Can we have an "Ask Sean" catagory?

Where have I seen something that was an original idea of yours that has been implemented by a manufacturer? Not being mean, just wondering where you handywork lies?

Well, in the vein of trying to give something back, you might try a simple nondisclosure agreement (NDA). The idea is to preclude a receipient of confidential info from disclosing or using it. Not perfect, since usually NDAs also have exclusions for things already in the public domain or things the receipient already knew about (which gets a bit tricky). On the other hand, they are enough of a stick that some companies won't sign them for fear of getting sued for something they already had in development. But, a decent lawyer and a good NDA might make it worthwhile to make some pitches.

Sean has been helpful to me as well in a few instances, heckuva nice guy. I'm Irish as well, Happy St. Patrick's Day!
I have had a LOT of experience with mutual NDA's, I'll send you a few to peruse. Thanks for everything Sean!

When I envision Sean and his rig's, I think of the professor on Gilligan's Island. Half's of basketball's holding woofers made out of latex gloves and tweeters made out of soda cans, speaker wires made out of aluminum foil, a rubber band drive cdp, paper clip IC's, etc.

Interesting part is that his rigs are probably better sounding than most SOTA rigs costing mega bucks.

Sean, thank you for the wealth of knowledge that you are always happy to provide. I admire that you never really promote anyone's products, but go beyond labels to help everyone understand.

Regards,

PS - Do you have my coat hanger IC's done yet?

Regards,

Dweller: Much of how long components can sit will depend on the temperatures that they are exposed to and the build quality of the components used. Due to the high voltages involved, it is easier for a cap to "go south" in these devices than it is for SS. That's because the high voltages make it easier to jump across / arc out whereas the lower voltages found in SS gear won't do that.

With all of that in mind, most newer caps are very stable and can hold their own for quite an amount of time. Capacitors drying out were much more of a problem 20+ years ago and have only gotten better since then. As such, i don't see much of a problem with letting items sit for extended periods of time. At the same time, i would not take an amp out of storage and throttle it hard right off the bat. Any other type of line level device should be okay for normal use.

If you want to be "careful", you can purchase a variac and power the devices up gradually before applying full voltage. This allows the capacitors to gradually "re-form" without massive in-rush current, increasing both their reliability and minimizing the potential for damage. Starting off at 10% - 20% of rated voltage for 24 hours and then gradually stepping the voltage up over an extended period of time ( several days ) is the best way to do things. This is kind of a slow and painful process ( who wants to wait and got the room for all this stuff to be laying around plugged in??? ), but it can be worthwhile if you have very old gear and / or gear that has sat for an extended period of time.

As a side note, it is better to simply power up gear every now and then rather than let it sit forever and then try to variac it.

Jes: Here's a list of some of the companies that i've worked with in the past. Some of the products involved are radio communications transceivers, antenna design, antenna mount design, microphone design, communications grade speaker design, wire & cable design, etc...

Ranger Communications: Ranger is based out of Malaysia and is one of the largest manufacturers of radio communication devices in the world. They design, build and manufacturer well over a half dozen different brands of products, both for themselves and for other manufacturers. When they introduced a new product line appr 5 years ago, i worked on the prototypes and was the "expert" quoted in their press releases that were sent out to various distributors and retailers.

Funny thing about that situation was that i didn't quite say what they put in print / attributed to me. Do you wanna guess if what they printed was MORE or less "flattering" to their products than what i actually said??? Remember, they are advertising their own products here : )

As a side note, i have pretty much broken all contact with these people. Due to what turned out to be a rather "one sided" relationship and a LOT of broken promises, i no longer correspond or consult with them.

Galaxy Electronics: This company produces radio communications transceivers, transmitters and HF linear amplifiers marketed under two different names. I have worked with this company in resolving various production problems for appr 7 years now.

Cobra Electronics: Manufacturer of radio communications transceivers, hand-held two way radios, communications accessories such as microphones, speakers, antennas, cordless telephones, radar detectors, etc... Worked as consultants helping to solve production problems / reduce failure rate on specific products. After implimenting the suggestions made, both product reliability and performance have drastically increased and sales are up. The person responsible for contacting us and putting many of our recommendations into production has since been promoted.

Astatic: Currently under new ownership, Astatic manufacturers communications grade microphones, antennas, antenna mounts, etc... They also used to manufacture audiophile grade phono cartridges, replacement stylus assemblies, etc.. I had previously worked directly with Scott ( former VP ) and Mark ( former head design engineer ) on several projects. I am currently working with their marketing / QA department in trying to resolve an on-going problem that came about due to a production change.

Workman Electronics / Twinpoint Incorporated: This company manufactures / imports / distributes various electronic and communications based products under multiple names. They produce everything from wiring harnesses to light bulbs to antennas to speakers to microphones to antenna and radio mounts, etc... Many of their products / assemblies are sold to other manufacturers who market them as OEM parts. I've worked with one of the owners of this company for several years both developing new products and refining existing designs.

Wholesale Parts Incorporated: Another manufacturer / importer / distributor / OEM supplier of misc radio communications and electronics products. Have worked directly with the owner in refining existing antenna designs and antenna mounts in the past. Am currently designing new antennas and antenna mounts for future introduction.

I was asked by one of the largest wholesale distributors of RF gear in the USA to write a column in their monthly sales literature. The owner of this distributorship also asked me to write a book pertaining to RF communications i.e. kind of a "big dummy's guide" for several different types of installations. Given that i don't like the business ethics of this company and didn't want to be publicly associated with them, i turned them down.

There are other situations that i could mention, but i think that you get the idea. As i've mentioned before, i am basically a "tweaker" i.e. good at "refining" existing designs. Most of my work with the various manufacturers listed above has typically been to take an existing design and "squeeze" measurably better performance and reliability from it. Many times i am able to do so while lowering production costs, which really makes the manufacturers happy. I have also built prototypes and given design specifications for new products, so i'm not just limited to "cleaning up" someone else's mistakes. Sean
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