Colin's Webpages

CV/Resumé: Colin Seymour B.Sc M.Sc C.Eng MIET

Contact Details

For location preference and contact details, please see foot of page.

General Skill Base:

Electronic Engineering including Software, Hardware, DSP, RF, and Microwave Engineering.

Work Experience (General)

More than 25 years experience in the electronics industry involved in both hardware and software projects, including research, design and development of RF, microwave, analogue and digital electronic systems, and software including C and Windows API, and embedded microcontrollers.

Education Summary:

From	To	Educational Establishment	Course Title	Classification	Study Type
9/86	8/88	University College London	Microwaves and Modern Optics	M.Sc.	PT (Day)
9/78	8/82	University of Hull	Microelectronics and Computer Engineering	B.Sc. (Hons) 2.2	Sandwich

Professional Bodies:

Member in the IEEE, and Member in the IET.
Chartered Engineer registered with the Engineering Council.
Was a Member in the IERE before it amalgamated with the IEE (now IET).

Summary of Recent Work:

Recent work has included:

• Development of embedded software and hardware for fire alarm control panels and auxiliary systems.
• Development of an embedded processor motherboard and real-time operating system for a remotely controllable geolocation system with a mobile radio link and a capability for extended micropower standby mode. I have developed a 32 bit preemptive multitasking operating system as well as hardware driver, navigation support, modem support, flash programming and applications software for the product.
• Developed an innovative inductive tag reader antenna that allows 360 degree coverage of a tag mounted on the surface of a cylindrical hub.
• Review of Software Defined Radio to identify areas of potential interest for R&D activity.
• Design & Build of innovative RF power sources for electrodeless discharge lamps and head-up displays, which resulted in several new patent applications, and a spin-off application (also subject to a patent application) for a DC-DC inverter suited for high voltage generation and Silicon Carbide technology. An article submitted to Power Electronics Europe magazine describes this high voltage generation technique [Seymour C J, "The Road to High Frequency Applications for SiC Power Diodes", Power Electronics Europe, Issue 6, 2001].
• EMC analysis of electrodeless discharge lamp systems, including detailed analysis of engineering approach required to satisfy the EUROCAE ED-14D EMC emissions and susceptibility specification for airborne equipment.
• Investigation of RF/microwave power coupling structures for RF excited electrodeless gas discharge projection lamps.
• EMC analysis and design of power supplies and filters for a high speed A/D system and interface support hardware.
• Design & Build of an in-house impedance analyser and its software, used to investigate the properties of electrodeless discharge lamps under large-signal power drive conditions.
• High Speed A/D converter evaluation
• Software design & programming in a variety of languages
• Digital signal processing software
• Spread spectrum radio at 2.45 GHz
• Frequency synthesis for a microwave FMCW radar for industrial level measurement using Direct Digital Synthesis techniques
• Antenna design
• Radio wave propagation prediction
• Modulation
• Radar rangefinding
• EMC
• Consultancy on cellular PCN handset EMC issues for a major UK company
• Participation in the national Land Mobile Radio Specifications Working Group 8X and the UK TC-ERM Briefing Group

Software work has included embedded-processor Fast Fourier Transform and interpolation software for the FMCW radar, off-line FFT processing software for test signals downloaded from the FMCW radar in the Windows graphic environment using 'C', and design of DDS synthesiser, microwave multiplier chain, and dielectric rod antenna hardware for the same project.

Computer Experience:

Main language: C/C++ (Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0, Hitachi Embedded Workshop, Codescape JTAG debugger)

Windows API and Windows Sockets

Internet: HTML, XHTML, CSS, Javascript, PERL

Assembly language experience in 80X86 and others

UNIX: As user of CAD on a UNIX machine, remote login to an ISP, and PC emulations of UNIX commands such as "ls")

Also: Microsoft Office, Open Office, Pascal (object oriented version), Fortran, Modula-2, Algol 68R, Basic, 8086, MS-DOS Bios & DOS ASM level, Z80, 6800, PIC, PLAN (ICL1900), MACRO (PDP11), IEEE-488 bus, VAX/VMS, George 3, and have been Computer Systems Manager for a Departmental MicroVax II and PDP11/44.

(Please see my Software Page)

Antenna Experience:

Designed a dielectric rod antenna for a radar level gauge operating in the 10GHz microwave band.

Carried out radio propagation and diffraction modelling for a project concerning vehicle-to-vehicle radio communication, including writing simulation software for the specific multi-hop diffraction environment.

Involved in various studies on short-range communication by induction loop from September 1992 to the present, in connection with which patent application 9605335.0 was filed on a "Data Communications System" utilising induction loops.

Earlier work on electronic sensor work for security applications included study of the use of magnetic loops for object detection.

Worked on the development an in-building audio/video communications system which used radiating cable, or leaky feeder, antennas.

Author of "RFProp", a free-space and knife-edge-diffraction propagation modelling program that was distributed in a promotional activity at the 1996 Radio Solutions Conference at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, and has been made available (with permission) on internet sites including those of the Propagation Studies Committee of the Radio Society of Great Britain, Spread Spectrum Scene online, RF Globalnet, and Tucson Amateur Packet Radio Corp. It has been listed on the Top 25 Downloaded Software list at RF Globalnet.

Antenna topics have been of interest for many years in connection with amateur radio activities, for example in the construction of a 14MHz log-periodic array antenna used for communication over distances of thousands of miles in 1982.

Took the radio amateurs' examination at age 14 and obtained an amateur radio licence in April 1974. An article was published in the Radio Society of Great Britain's journal "Radio Communication" in October 1983 titled "VHF Direction Finding with a miniaturized beam antenna".

Experience Record:

From 6/05 to 2/08

Post: Consultancy work for Qtrail Ltd.

Development of successor technology to the Trackcom tracking system.

From 6/03 to 6/05

Post: Software Development Manager
Employer: Trackcom Ltd

Responsible for ongoing maintenance and support of real-time embedded application software for a remotely controllable geolocation system capable of tracking a wide variety of mobile transport over a mobile radio link with a capability for extended micropower standby mode.

This software runs on a purpose-built pre-emptive multitasking real time operating system (RTOS), which I developed starting in early 2002 while at CRL working on a Trackcom contract, based on the Hitachi SH/3 processor.

From 7/94 to 6/03

Post: Staff Scientist.

Employer: Central Research Laboratories Ltd. (CRL), a member of the Scipher Group of companies (formerly the research laboratory of [Thorn] EMI Ltd.), at Hayes, Middx.

Developed an embedded processor motherboard and real-time operating system for a remotely controllable geolocation system with a GSM radio link and a capability for extended micropower standby mode. This includes a 32 bit preemptive multitasking operating system as well as hardware driver, navigation support, modem support, flash programming and applications software for the product.

The geolocation system live-tracks vehicles globally, and also keeps a permanent record (log) of any journey the vehicle makes by saving the log in Flash memory. The logs can be downloaded at any convenient time by the front-end software for generation of journey and vehicle performance reports. The system can sent remote alerts by SMS message whenever a geo-fence condition has been breached. I developed proprietary protocols for compressed log download and software upgrade upload. Support is also provided for driver identification tags, and transferring messages using a PDA connected to the DPU. I also developed PC application software which acts both as a test platform for the mobile unit, and can upload software and download logs from mobile units.

Designed, built and tested a 1.25 GHz FMCW DDS swept frequency synthesiser for a microwave FMCW radar for industrial level measurement.

Designed, built and tested a frequency multiplier (to 10 GHz) and balanced amplifer transmit module for the microwave FMCW radar.

Designed a dielectric rod antenna for the microwave FMCW radar.

Developed software to carry out embedded-processor Fast Fourier Transforms, signal peak detection and interpolation for the FMCW radar, as well as writing off-line test signal analysis software.

Developed radio wave propagation prediction software for vehicle to vehicle applications. This enabled propagation paths to be assessed in radio links between the vehicles of a truck convoy, including diffraction over truck bodies and road bridges/hills; it formed part of CRL's work (an approx. £300k programme) in a European programme called Chauffeur.

Analysed and reported predicted propagation characteristics for inclusion in the overall project report for the Chauffeur programme.

Participated in the Land Mobile Radio Specifications Working Group 8X / UK TC-ERM Briefing Group.

Carried out consultancy work on behalf of CRL for a major UK company to analyse a cellular PCN handset EMC problem, design remedial actions, and liaise with the customer to report and discuss the results.

Designed signal distribution test boards, and carried out a series of measurements and analyses to determine key performance parameters of a High Speed A/D converter product (a commercial off-the-shelf item).

Designed power supplies and EMC filters to enable compact switching power supplies to be used in a high speed A/D system. Designed test boards for high speed digital input interface circuits. The A/D system was part of an approx. £200k development project.

Designed and built an in-house impedance analyser and its software, with the objective of using it to investigate the properties of electrodeless discharge lamps under large-signal power drive conditions, the result of which enabled better synthesis of drive coils, reducing the amount of empirical adjustment required for new designs. Demonstrated the validity of the prediction by building an electrodeless lamp scaled up from a 12V supply to a 48V supply.

Conducted research and reported on suitable RF/microwave power coupling structures for RF excited electrodeless gas discharge lamps suitable for projection applications.

Designed & built innovative RF power sources for electrodeless discharge lamps and head-up displays, in several variants, which resulted in several new patent applications, and a spin-off application (also subject to a patent application) for a DC-DC inverter particularly suited for high voltage generation and exploitation of Silicon Carbide rectifier technology.

Carried out an EMC analysis of an electrodeless discharge lamp system, including detailed analysis of the engineering approach required to satisfy the EUROCAE ED-14D EMC emissions and susceptibility specification for airborne head-up displays, in an approx. £190k programme.

Carried out a review (of about 1 man-month) of applications of Software Defined Radio techniques in mobile radio and similar chipsets and writing a report to identify areas where they may be applied with spin-off benefits outside their original field of application. This work was targeted for use in business development activities to identify potential customers who would benefit from such applications.

From 4/90 to 7/94

Post: Principal Research Engineer.
Employer: Thorn EMI CRL Ltd., Hayes, Middlesex

Designed subsystems for an in-building audio/video communications system using a leaky feeder RF distribution method in the UHF/microwave bands (subsystems included RF up/down converters, and RF distribution was modelled using propagation simulation software).

Represented employer on the Low Power Radio Association (and its band planning subcommittee), and authored technical articles for the LPRA newsletter on topic including spread spectrum techniques and radio wave propagation.

Researched spread spectrum radio techniques for creating low cost modems, and techniques for generating wide band direct sequence spread spectrum modulation; supported by the design and build of several sub-systems for laboratory evaluation (Following this work, CRL support for spread spectrum radio grew and led directly to the spin-off of Wavelength Digital Ltd, a provider of cable-free solutions for digital, analogue, video and data signals, whose parent company is Scipher PLC.)

Researched techniques for detection of surveillance equipment operating in microwave bands, the design and construction of a countersurveillance scanning receiver, and surveillance transmitters to demonstrate the risk and its solution.

Conducted a feasibility study forming part of a bid response to an ITT for a geolocating paging and personal alarm system for area protection security, for a DERA organisation.

Carried out and reported a feasibility study into a low phase noise microwave GMSK transmitter, including writing a software simulation of the system's spectral characteristics under non-linear conditions.

Desiged test samples and CADCAM prototyping software for chiral RF absorbing materials, measured their microwave transmission and reflection properties, and reported on the results.

From 4/87 to 4/90

Post: Senior Research Engineer.
Employer: Thorn EMI CRL Ltd., Hayes, Middlesex.

Designed circuits and carried out high frequency PCB layout of a 2 Gbit/s digital word generator for testing high speed digital GaAs devices.

Researched MSK modulation techniques and reported on suitable system design for a high bit rate MSK radio modem supported by a paper design for a 100kbps MSK modem.

Conducted research into system design for a PCN handset in conjunction with UNITEL's successful bid for a PCN mobile phone licence, which was used primarily to prepare hardware cost estimates.

Responsible for one independent cost estimate, which was coordinated with another independently produced cost estimate in support of the UNITEL bid.

Researched and reported on radio system design techniques, and measured data on in-building radio propagation at VHF, 1 GHz and 10 GHz for cordless fire and security devices, and in-building radio communication in the RACE programme.

Researched and reported on design options for electrically tuned, integrated mm-wave phase shifters, supported by Touchstone simulations of selected phase shifter architectures.

Planned, conducted and reported a set of measurements and simulations (using LINMIC+) on microwave transmission lines fabricated as silicon wafer scale microstrip and buried triplate lines to assess their suitability for use in silicon hybrid packaging.

From 8/82 to 4/87

Post: Research Engineer.
Employer: Thorn EMI CRL Ltd., Hayes, Middlesex

Designed and developed IF signal processing subsystems and ATE system software, and wrote test procedures for IF signal processing cards forming part of an equipment rack valued at approximately £250,000 as part of the Guardian EW system.

Designed, prototyped and tested a detector for very small capacitances using RF sensing techniques.

Conducted research into techniques for building data converters for rates up to at least 1 Gs/s. This work was linked with my M.Sc. project and thesis completed in October 1988, which dealt with high speed data conversion, particularly conversion at GHz sampling rates. A D/A converter was demonstrated at 4 bits resolution, and 1 Gsamples/s, using a mixture of GaAs IC, discrete passive and distributed transmission line techniques. The analyses performed included time domain simulation of clock distribution transmission line networks, Fourier analysis of output combining networks, and microstrip line impedance analysis.

Design, coded, and integrated (with software produced by other team members) parts of an in-house PCB design program which ran on a PDP-11/44. Later, was responsible for porting all of this software to a Microvax platform, and then to a PC platform.

From September 1977 to August 1982

Post: Undergraduate Apprentice Training
Employer: EMI Electronics Ltd., Hayes, Middlesex

I was sponsored by EMI Electronics as an undergraduate, and received training including a non-examination day release course in Electronics at Southall College of Technology. EMI training courses included Workshop practice, Drawing Office, Quality Assurance Attachments, and a project to build a CCD storage converter for an oscilloscope.

During University vacations, I spent 10 weeks in the Microwave and Semiconductor Dept. of EMI Central Research Laboratories, designing & building an ultrasonic data link, a serial data board for a M6800 system, software for data link testing on an M6800 emulator, and an HF filter for radiation detector experiments.

I spent 10 weeks at the Cognitive Systems Dept. of CRL, building power supply units for a frame store & processor, and designed an experimental clock generation & distribution circuit for the frame store & processor.

I spent 10 weeks at the Systems & Weapons Dept, Victoria Road Feltham, where I designed & built a noise source for a wide temperature range and wide bandwidth.

Publications Record (Patents):

Month / Year	Description
1 / 89	Seymour, Colin, "Temperature compensated delay line",EP0300656
4 / 90	Seymour, Colin, "Oscillator with Transient Frequency Response Compensation",CA2001208, also pub as EP0366373 (A2), EP0366373 (A3)
3 / 91	Seymour, Colin, "Superhetorodyne circuit",GB2236225
12 / 91	Seymour, Colin; Steel, Martin C; Trumble, Francis R; US 5,070,278 "Discharge Tube Arrangement", equivalents EP0393900, JP2299198 (Transferred to GE Lighting Ltd. 8/4/1993)
12 / 91	Seymour, Colin; Steel; Martin C., Trumble; Francis R. "Discharge tube arrangement ", U.S. 5,070,278
9 / 97	Seymour, Colin; "Data Communication System", GB2311190
4 / 00	Seymour, Colin; Couch, Nigel, "Apparatus for blocking a D.C. component of a signal", U.S. 6,046,898
11 / 00	Couch, Nigel; Seymour, Colin J, Motherwell Control Systems Ltd "Frequency swept radar gauge",GB2350004
4 / 01	Seymour, Colin; "A Current-Controlled Oscillator", WO0126225
4 / 01	Seymour, Colin; "A Power Oscillator for Driving a Discharge Lamp", WO0126427
4 / 01	Seymour, Colin; "A Power Supply for Driving a Discharge Lamp", WO0126428
4 / 01	Seymour, Colin; "A Power Oscillator for Driving a Discharge Lamp", WO0126429
4 / 01	Seymour, Colin; "A Self Oscillating Power Supply Circuit [for driving a discharge lamp]", WO0126430
4 / 01	Seymour, Colin; "A Power Oscillator for Driving a Discharge Lamp", WO0126431 (Also published as GB2370168 (A))
4 / 01	Seymour, Colin, "A Power Oscillator for Driving a Discharge Lamp",WO0126427
4 / 02	Seymour, Colin, "A Power Supply for Driving a Discharge Lamp", WO0230160
4 / 03	Seymour, Colin, "An electronic insect exterminator device", GB2380387
6 / 03	Seymour, Colin, "Leistungsstufe mit Oszillator für Gasentladungslampe", AT241255T

Publications Record (Other than Patents):

Month / Year	Description
3 / 91	Article: Seymour C J, "Low Power Radio Devices And Buildings", Low Power Radio Association Newsletter, Spring 1991
9 / 91	Article: Seymour C J, "Low Power Radio at Thorn EMI Research", Low Power Radio Association Newsletter, Autumn 1991
3 / 92	Article: Seymour C J, "Video on the Agenda", Low Power Radio Association Newsletter, Spring 1992
10 / 92	Conference Article: Seymour C J, "Spread Spectrum Techniques", Proceedings of the Radio Solutions 1992 Conference, October 7, 1992.
9 / 94	Article: Seymour C J, "A Clean Sweep ?", Security Gazette, September 1994
9 / 94	Article: Seymour C J, "Radio LANs and Multimedia", Low Power Radio Association Newsletter, September 1994
10 / 96	Conference Article: Seymour C J, "Spread Spectrum Technology - Video Applications and Developments", Proceedings of the Radio Solutions 1996 Conference, October 29, 1996.
9 / 01	Article: Seymour C J, "The Road to High Frequency Applications for SiC Power Diodes", Power Electronics Europe, Issue 6, 2001

Location Preference

Any reasonable location will be considered. Preference is given to locations that are closer to South Harrow, Middx:

Preferred location zone map (Click to see full size)!

Contact me via the email address shown in the footer below (same details also available on this page)