RFI: Need resource for circuit design

[MikeO]

I have an idea for a product that requires a relatively simple circuit
(alas, beyond my skills)

I've done a lot of searches, but most co's that manufacture prototypes
want an existing circuit; I can't find any that offer basic design
services.

Basically, I need a circuit that will blink an LED about 5-10 times in
response to a sound about the volume of a low cough.

I'd like the form-factor to be <= 5 stacked quarters

If anyone knows where I could get assistance (or wants to take up the
proposal and quote me a price), please feel free to respond here or
email me.

Tx,
Mike

 

[Luhan]

I have an idea for a product that requires a relatively simple circuit
(alas, beyond my skills)

I've done a lot of searches, but most co's that manufacture prototypes
want an existing circuit; I can't find any that offer basic design
services.

Basically, I need a circuit that will blink an LED about 5-10 times in
response to a sound about the volume of a low cough.

I'd like the form-factor to be <= 5 stacked quarters

If anyone knows where I could get assistance (or wants to take up the
proposal and quote me a price), please feel free to respond here or
email me.

I have the technical skills to make what you want, but that wont do you
any good because I also have enough business background to believe that
you probably don't have any idea about starting a business.

A lot of peole think that with a good idea you can make a lot of money.
The fact is that you need a good idea *and* and lot of money to have
any chance at success.

You just don't know how many times I've heard this over the last 40
years.

Luhan

 

[MikeO]

Well, for anyone else who is curious or willing.. I'm only interested
in paying someone to do the work; not take on a business partner. I
imagine the design to be simple enough that I could off-shore it for
general production. I have a family member who frequently travels
overseas to supervise the outsourcing of some optical routing
equipment, so I could hopefully get a manufacturer through her.

I also have enough business background to believe that you probably don't have any idea about starting a business

40 years can sure make someone cynical... You shouldn't assume that
because my expertise doesn't include circuit design that I don't know
about starting a business. I started my first successful business in
High School - Excelsior Software - selling Sim-CGA, the 'color graphics
simulator for monochrome monitors' (if you can remember when software
required a CGA card to run, but affordable PC's came w/ monochrome
monitors & Hercules adapters). Helped put myself through college (comp
sci degree). 5 years for a gov contractor, then I was an independent
contractor in NYC for the next 10 years. In my free time, I founded
and still am president of localendar.com (a profitable web site for
over 6 years. Feel free to check it out). I've always worked in the
financial sector, and am currently a senior architect @ a major US
financial firm- so I happen to have a lot of "business knowledge" from
multiple angles (including helping my wife get her MBA from Stern. She
is a private banker, btw, and we interact regularly w/ self-made
millionaires at corporate functions)

Anyway, I have a good idea, and money from previous ventures to finance
it. Just looking to hire someone to do what I'm incapable of That
said, if anyone is interested in quoting a price, or can recommend a
firm, it would be appreciated.

Tx,
Mike

 

[Luhan]

Well, for anyone else who is curious or willing.. I'm only interested
in paying someone to do the work; not take on a business partner. I
imagine the design to be simple enough that I could off-shore it for
general production. I have a family member who frequently travels
overseas to supervise the outsourcing of some optical routing
equipment, so I could hopefully get a manufacturer through her.


40 years can sure make someone cynical... You shouldn't assume that
because my expertise doesn't include circuit design that I don't know
about starting a business. I started my first successful business in
High School - Excelsior Software - selling Sim-CGA, the 'color graphics
simulator for monochrome monitors' (if you can remember when software
required a CGA card to run, but affordable PC's came w/ monochrome
monitors & Hercules adapters). Helped put myself through college (comp
sci degree). 5 years for a gov contractor, then I was an independent
contractor in NYC for the next 10 years. In my free time, I founded
and still am president of localendar.com (a profitable web site for
over 6 years. Feel free to check it out). I've always worked in the
financial sector, and am currently a senior architect @ a major US
financial firm- so I happen to have a lot of "business knowledge" from
multiple angles (including helping my wife get her MBA from Stern. She
is a private banker, btw, and we interact regularly w/ self-made
millionaires at corporate functions)

Anyway, I have a good idea, and money from previous ventures to finance
it. Just looking to hire someone to do what I'm incapable of That
said, if anyone is interested in quoting a price, or can recommend a
firm, it would be appreciated.

From your post you seemed just like so many others with no idea about

business. I have both succeeded and failed several times myself.

You should be able to find someone here to do your design. I am now
retired, mostly.

Luhan

 

[Winfield Hill]

MikeO wrote...

Basically, I need a circuit that will blink an LED about 5-10
times in response to a sound about the volume of a low cough.

I'd like the form-factor to be <= 5 stacked quarters

Are we talking battery powered? A low-power circuit that blinks
an LED 5-10 times is easy. Reliably detecting a low cough, in
the presence of other noise, and doing it 24-7 while consuming
little power may not be easy. Tell us about those requirements.

 

[[email protected]]

I didn't want to clog up the initial post w/ too much info, but here
are some more details...

1. Yes, battery powered. To keep costs/size down, the battery doesn't
need to be replaceable.

2. In the situation where this circuit will be used, there will be
almost no other ambient noise. I would say an analogous situation would
be someone sitting at a desk writing, they cough/sneeze, and the led
blinks... I suppose it shouldn't blink when they're just
breathing/writing/turning a page, but those are pretty noiseless in and
of themselves.

3. I haven't decided on the blink pattern, but it is relevant. Perhaps
on 1/2 sec, off 1/2 sec for 5 seconds, off 2 seconds. Repeat 2 times.
I'm flexible here b/c I realize that this can add size/complexity.

4. I'd like a yellow LED, and not the "full size" ones you used to buy
at Radio Shack for $1.99/ea. There's one about the size of 1-2 BB's
that would be good.

FWIW, I'm not totally clueless around hardware, but I've always been a
software guy. I restore old vector arcade games as a hobby (Star Wars,
Tempest, Gravitar, Space Duel, Asteroids) and I've been lucky enough
not to electrocute myself so far ;-) But Fixing != Creating.

Any further ?'s, please let me know.

Mike

 

[Rich Grise]

I didn't want to clog up the initial post w/ too much info, but here
are some more details...

1. Yes, battery powered. To keep costs/size down, the battery doesn't
need to be replaceable.

2. In the situation where this circuit will be used, there will be
almost no other ambient noise. I would say an analogous situation would
be someone sitting at a desk writing, they cough/sneeze, and the led
blinks... I suppose it shouldn't blink when they're just
breathing/writing/turning a page, but those are pretty noiseless in and
of themselves.

3. I haven't decided on the blink pattern, but it is relevant. Perhaps
on 1/2 sec, off 1/2 sec for 5 seconds, off 2 seconds. Repeat 2 times.
I'm flexible here b/c I realize that this can add size/complexity.

4. I'd like a yellow LED, and not the "full size" ones you used to buy
at Radio Shack for $1.99/ea. There's one about the size of 1-2 BB's
that would be good.

FWIW, I'm not totally clueless around hardware, but I've always been a
software guy. I restore old vector arcade games as a hobby (Star Wars,
Tempest, Gravitar, Space Duel, Asteroids) and I've been lucky enough
not to electrocute myself so far ;-) But Fixing != Creating.

Any further ?'s, please let me know.

The only real problem here is distinguishing "a cough[etc]" from ambient
office noise. Once that's done, any flash pattern for any LED is pretty
much trivial.

Maye a bandpass filter and some kind of threshold detector, and put the
mic very close to the person whom you're expecting to do the coughing -
is this some kind of "asthma attack" monitor or something?

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

Any further ?'s, please let me know.

Mike

How many minutes/hours/days/months/years are you expecting the
batteries to last? Assuming no trigger or maximum number of triggers?


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

 

[[email protected]]

is this some kind of "asthma attack" monitor or something?

No, and I can't say much more (I promise to post prototype pics back
here). It will be in an environment where there's almost no ambient
noise. As I noted above: a quiet room w/ someone reading/writing, then
something about as loud as a cough or sneeze. I mean, the Clapper
almost works that way, right?

Lifetime (since the battery doesn't need to be replaceable)? I was
hoping about a year based on the thinking it did its blink thing for
about 1-3 times a day. Maybe that's unrealistic and the batteries need
to be replaceable. My only knowledge in this area comes from empirical
observation of annoying toys that my kids have.

I'm also thinking about cost. I suppose Li-Ion, NiCad, NiMH all have
their power/price tradeoffs. This final price needs to come in
(mass-produced) @ around $14.95, based on my initial research. That
means the circuit itself needs to be substantially cheaper, which I
think is realistic (in quantity). That probably rules out Li-I though.

M

 

[Pubudu]

No, and I can't say much more (I promise to post prototype pics back
here). It will be in an environment where there's almost no ambient
noise. As I noted above: a quiet room w/ someone reading/writing, then
something about as loud as a cough or sneeze. I mean, the Clapper
almost works that way, right?

Lifetime (since the battery doesn't need to be replaceable)? I was
hoping about a year based on the thinking it did its blink thing for
about 1-3 times a day. Maybe that's unrealistic and the batteries need
to be replaceable. My only knowledge in this area comes from empirical
observation of annoying toys that my kids have.

I'm also thinking about cost. I suppose Li-Ion, NiCad, NiMH all have
their power/price tradeoffs. This final price needs to come in
(mass-produced) @ around $14.95, based on my initial research. That
means the circuit itself needs to be substantially cheaper, which I
think is realistic (in quantity). That probably rules out Li-I though.

M

Hi,

If you want such a long battery life I think that you should not
light LEDs directly with DC currents. You could use high frequency
pulsed surrents which can save battery life considerably. You can look
at LED drivers at www.maxim-ic.com for free samples.

Pubudu


Pubudu.

 

[Luhan]

I have an idea for a product that requires a relatively simple circuit
(alas, beyond my skills)

I've done a lot of searches, but most co's that manufacture prototypes
want an existing circuit; I can't find any that offer basic design
services.

Basically, I need a circuit that will blink an LED about 5-10 times in
response to a sound about the volume of a low cough.

I'd like the form-factor to be <= 5 stacked quarters

If anyone knows where I could get assistance (or wants to take up the
proposal and quote me a price), please feel free to respond here or
email me.

Looks like its all been done already...

http://www.alibaba.com/productsearch/Key_Finder.html

Luhan

 

[[email protected]]

The use is completely different, but the circuit might suffice for a
prototype. Alas, to get it manufactured myself I can't cannabilize
parts from some other device. But the examples on that page will
probably help me get better specs for the person who designs it.

 

[Fred Bloggs]

The use is completely different, but the circuit might suffice for a
prototype. Alas, to get it manufactured myself I can't cannabilize
parts from some other device. But the examples on that page will
probably help me get better specs for the person who designs it.

Okay- so the app is close- a sound activated LED night light- now that
you're aged and have to get up 20x per night without disturbing the
spouse too much.

 

[[email protected]]

Ha ha - I never thought of that use. The "bladder alarm". I hope there
never comes a time where I need one...

I've gotten a few responses via email,and I'll probably follow up w/
those folks. I'm travelling on business thru Wed, so if you've sent me
a mail and I've not yet responded, please bear w/ me.

Tx,
Mike