I enjoyed reading the Samples Rant messages alot.

But, I have my own samples problem, so I'm writing a different message 
rather than adding to the previous thread.

I am trying to locate a vendor for piezotransformers... No, I'm NOT going 
to use them for lighting CCFL's, so I do not need an inverter assembly....I 
just need the piezoceramic transformer itself.

I've spent days searching with google, and find that they are only 
available in Asia, which is probably due to the inverter boards that are 
assembled there.

I found a couple of US sources, but nothing reliable that I can count on to 
provide the same parts later on and no one in the US actually has them in 
bulk quantity.

After a lot of work, I located a vendor in Taiwan, that claim to actually 
manufacture the needed units. But, they don't post detailed specs on their 
www site and I've had to ask for specs via email. I need 6 devices that 
should sell for around $2. each. Instead, they are asking for $6. each and 
the tone of the communication indicates that they charge a large fee to 
ship them to the US as well.

I have a legitimate sample request for a product that I have designed in 
Spice and prototyped using a Panasonic part (which isn't available now). 
So, this isn't a request for a lot of expensive parts.....I am not sure why 
they have such high prices samples.

Anyway, it appears I'm stuck and looks like I'll have to pay these rates. 
Hopefully they have the good sense to mark the Custom Declaration value as 
zero as JRC and TI (Taiwan) do when they ship samples to the US.

Comments appreciated. I am presently waiting to hear how much the shipping 
is gonna cost:>:

Art


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