Skills...
- Hardware design - Versatility
- Schematics
- PCB Layout (Multilayer Surface Mount or Through Hole. )
- Analog / Digital
- Microprocessors, Memory buses, Power supplies, LCD circuits, communications ports, keyboards etc.
- RF (1.5GHz)
- Low Power (AA Batteries)
- Circuit testing
- Design for high volume manufacturing (ease of assy and test)
- Design for problematic environmental conditions (High humidity, high temperature and high shock and vibration).
- GPS Systems
- Familiar with most GPS chipsets available
- Embedded systems design
- GPS Antenna tuning and testing
- GPS validation testing for accuracy, smooth plot trails, sensitivity, TTFF, SBAS (WAAS, EGNOS, etc)
- Taken numerous seminars and classes on GPS
- GPS Validation Testing
- Developed in house procedure responsible for testing all Lowrance GPS products and testing outside GPS engines and chipsets.
- Virtually ALWAYS found problems with outside GPS engine designs and worked with vendor to resolve problems.
- Wrote software to test GPS products.
- EMC
- I Started EMC department at Lowrance which reported to me until the day I left. This was an act of necessity. We designed consumer products that operated in high noise environments and near radios that we did not want to jam. While I was not the EMC engineer most of the time, they would report to me and I consulted with them to solve problems.
- Designed all PCBs with an EMC in mind. (Emissions, Susceptibility, and Electrostatic discharge)
- Pioneered many of our RF shielding techniques
- Project Management
- Project engineer for many projects often my own design projects.
- Use Microsoft Project for Ghant charts and manpower loading
- Interface to other disciplines such as software, mapping and mechanical design to optimize design, manufacturing and quality.
- Management
- Supervised young team of engineers to excel designing to extreme schedules with less people than would be expected.
- Over 25 years experience managing people
- Used to and likes team environment. Good at pooling the best ideas to get optimum results.
- Public Speaking
- Hand chosen to give customer service seminars in 5 countries
- Given numerous talks to IEEE.
- Numerous presentations to management
- Interfaced to customers
- Interfaced with suppliers
- Team leader of Engineering group
- Think Tank Skills
- Handpicked a very small team of very young engineers and developed a 3V 12channel GPS design that showed operational testing prior to Rockwell International having demonstrated one. Rockwell International was the company that designed, built and LAUNCHED the early GPS satellites. We used our own software algorithms as NO software was provided by any outside source. It was based on the GEC Plessey chipset.
- Innovation - My Firsts at Lowrance
- Designed first in hull transducer tester
- Designed first high speed transducer production test tank
- Produced first Loran-C receiver
- Was hand picked and designed first SMT (surface mount) PCB
- First to use CAD to design PCB
- Designed first TSOP (Thin small outline Package) PCB
- Designed first BGA (Ball grid array) PCB
- Used first 0402 components in production
- First MP3 player in the industry in GPS with Microphone input to make audible waypoints. (Patent issued)
- Founder of Navigation group
- Founder of EMC group
Rex received his BSEE from the University of Oklahoma and was a member of the Institute of Navigation and the National Marine Electronics Association for over 20 years. He has done work in the US, Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, China, Italy, France, Monaco, and Spain.