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LM75A: How Do I Get a TI Support Person in the Oregon area?

mike fontes
Expert 1385 points
Part Number: LM75A
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: TMP75B, TMP116

Good Afternoon,

 

I have been a design engineer for over 38 years and have been a major user of TI parts for all that time.  I have brought TI into all my designs at several major manufacturers in several industries while as an employee and as a consultant.  In the past 15 years I have been recommending many A/D, D/A, MSP430, C2000 and Tiva Products that are now being manufactured at several companies. 

I have been working at a new company in Oregon the past year and am trying to get them to replace PIC processors with Tiva and Sitara processors.  I am also trying to get several sensors, including temperature sensors for our lighting products.  My problem is that in the past, when I was ready to do this I could contact my distributor reps at Avnet and Arrow to get me access to TI personnel and samples to get my designs going.  When I have tried to do this now I have been told the TI model has changed and that the distributors can no longer help me. They say they can help with other company's products but that TI no longer does this.

 

My question is:  How do I get the support I used to get in the past?  Not being able to find out the latest via  calls or lunch and learns puts me at a disadvantage.  My company does about 120 million in business every year.  I would think TI would like to get involved with us as we start building more of our own products.  How big do we have to get to be able to get $10 worth of samples or  Lauchpads once in a while? It was the giving me a few development kits and Launchpads the got Fairbanks scales to be using 1000's of TI MSP430's and Several A/Ds in many of their products and MTI Instruments to be using F28M36 parts and several A/Ds in their products.  I would like to do the same here at Fritz but can't seem to get the support of the past.

 

Can someone help change that situation for me?

 

Sincerely,

 

Mike Fontes

 

  • 0
    TI__Expert 5695 points
    Hello MIke,

    Texas Instruments takes it very seriously customer support. We help customers through their development cycles in different ways that you may be familiar with, just to name a few:

    1. E2E forums: to address technical questions across all products and applications
    2. TI Designs: To provide system solutions for a great variety of applications
    3. Training Material

    For samples of parts and evaluation platforms such as EVMs, launchpads, boosterpacks, etc there are very reduced prices on ti store.
    To get free evaluation kits I will recommend to contact the sales office in your area.

    Thanks for using TI products!
    Jose
  • 0
    TI__Mastermind 35835 points
    Mike,

    I just wanted to add to Jose's comment. The E2E forums are divided up by business units within TI. Those of us responsible for answering questions in the Temperature Sensors Forum reside within the team which actually creates new temperature sensor products. We are the experts of our domain, so we're able to provide the best possible support in our niche. We don't always have visibility of what's going on in other product teams or the sales force.

    I would be happy to answer your questions about Temperature Sensors, even if the question is a generic, "what's new?"

    Last year we released TMP116 which is an exciting flagship product with 0.2C Accuracy. Since you mentioned LM75, I'd like to point out that TMP75B is the latest, low-voltage replacement for this benchmark device. Much of our catalog is comprised of digital 'local temperature' sensors such as these, but we also sell devices which measure remote diode junctions, switch/alert-output-only devices, analog output devices, and humidity sensors.

    Thanks,
    Ren
  • 0 in reply to Ren Schackmann
    Expert 1385 points

    Ren,

    Thanks for your reply.  I have actually been looking at the TMP116 and the LM275 parts as potentials for our lighting system boards.  I would like to test them with the EK1294 Launchpad, as I am trying to get my compadres to think TI as a replacement to the PIC parts, because the whole ecosystem with CCS7 is just much better to work with. It also allows me to use the same environment for my motion control ideas with the Piccolo and Delfino parts.

    When I was working for Fairbanks and MTI I could order samples from the TI Store of 2 or 3 parts with no charges, or the TI Reps from the distributors would get them for me.  Does this happen any more?  If not it sure is a loss for being able to try parts easily.  In the past 15 years many of my designs were the result of being handed dev boards, a few part or kits by several people from Arrow or Avnet that I played with at home and then turned into products for Fairbanks and MTI.

    As far as using the E2E you will find that I have used it since its inception.  I also use my many connections within the company when I need answers. While at Fairbanks I was lucky enough to meet and work with a number of engineers in the A/D group in Phoenix, and I don't hesitate to contact them when I am having questions on interfacing with a new part.

  • 0 in reply to mike fontes
    TI__Mastermind 35835 points
    Mike,

    It looks like you can request IC samples from the TI store. I'm not an expert on samples, but, as I mentioned before, I can talk to you about the products all day.

    Other people within TI have noticed your post and made an effort to reach out to you. I'll close this thread now. Please start a new thread if you have specific questions about a TI product.

    Thanks,
    Ren