Look at my Wave Generator, or "Garage Tek Introduces..."

I am sure the site was totally different this morning when I looked at it.

Links Area?

You can read that two ways - I thought you were saying they were expensive.. but the pricing is in fact very good. Which I now realise you said!

Huh?

Indeed. I now realize I was being ambiguous. They're terribly overpriced in local shops around here. Sounds better?

I'm probably just hallucinating... I managed to avoid seeing all the "ecommerce" stuff before while exploring it.

Yes!

sugarshot.org

My Gosh, a poster who makes sense.. is this the internet? Where am I?

Not long ago I was trying to explain to someone how the worst possible outcome of a new product development was not selling zero pieces, but selling some piddling quantity. I'm sure you know what I mean.

You mean a quest for perfection, compounded by a burning desire to get a product out there. "Fire in the belly", as some call it.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

Guess what, I just sold one. Spamming newsgroups works.

Depends how you look at things. Personally I think no project is a total waste of time. There's either a usefull code sniplet or something else that you learn and can apply to some other future project. Its convenient to tackle projects which force you to learn/research something you always wanted to, but never had the time. Preferably with a paying client behind it.

Nothing beats being able to enjoy that and make a living from it :)

hehe.. Thanks for the reference! I looked it up, a nice looking simple unit.. it offers a sine wave to boot, but my gadget has a much wider frequency range, and little doubt (I did not check) it can't push as much current.

It was very, very, encouraging to see that product offered at a higher price than I would think reasonable for my generator gadget.

Anyway, this isn 't a serious enterprise.. at this point, but I wll produce a line of basic electronics in the signal amplifier catagory before moving on to more specialized activities.

What I'd really like to learn is how to get the lettering painted on for less than $6 a unit, even a metal panel overlay would work very well for the enclosure.

Where's my 10%? :)

I'm considering buying a few, too.

Oh ahh, by the way, there is another little issue that you haven't addressed:

REGULATIONS

You have of course complied with FCC, UL, RoHS, WEEE, CE, etc. regulations haven't you? And your selling price includes the costs for the lawyers, consultants, and certifications that you will need to make you products legit? And you have constructed the appropriate legal structures to protect yourself from the lawsuits and other legal challenges heading your way for patent violations, proof of regulatory compliance, etc.?

Seriously, you have no idea what a quagmire you're getting yourself into trying to make your own products yourself. Unless your in Asia where there's still a modicum of economic freedom, then you might have a chance.

The problem with selling just a few is that it forces you to provide various types of support that you might otherwise be able to avoid doing. For example, you might be able to avoid writing a comprehensive user or service manual for a complex project. There's little to be learned from that except how to write better manuals, and while useful, I'd rather spend the time or money on something with more customers. Most of the interesting technical stuff is over when the first prototype is working perfectly, and perhaps even before that.

Some people will show a prototype/mockup and if they don't get enough orders simply cancel the few orders they did get. I think that's a bit rude, but if the three orders are from two competitors and a hobbyist who will probably break the product and ask for a refund, it may be justifiable homicide.

Yup.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

Do you read what you post before hitting 'send'? I'm not sure whether you are replying to my post in particular or yelling out at the world at large. You're making all sorts of generalisations which are more a reflection on your view of the world than anything else. A useful thing to do every so often is to think "is this helping me?".

Back on topic, there's been some really informative historical threads on getting small products to market, suggest you use Google groups search to find a few. Does your group have a marketing department?

Cheers.

Ken

"Chris Carlen" schreef in bericht news: snipped-for-privacy@news2.newsguy.com...

Seriously, as long as you don't sell to the general public or by the thousands++, you can still do pretty much as you like. Do you really think that all those cheap hobby kits comply? The soup is not as hot as you suggest.

Find a silk-screening outfit, there'll be one close by, wherever you are. If it's a small box they'll probably be able to provide the box made to order, with the screening, cheaper than you can buy them yourself. In quantity 'x', which of course varies from place to place. :)

Ken

Nice work. Very professional looking. Shame you only sold three, but I can undertstand how that happens. Some of my projects have floped, but my DDS generator was luckily quite sucessful. It is very difficult to get a niche hobby project "just right" that suits everyones price and requirements.

Dave :)

"David L. Jones" schreef in bericht news: snipped-for-privacy@t39g2000cwt.googlegroups.com...

Thanks. I thought of changing it to a sinewave only, 0-100Hz generator for audiophools. Useful to check your listening room for loose/resonating parts and bits. I actually used it once for that purpose, and it *is* amazing what you find. Exciting too, below 50Hz you hardly hear anything, but many items in your room start living.

The next day my neighbours asked me if I had experienced some sort of a close encounter of the third kind.

snip

Quite a few of the enclosure manu's will do a lot of the preparation for you, even in quantities of 10.

martin

what's the broad band noise look like? a plot would be nice

martin