Randy Frank

Prototyping and Testing

Have an idea, a plan, a diagram, a pile of components that need to be put together, a control system for equipment not designed for one?

From optocouplers for isolation that were left out from the original design and no one know why the digital ICs keep exploding to “why is an incandescent brake light bulb from a 1960s Chrysler being used as a protection circuit in a speaker” that maybe should be replaced with something that is a little more robust.

These are the kinds of problems that I have to solve in the past.

Then again sometimes solid state isn’t the answer. I love to work with tube circuits (paranoid of the inevitable EMP). This is the fun part of Electronics, why spend a fortune on a fully engineered solution when you need to prove the value of a concept. Once we get it working, then let the engineers complete a viable product with those associated costs.

Arduino is our friend, it just works and is simple and cheap to play with. Come to me with a concept, we can test if the idea works, document it, then start the commercial development process, don’t spend tens of thousand to find a dud, spend 5% of it to get a working concept prototype.