Banner


The Bongo guy is Dean Cuadra of Santa Monica, California.

I make my living in electronics.  My mother tells me that I became fascinated with electricity as a rug rat, when I stuck a paper clip into a wall outlet (they hadn't yet invented baby-proof outlets).  The shock didn't scare me away from wall outlets--  it just made me want to learn about what comes out of them.  A few zillion electrical shocks later, I think I'm starting to get the hang of it!
 

Zap!
 

Here are my specialties in
Electronics and Computers:

Serial Data Communications

RS-232 troubleshooting, interfacing and circuit design

Asynchronous serial data communications analysis and troubleshooting, including complex flow control issues

Troubleshooting and configuring of high-speed and leased-line modems

Installing and configuring Fiber Optic RS-232 and RS-422 multiplexers

Adapting IBM PC serial peripherals for use with Apple Macintosh® computers, and vice versa

Communications software script programming

 

Component Research & Procurement

Research and selection of active and passive electronic components; through-hole and SMT; samples procurement

Price negotiation and purchasing of electronic components

Arranging scheduled shipments of components for volume manufacturing

Arranging design and fabrication of polyimide flex, rigid-flex and multilayer rigid PCBs

Designing and arranging prototyping and production of custom-molded cables, custom shield brackets, solder preforms and polyimide PCB labels

Managing and tracking $200K+ surface mount component inventory

Knowledge of electronics distribution, dealing with manufacturers, manufacturers' representatives and distributors

Arranging procurement of components during worldwide shortages and allocations

Dealing effectively with (shudder) electronics component brokers, when necessary

 

Electronics Design, Prototyping and Manufacturing

Interfacing microprocessor circuits to outside-world peripherals

Analog and digital circuit design

Arranging EMI/RFI certifications

DFM (Design for Manufacturability), DFT (Design for Testability), and ESD- and EMI-supression engineering

Equipping electronics laboratories with test equipment, prototyping tools and supplies

Precision kitting and labeling of components for contract assembly

Writing assembly procedure documentation for use in contract assembly

Inspection to IPC standards, test, troubleshooting, rework and repair of contract-assembled products; turning scrapped assemblies into sellable product

Electronics prototyping per IPC-A-610/J-STD-001, Pb- and Pb-free soldering; experienced with low-outgassing epoxies, thermally and electrically conductive epoxies, light-curing adhesives, cryogenics and cleanroom procedures

 

Surface Mount

Fine-pitch (including 0201 and 01005 passives) surface mount prototyping, troubleshooting, rework and repair (both contact, hot-air and nitrogen-inerted soldering under microscope)

Establishing IPC-7351B land patterns for PCB designs

SMT sample and production quantity component procurement (see Procurement table above)

Tack soldering and micro-labeling scores of connections to testpoints on surface mount PCB assemblies for logic analysis

Conducting introductory training seminars on surface mount electronics

Arranging for elevated-temperature desiccation and hermetic sealing of SMDs

 

Embedded Systems

Bot!

Embedded Systems hardware design, software design, programming and construction

Design of products and systems based on Motorola 6805 and Atmel AVR microcontrollers, and writing firmware for same

Rapid design and programming of devices and systems based on Parallax BASIC Stamp® microcontrollers

EPROM and Flash ROM duplication and editing

Implementing Flash ROM programming algorithms in 68K assembly language

Interfacing microprocessor circuits to outside-world peripherals

 

'Puter

Computers and Programming

Hardware configuring, troubleshooting, installation and interfacing of Apple Macintosh® computers and Alpha Microsystems® super-micros; RS-232 serial interfacing

Systems-level programming of Alpha Microsystems computers (68K assembly language)

Designing and programming of extensive systems for uploading data from portable barcode readers to Alpha Microsystems computers (programming in 68K assembly, Intermec IRL barcode language and Autolog script language)

Serial data communications script language programming (Autolog, Dialog, Procomm Plus and ZTerm)

Developing systems for remotely controlling and acquiring operational data from high-end uninterruptible power systems

68K, Atmel AVR, 6805 and Z80 assembly language programming

 

Networking and
Telephone Electronics

Phone

Fiber Optic RS-232 and RS-422 communications systems design, installation and troubleshooting

Fiber Optic cable installation and testing

Ethernet hardware installation

X-10® carrier-current control system planning, installation and troubleshooting

Wireless narrowband and spread-spectrum RS-232 modem installation and troubleshooting

Telephone system installation, programming and troubleshooting

 

Dish

Satellite and RF

Specification research and selection of numerous types of coaxial cable types, precision connectors, and tooling for cable preparation and termination

Configuring devices for autotracking inclined-orbit satellites (including operating a pair of 24-foot TVRO dishes)

Installing Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) TVRO equipment.

Installing and terminating exotic cabling, including hardline coaxial cable

Packet Radio Communications Systems

 

(see also Halloween Technology page)

HOME

TOP

E-MAIL