Electronics Consultancy Page

Availability. If you run an organisation, firm, charity, etc that needs electronic engineering expertise but you either cannot afford or cannot justify employing a skilled engineer full-time then I could be the person you are looking for. I have many years' experience in working on a contract or casual basis in several different industrial and scientific sectors. I have successfully worked on large schemes as project manager and on many small-scale servicing and maintenance jobs in the UK and all around the world. I think of myself as an all-round engineer, not just as a qualified electronics engineer. This allows me to successfully complete jobs to a strict budget or timescale when other, less able, engineers might have to call-in additional expertise to complete the project in hand. I have worked on projects for a large number of the best-known British engineering and manufacturing companies during a career spanning over 30 years. Industries include machine tool, automotive, aerospace, oil exploration, non-destructive testing, medical, pharmaceutical, product testing, nuclear engineering.

I am a 'safe pair of hands' and you can send me off anywhere to complete a job without causing headaches. If necessary I will employ local labour or purchase parts, materials and tools locally to 'get the job done'.

Brief CV of Don Fowdrey. I have over thirty years experience in various branches of the electronics industry. I have worked my way up from a basic technician working on relatively simple electrical and electronic maintenance, through various manufacturing, specifying and assembly skills to the design and development of relatively complex computer-aided systems. Industries that I have worked in include: Communications, Machine Tools, Process Engineering, Precision Welding Systems, Instrumentation (Plant and Portable), Test and Measurement, Optical systems, Electro-mechanical devices and systems.

At an early stage in my career I decided that the lack of a graduate qualification was holding back my potential so I enrolled with the Open University where I completed a degree in technology in 1976. After that I enrolled with Cambridge University to complete a post-graduate diploma in management (DMS) which I completed in 1978. Following this I worked on several projects as Project Manager and finally, in 1986 I took the plunge and started my own business, MicroPulse Technology. My wife and I ran this business, very successfully for nearly 15 years. We became involved in light measurement, specialising in ultraviolet, and we manufactured a range of instruments and also set-up a calibration laboratory for our own radiometers and those manufactured by other companies, too. In 1999 I was approached by a Californian manufacturer of laboratory equipment with a view to them buying me out and this happened in 2000. I worked for the new company as a consultant for two years and we finally parted company in 2002. Sadly, it seems that company has done nothing with the products I developed and that MicroPulse technology was bought-out to prevent it becoming a serious competitor.

Having occupied myself for a few years largely doing voluntary work I now feel I need to offer my skills to a wider audience again; hopefully a paying audience. However, my overheads are low and I don't need to earn a massive amount. Also I would like to be in a position to work on those projects that will interest me and that have an element of positive environmental impact (eg alternative energy) or will improve the lives of disadvantaged people (eg water or food projects in developing countries).

If you have need of an engineer with my skills for such a project why not make contact for an initial discussion? Mobile: +44 7931 362 978. Or use the Contact button above.

Last updated: 24th June 2010 . Today I rediscovered something vital that I knew but had pushed to the back of my mind. Biofuels are not green! Please take a look here: biofuelwatch and if you are as disturbed as I am, do something about it!

A potted history of computing. Please note that this is a complex subject and only a few of the key developments are mentioned here.

In 1801 Joseph Marie Charles (nicknamed Jacquard) invented a mechanical weaving loom (the Jacquard Loom) that simplified the manufacture of textiles with complex patterns. Controlled by a set of punched cards, multiple rows of holes are punched on each card and a series of cards are strung together in the correct order so that a mechanical 'card reader' can control the manufacturing process.

On 14th June 1822 Charles Babbage proposed a design for a calculating machine to the Royal Astronomical Society, which was based on an earlier proposal by J H Muller, an engineer in 1786. Later, Babbage went on to design his 'Analytical Engine' and later still between 1847 and 1849 his 'Difference Engine number 2'. At this time the state of mechanical engineering skills were not sufficiently developed to build a fully working machine (but it should be noted that the London Science Museum has built a working example, thus proving that Babbage's original design was viable).

There have been a number of examples of the use of punched card control, for example, in 1890 Herman Hollerith encoded the 1890 US Census on punched cards.

The first recognizable electrically powered computers were developed during the 1940s. Colossus is considered by many to be the first 'real' electronic computer. The design of Colossus started in March 1943. By December 1943 all the various circuits were working and the 1,500 valve Mark 1 Colossus was dismantled, shipped to Bletchley Park, and assembled in F Block over Christmas 1943. The Mark 1 was operational in January 1944 and successful on its first test against a real enciphered message tape. The concept for Colossus was worked out by Max Newman but the design and construction were masterminded by Tommy Flowers a brilliant Post Office electronics engineer.

The Mark 1 was rapidly succeeded by the Mark 2 Colossus in June 1944 and eight more were built to handle the increase in message density. The Mark 1 was upgraded to a Mark 2 and there were thus ten Mark 2 Colossi in Bletchley Park by the end of the war. By the end of hostilities, 63 million characters of high grade German messages had been decrypted.

One of the next most important developments was the Invention of the Transistor at The Bell Laboratories, USA, by William B. Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter H. Brattain at the end of 1947. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of the transistor and is believed by many people to be the most important invention of the 20th century.

To be continued ....