Fantastic project, I'm impressed!! The world's your oyster with this technology, if you can think of a possible musical sound, combination, creation these days it should be possible, with superb quality to the final, heard sound - I wish you well ... 🙂
New Audio Products and Life after Retirement.
Well after most enjoyable time working for Tellurium Q Ltd it was decided the workload was too much .The board of directors have let me retire early, and have encouraged my passion for design to start up on my own but in a very small way ( otherwise I'll get bored).
I am happy to say I will still be helping in some minor consultation work for Tellurium Q Ltd and a few more designs (small, yer right). I will find that fun.
I hope they do not miss my singing but I am sure I can get them a copy of it if I ask Simon nicely.
So I will be making bespoke A Class products first and maybe easy to build, not so complex, kits for some of them. This will include Power Amplifiers followed quickly by Pre-Amplifiers, and as I said possible kits for less complex designs.
So after I move in on Wednesday the 30th July 2014 and sort the rooms out and find a place for the coffee pot, I will start on Project 1.
So watch this space, I hope I can fill it with nice goodies from my new venture. The name of my new venture is going to be owned by Wonfor Audio.
Thank you all for you wonderful encouragement and to my friends and Directors of Tellurium Q Ltd
P.S. It only a 5 minute drive from home and no floods to swim across like last year.
Kind Regards
Colin J. Wonfor.
Well after most enjoyable time working for Tellurium Q Ltd it was decided the workload was too much .The board of directors have let me retire early, and have encouraged my passion for design to start up on my own but in a very small way ( otherwise I'll get bored).
I am happy to say I will still be helping in some minor consultation work for Tellurium Q Ltd and a few more designs (small, yer right). I will find that fun.
I hope they do not miss my singing but I am sure I can get them a copy of it if I ask Simon nicely.
So I will be making bespoke A Class products first and maybe easy to build, not so complex, kits for some of them. This will include Power Amplifiers followed quickly by Pre-Amplifiers, and as I said possible kits for less complex designs.
So after I move in on Wednesday the 30th July 2014 and sort the rooms out and find a place for the coffee pot, I will start on Project 1.
So watch this space, I hope I can fill it with nice goodies from my new venture. The name of my new venture is going to be owned by Wonfor Audio.
Thank you all for you wonderful encouragement and to my friends and Directors of Tellurium Q Ltd
P.S. It only a 5 minute drive from home and no floods to swim across like last year.
Kind Regards
Colin J. Wonfor.
Thanks,
Before packing it all up, I had built a case, an oak cabinet with a 41 note keyboard in the style of my old Odyssey. It was the last project in a wood shop class I had been taking for the past 10 years. Other people built furniture and toys for their grand kids. I and another Motorola engineer built musical instruments, speakers, and amplifiers.
There are 3 pics from woodshop class. One is an incomplete electric guitar I am working on. It has the usual electric guitar components, a button pad for triggering loops, a button pad for triggering drum sounds, and a MIDI interface. It is further along now, but I don't have any newer pictures in my phone.
Another is the completed electric UKE the other Motorola engineer built, and the third is us playing our instruments after class on the night they both made (acoustic) sound. We both got first sounds on the same night. The woodshop class is one of the few things I will miss from Florida.
I had also assembled the PC, audio amplifier, keyboard, speakers, battery pack, power supply, audio interface and 24 inch screen all together, breadboard style, on my workbench. I loaded several software synthesizers, two DAWs and two guitar amp simulators on the PC and played with it all for a few days. I plugged in my guitar and attempted to lay down a few tracks in FL Studio, but my guitar playing skills have gotten pretty rusty. The old fingers don't work like they did when I was 17!
The analog synth circuitry is still in the design stages, so none of it is tested yet. The digital stuff does sound pretty awesome these days, and it really is possible to build a studio in a box.
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If you had community organizer experience you could make a run at the white house ....
In retirement one could do some Teaching.... local high school, Jr colleges, major colleges, private schools.... assistants and associate and volunteer projects to show kids how its done.
In Asia, last year, I was lucky enough to be allowed inside the navy academy on a special event there and I went over and sat beside the just newly retired Admiral. I told him I was retired and he said... go up north area and teach them English.
What greater competent teacher of science than a retired person who spent his life in engineering/science?
View attachment Competence.pdf
THx-Richard
In Asia, last year, I was lucky enough to be allowed inside the navy academy on a special event there and I went over and sat beside the just newly retired Admiral. I told him I was retired and he said... go up north area and teach them English.
What greater competent teacher of science than a retired person who spent his life in engineering/science?
View attachment Competence.pdf
THx-Richard
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You know what I really love? You're obviously a thongs man, even in the snow that's the footware for you, 😛 - and I'm the same; only put on proper shoes, whatever, when I really have to - right on ... 😀 😉!!
Edit: plus, dig the shape of that crazy guitar slab ...
Hi Bob,
Do you own a house? ...A piece of land?
You can sell your house and move to your parcel of land, in a small cabin or trailer.
Take the public transportation (bus) to do your shopping (use a large backpack). ...You only have to go once a month if you know how to shop smartly and economically. Or if you need more just ask your next door neighbor to give you a ride in and back (just set a rendez-vous point of departure, with your smartphone).
Or you can rent a small place in the countryside for very little.
Do things as a close community to help out.
You don't need much money; if you sell your home you can live from the proceeds as a monthly income.
You are now totally free to do everything you like (no superfluous stuff that cost money). And once in a while buy yourself a trip. ...Anywhere.
If you have very young kids and wives, keep looking for a job.
You play music?
You like gardening?
You like watching movies?
You like chatting with people?
It's all free. You can do a lot of things that you like to do with no money attached to it; only food, rent, and few bills.
Another solution is to offer your services in exchange for money.
What are you good at (it can be several things) and just find them people who can benefit from your skills. ...Private enterprise, and you take contracts only when you feel like it.
* You asked for any thoughts or ideas; I'm your age, I don't do what I preach, but I do what I like. And I don't look too far to find it.
I wish you the very best; peace, comfort, balance, happiness, health.
Cheers,
Bob
@ tubelab - I enjoy reading everything you write; your lifestyle and state-of-mind are one of a kind, and from the best kind. People living around you are lucky.
Lucky Man by ELP in 1080p HD - YouTube
Lucky Man by ELP in 1080p HD - YouTube
Or - write a book on audio that reflects your experiences and knowledge! Apart for making some money, it's a great way to sum up a career.
I'd be happy to do whatever is necessary to help anyone here to make that happen and to publish it.
I am serious.
Jan
Without venturing to near the "no politics" rule, lets just say that I am not qualified on moral grounds nor interested in politics.
Sherri keeps telling me that.
I even wore them to work and church in Florida. Here you get strange looks, even in Walmart, with flip flops in winter. I have learned that flip flops do not work on ice. Their use results in butt prints in the snow! I hate to admit it but I bought a pair of mud boots yesterday at Rural King. The flip flops tend to get stuck in deep mud and break. It rained yesterday and I killed another one. I had sunk in about 4 inches.
I came up with a few unusual styles I liked a few years ago. I haven't posted any of them yet for fear of the copy artists out there. Sometimes I find that what looks good on the computer isn't easy to play, so I make a body, screw on a Fender neck and play it for a while. Sometimes it just needs some belt sander time, other times I toss it in the dumpster and start over.
That one is purpose made for use with a DAW like Ableton Live to play multi layered music. I think that one is the fourth version. There will be more revisions before I an completely happy with it, but it's good enough for me to work on the electronics. I won't build my woodshop for at least a year, maybe two, so I banged out the guitar and synth cabinets for interim use.
They made it clear a few years ago that the older employees were on the endangered species list, and I was well past my expiration date, so I started "looking" for employment in South Florida about two years ago. I liked my job and didn't intend to leave, but it is good to know the prospects. I found that while the employment picture looked good for the general area there were some prospects and a few generous offers, but when things took a downturn, Mot quit hiring anything but "freshouts", General Dynamics and Foxconn ceased operations in the area, and Blackberry went into meltdown, all possibilities vanished.
Before making any rash decisions, make a spreadsheet that computes yearly income from all sources for a given retirement age. In my case that's a wimpy pension, social security, and a spend down of the 401K at a 30 or 35 year rate. You can take SS early (at 62) but there are severe penalties if you have any employment income before age 65. This means, if I work and make over $15K per year, they take back SS up to half of your income. This means that any employment I find now must earn under $15K or over $40K. This INCLUDES self employment like Tubelab.
Another ex Mot employee called me and inquired about applying for a job in my department at Mot (back when we were hiring older employees). He has no degree but is a DIY enthusiast like most of us. He actually called me about wearing a suit to the interview and I laughed. We talked for a while about what was required for the job. We had just taped out silicon for 3 new IC's and were about to embark on a multi year test and qualification project. This involved the design construction of several ATE systems. I convinced him to come to the interview with a resume, and a photo portfolio of the things he had built, both at home and at work, including the Automated Test Equipment stations he built for the Mot phone group. He came to the interview with a stack of pictures including his big modular synthesizer. We wound up hiring his boss, but he was the number two choice.
There was a Gordon Ramsay episode in which the kids collected snails from the garden -- here's another one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ju7_ZORsZw
My retirement afternoon today will be on the back deck with Pernod.
Somehow I'd pass on the snail caviar. $60 bucks an oz. and I find it under my trash bins every week.
Some more wise retirement advice --
1. Don't grow up.
It's a trick.
2. i see no good reason
to act my age.
3. Being on the RUN
is so much FUN.
4. Work Less. Play more. Enjoy Life.
5. Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.
6. Keep the Dream Alive,
hit the snooze button.
7. All True Wisdom
can be found on T-Shirts.
8. I keep pressing [ESC]
but I'm still here.
-RM
1. Don't grow up.
It's a trick.
2. i see no good reason
to act my age.
3. Being on the RUN
is so much FUN.
4. Work Less. Play more. Enjoy Life.
5. Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.
6. Keep the Dream Alive,
hit the snooze button.
7. All True Wisdom
can be found on T-Shirts.
8. I keep pressing [ESC]
but I'm still here.
-RM
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After working as an Engineering Assistant at Tektronix and at Dolby Labs, I learned that EE's are usually considered obsolete way too soon in their career. Usually by the age of 40. Add that to much of the industry moving offshore, and so much of it being replaced by software (digital processing), it no longer made sense to borrow >$100,000 to get a degree as a EE. Too volatile... But I grew up with the hobby of audio engineering and still eat and breath it as a hobbyist. It's home for me. Changing fields is much more challenging than I thought. At my age it looks like teaching and/or writing might be worth pursuing. If I could just time travel back to the 1970's with the knowledge I have now, I'd be one of the best audio engineers around...
