Getting idea off ground

So true!

Dave.

Yep. It's fairly cheap if you're a "small entity" which is bureaucratalk for an individual or small biz. Large applicants pay roughly double. See:

Here's the fee schedule starting Oct 2008:

which appears to be about 5% higher.

I'll give you an A for wishful thinking!

With just an idea you don't stand a chance, and if it's any good they'll just steal your idea. Even if you did patent it then that doesn't matter much either. If they are a big company and they know you are a one-man-band that can't afford the $$$$$$ to defend the patent then they'll just flat out steal it. Not to mention that it's dead easy to get around patents anyway.

You need to offer then something tangible, either some IP (Intellectual Property) or some such that can save them time-to- market, and/or some expertise in some area. For example, if you product had some smart firmware/VHDL code that made it do it's magic then you may have something to bargain with.

Dave.

You don't need a working prototype for a patent. You weren't patenting a circuit topology, were you? They're the easiest patents to get around. In fact they're so easy that no one bothers with them. If it wasn't a topology patent, what does it matter that the final design had nothing to do with what was disclosed in the patent. It's often to your advantage that they not be.

Most

Wise words, and I remember a quote from T.A. Edison to the same effect.