Now 75, I have had many years of design experience.  The sequence of images below gives dates of some work – ranging from 1966 to the present. Realising at 60 that I had Parkinson's Disease, I have attempted to ignore it, often by preoccupation with new designs. 

 

This has included the hardware, firmware and software for Intellisense which is an environmental measurement system replacing mercury thermometers. The system may include more than one board – thus it is a multiprocessor, with linking between these by CANBUS – allowing joint reporting of temperatures etc. to the local display or PC or both.  Emphasis is placed upon the accuracy, and the unit has been sold to more than 25 countries.  I did the work altruistically over a period of years, and now occasionally receive a modest royalty.

​

"Mind My Machine" is the newest version of my autobiography, in which I present intertwining stories of my relationship with my family, school experiences and work, all intent on rejoicing in the positive outcomes found in the things I have created, rather than negative aspects of life that have sought to diminish this. This book includes images and details of the designs I have created, the majority of which can be previewed in the slideshow below. 

​

The amplifier supports 8 independent channels allowing multiple inputs and yielding 8 optionally differential outputs.  As a further wonder, there are 4 mixed video outputs.  Each may take any signed combination of the 8 video outputs added together with full allowance for dc conditions.  This corresponds to 4 independent 8 input video mixers.

​

Along with these designs, the fruit corer CoreStuff is an available product of my design. At another extreme is the high-performance amplifier which is aimed at back-scattered electron collection and the production of a 1V video.  The current to the sample may be perhaps 0.5 picoamps (ie half of a millionth of a millionth of an amp).  Special circuit techniques are necessary if this is to be achieved – indeed the input offset of the chips of the design needs careful compensation if the performance is to be maintained with an 8 million to 1 gain range (d/c or a/c coupled). 

​

In response to Parkinson's, TAKT was designed to encourage walking by generating a controlled beat.  The design uses a member of the same family of AVR processors.