BUTLER RESEARCH

DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES

Butler Research provides software development and design consulting services in the field of high-performance real-time and embedded control systems. Butler Research seeks to engage in short or long term contracts with clients who require software development that may include but are not limited to the following areas:

• Real-time
• Multitasking / Multithreaded
• Embedded Systems
• TCP/IP, Serial Communications, and data message protocols
• Hardware - Software Interface and Human Interface
• C, C++, and assembly languages for most 8, 16, & 32-bit microprocessors

Howard P. Butler, principal engineer and owner of Butler Research, has over 30 years experience in electronic systems, circuit design, and software design. Most of that activity has been in or related to the video broadcasting industry, primarily in video design, control systems design, and project management. Software design and implementation has been a major component of his career for almost 25 years, and exclusively for the last 16 years. Butler Research has been in full operation for over 6 years.

Contracting Highlights:

Butler Research:   (4/87 - 10/88 and 8/98 to present)

• Digital television exciter hardware drivers and distributed transmission application
• Master control switcher control panel software
• Control panel application firmware for various routing switcher systems
• Routing switcher production switcher interface software
• Automation software for master control switcher (PC-based)
• Audio monitoring control panel firmware for television satellite uplink
• Digital routing switcher matrix verification firmware

Questel, Inc:   (2/84 through 3/87)

• Small production switcher microprocessor, borderline, and pulse regenerator modules
• Production switcher control panel hardware design
• Sync separator / VCXO PLL hardware design
• DTMF telephone interface hardware rework and software
• Serial remote control panel firmware for small routing switcher
• Digital video effects control panel diagnostic, menu manager, and disk manager software
• Serial EPROM programmer hardware/software
• PC-compatible extended memory module hardware design and driver software

Past Employment:

Grass Valley Group:   (10/88 through 7/98)

• Engineering Project Manager for routing and master control (early phase of SMS-7000)
• Key role in early system design for SMS-7000 routing switcher
• SMS-7000 Control Panel Operating System design & implementation
• SMS-7000 control panel communications protocol design ("Global Serial Channel")
• SMS-7000 Native Protocol reference client software (PC-based)
• SMS-7000 TCP/IP status display protocol & server software (PC & VXWorks)
• SMS-7000 TCP/IP server software for Native Protocol (VXWorks)
• SMS-7000 system networking software via TCP/IP (VXWorks)
• SMS-7000 Event Logging subsystem software (VXWorks)
• Left with position of Staff Engineer

Grass Valley Group:   (1/77 through 1/84)

• 300 Production Switcher: Design responsibility for two analog video modules and ten digital control modules, EMEM control panel, resident control system diagnostic software, and wipe system calculation and control software
• 1680 Matte Generator design
• DVE test fixture design and procedures for NEC DVE / GVG 1600 production switcher
• Left with position of Senior Engineer

KRWG-TV:   (Las Cruces, New Mexico, 3/73 - 12/76)

• Designed & constructed color broadcast studio system
• Managed studio engineering staff (3 employees)
• Performed studio engineering maintenance and operation

Professional Organizations & Licenses

• Member IEEE (since 1970)
• Member SMPTE (since 1978)
• Member Society of Broadcast Engineers (since 1974)
• FCC General Radiotelephone License (First Class)
• SMPTE Paper: Microprocessor Control Achieves Design Flexibility for Video Production Switchers (1982, co-authored)
• SMPTE T14.10 Digital Control Working Group (Participating member, 1982-1984)

Contact Information:

Howard P. Butler
Butler Research
P. O. Box 576
Grass Valley, CA 95945

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