About Sector101...
Hi.. you've landed on the "About..." page of Sector101.co.uk!
Who runs Sector101?
Sector101.co.uk is run solely by myself - Brian Allan. I am based in the United Kingdom.
The Sector101 website and the projects here are a spare-time hobby for me.
All the projects on the site are designed, assembled and tested by myself. There's no high output production facility here - it's just me, a PCB workstation, a bunch of test equipment, and a few Yamaha synth products to test the finished products with.
What do you do?
My regular job is in the electronics industry where I have worked for over 20 years. In that time I've gained knowledge of the automated SMD (Surface Mount Device) assembly process and PTH (Plated Thru-Hole) assembly process.
In recent years I have been involved with Test & Test Development. In layman's terms this means designing a test for a product, testing the product, and debug the product if it fails the test. The products are many and varied - from high-end audio equipment to web-based security systems.
A useful skill I've picked up along the way is PCB rework & modification. This is where components on the PCB are to be removed and replaced, repairing broken tracks and lands, or circuit modifications where tracks are intentionally cut and mod-wires routed between components. Any of these jobs can involve replacing simple thru-hole components, or the more taxing high-density surface mount FPGA and DSP devices with 100's of fine legs. All good fun!
How did this all Sector101 stuff start?
It all started in 2006 with "I wonder if.."
Really, that's how it started: "Those connectors in my SY85 for non-volatile memory.. I wonder if I can attach some memory chips and make it work as sample storage".
After a lot of probing on the connectors I finally got it working. Around the same time there was a discussion on the Yamaha Forums.co.uk site about re-creating the SYEMB06 module as a clone.
Originally I had no plan to make a clone board, I was doing it just for the fun of it. As time went on I got more info about the Yamaha SYEMB06 assembly from the forum members. After a bit of PCB design the first batch of SYEMB06 clones were made - and promptly sold out to my surprise.
The MCD Sweet16 project started the same way with a similar "I wonder if..." - there was no product intended from the start.
The SYEMB05 project is the only project so far that began with a finished product in mind.
Can you make a clone of the YamaKorgLand XYZ board..?
Unless I have the equipment the device is used in, and an original device to copy from then I have to say No.
If the device is something basic then probably Yes - provided the components are not obsolete. I will still need the original device for exact dimensions and circuit info.
To make a clone cost effective I'd need to make a lot of them, probably 100 units minimum so demand will need to be there. If you only want 2 units the price will be too horrendous to consider!
How can I contact you?
If you want to contact me about anything please use the email address below. I will reply to your as soon as I can.
Thank you for reading this far down!
Brian
