The New Members Blog Series HOW MUCH DO ROADTESTS COST?

RE: The New Members Blog Series HOW MUCH DO ROADTESTS COST?

colporteur — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 22:38:50 GMT

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.

RE: The New Members Blog Series HOW MUCH DO ROADTESTS COST?

embeddedguy — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 16:15:32 GMT

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.

RE: The New Members Blog Series HOW MUCH DO ROADTESTS COST?

javagoza — Sat, 12 Feb 2022 10:40:45 GMT

I haven't taken part in the road test program yet, not because I don't want to but because if I did I would like to do very well. And here comes the problem, what characterizes a good road test? I have in my memory some road test reports that for me are really surprising from a technical and educational point of view. But were they good for the sponsor?
This text gives a tremendously important key for me, a good road test must meet the expectations of the sponsor. But, what does the sponsor want? A technical review of the product, the honest impression of the average user, an advertising report of the product... I think it is very important that the road testers, once chosen, are informed of the expectations of the sponsor, that would at least give me the security of working in the right direction, focusing efforts on meeting those expectations. I don't know if this would detract from the freshness of the reports.

On the other hand, it bothers me a lot when I read comments indicating that the reports are not impartial or that they are paid by the sponsor without realizing that the person doing the road test is exposing himself to losing his credibility. If there is something that I like about the program, it is that I have not seen dishonest reports and when a report is below the high expectations that we all have, there is always a member of the community who invites and/or guides the tester to improve some aspect of their report or guides the tester to perform some additional test on the device.

And finally congratulations to the team that manages the road test program for their hard work and dedication to the program.