Immediate electronics freelance support

Faraday Consultancy Limited

Faraday Consultancy Limited (FCL) is a private limited company registered in England and Wales, Company Registration Number 2938426, VAT Registration Number GB 623 4028 72 and owned by Chris Angove.

This is a hybrid microwave circuit mounted on a white alumina (Al₂O₃) substrate. Alumina has a very small loss tangent, high thermal conductivity and is electrically stable but brittle and expensive. The tracks are gold plated copper with a nickel barrier between them (not visible). Connections between the tracks and components are via small wires using thermal compression bonds.

This is a processor board designed using the substrate material FR4 (typical greenish color). It includes a range of densely packed surface mount components: resistors, capacitors, inductors. ICs and at least one crystal resonator and some leaded components. Tracks will be surface and buried (not visible) including high speed (high frequency) differential and single ended.

Profile

Skills, Experience and Knowledge Available Now

FCL will probably already have many of the skills and the experience you are looking for and will integrate quickly with your team.

This is a classic digital cellular cell-tower supporting several directional sector antennas beamed into the adjacent 3 cell areas it serves. Also visible are 2 microwave point to point directional (reflector dish) antennas, probably part of a backhaul link into the telecommunications infrastructure.

Original Thinking

You want 'outside of the box' thinking?

FCL often suggests novel solutions. Many of these exceed expectations and save the client money and time.

The part spherical structure on top of this building is a radome, made from a low loss dielectric material that protects the antenna(s) inside from damage and deterioration due to weather and makes corrective and preventative maintenance much easier. We cannot see the antenna(s) but from the size and shape they may be for satellite or radar services.

Recent Challenges

What can you do about this phase noise?

FCL has many RF and microwave design skills and can apply these to solve common problems such as noise and EMC issues.

I believe this lighthouse is known as the 'Longships', a couple of miles off Lands End, by comparing it to known pictures. It has been un-manned and remotely controlled for many years and there is a helicopter pad on the top which is not visible here.

New Ideas

Can you find a quicker way of doing this?

From its previous experience, FCL can often identify routes towards higher productivity.

Success Highlights

New design proving measurement methods using FCL's experience with transmission line theory, vector network analyzers and S-parameters.

Defence Client 1

About USD 6000 saving on a successive detection logarithmic video amplifier (SDLVA).

Radar Systems Client

Solving a cold instability problem of a frequency synthesizer by replacing inductors with high Q factor versions.

Defence Client 2

Improving a synthesizer spurious, phase noise and reducing production cost after an RF/EMC review.

Digital Cellular Client

Reliably quantifying solar heating effects for sensitive exterior equipment using the Stefan-Boltzmann fourth power radiation law.

Transportation Infrastructure Vendor

Constructing and demonstrating an RF over optical fiber (ROF) backup communications system to short timescales.

Defence Client 3

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