A: We will be more than happy to sell you some modules! One of the key features of our modules is flexibility -- but if it doesn't do quite what you need, we will be happy to assist in customizing the firmware so that it will suit your application, or do a new custom design just for you!

A: Most often, companies like these will create chipsets that perform most of the major functions required to do a specific task. These chipsets are common in such applications as cellular phones, spread spectrum, paging and wireless LANs. While these chipsets take a major load off the designer, much of the hard work remains. Most of these chipsets leave the major part of the RF design to you. They handle baseband issues, but such areas as receiver front end design, down conversion, filtering, meeting FCC or ETSI spectral mask requirements and other critical areas are left to the system designer. There is still much work to be completed — including the design of custom RF circuit boards for your application, and these areas are where we (or our RF modules) can help.

A: Of course you can! In fact, about 10% of our new clients come to us when they have tried this route and could not get that hot new chipset to work! The problem is that there is a huge difference between a manufacturer's test circuit (usually supplied on the data sheet or included with an application note) and a really manufacturable product. Our experience in bringing finished devices to market ensures that your time to finished product is as short as possible, at a reasonable cost. Our transceiver modules can take the guesswork out of having a licensable product and can save you time and money. Finally, after we have helped a client in their first production run, the surprises are gone.

A: Several things: First, our RF modules are already built, tested, and in many cases certified, so you can add wireless capabilities to your products in very short order. Second, we offer specialized system design, SS and RF experience and equipment that your staff may not have. You may certainly have highly qualified engineers, but very few are likely to have in-depth SS or RF design experience, and most companies don't have the specialized equipment needed to develop SS or RF products. We can work with your engineering staff, complementing them in areas of expertise that are not commonly found. Third, there are times when your engineering staff simply is just too busy, and cannot take on any more projects. We can help shorten the time on your critical wireless project by taking on various SS and RF design tasks, freeing your engineers for other tasks.

A: Great question! Our fees are in line with industry standards for the type of work we do. But you are correct, top quality RF design services are not cheap! In addition to the design files and completed prototypes we provide, our real value is in our customer support, training and tailoring our work to your particular needs. We make sure that your design works well and is manufacturable at the right price. If a problem crops up later, we're right here to help. Our dedicated people make the difference, and that's why so many companies come to us over and over again.

For some projects, we are willing to discuss other fee arrangements, such as lowered rates along with agreements where we manufacture the product and sell it to you with a reasonable profit markup for a specified number of years. This gives you the option of lowered development costs and your assurance that we are fully committed to making the product be the best it can be. It gives us the possibility of making a nice extra profit if the product sells well, so this sort of arrangement can be a real win-win.