FranLab is getting evicted - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: tpowell1830
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 05, 2018, 02:11:38 pm
content: Seems that Fran has a lot of things going against her. I have been watching her channel for a couple of years and these crises seem to vex her. Serendipity is a double edged sword and sometimes the writing on the wall is a specific message i.e. in this case it is saying to move out of Philly.Fran, if you are reading, I wish you well and hope you find a peaceful place.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 06, 2018, 01:18:15 am
content: Not good:I recon we could crowd source finding a new place for her if she lets us know the budget and requirements.

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2018, 01:46:02 am
content: I saw that. The described situation is historically quite common. I have seen quite a number of neighborhoods that for one reason or another get the eye of a developer (or a number of developers) that gob up properties and push people out. This was much worse in certain cities in Brazil, and I still recall near my workplace a very tiny lot with a house inserted in the middle of several skyscrapers - someone probably either too stubborn or deed was lost and recovered only years after the buildings were erected.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2018, 02:16:12 am
content: Given the lack of response compared to what happened with Naomi Wu and Simone Giertz, I guess old ladies in engineering are valued much less than young women in engineering? Sad...

author: beanflying
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2018, 04:45:26 am
content: PITA and part of living in the Tenanted world. I have had it happen to me commercially at the end of lease. I was offered a new lease with a 50% hike or else. I suggested impolitely I would be taking the or else option and they could place their bluestone building somewhere appropriateNo need for outrage or response or campaigns just a sad/annoying event in the quirky, offbeat and slightly kooky (good thing) that is Franlabs

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2018, 04:59:33 am
content: This sort of thing has been happening a lot in Seattle, older buildings being demolished and replaced with high rise buildings full of luxury condos or apartments. I can't even explain how thankful I am that I bought a house back when I did because there's no way I could afford to live around here anymore if I hadn't. Screw renting, I don't ever want to be paying someone elses mortgage again.

author: TheSteve
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 06, 2018, 05:03:21 am
content: If she really is the last one in the building maybe they will offer her a generous settlement to walk away early. That should at least should pay for the relocation etc.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 06, 2018, 05:13:47 am
content: Quote from: TheSteve on October 06, 2018, 05:03:21 amDepends on where the new owners are in the development process. If they are ready to start site work in a few weeks, then that might be a possibility.

author: tpowell1830
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2018, 06:56:46 am
content: I just hope that she takes it in stride and keeps on with the business of making videos of cool things. Not to mention good guitar music and accessories.The worst thing to happen would be if she lets it get her down.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2018, 04:03:18 pm
content: I did not watch the video yet,But based on what people are writingIsent this the plot of

author: Red Squirrel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2018, 11:26:59 pm
content: The downsides of renting. You're really at the mercy of the landlords/owners and your life can be turned upside down real quick if they make any decisions that affect you.Hopefully she can somehow find a new place and own it and get set up again but sounds like money is an issue.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2018, 11:52:22 pm
content: Quote from: NiHaoMike on October 06, 2018, 02:16:12 amThere he goes again.Get help, this obsession isn't healthy or productive.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2018, 11:57:07 pm
content: well she does not dress likewait why am i evenbreast implants?maybe flame thrower boobs like wild wild west? fembots?

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2018, 12:06:54 am
content: 2000 sq ft? Really for a Lab ? What she builds rocket engines there? Or it is also her living place?I do not see it necessary to live near restaurants and night clubs, and with today's online supplies procurement i see no problems to run a small business from a suburb.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2018, 12:16:08 am
content: uhh some people dont like working in sardine cans and running an effective business means you pay other people as little as possible and if you get the process down yourself then you shorten your supply chain demands. A skilled person can use much less conventional overhead like having production stop because a supplied decided to fuck up.. once you have alot of parts you buy you need a purchasing department that keeps things organized.... and a quality departmentyou get a sales call and you say hold up, let me quote you in 3 days after I verify 15 different parts sources? when someone asks to buy some shit you wanna get back to them as soon as humanly fucking possible with a YES.. and deliver, not wonder if people are gonna send you sharp fucked up brackets, tomb stoned PCB and have their laser cutter break down.2000sqft is small for a work shop.reasonably accessible table saw, mill, drill press, grinder, lathe, tool cabinets, a few work benches, laser cutter, pick and place, oven occupies all that real fast. add welding, electronics, burn in test area...a lot of idiots can pack all that stuff real tight but its not good for cleaning, workflow or safety. yea I am talking to you buddy, with that spectrum analyzer 2 feet away from a bench grinder.if you wanna get stuff done fast too, you wanna setup your production in a round robin fashion, not have to hire a mathematician to do complex analysis on what route to take. less stress and you can actually focus on doing stuff rather then 'juggling space'then there is always the 'cad factor'. You can setup jigs quickly to do certain jobs to match what you have in your head without going to a god damn computer to make a drawing, then argue about it over a telephone because you forgot to specify some shit someone wants to know about that you just intrinsically know about (quality of a drilled hole, tolerances (you can just tell or do a quick fit test). Wanna make a few parts fast for a small production? Spending hours making blue prints is not the way to go about it. Maybe a few notes on a post it.If you have a few people that like being tied up withutter bullshit(stop production because some one gets something thats not absolutely perfect and their a fuckin robot) all the time then sure, you can get by just mailing things to different people.. and it makes some sense on extreme mass production.. but for a smaller business that does custom work?come on.theoretically you might be able to squeeze some money out of it, but practically your gonna end up looking like professor xavier

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2018, 12:37:40 am
content: Quote from: Mr. Scram on October 06, 2018, 11:52:22 pmThose two are the only other female tech TV show hosts who have publicly asked for help in recent history. (That I know of anyways.)Quote from: coppercone2 on October 07, 2018, 12:16:08 amIt's possible to shrink down an electronics lab quite a bit without losing too much functionality (been there, done that), but as you stated that's definitely not true of mechanical shops. Stationary power tools take up a lot of space and there has to be lots of clearance to allow for transport of large workpieces. Not to mention space to store materials.It's often said that the sort of lab that downsizes the easiest is software - all you need for programming is a computer and there's no shortage of efforts to pack lots of computing power into small spaces. Not to mention cloud services for the stuff that really needs a lot of compute power.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2018, 12:40:49 am
content: you need a big empty relaxing room for that shit , its mentally hardand it stifles innovation and quality, if you need to climb on tables to plug in equipment ETC (you start to trust whats going on in your head more since its easier).maybe if your really disciplined. given how much test gear costs it should be accessible and well ventillated

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2018, 12:49:20 am
content: Quote from: NiHaoMike on October 07, 2018, 12:37:40 amThis has nothing to do with female or not. You're just inventing reasons to mention the Youtube ladies you obsess about again.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2018, 12:50:19 am
content: Quote from: coppercone2 on October 07, 2018, 12:40:49 amThere's a lot between climbing on tables and 2000 square feet.

author: Cerebus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2018, 12:55:40 am
content: Quote from: NiHaoMike on October 06, 2018, 02:16:12 amFran is hardly anoldlady you cheeky young whippersnapper you!Now get off my lawn! Pesky kids!

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2018, 01:07:11 am
content: Quote from: coppercone2 on October 07, 2018, 12:40:49 amThe key to building a compact electronics lab that works well is to plan ahead. Put more power strip (PDU) outlets on the rack than you expect to ever need. Same goes with networking if you work on a lot of Ethernet connected devices.That said, even in Silicon Valley (a place infamous for near record housing costs), a studio apartment actually offers quite a bit of space for an electronics lab. It's when it comes to making enclosures for the electronics that the space available suddenly might seem insufficient, but luckily 3D printers are a "good enough" substitute to a complete machine shop for a lot of hobby electronics.Quote from: Mr. Scram on October 07, 2018, 12:49:20 amI know of many other female tech TV show hosts that I didn't mention because they seem to have been doing just fine. Just mentioning that previously, when a woman in tech asks for help, it's not long before a lot of guys jump in offering to help her.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2018, 01:11:16 am
content: Quote from: Mr. Scram on October 07, 2018, 12:50:19 amchallenge acceptedbut really, once you work at anything other then low frequencies and low powers thats bull shit, and even then, you can start using space quick once you start making custom test fixtures, amplifiers, sensor interfaces, etcas soon as you wanna test a more complicated system you need to add more equipment too, more power rails, more scope channels, more data loggers, more processing, more everything.... otherwise you expand without having test ability, which leads to uncertainty, which is bad.like do it properly with enclosures that actually power themselves not some kind of crap you need to occupy a bench supply with..if you are advanced different amplitude/power levels, frequency ranges, noise ranges, all occupy space. All the precise DC stuff is different then the low noise DC stuff then the low current DC stuff then the audio stuff and everything has those categoriesand don't forget the calibrators.. low noise enviroment, etc (and thats just for up to HF because no one has the budget to do the same stuff with microwaves unless your really big).You can fit an entire room with just bridges and standards EASILY.then you get into stuff like mechanical test fixtures, thermal test stuff, ovens, etc......................... yea no I don't want to see a god damn 3 phase motor tested on the same bench as fucking precise RF equipment. Thats dog shit, you need a separate crude bench for that.All I see is a shortage of money that requires me to pick targets.i could fill a room to the brim with antennas.fran tone also does audio equipment. That means you need a proper audio room (or various kinds) to test the sound in to determine realistic use conditions (i,e, stuffed up living room, small hall way, large halls, etc... thats the whole point of her business to find out what works and sell different solutions. You can't do good 'human precpetion' stuff in a limited test setting. you gotta know whats in your customers heads so you can explain whats going on (even stuff like the effect of windows, curtains, etc) and recommend a good solution to them. If your good you would even have furniture test standards to see what different environments you can setup for people.. someone might send you a picture of their living room and ask 'whats a good product for this'? You might end up making mock ups of furniture etc. And her work is supposed to be custom/artistic so the enclosures etc all need to match.. its like having some kind of interior decorator acoustic laboratory just to test the product. Someone likes the decour and their willing to spend to make it sound good even if its total shit for audio quality.. you gotta be able to solve their problem or you lose a customer. Turning your living space into a test area? not the best for your psychology.Maybe its not at that level yet but you can always do more with space.also most people say that a healthy business is looking to grow/expand capabilities to become the go to. If you don't have some kind of R&D its easy to get eaten or become marginalized.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2018, 02:19:05 am
content: Quote from: coppercone2 on October 07, 2018, 01:11:16 amI appreciate the pitch, but you're not making the sale. We could go back and forth with all kinds imaginary requirements, but we both know that little of what you mention realistically applies. We could dream up equipment to fill a building the size of a Ford plant all day.Until we have a list of things Fran is absolutely going to require, 2000 square feet is a huge space to fill.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2018, 02:29:47 am
content: Quote from: NiHaoMike on October 07, 2018, 01:07:11 amDon't play innocent, you're not fooling anyone. You take every opportunity to talk about the women you obsess over, which are generally opportunities you inappropriately invent yourself. Find help and work your problem out.

author: Cerebus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2018, 02:58:23 am
content: Quote from: Mr. Scram on October 07, 2018, 02:29:47 amAt the momentyouseem to be the one obsessing about it.Even if NiHaoMike is paying a bit of attention to young nubile women that's quite normal in a lad of his age. It's only when old perves like you start obsessively dragging the subject up that we might use the word "problem", possibly followed by the words "blood pressure", "shortness of breath" and "ambulance". Now leave the poor lad alone andboth of you get off my lawn!