Greetings. I wanted to get the advice of any top member regarding a roadtest I am getting ready to launch.
Let me start by saying, most roadtests begin with a meeting with the sponsor who indicates an interest in sponsoring a roadtest. My boss gives a high level view of the roadtest program, and then I fill in the details, schedules, gathering information, etc. One of the things we always point out is that the products we roadtest have to be global (they can be used in N/SA, Europe, Asia, etc.)
I met with WURTH ELEKTRONIK about its Amber Pi Design Kit. AMBER PI is an expansion board for the Raspberry Pi 3B that gives the Pi a sub-1GHz RF interface. The included sensors (temperature, humidity, pressure, motion) and RF dongle which runs as remote station for the AMBER PI.
It seemed like a good product to roadtest. It has an IoT angle, and it seemed like a product that would appeal to both makers and professionals alike. As usual, the sponsor sends me the kits so we can ship them out to the roadtesters. Well,when I opened the box, I soon learned all the kits were for use at 868MHZ (Europe) only. I didn't see that as a problem because often times there are separate part numbers for a 915MHZ product and an 868MHZ product. This time, however, there was not one for 915MHZ. I contacted the tech support line which said : "yes, unfortunately the Amber Pi is only available with the 868MHz RF module." This poses a problem since I need to open the roadtest to North America, at the very least.
After some quick research, I see that while the company does not make an Amber Pi with a 915MHZ radio module installed, it does sell a
915 MHZ radio module separately. So the radio module would need to be swapped out.
Question In Need of Advice
I could very well purchase some 915MHZ radio modules and provide them to the North America roadtesters. So, they would have to swap out the radio modules. I guess if this was a quick pull out/plug in task, I wouldn't be writing this discussion. But it appears that the module is soldered in. I took a close up picture of it (pictured below) for you to see. If I'm wrong, say the word. End of story.
But if it requires to be desoldered/soldered, then I am somewhat concerned for a couple of reasons:
-- it changes the nature of the roadtest to include the modification task instead of just focusing on the rapid prototyping capability
--What if there is damage to the radio module during the swap out.
--The swap increases the complexity of the roadtest to the point where it is possible that a roadtester may not complete the roadtest/review
Now, I guess I could request from the company to custom build 915MHZ versions. Moreover, since they sell it with a separate 915MHZ radio module, perhaps the swapout should be roadtested to see if it is as easy to do as is implied by the supplier tech support line.
So, I am looking for some advice. I want to make sure the roadtest is fair and straightforward for both the supplier and the roadtester.
Any comments you have would be appreciated.
Randall
