in reply to: HCF registration posted by jayan on 25 February 2006 at 06:10:52.
You do not have to join the HCF to use HART in your products. The protocol is completely open and free for anyone to use. But membership brings substantial benefits in training and support. If you intend to design HART devices, the HCF training courses will be of great value. (You can buy the specifications and attend the training courses without joining, but prices are much reduced for members.)See http://www.hartcomm.org/about/become_member.html on how to join.
Regular membership costs between $5000 and $16500 per year, depending on company turnover. This is for businesses that develop, manufacture, market, and/or sell products based on the HART Communication Protocol.
User group associate membership is $1500 per year. This is for end users/oems/system integrators, that is, users but not developers or manufacturers of HART devices.