Should a reviewer keep a $20K Oscilloscope?

Hi!

It's totally worth it, I think I can explain why, and can probably persuade a change of mind, to easily make people wish to adjust the value higher than any figures mentioned.

This sort of question can be approached in a way that requires understanding the work of marketing and putting a value on that. The understanding of the impact of that goes to the heart of valuing certain things like reviews.

I can explain it, and I can almost guarantee every engineering director (i.e. someone who isn't part of marketing!) will also agree on the value and will probably ask it to be adjusted upward too, but all this needs a bit of time to write a longer comment. Happy to write in more detail if there's interest, with zero "woolly" or "fluffy" marketing words (I know some engineers look down on it, sometimes slightly for right reasons, but often for wrong reasons, because it's a discipline with solid objectives and results).

Hello, thank you so much for your reply. I’m not suggesting I have the answer but I am happy people are at least taking a second to think about it.

Don’t get me wrong I believe the element14 community as whole has an extraordinary if not “priceless” value. The financial overhead just to operate this website (that we maybe complain about a tad too much) is incredible, not to mention the dozens of other great programs they run. I sincerely hope they take the sponsor to “cleaners” to run the program. I don’t believe element14 should undervalue themselves in any way.

Collectively the element14 has to be the most diverse and collectively talented group of nerds on the planet!

To suggest that there is only 2 community members that make element14 possible is a bit of a stretch.  

Not everyone may agree with me. I think you may appreciate my assertion that it is a gray area. There must be a dollar value where you go really? Perhaps that’s 30K, 40K, 100K USD to you, I don’t know.

The instrument under review is by no means a dead asset after a 2 month review, there are dozens of secondary test and measurement equipment retailers that rent or loan equipment that would happily purchase the unit.

In a perfect world I’d love play with unit for a little bit. Then share something I was extremely impressed by and then send it down the road to dw and so on and so on. Of I understand there are some significant logistic hurdles to making something like that possible, so I am not suggesting that is the obvious solution.

scottiebabe  I love the question because it DID make me think about the value versus reward consideration.  Personally, I didn't think that your question was more than one of those thoughts that come to mind and you felt safe enough voicing it in the community.  I feel confident that many others feel the same.

I think it's good to be introspective sometimes.  I look at an oscilloscope like that and have to be honest with myself.  I own two oscilloscopes and have access to a third.  Do I use them?  Am I willing to pay the pay the taxes on a $20k prize like that - that I wouldn't use (if I'm honest)?  Could someone else put it to more use?

All in all, again, noble question.  Even if I'm way off in left field - wandering aimlessly - it made me stop an ponder.  Thanks for asking.
<smilely emoji>  <thumbs up emoji>
My internet is really slow tonight and I got tired of waiting for the box with the emojis to pop up.  Ha! Ha!

The Road Trip Road Test

I could see a special road test where an expensive instrument actually goes on a road trip, stopping at various member locations to undergo their tests and experiences with it. I expect there would need to be a "prize" left behind with each road tester to provide incentive to take on the test and blog, but it would allow every selected  road tester to participate at their own level and still have an opportunity to road test and gain experience with an expensive instrument. Perhaps the best blog could get to keep the used instrument in the end. I could see this extending the duration of having an instrument in the limelight and having the benefit of multiple road test perspectives at a lower cost. Proposals could target specific tests and the group of testers could be selected based on filling out a composite proposal that covers all features.

The Road Trip Road Test

I could see a special road test where an expensive instrument actually goes on a road trip, stopping at various member locations to undergo their tests and experiences with it. I expect there would need to be a "prize" left behind with each road tester to provide incentive to take on the test and blog, but it would allow every selected  road tester to participate at their own level and still have an opportunity to road test and gain experience with an expensive instrument. Perhaps the best blog could get to keep the used instrument in the end. I could see this extending the duration of having an instrument in the limelight and having the benefit of multiple road test perspectives at a lower cost. Proposals could target specific tests and the group of testers could be selected based on filling out a composite proposal that covers all features.

That's what usually happens, in practice, with the "for loan" instruments. They go from reviewer to reviewer. May sometimes pop up on a fair or trade show. It's the marketing contingent of devices that's seeing places. Often getting a bit of TLC between duties, to fix/clean/restock consumables or lost options.