Hi Dominic,

How do you think it fels someone which is at least the same honest
like you are and the National answer is:

"With regret we inform your country is not included in our  sample
request policy"

?

Vasile 

On 5/17/05, Dominic Stratten <dominic.stratten@ntlworld.com> wrote:
> I placed a samples order last week with National Semiconductor for some
> relatively cheap parts (LM331 and LM2917). I filled out all the forms, was
> honest with what I wanted and didn't go overboard on what I requested.
> 
> The application for these has already sold many units in advance but I
> needed to check it would all work ok with a couple of prototypes - I didn't
> want to go out and place the minimum orders for components with my
> distributors until I'd got a couple of working units.
> 
> A few days later I got an email back for each of the three parts I'd
> requested :
> 
>                Dear Dominic Stratten,
> 
>                Thank you for the sample request from National
> Semiconductor.
> 
>                We regret that we are unable to fulfill the sample request
> as follows:
> 
>                         Part Number : LM331N for 5 pieces.
>                         Company Name: Picbits.
>                         Application : Automotive.
> 
>                Please contact your local distributor to obtain samples:
>                http://www.national.com/contacts/
> 
>                Regards,
> 
>                Regional Administrator
> 
> 
> Undeterred I soldiered on and found an alternative from a company in the
> States called Exar. The IC was pin compatible and although a couple of
> tweaks may be needed could quite easily be integrated into my project. As an
> added bonus it was a third of the price as well :-)
> 
> I sent Exar a request for more details and enquired if any samples were
> available.
> 
> Less than 24 hours later I had a rep from a UK distributor (DT Electronics)
> on the phone - he'd pop round for a cup of coffee and a chat and would post
> out 5 free samples.
> 
> Now - if I'd have got the samples from National Semiconductor I'd have
> probably designed the whole project around their offerings and purchased
> only NSC components - I'm now going to go elsewhere for my alternatives and
> save a few pennies. I'm going to make it my mission now on this project to
> avoid any other items by NSC - a disgruntled customer here.
> 
> On the other hand - Maxim and Microchip seem to be two of the best
> manufacturers I've found for sending out samples - the service is so good I
> even feel guilty about requesting samples (for legitimate projects) - I make
> a point not to abuse their service.
> 
> Anyway - rant over - time to go and cook the dinner
> 
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> 
> 
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