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The New Members Blog Series HOW MUCH DO ROADTESTS COST?

rscasny

The New Members Blog Series is a collection of blogs for new members to help them better understand the element14 roadtest program.

Roadtesters do not pay anything to be a roadtester. Even when we ship products to the roadtester, element14 pays for shipping costs and customs fees

Now, there have been a couple of times since 2016 when some fees were "attempted" to be collected from the roadtester, but once the roadtester informed me, I had my assistant get on the phone with the shipper to figure out what was going on. element14 paid for the outstanding fees. The roadtester should never pay anything regarding the product being roadtested.

But the roadtester is required to have the resources and equipment to conduct a roadtest. Examples include test equipment, soldering equipment & solder, hook up wire, etc. element14 would not supply these sorts of things unless they were something the sponsor specified and wanted to include in the kit. 

Even though roadtesters do not pay anything to be a roadtester, there are costs associated with a roadtest that the sponsor of the roadtest incurs. The sponsor pays for the products (element14 pays for shipping to the roadtesters.) The sponsor also pays what amounts to an "administration fee" for the program. Roadtests require office/admin support, web designer support, and social media time to promote the roadtests.

Since our suppliers finance the roadtest program, the program depends on roadtesters completing their reviews. This is why sponsors are involved in the roadtest program: they want to get your feedback about the product. Sometimes this feedback is on the most practical level: something is not right with the documentation or something is not working properly. The other big reason sponsors participate in the roadtest program is the hope that you will help spread the word about their products.

element14 has to report to sponsor a bunch of metrics on a roadtest. The completion rate of the reviews per roadtest is closely watched. This is why you will receive follow up emails from my assistant asking for a mid-roadtest progress report. We don't mean to bug you or bother you. But I can ensure you that if we are asking you someone from the sponsor is asking me about your progress!

For everyone completes their review, I'd like to personally thank you. Your efforts keep the roadtest program viable and a great way to learn about new products for the hobbyist, maker and engineer.

Randall Scasny

RoadTest Program  Manager

  • in reply to colporteur

    Hi Sean,

    If you are referring to the Raspberry Pi Zero 2W roadtest, it comes with a power adapter and a memory card. Now, if it didn't, we would send them to you. These are probably madatory accessories for this product.

    But you make a very good point. element14 does not necessarily supply everything you might need for a roadtest. I believe I mentioned this. Take the Raspberry Pi for example. Let's say someone wanted to attached an environmental sensor for the Pi. element14 would not necessarily pay for that. In another situation, someone needed a DC power supply for a roadtest and selected a $2000 power supply from Farnell. We did not provide that. Breadboarding accessories, soldering equipment, electrical consumables, all these things are not supplied by element14 unless that is the product being roadtested. It is always good but not required to list your BOM in your test procedure. Talking about what you need earlier than later increases the chances that we may consider supplying it. 

    Randall

  • I don't want to discourage anyone from participating in the RoadTest program but I think it is important to be aware there may be costs you do not anticipate.

    A personal example was testing a PoE device for a Pi. I didn't have a switch to provide PoE power. In the end, I purchased two different power supplies. One I used to conduct the RoadTest and a second to prove out an issue I had during the RoadTest. The purchases were less than $100. I was fortunate to be able to cover the cost. It would be unfortunate for an individual to get a negative rating because they failed to anticipate associated costs.

    Another example I can extrapolate from a current competition. A Raspberry Pi is offered as part of the kit. It makes no mention of a power supply or memory card. My assumption is I will need to have those components, if not there is a purchase in my future. You could argue they should be provided. If they are not and you assumed they were your efforts will come up short.

    I confess it is difficult at times to get a clear understanding of the parts requirements. What will be provided, what do I have an will need or what I will need to purchase. 

    You never pay anything to participate but that doesn't mean it will cost you nothing to participate.

  • in reply to embedded_guy

    That's a great question. Especially so since we migrated on this new platform. I think there has been some challenges for videos, etc.  Let me ask about this. I'll have to get back to you.

  • Thanks for sharing your views and details about the road tests. Being someone who has done several road tests I still may find creating impressive visuals for the road test. It would be nice for me to know which kind of HQ Images, videos, etc, and tools such as cameras, software are being used by other road testers to create impressive documents.

  • in reply to javagoza

    Thanks your your comment. You makes some good points. I think I will answer WHAT MAKES FOR A GOOD ROADTEST? in a separate blog. 

    For now, I'll says that I believe the roadtest program reviews products very well  but not anywhere as rigorously as a testing lab such as IL, CSA, Intertek, among others. 

    I think if we frame a roadtest's purview from removing the product from its box, powering it up, conducting typical checks a user would perform, and in some cases use it in a project, then I feel roadtests can be objective, no matter how much subjective human nature comes into play.

    Of course, roadtesters like all human beings look at things from their point of view and often are subjective. I like to give the example of cars. When it comes to what I think is the perfect car, I say it is without question the Mazda Miata:  https://www.mazdausa.com/vehicles/mx-5-miata?semid=73734938332&providertag=MazdaSEM&servicetag=73734938332&k_keyword=mazda%20miata&k_matchtype=e&gclid=Cj0KCQiA0p2QBhDvARIsAACSOOO5oH1VYBl5JVGCjisjQSx78Y8V4P8pr2uGGTDsyKe_mMVFWcJL1UMaAt1_EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

    But I'm sure that there are people ( the car nuts and gearheads of e14) who would tell me all the flaws in a Miata. Despite the flaws, a Miata makes me feel good and my subjective mind makes me feel it is the best. Now, this example just illustrates the power and allure of subjectivity, and the pervasiveness of subjectivity. So, how do we deal with subjectivity in a roadtest? Simple answer, the pre-screening I have introduced into the selection process. I think the pre-screening tends to eliminate insincere people. In addition to that, I find that when people make a comment along the lines of I don't like this...or I didn't think this worked well...or this needs improvement, they often explain why. If they don't, I feel often times the commenters will call them out and ask them to explain themselves. 

    I read the reviews but I don't tell the roadtesters what to write. Our reviews are not moderated by an roadtest overseer. There have been some times when a sponsor wanted to pre-screen the review prior to it going live. I told them flat out No! Suppliers do not influence what is written about their product; however, they may ask that certain tests be included in every review, which I think is fair.

    Some roadtesters ask my opinion before the review is posted. I usually focus on the writing itself or the structure of the review, rather than commenting on their opinion unless they gave for instance the product all 1 stars, which is out of the ordinary. I feel our members who make comments are the best form of "moderation."