Designer Systems is dedicated to providing turn-key product development services to allow businesses to stay competitive and meet their customers needs. 
Our development capability encompasses a wide range of business sectors including telecommunications, broadcast, industrial, automotive and commercial.
All product development is undertaken by our small team of talented, respected engineers and specialist partner companies, this ensuring that your project is completed on-time and on-budget.
We are also fully committed to the implementation of current, and future, environmental legislation and from August 2005 all new product development will comply with the RoHS and WEEE directives.

A small sample of recent development projects are shown below.

Our main areas of expertise are as follows: 
s Embedded monitoring & control systems
s Wireless telemetry systems
s PSTN telephones and test equipment
s Audio & Video processing
s GSM/GPRS telemetry M2M via. SMS, Modem etc.
s Professional DVD/TAPE/CD player control systems
s GPS positioning systems
s Printed Circuit Board design
s Small & medium scale manufacturing

 

 



Designer Systems has used the PIC range of microcontrollers since 1996, has been a Microchip Consultant Program member since 1999 and is committed to providing product solutions based on the Microchip PIC range of microcontrollers and support products.
We are proud to have gained Master Certification in every year since 2001 and attained Gold consultant status in 2004-2005:

2001-2002
 2002-2003
2003-2004
 2004-2005
In addition, since 1998, we have been a member of the Institute of Patentees and Inventors, which allows us to support clients who wish to develop ideas and concepts into tangible products.

Commercial project

 Watchmonitor GPS module

This product was developed as a planned upgrade to the Microcomms Marine Watchmonitor GSM enabled alarm and monitoring system. The module, which is based around the PIC16F628, provides GPS location information to the main Watchmonitor system, logs this location along with data, time, speed & heading in a DOS formatted text file on an inserted MMC flash card and calculates position deviation from a stored position to produce GPS difference alarms. Manufactured on a double-sided PCB the product utilizes both Surface Mount and conventional mount technology.

Module shown is installed within Watchmonitor system.

 


Broadcast project

 MetRadio ICCS-Speakerbus interface

A very simple isolated audio interface that provides both impedance matching and gain control between a headset interface and an existing audio network. This was an urgent project which was completed in under seven working days from client requirement to finished prototypes. Manufactured on double-sided PCB the product utilizes both surface mount and conventional mount technology. 

Telecom project

 Alarm Probe 2600 Ethernet to RS232 and loop monitoring interface

A simple Ethernet to RS232 converter with relay contact monitoring. Powered from a standard -48VDC telecom supply the product uses an isolated DC-DC converter. The interface allows the monitoring of relay contact states over a standard Ethernet 10Base-T network connection.  Manufactured on double-sided PCB the product utilizes both surface mount and conventional mount technology. 

Shown uncased for clarity.

A complex audio signal multiplexer that allows up to 70 DECT mobile handsets to listen to any of 50 audio channels or conduct standard telephone calls. Each audio channel consists of gain control, mixing, low-pass filtration, AGC and drive; each telecom  channel consists of PSTN line emulation, PSTN switching, ring detection, DTMF decoding and audio selection multiplexer. Each card support 10 audio or telecom channels which can be slotted into the 6U system rack. Manufactured on double-sided PCB the product utilizes both surface mount and conventional mount technology. 

Commercial project

 Vehicle wheel animation unit

A commercial project developed in conjunction with one of our partners, Absolute Product Design Ltd, for a UK based company. The project called for a design capable of displaying animated images within the centre of a vehicle wheel and features a PIC16LF737 as its processor. Pattern images can be designed in a PC application and then uploaded to the unit. Absolute Product Design undertook the enclosure, wheel fixing method and PCB development with Designer Systems developing the electronics and firmware. Manufactured on dual double-sided PCB's, interconnected with a flat cable, the product utilizes surface mount technology throughout. 

Finished product shown.

Broadcast project

 Headset Interface (Hiss box)

A broadcast project for the interfacing of radio and telephone audio to a standard headset. Operator controls delivery of either radio or telephone audio using external pushbutton switch. Based mostly on op-amp technology a small 12F microcontroller is also integrated to allow the unit to detect radio 'hiss' and mute the headset. Manufactured on a double-sided PCB the product utilizes both surface mount and conventional mount technology. 

Finished product shown.

An automotive project for the distribution of audio visual sources to multiple video monitors within a vehicle. Audio and composite video (AV) needed to be buffered and multiplexed to provide multiple outputs without signal loss. Individual AV outputs were controlled with the use of a common IR remote control from the individual monitors. A 4channel speaker amplification system allowed in vehicle volume level to be controlled. Manufactured on a double-sided PCB the product utilizes both bottom surface mount technology and top surface conventional mount technology. 

Shown uncased for clarity.

This product was developed to provide both SMS (text) and voice communication over the GSM network coupled with the monitoring of multiple inputs. The unit which was based around the PIC16LF77 is capable of generating vocal instructions, using an on-board Text-to-Speech (TTS) system, sleeping with a very low current consumption and the monitoring of the on-board Ni-MH battery SOC. Manufactured on a double-sided PCB the product utilizes both bottom surface SM, with reverse mount LED, technology and top surface conventional mount technology. 

Shown uncased for clarity.

Industrial project

 Motor Safety Relay
This project incorporated analogue, digital and power electronics to form a Patented system for the detection of external motor rotation using back EMF. The unit was based around two identical PIC16F628 isolated channels that conform to EN954 Category 2 safety requirements. Manufactured on a double-sided PCB the product utilizes both top & bottom surface SM technology and top surface conventional mount technology.

Shown uncased for clarity.

Wireless project

 Traffic Control System
Two 433MHz band MPT1340 license exempt modules were used on this development to form a transceiver controlled by a PIC16C711 microcontroller. The microcontroller also provided battery monitoring via. on-board ADC and an EEPROM to provide storage for a learning function. The antenna for the product was incorporated onto the PCB to provide an easy 'no-setup-required' solution.
Manufactured on a single sided PCB using conventional assembly some surface mount components were used on the underside to control the switching of the antenna.

Shown uncased for clarity.

Industrial project

 5th Harmonic Detector
The idea behind this development was to produce a product capable of detecting the 5th harmonic (via. a coupling transformer) generated by an earth fault on a sub-station. The unit is capable of monitoring 8 channels which are measured in-turn and a PIC16C711 used to calculate the magnitude of the harmonic (250Hz) and generate an alarm condition.  Manufactured on a double-sided PCB the product utilizes conventional technology throughout.

Prototype shown.

Test equipment project

 Standard PSTN test telephone
This project was undertaken to allow the client to manufacture an existing item in a much more cost effective manner. Based on a Surface Mount telephone interface IC it was necessary to develop a special interface IC based on the PIC16F627 to allow the existing telephone keypad to control the new telephone IC. Additional features added included non-volatile number storage, dual volume earpiece and a number of other link selectable features . Manufactured on a double-sided PCB the product utilizes surface mount and conventional technology throughout. 

Shown without top moulding for clarity.