EEWebPULSE_2012_i0054.pdf

EE Web

PULSE

EE Web.com

Issue 54

July 10, 2012

Joe Grand

Grand Idea

Studio, Inc.

Electrical Engineering Community

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Joe Grand

GRAND IDEA STUDIO, INC.

Interview with Joe Grand - President and Founder

Fe atured Products

Optimizing Your Next Temperature

Measurement Configuration - Part I

BY ROBERT GREEN WITH KEITHLEY

An overview of sensor and instrumentation options for system builders and key

considerations for choosing the optimal sensors for greater reliability.

Chip Designing and the Cloud

BY MEENU SARIN WITH VLSI CONSULTANCY

How the chip design community can benefit from identifying its major challenges and by

embracing cloud computing.

RTZ - Return to Zero Comic

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INTERVIEW

JOE

GRAND

Grand Idea

Studio Inc.

How did you get into

engineering and when did

you start?

I got involved with computers and

electronics when I was seven years

old. The technology world was

much different in 1982 and if you

had a home computer, you were

very fortunate. My first system was

an Atari 400 computer, Atari 810

floppy disk drive, and Atari 830

acoustic coupler modem.

My brother, who is six years older

than me, was also interested in

computers and electronics at

the time. He would repair audio

equipment, build telephone

and computer gadgets, and

disassemble broken electronics to

scavenge them for parts. He had

a cabinet that served as a junk bin

for components and broken boards.

Joe Grand- Founder

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INTERVIEW

When I did chores for him, like

doing his laundry or cleaning his

room, he’d let me pick something

from the cabinet.

What are you currently

working on?

I’m currently working on three new

projects, but none are ready to be

publicly disclosed.

output DC power supply are also

constant companions.

Grand Idea Studio

is a product design,

development, and

licensing firm

specializing in

consumer/household

devices and modules for

electronics hobbyists.

I was thirteen years old when I

hand-etched my first circuit board

to make a “Ring-Busy Device.” The

device was simply a resistor across

the tip and ring of the telephone

line and had an RJ-11 plug for easy

insertion/removal. It would make

the telephone switch at the central

office believe that your phone was

off-hook (thus, providing a busy

signal to any incoming caller),

but would still allow you to make

outgoing calls.

My most recent completed

hobbyist module is a low-cost Laser

Range Finder . The device, which

is completely open source, uses

a Parallax Propeller processor,

OmniVision OVM7690 640x480

CMOS CameraCube, and Arima

635nm APC Laser Diode. Distance

to a targeted object is calculated

by optical triangulation using

trigonometry between the centroid

of laser light, camera, and object.

The theory and operation are

simple, but designing the system

was a challenge, particularly

because I had no prior experience

with computer vision and image

processing.

Right from the start, I had a strong

emotional attachment to all things

electronic. While my friends wanted

to be firefighters or doctors, I

wanted to be an engineer. I wore

this proudly on my sleeve, which

didn’t help my ranking in the social

hierarchy of elementary school!

At my workbench, I use a Metcal

MX-500P soldering station and

Vision Engineering Mantis compact

stereo inspection microscope. For

rework and parts scavenging, I

enjoy Chip Quik’s SMD removal

alloy.

On the consumer side, I recently

completed the Field Monitor

Pro , one of the first portable USB

monitors. This product features

a swiveling 15.4” 1280x800 LCD

and two USB 2.0 ports for external

peripherals. The PCB is a six-layer

design containing USB, DDR,

and high-speed video buses with

specific impedance control and

length-matched bus requirements.

Can you tell us about Grand

Idea Studio?

Grand Idea Studio is a product

design, development, and licensing

firm specializing in consumer/

household devices and modules for

electronics hobbyists.

My T-Tech Quick Circuit 5000 PCB

prototyping system has also gotten

a lot of use lately. It’s a great way

to quickly make prototype boards

without the hazards and annoyances

of chemical etching. The (relatively)

instant gratification means I can

have a PCB done in a few hours or

less instead of having to wait a few

days for professional fabrication. As

a bonus, it’s fun to watch as it drills

and routes.

I started the company in 2002

after leaving a computer security

consultancy that I helped create.

I had become disillusioned with

corporate culture and needed a

new environment where I could

focus on what I loved to do.

What are some of your favorite

engineering tools?

I can’t go a day without using

my Agilent DSO7054A 500MHz,

4-channel digital storage

oscilloscope. Since I work a lot

with embedded systems and digital

communications, I rely heavily on

its serial decoding functionality and

advanced triggering. My Fluke 287

multimeter and HP E3630A triple

For schematic capture and PCB

layout, I use Altium Designer. My

first production design was created

with Protel EasyTrax in DOS and

I’ve followed the progression of the

tool since then.

The majority of work comes

from ideas developed in-house.

Sometimes, I’ll work on a contract

basis for outside sources provided

the concept is interesting enough.

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