Floppy Disc System
After finally learning Assembler with my first micro, a Commodore VIC20,
I set about building an 8" floppy disc controller and writing a DOS for it.
The VIC Assembler could only be used to enter op-codes and addresses, no labels,
and all jumps had to be calculated first, and it worked! It was building this that
made me decide I needed to upgrade my home micro, to a BBC model B. It was around
this time that the IBM PC was launched.
Skills: Digital Hardware, Assembler.
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Lightpen software
The idea of the BBC was that it had 'everything' - all I had to do was to
program it. This idea lasted well over a week before I started to build add-ons.
I also wrote a number of articles for 'Computer Answers'. My first commercial commission
for a program was from Stack Micro, for some lightpen software.
This was the first lightpen software for the BBC micro that could plot pixels.
Skills: Assembler.
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Schematic Capture
Following on from the lightpen sofware, I developed asimple multi screen
lightpen program for circuit design. This allowed the user to pick a symbol
from one screen layer and place it onto the schematic, andincluded a file
compression method.
Skills: Assembler.
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Video digitizer
Video digitizer for the BBC, adaptation of a published design.
Many improvements to hardware. Wrote complete software suite including
early image manipulation techniques.
Skills: Assembler, hardware (analogue and digital).
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IBM PC ATE system
As the PC began its steady march, I became involved in the maintenance of
the PC and of DEC mini systems ( PDP, VAX). I designed an option card for
the PC that was an ATE system. It would map a known good PCB or IC
which was then used as a reference when fault finding a suspect board :
Skills: PCB design, interface to PC bus, 8086 assembler (MASM), GWBasic.
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Vehicle test
An Interface to Austin Rover test system for checking circuits in
Rover/Honda legend dashboard during manufacture. The system in place
would test (a dashboard) by virtue of a special connector that joined
all the wires and hence total current was measured. By module grabbed a signal
from the host system and then scanned each circuit in turn hence testing each
circuit individually.
Skills: Low speed digital design, interfacing
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IBM 370 Channel Tester
A portable test unit that emulates an IBM370 mainframe IO channel.
The test unit can exercise and debug a channel in place of the mainframe.
This product resulted in my first patent.
Skills: Digital design, PCB design. 6502 Assembler,
own OS, firmware downloader.
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IBM 370 Channel Monitor
Sister to above unit - a test unit that can monitor the IBM370 channel
and take a 'snap shot' in the event of an error. This resulted in my second patent.
Skills: 16 bit CPU (8086), multi-layer PCB, high speed data capture,
own OS, LCD display, serial comms, parallel port, MASM
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Interactive TV
Long term project with interactive TV system in the US.
Redesign system from set top box to internal TV card.
Reduce costs by 75%. Convert from NTSC to PAL for use in UK/Europe.
Convert from Philips TV to Sanyo. Recode IR TV control sections.
Rewrote much of OS. Develop code for Philips 'smartport'. Custom RTOS.
Skills: Hardware, PCB design, video, IR control, Assembler (630x).
Some C. Use of TCP/IP and SCO Unix.
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Environmental Monitoring
Specify and then adapted a Trend environmental monitoring system for use in computer rooms.
Added a system to detect worn disc drive bearings and also falling CPU coolant pressure.
Designed a PC security system to interface with thissystem.
Skills: PCB design, PIC embedded controllers, Analogue, digital.
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Asset tracking system
This evolved from the security project. Handles 32,000 unique IDs on own custom network.
Devised unique fast current loop using two wires for bi-directional comms
(half duplex master-slave). Own design comms controllers use own design token ring protocols.
Skills: PIC, PCB design, Serial comms, Assembler, Visual Basic, Windows 95
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3D Imaging
My brief was to take an application written for Labview and code it into C++.
Some simple hardware was designed ( useing PICs) as serial devices to allow the
control of IR lighting and arrays. The original system used an expensive FireWire
camera and part of the brief was to use a web-cam.
Skills: PIC, PCB design, Serial comms, Assembler, C++, Borland SDK,
GUI, Labview.
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Wireless control
This was a private project that developed two ways. The intial design was a system
to detect 'bites' from a fishing line - it could detect current and wind effects
(and provide cancellation), rate and direction of line feed, and real bites. The
system could handle up to four rods and sent a radio message to the user ( who might
not be by his equipment. From this a simple means to control mains power points was
designed ( and is still in use in my home).
Skills: PIC, PCB design, RF interfacing, telemetry.
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