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Launching a new product - need your help/advice/feeling

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ikalogic

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Hi there!

First, i hope that i am in the right category.

We are thinking of launching this new product code named "Real-Amp". Basically, it's a device that will let you test op-amp circuits. Just like a breadboard but without having to connect wires, resistors, and caps!

I had the idea in the back of my head for a while now, I know it's doable, but before we put all our resources on it, i am naturally probing the community to see how they feel about such a product.

I don't want you to loose too much time, so it's a really quick 6 questions survey. shouldn't take more than 2 minutes.
https://fr.surveymonkey.com/s/HGMKRRQ

Please don't hesitate to comment!

Thank you very much for your time :)
 
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Why do you or anybody want to test opamps?
Maybe if you buy "seconds" from China extremely cheeeeep (cluck cluck) then maybe you should test them so you can pick out the few good ones.

A few years ago I designed an audio equalizer product and tens of thousands were made. One failed because it had an electrolytic capacitor installed backwards but all the rest worked perfectly for years. The opamps were American and were bought locally, not from E-Bay in Hong Kong. None of the parts were tested before they were installed on the circuit board.

My son recently bought two Chinese audio products from E-Bay and of course one didn't work. It was replaced by the vendor but it took weeks.
 
Why do you or anybody want to test opamps?
I never said that! :)

I said it'll be to test op-amp circuits , big difference. Personally, I never got a op-amp circuit (like differential amplifier) working perfectly from the first time. Always had to adjust the reference voltage, adjust resistor values, etc... let alone more complex circuits like band pass filters! (That's the motivation behind this project. I just want to know if i am not alone in this situation!)
 
Last edited:
Why do you or anybody want to test opamps?
Maybe if you buy "seconds" from China extremely cheeeeep (cluck cluck) then maybe you should test them so you can pick out the few good ones.

A few years ago I designed an audio equalizer product and tens of thousands were made. One failed because it had an electrolytic capacitor installed backwards but all the rest worked perfectly for years. The opamps were American and were bought locally, not from E-Bay in Hong Kong. None of the parts were tested before they were installed on the circuit board.

My son recently bought two Chinese audio products from E-Bay and of course one didn't work. It was replaced by the vendor but it took weeks.

Hi AG

I share your sentiments exactly. Maybe I am becoming cynical too....but so what ???

I am also sick and tired of quality standards that have gone to hell too.....our TV spares have always been purchased from a certain Company here in South Africa.

Whatever we purchased from them did the job and fixed the fault/problem.

Lately, they are dumping crap here too. IC's that don't work. Fake transistors and a never ending story of trash that makes a Technician want to pull his hair out. Our job is difficult enough trying to fix a faulty set. Then you must still contend with faulty NEW spares :mad:

AG, I am sick of uselessness. Whatever I do, I do properly. What is wrong with the rest out there???

Very, very frustrating. Sorry for the rant.

Regards,
tvtech
 
Usually op-amp circuits are connected to another circuits, like sensors, amplifiers, microcontrollers. So even if your product is perfect, I would still build a complete prototype on breadboard etc. And test it with a proper application specific test signals.

And if I am going to build a complete device out of it, of course I need to tweak critical things. How is the "Real-Amp" going to know what is important in my application and what is not important?
 
Usually op-amp circuits are connected to another circuits, like sensors, amplifiers, microcontrollers. So even if your product is perfect, I would still build a complete prototype on breadboard etc. And test it with a proper application specific test signals.

And if I am going to build a complete device out of it, of course I need to tweak critical things. How is the "Real-Amp" going to know what is important in my application and what is not important?

Thank you for your post,

Well, as you said, a typical Op Amp circuit has 1 (or several) inputs and outputs. Many solutions can be imagined to help you test your Op Amp circuit with specific test signals:
1- We can expose some inputs that will then be routed internally to the right part of the circuit to act as input
2- We can allow you (the user) to generate some test signals.

did this clear some doubts?
 
I am not sure I get this. So the prodcut will be a thing that you program your circuit into and it gets wired insude and you can then measure it?
 
I am not sure I get this. So the prodcut will be a thing that you program your circuit into and it gets wired inside and you can then measure it?
Yup, that's quite it. (of course we can add a lot of cute options around that, but you got the main concept)
 
Opamps differ in lots of details, like input offsets, input current, GBW, slew rate, rail-to-railness of inputs and output, noise, drift etc. Is the device capable of simulating those?
Or to ask better, at what audience is it aimed at?
 
Opamps differ in lots of details, like input offsets, input current, GBW, slew rate, rail-to-railness of inputs and output, noise, drift etc. Is the device capable of simulating those?
Well, that's what we intend to do (that device does not exist yet ;) )
Or to ask better, at what audience is it aimed at?
Hmm.. I would say the audience is anyone using op-amps from time to time, and is not confident enough to be sure about what he is doing. This someone can be a student, a hobbyist, or a professional that is more specialized in digital electronics than in analog electronics.
 
Is is capable of being configured as a filter? (e.g. are capacitors able to be switched in? Sallen-Key & multiple-feedback configs?)

How is this more versatile than using a simulator?
 
Have you got a working prototype made?

It sounds like one of those product ideas that is cool as an idea, but the practical implementation (to get to product level) will be a complex expensive nightmare.
 
Is is capable of being configured as a filter? (e.g. are capacitors able to be switched in? Sallen-Key & multiple-feedback configs?)
yes, that's the idea (although i would like to remind you that it does not exist yet!)
How is this more versatile than using a simulator?
Well, a simulator uses mathematical model, the product i am proposing will use the real op-amp and a real circuit. won't this make you more confident about the results than with a simulator?
 
Have you got a working prototype made?

It sounds like one of those product ideas that is cool as an idea, but the practical implementation (to get to product level) will be a complex expensive nightmare.

No prototype yet, it's still on paper. I had the idea about a year ago.. and recently, i found a way to make this possible on a production level.
 
Well, a simulator uses mathematical model, the product i am proposing will use the real op-amp and a real circuit. won't this make you more confident about the results than with a simulator?
I'm confident that a simulation can give good results provided that I put the right values in and include parasitics, etc.

I'm not convinced that the hypothetical product will be able to provide a sufficient number of configurations or range of component value to make it of use to me. That's just me, maybe it will be just what everyone else is looking for.
 
Well, as you said, a typical Op Amp circuit has 1 (or several) inputs and outputs. Many solutions can be imagined to help you test your Op Amp circuit with specific test signals:
1- We can expose some inputs that will then be routed internally to the right part of the circuit to act as input
2- We can allow you (the user) to generate some test signals.

did this clear some doubts?

So, the "Real-Amp" would just connect some passives around the op-amp for me, generate test signals and measure the output? I do not see why this would be better than traditional prototype.
 
So, the "Real-Amp" would just connect some passives around the op-amp for me, generate test signals and measure the output? I do not see why this would be better than traditional prototype.

Well, i thought that it could prevent users from having to build some test PCBs, saving time and money. Now maybe i am wrong, and that's exactly why i posted this thread :)

Maybe as you and dougy83 say, a simulation will be more than enough.

For me i always prefer to build the circuit "in real" but am often too lazy to lay down the circuit on a breadboard, so i end up running some prototype PCBs and experiment with it.
 
I'm not convinced that the hypothetical product will be able to provide a sufficient number of configurations or range of component value to make it of use to me.
Well, i kind of though of a way around this, allowing you to "plug in" all the real components, but i don't want to get into all those specifics right now.. :)
 
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