I'm glad SOMEONE agrees with me! It is good PR to give out samples, EVEN to
hobbyists. I'd say the majority of the people on this list are in the mid-20s
on up -- either way, I look up to ya guys/gals =) I do hope to have the title
"Embedded Systems Engineer" slapped on a resume some day!

Anyways, I appreciate your feedback Sean. Now I won't feel so guilty in
ordering samples =)

Tim Hamel



Sean H. Breheny wrote:

> Hi Tim!
>
> I am also a teen (19) hobbyist/student. Its been a while since the subject
> of age came up here,but I'd be interested to see how many of us there are
> on the list.
>
> I also use a fairly large number of free samples. I don't see how one could
> label it as lying,unless the question is specifically asked "How many do
> you expect to use?" and I were to reply with a very large number. In fact,
> I usually inform them that I am an engineering student. I'm not sure how
> much more ground that gains me versus a hobbyist.
>
> I feel very strongly that it is beneficial to a company to send free
> samples to people like us. As you say, you might come up with a product one
> day that you wish to market,and you are more likely to use their parts in
> it. In addition, you may decide to become an engineer,in which case your
> familiarity with their products is a clear advantage to them.
>
> Sean
>
> At 05:12 PM 8/23/99 -0700, you wrote:
> >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
>
> |
> | Sean Breheny
> | Amateur Radio Callsign: KA3YXM
> | Electrical Engineering Student
> \--------------=----------------
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