My Family
I am a husband and a father of three boys. I was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and have enjoyed its surrounding and wilderness. I can not imagine a better place.
I had an interest in electronics from a young age, being inspired by such movies as the Forbidden Planet or show like Space 1999. I jumped started my career with amateur radio which led into an apprenticeship as a TV Technician.
I eventually made my way to BCIT and have experience a diverse range of experience some similar, most quite different and unique. If I was to classify myself it would be a generalist as an engineering technologist.
Even in my midlife, my growth continued as I started playing guitar on Jan 15, 2000 and then opened for PetFest 2001 at the Kerrisdale Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was put on by the SPCA Youth Society and some great talent was there.
I work for OMNEX Controls for a good part of my life, enough to get married and have three lovely boys. As OMNEX restructured itself, I decided to be the stay at home dad for my three boys and get involved with their lives more.
I tell you the home life with three boys can add up, but when you are able to play TitianFall four ways online, nothing compares. Even got to coach two of my sons soccer when they were young, even saw my son Roberts first goal, my youngest still plays soccer and truely enjoys the game.
As I juggle this wonderous life I also work in the Research and Development Industry and I am available for hire.
Amateur Radio
I started out my adventure in the electronic industry when I came across the Burnaby Amatuer Radio Club at the PNE in Vancouver, British Columbia.
I was 12 at the time and trained and studied for the requirements and soon got my Amatuer Radio License on December 14, 1979 with the call sign VE7FFG. ( Now VE7NFG)
Heathkit was a cool place in the 70/80s and this little HW-8 is still lighting up the airwaves with it’s 3 watts of power.
The Digital Age
I bought my first computer when I was 16 with money I was making as an apprentice TV technician.
I was inspired by the mighty IMSAI 8080 of the 70s, all those big toggle switches.
In the end I wanted something newer, so with $200 I was able to get a used Pet with a book on 6502 Assembler for the Commendore Pet.
I remember the guy telling me it was all I would ever need and he was right.
I started wiring up these huge 1Kx4 bit SRAM ICs with a couple of gates and a 9VDC battery and I was set for some non-volatile fun!.
I created two card games and a simple point and shoot game all stored on that life time 30 minute cassette tape, that was always fun to listen to in the car. 🙂
Higher Learning
My choice for a solid foundation in electronics started with going to BCIT,
I was lucky during my course an extra term was given to expose us in the four different sectors of the industry, mainly Power, Telecom, Control, and Instrumentation. It really put it all together for us.
I took the Control Option and created a simple boot system for a surplus Z80 board that was acquired at RP Electronic.
As my last days of school approached me, I came across a new MCU from Motorola the MC68HC11, wow, the next big thing at the time. It would be with me for many years to come.
