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IamSmooth

Tue Sept 16 2014, 08:35PM

Registered Member #190 Joined: Fri Feb 17 2006, 12:00AM
Location:
Posts: 1567

I shot a video

for the digital thermometer I want to sell. Does the video look ok? Do I get my point across? I will eventually have the website set up. Thanks.

Dr. Slack

Tue Sept 16 2014, 09:54PM

Registered Member #72 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 08:29AM
Location: UK St. Albans
Posts: 1659

When the advert appeared at 10 seconds, it more or less obscured the CryBaby, you need the stuff higher up the screen.
The CryBaby was out of focus / out of light balance for most of the time.
When you A/B'd with the LN2, I'd forgotten how wrong the Omega was by the time the CryBaby settled, and you didn't remind me. It might help to remind me what LN2 should be before the K type goes in?
The high angle looks clumsy. If you adopt a lower angle, and set up a tidy stand so that both meters stay in focus and light-balance readable without moving them around, sat in front of the dewar, I think that would improve things. The meters and their displays should take the prime spot in the frame, without wires in front of them, the dewar and ice bucket can sit at the back, we don't need to see those in great detail.
Must you work in F for preference? You colonial boys are the only corner of the planet that doesn't use C for scientific work. Demonstrate C first, by all means say 'but I prefer F of course' and flick it over.
Why should I buy a CryBaby, is it more expensive for the better accuracy, the same price as the K type, cheaper? Don't undersell yourself.

A lot of promo videos start with the front man face to camera for a few seconds, telling us what he's going to tell us. Cheesy I know, but if I buy that little box without a 'Fluke' or 'Comark' or'Agilent' on it, it might engender more trust to see who I'm getting it from.

You don't want to be so rehearsed that it sounds like a commercial, but a few more runs through the script before next take would help.

Work on the ending, that may be the only thing that people remember. The first thing that came to my mind was 'Even if you already have an omega, you need one of these for the better accuracy, but if you don't have one ...', but I'm not a writer so that's pretty bad, but you get the general sum up and sell idea?

IamSmooth

Wed Sept 17 2014, 12:02AM

Registered Member #190 Joined: Fri Feb 17 2006, 12:00AM
Location:
Posts: 1567

Thank you
Very helpful
I'm going to try again with your suggestions minus me being in it

IamSmooth

Wed Sept 17 2014, 02:54AM

Registered Member #190 Joined: Fri Feb 17 2006, 12:00AM
Location:
Posts: 1567

Ok. I revised it.

Better?

Hazmatt_(The Underdog)

Wed Sept 17 2014, 03:48AM

Registered Member #135 Joined: Sat Feb 11 2006, 12:06AM
Location: Anywhere is fine
Posts: 1735

Good demo. Looks like Omega has something to think about! hahahha.

I really hate the digital thermometers because at work we are always getting performance reports (EPR's) showing these things out-of-limits! Total headache, especially if you're doing aerospace work!

I think you have a winner, but you're going to need documentation to go with it if it's going to sell. Some are going to want some kind of traceability/cal/service for these things, so you might want to think about how to deal with those factors.
Someone may also want 4-20mA output, alarms, all that stuff the big boys offer, and since its a uC, they may want plotting and trending built-in.

Dr. Slack

Wed Sept 17 2014, 06:20AM

Registered Member #72 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 08:29AM
Location: UK St. Albans
Posts: 1659

Yes, rather better. I gather the CryBbay name is not only referencing cryogeneic, but also your 'crystal ... ' trading name. I'm a little concerned about while baby implies cute and small, the whole has negative connotations, but, that's a different discussion.

I notice Hazmatt's comments about as it's uC based, you should put all sorts of time consuming feature-creeps in. I think the only mandatory one is that I would not buy any sensor these days that could not be USB'd to a PC. For $20, you can get what looks like a USB plug on a cable from FTDI, which incorporates one of their USB to serial converter chips. Then you can speak standard serial from the PC and get TTL levels at the device. I've used them for talking to Arduinos and they're great.

IamSmooth

Wed Sept 17 2014, 12:04PM

Registered Member #190 Joined: Fri Feb 17 2006, 12:00AM
Location:
Posts: 1567

Thanks for the input. I'm trying to get out there a simple, no-frills device that is very accurate. As you can see in the demo there is a big difference between the two. All I need to do now is put 10 together and see what happens.

Sulaiman

Wed Sept 17 2014, 12:12PM

Registered Member #162 Joined: Mon Feb 13 2006, 10:25AM
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 3140

I don't know your intended market but
your casing does not look 'Professional' (e.g. A meter casing or a DIN type panel mount enclosure)

your device should either be a temperature controller (set value, process value, p.i.d. control, control output, alarm output ... etc)
or
it should have a data port (as suggested above)

I'm guessing that you calibrated your device at melting ice and boiling nitrogen temperatures (others may guess the same)
I'd want to see at least one other temperature.

I'd want to be able to buy spare probes
how will I know that calibration will be long term stable
how do I know that when I use a new probe the unit will be calibrated?
(e.g. some commercial units have a single-wire EEPROM in the probe for calibration purposes)

will your device have certifications for accuracy?
will your device have certifications for safety?

you may want to record the audio in a less resonant place .. can dub, no need for live audio.

There are loads of cheap thermometers available ... what is it about yours that will make me want one (key selling point)

Sorry to give only the negative points but hopefully you will sell loads if you cover all of the angles.

Conundrum

Wed Sept 17 2014, 10:54PM

Registered Member #96 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:37PM
Location: CI, Earth
Posts: 4059

Useful tips, in case I ever hit the HTSC jackpot and make one that works at room temp. (here's hoping).

Can I actually get away with ad sponsored videos, as a way of raising money for research?

IamSmooth

Wed Sept 17 2014, 11:13PM

Registered Member #190 Joined: Fri Feb 17 2006, 12:00AM
Location:
Posts: 1567

Sulaiman wrote ...

will your device have certifications for accuracy?
will your device have certifications for safety?

Where/how do I get this done? I'm just a guy doing this on the side and have no idea what to do.

My target audience are individuals that don't want to pay more than $200 an accurate meter. I was thinking something like $150, which would be really cheap for the accuracy this meter offers. I did measure it against boiling water, but this would be difficult to segue into the video. I also have a small calibration screw that one can set to freezing water to make sure the calibration is always accurate.

The Omega HH100 series is over $250. True, it has other features, but mine is inexpensive because I'm just offering temperature. Maybe people want more. I'm not sure. I do know that it is very accurate.

My box was built with a 3d printer. Unless I know this will sell I'm not planning on spending a thousand dollars for an injection mold and then make a few thousand to sit in my garage.

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