The Journal of David A. Johnson, P.E.

Last Updated on: Tuesday, October 24, 2017 02:54 PM

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I started a business journal on my Imagineering site a few years ago.  It seemed that very few people actually read it.  With so few readers and lots of other things to do, it didn’t make much sense keeping it active;  so I decided to give it a rest for most of 2005.    But, now, things have settled down a bit and I have some time. I thought I would give it another shot and move this to the more popular Discover Circuits site.  Please drop me an email and let me know if you have any interest in this kind of information. 

Background -- For the last 25 years or so, I have made my living as a self-employed consulting engineer. I specialize in electronic circuit design, electro-optics, special instrumentation and product development.  I’m pretty independent and do most of the work myself.  I do my own circuit design, soldering, breadboarding and bench testing.  Other than my wife, I have no employees.  I do farm out microprocessor programming and PC board artwork jobs to some local guys I trust.  I have a basement full of electronic components, test equipment, computer systems and data books, so I can quickly design, build and test a circuit whenever needed.  I especially love projects that involve the use of some new sensor or solving tricky transducer problems.  I do have several patents. I have lost track of the exact number.  I think the number is around 8 or 9.  I have to sign documents when a patent application is submitted but my clients are under no obligation to inform me when a patent is actually granted.  All of the patents were paid for by my clients.  I don’t have any of my own. 

Website History -- Eight years ago, I started a couple websites in an attempt to advertise my consulting services.  I had tried the telephone yellow page ads, newsletters and some magazine articles, but none of those classical promotional methods produced much consulting business.  I figured it was time to go global using the Internet.  www.djandassoc.com was my first website, which I still use as a place to “hang my shingle.” The website www.imagineeringezine.com was spun off about a year later, as a place to post some of my electronic schematics and hobby related material.  About six years ago, when it was clear that most people were interested in just my electronic schematics, I launched www.discoverciruits.com, where I could not only post my circuits but 1000s of others.  That site still remains the most popular with up to 20,000 visitors each day.  But as my wife will attest, it has taken 1000s of hours to collect and organize the 25,000+ circuits that are now on the site.  After many years as an audio book enthusiast, I started www.discoveraudiobooks.com in 2004, where I could make a little money, selling books through several affiliate programs.  (closed the site in 2006)  When it was clear that solar energy was becoming more and more popular, I launched www.discoversolarenergy.com in 2005.  So far, nearly 100% of that site content came from my wife’s efforts.  In time, I hope it becomes as popular as the electronics site.  Some day, I would love to shift gears by moving away from electronic design and get more involved in solar energy.  My dream is to have a house out in the plains of Colorado, where I could experiment with different solar energy systems.

Personal Stuff -- I live with my wife and two Beagle dogs in a rather conventional 4-bedroom house, in a densely populated northern suburb of Denver, Colorado. My wife of 30 years and I have no children, so we treat out two Beagle dogs as kids. My wife even dresses them up for special occasions like birthdays and holidays. Winters here in Colorado can be cold and snowy.  But, as long as I have electricity and Internet access, I can carry on, even if I’m snowbound for days.  I don’t have to drive to work and I set my own work schedule.  At times that schedule can get rather hectic as I try to juggle my time between multiple projects.16-hour days are often the rule during busy times but those days can be followed by weeks or even months when there is no work at all.  I use those down times to add more material to my 5 websites, which now generate a portion of my income.  I also make a little extra money selling some capacitance proximity switches (Faraday Switches), which I build in my basement lab.

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