Pick and Choose: Price differential on product

weirdjim

weirdjim

Ejection Handle Pulled
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weirdjim
I'm about to resurrect an old RST design in new format. It splits the catswhisker (or copper dipole) NAV antenna to two receivers plus a separate glideslope splitoff.

The parts are identical ... a metal chassis, a PC board, one resistor, one disk ceramic capacitor, and four BNC connectors. The question revolves around the chassis.

1. I can deliver all the parts to you and let you do the chassis drilling (four 1/4" holes that have to be within 20 mils of each other) and "decal" type legends and you do the chassis painting. Selling price somewhere around $35

2. Same deal, but the chassis is predrilled, painted, and silkscreened legends. Selling price somewhere around $85.

Which one would you choose?

PLEASE don't tell me to offer both. I ain't that big I can afford to do both. Please, "no substitutions" as it says on the menu. Pick one.

Thanks,

Jim
 
Definitely the $85 version. $50 is a very small difference for a plug and play version.
 
mtuomi said:
Definitely the $85 version. $50 is a very small difference for a plug and play version.
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Perhaps I was not quite as clear as I might be (and I'm starting to suspect that English is not your native language). When you get the kit, you have to put it together, no matter whether it is the prepainted version or the do-it yourself version. Assembly is required. Plug and play it ain't.

$50 is the difference between a drilled, painted, screened chassis and the plain chassis. Putting it together is the same amount of work.

Jim
 
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Sounds a little like a "standard kit" vs "FAA 51% compliant quick build" :)

I would opt for 2. Suspect the silkscreening, etc. will result in a more professional and nicer looking result.
 
Mason said:
Not sure how many folks have the tools and skill to drill those holes. I'd go for the higher-priced spread.
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Sadly, I would agree here Jim. The garage drill press isn't common anymore.

But... if your market is home builders, they'll be able to do it.

If the market is someone else... they won't have the tools. Or if they do, it'll be low-spec stuff from Harbor "Fright".

So... unsure what to recommend but think about target market.
 
Timbeck2 said:
You lost me at "RST" and "catwhisker". :dunno:
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RST Engineering is Jim's company that dates back to about the same era when Burt Rutan was first experimenting with hot wired foam (in other words it's been around a few years).

"Cat whisker" is referring to the V-shaped, 2-prong VOR/LOC antenna, most often seen mounted on the vertical stab.
 
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Pat Elliott said:
And he's selling a kit form of this: http://www.avspec.aero/images/store/298_AntennaDevelopment_AD-9_WEB.jpg
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Yes, and that is a standard "Bud Box" chassis with the four holes of which I speak, and a decal of which I planned on making, either #1 or #2. No problem.

And I did mis-speak. Mea culpa. I was thinking about another product. The ONLY difference between the raw materials kit and the 51% prebuild kit is the four holes. I'm sure I can get some kid that got an A in my fab class to drill four holes for me for $50 a chassis. No big deal.

So NOW the question becomes, if the only difference is the four drilled/punched holes, is THAT worth double+ the cost? Especially since this little box is buried WAY behind the panel where your IA is the only person likely to see it until the airplane gets to the boneyard.

Sorry for the blunder.

Jim
 
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Any sheet metal shops around? The count punch out a jig to drill the holes which would be another part of the kit to make $0.50 on.
 
Clark1961 said:
Any sheet metal shops around? The count punch out a jig to drill the holes which would be another part of the kit to make $0.50 on.
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I don't understand what you say. Could you rephrase? If you are saying to get a sheet metal shop to punch out a template for me to drill the holes myself? Or to include a template with each kit? I doubt sincerely that a sheet metal shop will punch me out a template/jig for fifty cents. Fifty bucks setup and a couple of bucks apiece is about right. And don't forget, we ain't makin' Chevys here. If I do twenty-thirty of these a year I'd be surprised. VOR is about to go away, and that was the major market. It also splits LOC and splits off glideslope, so for those still using the ILS there could be a couple of dozen more. That whole VHF NAV thing is slowly going away in favor of GPS. Which begs an even more interesting question ... what are we going to do with all that spectrum 108-118 when the VHF NAV thing dies?

And, as I've said on this board again and again, GPS is a delicate thing. Give me a S-band oscillator and a fifty watt TWT and I could sterilize GPS in all of Northern California, Southern Oregon, and Western Nevada from something the size of a small suitcase in the back end of a 182. And be in Southern California by tomorrow and repeat the same performance.
 
sorry, I didn't catch the autocorrect typo. The sheet metal shop could punch out a jig to include with each kit. Of course you could make a jig to drill the holes yourself for a couple bucks. Just throwing out ideas here. After all drilling holes isn't rocket science.
 
weirdjim said:
It also splits LOC and splits off glideslope, so for those still using the ILS there could be a couple of dozen more. That whole VHF NAV thing is slowly going away in favor of GPS.
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I've seen no significant written or rumor mill indications that LOC/ILS are going anywhere anytime soon.

Whether one needs your splitter is a different topic, but there's still too many aircraft with ILS gear aboard and too many GPS approaches that don't get as low as 200' AGL.

VOR coverage below 5000' AGL will slowly disappear, but the LOC/GS/ILS side of things will last longer.
 
I'd go with the more finished 85 buck one.


And on the ILS note, those things ain't going nowhere, for many reasons.
 
GRG55 said:
RST Engineering is Jim's company that dates back to about the same era when Burt Rutan was first experimenting with hot wired foam (in other words it's been around a few years).

"Cat whisker" is referring to the V-shaped, 2-prong VOR/LOC antenna, most often seen mounted on the vertical stab.
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Thanks for the explanation sir. If I knew everything airplane, there wouldn't be a reason for me to be here.
Appreciate it.
 
GRG55 said:
RST Engineering is Jim's company that dates back to about the same era when Burt Rutan was first experimenting with hot wired foam (in other words it's been around a few years).
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Tanks for the mammaries, GRG. Yes, Burt and I started working on our projects about the same time. I did the antennas for his first EZ when he was talking about using a VW engine in it back in '74. My last job for the Brothers Rutan was 30 years ago nearly to the day when Voyager got home.

RST was founded on Thanksgiving Day (perhaps after a drop or two too many of Old Rammycackle) 1973. That means we just passed our 43rd year in the biz.

Thanks,

Jim
 
I'm sure you're aware of the Archer antennae found in many an RV wingtip... like mine...

Does your design increase accuracy and overcome the small issue of being ~15' off my centerline?
 
Ravioli said:
I'm sure you're aware of the Archer antennae found in many an RV wingtip... like mine...

Does your design increase accuracy and overcome the small issue of being ~15' off my centerline?
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Why would that make a difference?

I disagree with Bob's design, and he disagrees with mine. No big deal.

But his are $100 and mine are $5. I think that is part of the unvoiced disagreement :cornut:

I've asked Van for twenty years to let me give him a design for his imbedded wing antennas and he hasn't given me the courtesy of a reply. You have to wonder what sort of a deal Van and Bob have to cause that discourtesy.

But again, I can't discount a $5 antenna a lot to pay for some sort of endorsement. Lots of airplane flying around with my antennas. Quite frankly, at this point, I could care less. If that is what Van wants to do, that is just fine by me. Costs you more, but that's not my problem.

Then again, there are a hell of a lot of Rutan's designs flying around with my antennas and after 40 years, not one complaint about reception OR reliability.

Draw your own conclusions, but that is NOT a part of this thread. PLEASE start another thread if you want, but don't creep this one. Over. Out.

Jim
 
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Seems I'm going against popular opinion here, but the $35 version sounds better to me.

If I have to break out the soldering iron to make this thing, drilling a few 1/4" holes ain't no big deal. Even if I was part of the .1% of the population without said bit and gun, less than $50 would buy the tools. If I didn't care about saving money or if I doubted my skill, I'd just buy a finished commercial unit and pay someone to install it. After all, if you can't drill a small hole, you can't be trusted pointing a hot poker at a pc board.

On your end, with selling a product that you admit is nearing the end of it's useful life, I'd imagine you'd rather be stuck with a few off the shelf undrilled cases than throwing out a run of expensive paperweights.
 
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