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You mean motor oil? That then leaches into the ground water? Oh man ...
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM.
quoted text -
In California??
In the end it doesn't matter. You just have to work up a reputation as a guy who gets stuff done.
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM.
Jeff,
I really appreciate this info. I'm out in the Thousand Oaks area of Ventura County.
The SBA has some good docs online, and I've called them for some human-to-human help but I would have had to wait 58 minutes on hold (50 minutes is my limit).
Deposits for taxes? What will they (we) think up next? No bigee. If I gotta do it I gotta do it. I've suffered through stock-option-related AMT, so nothing shocks me, anymore.
Thanks for the tip about not discounting services. The EE community, around here, is tightly knit. Everyone knows who's sleeping with everyone, so I'll pick one rate and stick with it. I'll shoot for $300/hr. That way, I won't get TOO much work :-)
Regards, Bob
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That's what I do. It's either CostCo or Walmart. A little secret here: Occasionally I do buy at places like Staples, for example toner catridges that others didn't have in stock. But then I come armed with a few price printouts from the web and ask them to match that. Which they did. Be sure the web site is readable because they usually verify that by going online.
But don't waste a whole day at a show that's all fluff. Pens and notepads can probably be had at Walmart for under ten bucks.
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM.
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That's why I said "oiling", in quotes. It's some biodegradable stuff being used around here to restore desert "crust" after grading for homes, etc., not only binds the soil but looks natural as well.
...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
Leftist weenie bed wetter Democrats are the scourge of the earth
Due to excessive spam, gmail, googlegroups, UAR, and AIOE blocked!
Thanks Jim, that's a great story and you're good at telling it!
Section 21 of the FAA rulebook says that you need Parts Manufacturing Approval (PMA) for any part that you make that goes on an aircraft EXCEPT
21.303(b)(2) parts made by an owner or operator for their own [aircraft}.Thus, I can't make a part for YOUR airplane and sell it to you, but you can make that same part for yourself.
The FAA legal beagles have amplified on this section to include "made" being simply drawing up the plans for the part and having a machinist or technician do the actual work. I suppose I could have simply done the paper design and sold the schematics and pcb layout artwork, but I doubt anybody is enough of a home-brewer to take those plans, etch their own boards, buy the parts, and actually make the "radio".
The hiccup is FCC type acceptance and certification of a transmitter or superhet receiver. We got around that with the marker beacon receiver by making it a TRF (sophisticated crystal set) but the 6 channel and 720/200 channel radios had to come back after assembly for us to make the magical incantations and rubber model number stamp on the chassis.
Jim
--
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought
without accepting it."
--Aristotle
>
> Don\'t you need STC blessings and all that?
>
Interesting. So that would mean if you ship a bare circuit board along with the bag of parts then the bare board would not qualify as "something you produced"?
I was always surprised that Heathkit got away without the incantations. Although their ham stuff was by its nature self-cert anyhow.
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM.
That is correct. Just like Mouser and DigiKey can't be nailed under Part 21 just because parts they supplied to you or I found their way into an airframe.
Same hiccup with US Customs. At one time we were importing a handheld radio from Japan. The radios were in one bag in the box and the volume/squelch knobs were in another bag. They weren't taxed as "radios" but as "parts" because there was assembly required to use the radio. Stupid, but thirty seconds with a small allen wrench saved us about $75 a radio in import fees.
Jim
I wasn't coincidence. In the early 1970's, Intech manufactured a marine VHF handheld called the V101. It wasn't a very good design, but sold mostly because the competition was far worse. About a year after introduction, Heathkit introduced a similar model as a kit. It was almost exactly the same design but with a different board layout. Interestingly, they copied the mistakes from the printed schematic in the manual, and apparently didn't bother to verify that the schematic actually matched the shipping units.
Heathkit made the same mistake on other products. There was a VHF AM aircraft radio that was shipped with backwards operating AGC. A friend, that was working at the Heath store in Smog Angeles found the problem. Nobody could believe that they screwed up that badly, but there it was. He eventually got engineerings attention and a field modification was rapidly issued. My guess(tm) is that this was another case of copying the schematic, instead of the product.
Incidentally, my hi-fi is a AA-1510 and AA-2010. I sold my AR-1500 a few months ago. I also have numerous pieces of antique Heathkit hardware in use of in boxes.
-- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
I used to get most of mine from a local flea market. Most was dirt cheap, the rest was free. Things like factory seconds of legal pads for
25 cents, or a dozen pens for 50 cents. For $25 I could buy a couple year supply. :)-- http://improve-usenet.org/index.html If you have broadband, your ISP may have a NNTP news server included in your account: http://www.usenettools.net/ISP.htm Sporadic E is the Earth\'s aluminum foil beanie for the \'global warming\' sheep.
Is there a SCORE office in your area?
-- http://improve-usenet.org/index.html If you have broadband, your ISP may have a NNTP news server included in your account: http://www.usenettools.net/ISP.htm Sporadic E is the Earth\'s aluminum foil beanie for the \'global warming\' sheep.
Have you ever tried to refill a toner cartridge? I refill inkjet cartridges, and I still have my re-inker for the old dot matrix ribbon printers.
-- http://improve-usenet.org/index.html If you have broadband, your ISP may have a NNTP news server included in your account: http://www.usenettools.net/ISP.htm Sporadic E is the Earth\'s aluminum foil beanie for the \'global warming\' sheep.
Easy with ink, with toner it did not work at all. And I never buy "recycle cartridges" again. Drum scratches etc.
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM.
Service Corp of Retired Executives.
Looks like the nearest office is Oxnard.
Note that personalized SCORE counseling is NOT free. The general meetings are free:
Looks like they have meetings in Thousand Oaks.
I have mixed feelings about SCORE. When I first started out in biz in
1983, I met with a SCORE counselor. He was a retired aerospace manager. I was starting in the electronics/computer/hi-fi/whatever repair biz. He was thinking in terms of a large enterprise. I was counting my pennies. I must admit that I learned quite a few useful hints from the discussion, but they were of little use for many years.The problem is that every web site and individual will suggest that you get a mentor. That's someone that's been through the same exercises and can guide you around the land mines and pit falls. They may not make you rich, but they can certainly prevent a premature failure. They can also advise you on business ethics and practices, something that's not very obvious and difficult to logic or guess your way through. I had thought that SCORE would provide some of the functions of a mentor, but that apparently is not the case. I suggest you save a visit to a SCORE counselor for when your business takes a dive or for when you want it to grow fast. However, a visit to one of their free meetings might be useful.
-- # Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060 # 831-336-2558 jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us # http://802.11junk.com jeffl@cruzio.com # http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS
Murphy's maiden aunt! I just love stories about beating stuffy jerks so that their head pops out of where the sun don't shine.
Thanks, Mike and Jeff. When you mentioned SCORE, I thought you were referring to the famous strip club "Scores" in New York. Imagine my dissapointment when I found out what it really is.
The Small Business Administration recommended I talk to someone at SCORE, too. So, I'm going to meet with one of their volunteers in Oxnard. I'll see what he has to say about what I should do and what I can do without.
Bob
-- == All google group posts are automatically deleted due to spam ==
Good luck in your new venture. I wish there had been SCORE, or any of the other aids available when I went into business in 1970.
-- http://improve-usenet.org/index.html If you have broadband, your ISP may have a NNTP news server included in your account: http://www.usenettools.net/ISP.htm Sporadic E is the Earth\'s aluminum foil beanie for the \'global warming\' sheep.
Did you need to get TSO approval for the NAV/COM radio Or do you ask the builder to go through the field approval process?
I know that the FAA gives TSO approval to 406MHz ELT kits (there's one on your web site), but I didn't think they did so for panel mounted radio kits.
Drivel: You're right about electronic enthusiasts of the 1960's. At the time, I was into flying, ham radio, and fixing things, and broadcast. Our high skool electronics instructor took some of us for a ride in his Cessna 150. We were all instantly hooked.
-- # Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060 # 831-336-2558 jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us # http://802.11junk.com jeffl@cruzio.com # http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS
I've done the sole proprietorship/dba, llc, c-corp and s-corp. Just starting out I would pick the first, simple, easy to setup. You don't need a EIN, you can just pay your quarterly estimated taxes.
If you are working from home make sure everyone around you knows that you WORK from home, you are not sitting there watching TV and they can not just pop in anytime. Same goes for yourself, you still have to go to work, even though the commute may be from the bedroom to the den. If you work a lot from home, leave work sometimes. Go out for lunch.
Don't fall into the "business expense" trap. What you get with a business expense is basically a 30% discount (because you pay with pre-tax dollars). It's still money out of your pocket.
Watch your phone cost. Use a cell phone, with free LD, for your business phone.
Don't mix and mingle funds. Keep the business check book exactly that. If you pay for stuff with your personal credit card, expense it and pay yourself out of the business account. Make up some type of business expense form and use them.
Keep track of auto expenses. These can really add up.
Health insurance can be a *big* surprise. If you and your family are not covered by your wife's plan check into the cost now. Look at joining some business group with a group plan. Also, look at your health care cost with reason. Do you really want to pay a $900 a month so you can fill that $50 prescription for $5?. I've found health care is where you really have to do your homework.
Know your customers. If the deal does not feel right, walk away. It's hard sometimes, but working 12 weeks on a project, with the associated expenses and not getting paid hurts worse.
Money in the bank. Everyone has their own comfort level, but you need that cushion while you transition between projects. Figure out your normal living expenses and how many months you want in the bank.
-- Joe Chisolm Marble Falls, TX
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