Back in January of this year, I was listening to Chris on The Amp Hour telling Dave about this new website he was working on. That website was this one, EngineerBlogs. At the time, I was just blogging on DesignSpark. After hearing Chris say that he was looking for fellow bloggers to join, I dropped him a line. Now some 9 months later and 30 blogs posts on, it is unfortunately time for me to leave the good ship and concentrate on other things. Over this time, it has been challenging and demanding but very enjoyable to be part of a team of engineers like my fellow bloggers. The site is still growing with more and more visitors, so I’m, in a way, sad to be going. There is an amazing amount of support between each of us, and we help check each others posts. The whole team are always [...]
What do you do in your free time when not designing that next big thing? Or are you a 24/7 geek and engineer? Do you have a way out to relax? This week I’ll tell you what I like doing; the things that sharpen the axe. Finding a way to relax is one thing but switching off from engineering is another. The phrase ‘sharpening the axe’ refers to taking time out. The story goes that two wood cutters worked hard each day felling wood but one generated more than the other. He would stop and take time each day to sharpen his axe. The other saw this as wasting time and worked through — with a blunt axe. During the working day I find the best way is to pop off and make some tea, or walk down to reception and goods in to see if there are any parcels. [...]
The big event that happened last week for me was the Open Source Hardware (OSHW) Summit 2011 (OHS). So this week I want to review the interesting talks that took place and what it means to me as a electronics design engineer. I’m guessing I am not the first or last to review the event, Jeremy Blum was at the event and you can check out his review on element14. So keep an eye out for other reviews too. I was unfortunately not at the summit physically, but like thousands of others, I watched online via uStream. Not the greatest way to watch as the slides were all blurred but free. There was some 20+ talks given by people with a range of experience in OSHW, all with equal interest; however, my favourites were as follows: The team (Jurgen and Alison) from OHANDA were the first to catch my eye [...]
The world is getting greener, and we are adding more and more regulations regarding RoHS, energy consumption, and impact on the planet. At a seminar last week, the question on measuring our carbon footprint was raised, and this week I question how achievable it really is. How do we know if we are making a large or small impact and is it we engineers who will feel the brunt of this new game? Last week, I attended a seminar run by ebm-papst UK entitled ‘Greening the Data Centre’. This is one of the many events run during the year where we help customers and OEMs understand the impact of energy saving measures. For me all this going green basically comes down to saving money, and I don’t think many companies are really interested in the effect on the planet. However, when Dr. Michael Gell of Xanfan stood up and gave [...]
This week I want to look at a blog that was written by someone else. Reason being that I think they have done a better job and are better positioned to talk about my topic area this week. That of Colonel John D. Sims. Despite being in the US Army and having little to do with engineering Colonel Sims is someone that has experienced a challenging career. I’m not talking about being on the front line or being a great solider. No, I’m talking about how in difficult situation he has learned to become himself and though understanding his role as a commander has better served not only his country and the army but more importantly the soldier under him and his family. While I’m not saying that our jobs as engineers are anything like being part of the armed forces, I think what Colonel Sims has to say strikes [...]
For many people they just except that software exist as some form of stuff that allows you do do things on computers or is hidden inside machines. In a way software can be as hard to physically get hold of as it is to see the flow of electronics in a wire or see the flow of air particles generating a vortex off a wing tip. However software is a important components in nearly everything you touch, from the mouse your scroll around the page with to the hundreds of servers that send you search results when looking for that next holiday. Software engineers are a massive part of the industry but what does software really do and can software really break? It would be difficult to explain software and how the flow of code works in a modern computer as they have become very complex machine. Instead its possibly [...]
I’m not suggesting the usage of engineers in crash testing over the million dollar and well qualified crash test dummies. However, I would like us to consider the people behind the dummies that work on developing safer and safer cars, trucks, motorcycles and roads for us to drive in and on. As a car and motorcycle user, I’m all too aware of how easy it is to get involved in an accident. Lucky for me, the ones I have been involved in have resulted in no injury to myself or others. I do, however, remember watching one accident that involved a car rolling over and being amazed at the driver getting out and walking away. I’ve also seen motorway accidents where cars and lorries have spun out of control and been not only stunned at the lack of injury but to see vehicles not turn over. The key thing I [...]
The story of the Hare and the Tortoise needs little introduction, but I think fits well with this week’s theme of deadlines in the work place. We all know the moral of the story is that slow and steady wins the day. How do you become the Tortoise and not the Hare? We each work in very different ways, so I’m not saying that everything here is right for everyone. However, it’s right for me, and I hope you will be able to take a few tips and adapt them to your working day. In fact, the way I operate now would not have worked at some of my past jobs. Therefore, each of us has to develop our own special way of making deadlines. First, I want to consider what this deadline is. Without detail of the project or whatever it is it’s difficult to say. However, deadlines come [...]
Since I was about ten years old, I have been building and playing with electronic development kits. Over that time there have been good ones and bad ones. Nowadays, I get to review Dev Kits, so I get to look at them from an outsiders view point, not one where I’m clouded by the excitement of opening the box and getting started with it. So in this blog, I want to pass on to you, and the makers of these Dev Kits, what makes one work! I guess we have to first have to consider why someone wants a Dev Kit before deciding if it’s good or bad. What people or engineers expect from the experience is key. There are two main flavours of Dev Kits, in my view, which are as follows. First, you have the kits where they supply you with the key device or component that you’re [...]
As engineers, we like to talk about the latest gadget or, more importantly, about our latest designs. I personally get very passionate about my designs and the stuff I have done. For example, I enjoyed talking about my involvement with Formula Engine Control units in a recent blog. I also talked about ways in which I have used differing technologies like I2C. However, there are time when we can’t talk about things, things that cover Intellectual Property (IP). Over a year ago, I attended an RS Components sales show ( or known better as Allied Electronics in the US). This is where I and my company get to sell and introduce our new products to the RS sales force. In the evening, I got talking to a number of RS internal people about the lack of engineering communities and how this IP stuff, in my view, is a road block. IP [...]
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