Although most problems can be solved with off the shelf products or modules, customers sometime require custom solutions.

I include some examples of my work in this area.

Bristow helicopters operate a fleet of helicopters some of which are on charter to the coastguard and are employed in a marine search and rescue capacity.

The crew members are equipped with flying helmets which are fitted with aeronautical communications electronics. This allows them to communicate with each other over the aircraft intercom system.

However during rescue operations the winchman is required to leave the aircraft and be winched down to the casualty. He is equipped with a handheld marine band VHF radio with which to maintain contact with the aircraft. Prior to being equipped with my interface unit the winchman had no means of connecting the radio to the helmet electronics and therefore was unable to utilise them. ( In 1997 a winchman was washed overboard from a merchant ship as it foundered and drowned, having successfully rescued the crew. )

I was approached to find a way of plugging the radio into the helmet. The main problem being that the aeronautical microphone was completely incompatible with conventional marine radio. I found a solution to this problem and produced a device which is completely transparent to the user. He simply unplugs from the aircraft system and with the same connector plugs into the radio and remains in full contact with the aircraft.

All the Bristow S.A.R. bases have now been equipped with these.

This department runs an industrial process controlled by PC. Large electrical loads need to be switched in an electrically noisy environment. Additionally the signal source from the PC needs to be electrically isolated from the factory equipment.

The solution had to be simple and inexpensive so that the dept could produce the units themselves in large quantities. Exacting limits were set on signal current consumption and the protection of switching components within the module. The prototype successfully met all the criteria set and was subsequently produced.

BP`s recent West of Shetland oil production installations are fitted with large fast rescue craft which feature an enclosed wheel house, The coxswain and crew require to communicate from outstations both with each other via intercom and with the crane driver by VHF radio who is lowering the boat to the water. BP identified this as a health and safety issue.

The resulting solution was the Open loop system which employed the Navico Axis RT1200 as the main radio. Crew members can now converse via the intercom but are also able to monitor radio traffic at all times and can transmit on radio at any time whilst also being heard on the intercom.To date several installations have been completed to the complete satisfaction of BP.

Scottish Agent - North East Telecoms, Mark Allen - TEL: 01224 775717

This company produces electronic charting software to run on the PC aboard ships and marine vessels. They required an interface unit to isolate serial data signals being received from external devices such as Radar, compass and GPS navigators and level convert for use with the PC. It was also required to transmit serial data from the PC to these devices, again level converting and isolating.

Using the new generation of 3.3 Volt micropower devices, the low power consumption of the system meansthat it can be powered from the PC serial port. The unit has selectable RS 232 and 422 outputs and is very easy to interface since it requires no configuration.

Following successful trials of the prototype, the unit is now type approved by Det Norske Veritas and is now available on the ECDIS market.