My buddy tried that last year and got swarmed by a thousand other photographers with tripods. He said the light pollution from all the cars and headlamps was worse than the city. Kinda ruins the whole dark sky vibe, doesn't it?

Check local auctions or liquidation sales, they sometimes have the same stuff for way less.

Congrats on hitting 200, that's a big deal. I hit a wall around that number too, where things started to feel less personal. Maybe it's just me but I had to cap my list and raise my prices a bit, which helped a lot. It let me focus on the clients who really value the detailed work without burning myself out trying to remember everything. Growth is good, but not if it wrecks the thing people come to you for in the first place.

Can you tell I've broken a few things learning that lesson myself?

See, I get why they did that though. It stops people from just grabbing any random relay that might not work right in a real fire. Worth the extra hassle to know it's done safe.