Jerry J Bromenshenk wrote "
Raymond, you did a great job of describing how ANNs could be combined with
an electronic hive.

But, sorry Raymond, we've had this capability for 5 years. "

I know that you have had it for years and I have really enjoyed reading
about it but your goal of $500 per unit is too high.  I have designed
electronics for the cellular market and our company has designed electronics
for the industrial market.  You need to look at the total economics.
Technology changes rapidly.  In ten years that $500 unit will have to be
replaced.  Did it earn its keep?  Did in increase a hive's value by a
minimum of $100 per year.  If not, I lost money in using it!

I will stand by my claim that the price of honey today will not justify it.
I recently was with my wife in a store and she was taken by the price of a 5
pound jar of Virginia honey at $5.  It took a while but I finally found the
small print that said it was honey from USA, China, and Argentina.  We are
in a world economy and labor is going to be cheap somewhere for a long, long
time.  In ten years, if pollination needs drive it, the drop of electronics
costs will probably allow an electronic hive monitor to be justified.  I do
not believe that honey will be favored enough by the general public to drive
its cost up to economic levels for such modernization.

I have designed boards with a simple computer processor/controller where the
sell price was under $50.  We had material costs of under $20 but these
boards had to be designed to self test on assembly because they were too
inexpensive to have someone spend half an hour trying to find out what was
wrong.  That would have eaten the profit!

It is not easy migrating something from a lab curiosity to a consumer item.
Electronics need distribution, maintenance, technical support, and
packaging.  A hobbyist would have a hard time being nice to the electronics
in a hive.  A commercial beekeeper, who is your target, won't want anything
that couldn't survive being stepped on or driven over!!!

My paradigm also has a central gathering point for each yard that would have
the weather monitor and wireless local loop to each hive and then the
satellite link back but the cost of the hive unit has to be under $10/year
total cost.

 Raymond J. Lackey                           Sweet Pines Apiary
Honeybee Consultant   -   North American Fruit Explorers
Master Beekeeper    -    Eastern Apiculture Society/OSU
Past President    -    Long Island Beekeepers Association
Speaker -BOCES (schools) and LI Speaker's Association
~40 colonies(honey) >18 years experience on Long Island
Phone:(631)567-1936                        FAX:(631)262-8053
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