MACHINE CONTROL DESIGNER / PROGRAMMER
EMBEDDED PIC EXPERT
29 YEARS EXPERIENCE
I've never met an IRQ I couldn't tame, realtime or any time.
OBJECTIVE:
Creative position in control / firmware / embedded development, preferably utilizing PIC uC's
DESIRED SALARY: $75K, negotiable depending on benefits
DESIRED LOCALE: Will relocate anywhere in the US for the right
opportunity, but prefer the south or southwest
ABILITIES:
Control Expertise:
IR / Optical, including PLL interruptors and IR communication
Strain Gauge, single-slope, dual slope, bridge
Resistive Ladder, both A/D and D/A
Capacitive, Touch- and Object-sensing
Digital Position, inductive, hall, optical, capacitive, direct-switched
Encoders, gray, quadrature, clock, ladder
DC Load Control, PWM, VC, VCO, low-side resistive
Embedded Communications, I2C, SSP, UART (RS232, RS485)
Embedded RF, 802.15.4 (direct and local network), AM/FM Manchester and OOK
Design/Software Packages:
Altium6 (circuit design and libraries)
Altium6 / PCAD PCB (printed circuit design, up to 4 layer)
Orcad (circuit design)
TinyCad (circuit design)
Orcad PCB (printed circuit design)
FreePCB (printed circuit design)
AutoCad Lite (mechanical design)
Inkscape (artwork design)
Corel Draw (artwork design)
Excel, Word, Open Office, many other word processors and spreadsheets
Assembly Languages:
Microchip (PIC) 18/16/12/10
Zilog Z80
NEC
Hitachi
Motorola 68xx
Intel 80xx
Other Languages:
FORTH
BASIC (ordinary, STAMP and Visual)
IBM mainframe assembler
Other Abilities:
Working knowledge of many emulators, scopes, and diagnostic/debugging tools
Expert hand-soldering
Skilled modeler, former auto mechanic with good mechanical knowledge
Proficient technical writer
Patent writer with good basic knowledge of patent processes
Basic machinist (able to use most mills, drills, cutters, etc)
Working knowledge of many production environments
EXPERIENCE:
2008-Present
AgRobotics LLC
Office 4209 S Shackleford, Suite E, Little Rock, AR 72204
Supervisors Jim Burton, President; Bill Young, Operations
Status Still employed but laid off, company is distressed
Sole electronics engineer, responsible for architecture, design and implementation of machine controls for a fleet of automated soil sampling rigs. Company is a startup with a history of financial distress, so I was essentially a department of one. I collaborated with mechanical engineering staff for design, then with field and shop personnel for implementation and testing. Automated sampling is an infant technology, so hardware was mainly application-specific and required hardening for the agricultural environment. Eventual rig-and-tractor design encompassed a dual-bus, 6-node RF network (802.15.4) including a "heads up" driver display and PC interface (typically an onboard HP slate). My design tasks were top-to-bottom, including concept, schematics, firmware, PCB art, validation, hardening, packaging, user-labeling, and implementation. For economic reasons, the hardware was often built, installed and tested by me as well. Designs included:
"Black Box" master rig control with RS-485 USART comm, IRQ-driven sensor
interfacing, using PIC18F4685
Precision GPS logger with 10Hz NMEA input, USART output/control via slate,
using PIC18F23K22
Precision probe-location trigger with high speed OOK RF link from rig, using
paired PIC18F1320's
Mud-resistant optical interruptor with 36KHz Infrared PLL, using paired
PIC12F683 transmit and PIC10F200 receive
Quad summing strain-guage monitor with 8-channel differential A/D, using
PIC16F684
RF cab display module with scrolling 4-line display, 4-button voltage-ladder
A/D input, using PIC18F2221
RF cab supervisor module with alarms, bicolor LED indication, 7-button
voltage-ladder A/D input, using PIC18F2221
RF cab relay module with 12-speed fan control, resettable polyfuse overcurrent
monitors, using PIC18F1320
Rig relay module with dual remote RF interfaces (one RS-485), relay
overcurrent monitors, using PIC18F1320
Embedded low-pressure (5psi) Roots Blower monitor with firmware signal
conditioning, using PIC12F683
Embedded 1-axis tilt sensor with firmware signal conditioning, using
PIC12F683
Hydraulic row-cleaner control module, 2-solenoid block with A/D pressure
modulation/feedback, using PIC16F684
Dual-channel speed monitor for hydraulic motors using Hall geartooth sensors,
IRQ-interfaced to master rig control
Dynamic tilt control using dual pneumatic cylinders with hydraulic damping,
interfaced to master rig control
High-pressure (150 psi) air compressor monitor and driver, A/D interfaced to
master rig control
Miniature gearmotor supervisor with low-side current sense, alarm, and PWM
limiting, using PIC12F510
2006-2008
ARMA Design Inc, Arkansas Design Center
Home Office 6255 Ferris Sq, Suite E, San Diego, CA 92121
Supervisors Alex McKay, CEO; Keith Wheeler, Little Rock GM
Senior engineer designing, prototyping and executing PIC-based products for both small and major commercial clients (names available with CDA only). Responsible for complete design of most projects below, including PCB and firmware. I left only because my hours were cut due to declining business, I loved the job. Designs included:
Smart Lighting Controls --
Variety of user-direct and data-based interfaces, both line-
and bridge-referenced power
• Triac wattage limiter with optional dimmer, failsafe bypass, and
self-calibrating A/D, using PIC12F675
• Dual-triac dimming control with 2400 baud serial I/F using PIC10F200
(4 I/O's, 1 Timer!)
• Slave processor (PIC12F629) and power section for Echelon PLCC-based lighting
and fan controller
Spa Peripherals --
• I2C Chlorine Generator with digipot-variable 24V switcher and
feedback-controlled 5A H-Bridge using PIC16F690. Versions also used
RS-485 USART and I2C over RS-485 pairs
Toys and Tools --
• 8-channel Toy Servo Controller with 9.6Kbps or 56Kbps USART I/F using
PIC16F677
• LCD graphic GPS speedometer using DeLorme GPS2056 module and PIC18F2410
• 7-Function LED intelligent bargraph using PIC16F690
• Battery-powered Candle Extinguisher with programmable timing and ultra-low
power consumption using PIC10F200
• Battery-powered Toilet Flusher using PIR proximity sensor with
dual-differential comparator using PIC12F629
• Multifunction smart Sports Timer with custom LCD display and 3-year
battery-life using PIC16F946
• Lighting Concept demonstrator with PWM DC motor, lamp, and LED backlight
control using PIC16F59 and 16F690
• Radio DTMF...
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