This brings up an interesting question... I'm just a teen (17) hobbyist
with no big company and no desires for 1,000,000+ parts. I've ordered
numerous samples from Maxim, Nat'l Semi, and TI. I was told by someone
that I'm lying in a way because I wouldn't be purchasing mass amounts of
these parts. So I ask..is it wrong? What happens if I invent something
using one of these parts and I need more and more of 'em? Speaking of
which, I ordered a sample of TI's TLC0831 -- it's an 8-bit A/D
Converter. Well, I used that to write a magazine article (It'll be in
Nuts & Volts), so in the long run, this will boost the (depending on how
many readers there are) demand for this particular chip. Actually, Nat'l
Semi. makes the same chip -- ADC0831 which is more available.

A thought to ponder,

Tim Hamel


Steve Baldwin wrote:

> > FREE sample arrive in NZ (bottom of the world) in about a week
>
> Nat semi also have a small quantity buy system. With the sample
> system,  I was getting samples from the US before the local guys
> had come back with a price.
> "A web site just for design engineers" and "pre-production
> quantities" it says in the ad.
>
> http://buy.national.com
>
> Steve.
>
> ======================================================
> Steve Baldwin                Electronic Product Design
> TLA Microsystems Ltd         Microcontroller Specialists
> PO Box 15-680, New Lynn      http://www.tla.co.nz
> Auckland, New Zealand        ph  +64 9 820-2221
> email: steveb@tla.co.nz      fax +64 9 820-1929
> ======================================================