSats a good actor, ETFs can just donate to them to support Bitcoin in a good way. If we all get up in arms against OpenSats because they screwed up, things get more complicated. If ETFs decide to hire their own armies of devs to push their agendas, it gets more complicated and of course, pouring billions of $$ onto OpenSats raises the stakes and attracts more ambivalent administrators and devs but it's not inherently a bad thing. Problems users have will get resolved either by open source solutions or by closed source, corporate for profit solutions and I fear the latter will remain the norm unless we scale up the efforts for the former.
For clarity, where did your funding come from?
If bitcoin comes to rely too heavily on corporate grants/donations, you'll only get the tools that for-profit corporations want you to have. Keep bitcoin free -- build your own shit if you can, contribute to your favorite project, or donate *directly* to it (avoid pass-throughs).
Have a buddy who has a cabin near Donovan, can confirm. 🤣
