Why are restaurant RF gizmos so complicated?

[Joel Kolstad]

And BYOW because a small bottle of water was in a similar price range. Go
figure the markup on that... ;-)

Yeah, but the bottled water industry in the US has only really exploded in
the past decade or so -- I'm told that folks in Europe have been buying
bottled water for about the same price per ounce as soda or milk for many
decades now!

 

[Joel Kolstad]

Probably an explicit and important requirement is that it look nerdy
and unfashionable to the rambunctuous kids, and unnecesarily obtuse and
technologically backwards to the whiz kids .

http://www.foodsoftware.com/Product_0089.asp --> I kinda like the
lobster-shaped one.

From the looks of it, I'd bet you a nickel that the company developing these
things are many digital/software guys, and for the RF sections they just
take a manufacturer's data sheet and copy the example circuit directly.
They probably don't have the tools or knowledge to customize it, and
wouldn't know how to integrate some of the old pager ICs.

---Joel

 

[Guy Macon]

Yeah, but the bottled water industry in the US has only really exploded in
the past decade or so -- I'm told that folks in Europe have been buying
bottled water for about the same price per ounce as soda or milk for many
decades now!

Bottled water is more expensive per ounce than gasoline. Think about
the amount of work it takes to produce each product...

 

[Rich Grise]

Theater: When I saw that they wanted more than $5 for a small bag of
popcorn we decided we didn't want popcorn. And BYOW because a small
bottle of water was in a similar price range. Go figure the markup on
that... ;-)

I've found that if you ask nicely, they'll let you have an empty
cup to get your own water out of the fountain or the bathroom
sink.

And I had a GF once, and she and I liked to go to the movies, and
we'd buy a couple of Weinerschnitzel dogs and smuggle them in. Then,
usually, after the movie, we'd quietly go and watch another. The
first time she suggested this, I was all shocked and stuff, but she
said, "What are they going to do? Throw us out?" Unless it's a huge
overhyped blockbuster wannabe, nobody pays any attention anyway.

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Joerg]

Hello Rich,

I've found that if you ask nicely, they'll let you have an empty
cup to get your own water out of the fountain or the bathroom
sink.

Can't do that around here. Last time I measured there was more chlorine
in the tap water than in our pool.

Regards, Joerg

 

[Rich Grise]

On Thu, 14 Apr 2005 20:31:21 GMT,


It's amazing what people come up with. --D.

WHen Joerg first mentioned this, I had no idea what he was talking about.
I'd never heard of such a thing. But it is a pretty nifty idea, and if
it's an upscale neighborhood, why would there be a theft problem? Don't
rich people already have everything they need? ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Joerg]

Hello Joel,

http://www.foodsoftware.com/Product_0089.asp --> I kinda like the
lobster-shaped one.

Yes, the lobster is great. It seems they use UHF as a secondary user,
just like a lot of wireless mike systems do.

From the looks of it, I'd bet you a nickel that the company developing these
things are many digital/software guys, and for the RF sections they just
take a manufacturer's data sheet and copy the example circuit directly.
They probably don't have the tools or knowledge to customize it, and
wouldn't know how to integrate some of the old pager ICs.

That's probably right. These restaurant pager companies may not know
just how much money they are leaving on the table.

Regards, Joerg

 

[Joerg]

Hello Paul,

The couple of hundred feet may be misleading. Its possible that people
waiting for a table may wander quite a bit farther than that. They may
wander around shopping malls or other areas not conducive to easy r.f.
reception.

Probably not. At most restaurants you'll be "voted off the island" if
you don't walk up to the manifest within a minute after the thingie
started flashing and rumbling.

I have seen these gadgets and I believe they (some of them at least) use
a commercial pager network to broadcast signals.

This would make a lot of sense if they can negotiate an acceptable fee
per page.

Regards, Joerg

 

[Joerg]

Hello Daniel,

It's amazing what people come up with.

Most of the busy restaurants around here have such devices. In America
it is a technology that has been around for at least a decade. Not that
I like it but it is a growing trend.

Regards, Joerg

 

[Keith Williams]

Bottled water is more expensive per ounce than gasoline. Think about
the amount of work it takes to produce each product...

A friend had a cogent observation along these lines. His point was
that a pint of designer water cost as much as a gallon of gas (a year
ago ;-). It's no wonder the Arabs are pissed at us. They don't have
any water!

 

[Frithiof Andreas Jensen]

Why on earth are these so complicated?

1) Security - You have two guys showing up at the same table at the same
time and there will be a fight.

2) Targeting - When the lager-louts run off with it after the fight, it can
be tracked via sattelite and live ordnance is directed onto the offenders.

3) The designer cut-and-pasted several application notes that looked
relevant

4) To give people something to muse about while being bored silly waiting


;-)

 

[Glenn Ashmore]

Some other possibilities?

Maybe they are linked to the bar tender's cash register to track how drunk
you are. Pagers that are not spending money at the bar get bumped up to a
higher priority. After 3 drinks you get called so you can still walk to the
table.

A remote blood pressure monitor to tell the hostess who is getting angriest
about the wait?

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
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