On 3/11/2010 2:52 PM, Tony Duell wrote:
I suspect the same is true of hardware. If you provide
it
as a kit, particulalry as a kit with SMD components, you will not get
total idiots buying it. And for something like this where the user has to
have some clue to use it, that is almost certainly a Good Thing.
I wish this were true, but sadly, I have not found it to be a fact. In
fact, I'm shying away from kits now, due to the experiences I have had:
* Through hole kits to make it easier for the hobbyist tends to
require more PCB space, which drives up the cost a bit (not a
major issue, but something to consider). Obviously, an SMT kit
would not suffer from this issue
* If you offer kits and complete units, people see the cost
difference, and they decide "they can do it". Then, they get it
down, it does not work, and then they take up lots of time asking
questions or trying to debug over email.
* Most people decide it's not worth the effort to solder, so they
just pay the extra anyway.
Jim