Kaivan Karimi – Dir. of Global Strategy, Microcontroller Group, at Freescale

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Kaivan Karimi – Dir. of Global Strategy, Microcontroller Group, at Freescale

Featured Engineer

Interview with John Boxall

John Boxall

John Boxall - Owner/Chief Engineer - Tronixstuff

How did you get into electronics/ engineering and when did you start?

From a young age new technology always interested me, especially the telephone and telex systems. When I was ten or eleven years old my neighbour had one of those Tandy/Radio Shack 200-in-1 electronics boards and from that point I haven’t looked back. After high school I studied computing science and then moved into the electronics retail and distribution field, followed by IT then energy distribution. After a break to study teaching I find myself back in the electronics area.

What are your favorite hardware tools that you use?

My trusty Fluke 233 DMM – I am colourblind and have generally poor vision so it makes life much easier; the internet-connected computer which makes information access infinitely simpler; and a USB logic analyser as I’m currently doing a lot of digital and IIC design.

What are your favorite software tools that you use?

Cadsoft EAGLE for PCB design and Openoffice.org productivity software.

What is on your bookshelf?

A collection of books by Forrest Mims III, Don Lancaster’s TTL and CMOS handbooks, “The Art of Electronics” by Horowitz and Hill, ARRL Handbook, the element-14 catalogue and a whole stack of untold textbooks and Australian electronics magazines.

Do you have any tricks up your sleeve?

Measure twice – cut once. Generally, even for the smaller or quick tasks I like to make a plan and document everything afterwards. Over time you end up with a nice set of notes that you can refer back to later on. Don’t reinvent the wheel – build from others’ experience and learning.

What has been your favorite project?

Although not the most complex of designs my SMS-controlled AC outlet is the favourite, as it generated the most interest from around the world.

It was one of those ideas that happen almost ‘by accident’ – I noticed a set of RF remote-control AC outlets on sale at an electronics retailer and knew that this could be modified for microcontroller and therefore GSM control. Although the purists among your readers may baulk at the idea of hacking into existing products instead of starting from scratch, I don’t believe in re-inventing the wheel. Building upon a previous tutorial that described controlling digital microcontroller outputs via SMS text message and a GSM module to make use of the remote control with the AC outlets – instead it is using optocouplers to activate the switches on the remote. Simple but it worked. Due to the popularity of that particular article I am in the process of developing a marketable solution that allows two way control and status reports of AC outlets that are controlled via a GSM data module and locally via Xbee wireless units. Again this will be an open hardware design and I look forward to seeing how people will use and modify or improve on the system in the future.

Do you have any note-worthy engineering experiences?

Have been electrocuted twice, not something to be proud of but a reminder to all those out there to be careful with high voltages even at very low current. Be especially wary with nixie tube power supplies! At the moment my greatest accomplishment is the education of others through my series of tutorials about basic electronics and the Arduino platform.

What are you currently working on?

A series of open hardware electronics kits and related tutorials – products and services to help people extend their electronics and related knowledge which in turn will hopefully inspire them to keep learning.

How did you get into open hardware electronics kits and when did you start writing your tutorials?

The tutorials started thirteen months ago in response to a request to investigate an Arduino and see what it was all about. Currently there are thirty-four articles ranging from blinking an LED through to wireless communication over Zigbee, GSM messaging, GPS receivers, various data buses and many things in between. Topics for each article are generally derived from reader requests and questions received from the general public. During this time I have had more exposure to the ideas behind open hardware, as well as conversations with and observation of those who lead the industry in this field. The recent increase in popularity of open hardware and the resurgence in electronics hobbyists and related people brings an opportunity to leverage from the success of our tutorials and offer hardware and kits in the near future. Products are currently in the prototyping or testing stage.

Do you think open hardware is a flawed business model?

Not at all, open hardware can be a success from a commercial standpoint. This has been proven many times by organisations such as adafruit industries and others, however you cannot look at it primarily as a profit-making venture. As well as offering hardware for sale, you need to be passionate in wanting to help people learn and support them in doing so. Open hardware helps foster innovation and learning as it exposes the design to all those who are interested in using and modifying it for their own purposes, at which point others can build up on it, and so on.

What direction do you see your business heading in the next few years?

Towards more kit and hardware supply in parallel with educational publishing.

What challenges do you foresee in our industry?

Fighting the ‘race to the bottom’ with regards to hardware prices; this can only be done by providing customers with excellent support and service included with quality physical products. The adage “quality is remembered long after price is forgotten” still stands and educating customers on this is a challenge. Furthermore the shift towards less through-hole new component releases is a challenge in the education/kit market.

Visit John's EEWeb Profile
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