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Robert Crow is an engineering consultant with over 45 years experience
in engineering management, electronic applied research, design and development,
and electronic system analysis, broadly in radio communications (VLF to
microwave), control, radar, ATO surveillance and navigation fields with
associated aircraft instrument developments. Included are a wide variety
of airborne and ground single and multi-channel receivers and transmitters
(AM, FM and pulse modulations) with associated terminal equipment. Also
included are electro-optic and audio equipment development and development
of a wide variety of analog and digital sub-systems and components.
Prior to consulting engineering, he was with ITT Gilfillan. He was involved
with issue analysis and presentations during FAA evaluation of the second
phase of the Microwave Landing System development. This led to work as consulting
engineer on the program at FAA invitation. At RCA Corporation, he was Manager,
NAV/COM Engineering where he was directly responsible for the development
of a new avionics product line which included VHF communications transceivers,
integrated VHF/UHF navigation systems, distance measuring equipment, flight
indicators, auxiliary equipment and a multi-waypoint area navigation system.
He also worked for Motorola where he was initially responsible for development
of powerline carrier and multiplexing equipment, and later, he was responsible
for advanced applications of transistors to 2-way radio, paging, remote
control, CCTV and a variety of other equipment. He then served as Chief
Engineer of Aviation Electronics where he directed development of VHF communications
and navigation, ADF and automatic flight control equipment. He began his
career at Belmont Radio as an engineer involved with the development of
aircraft and 2-way mobile communication radios.
In his role as a consultant he has performed the following projects:
- Performed cost reduction of the F/A-l8 radar at Hughes Aircraft in
both Engineering and Manufacturing areas. Recommendations included design
and component specification changes, unit test and microcircuit process
changes, and PCB layer reductions. Later, performed systems engineering
on the F-l4D radar antenna, including analyses on the dual microprocessor
driven antenna servo.
- Served as a consultant to the FAA at their invitation on the Microwave
Landing System (MLS) development. Analyzed various aspects of the system
and capabilities of competing foreign systems and devised a method compatible
with existing Distance Measuring Equipment to improve its accuracy by an
order-of-magnitude for use with MLS. This method is now the international
standard.
- Managed Wescom Microwave's engineering group that was responsible for
the 300-channel, 2 GHz microwave communications product line for nearly
3 years until the company was sold to Rockwell International. Performed
product improvements and developed a loop-switching system.
- At the Rantec Division of Emerson Electric, contributed to the development,
fault and error analysis, documentation and production test methods of
an electronically modulated TACAN (432 radiating elements) antenna system.
- At Ocean Technology, performed systems design for a Coast Guard helicopter
integrated avionics system. This included an integrated control, display,
data storage and computational unit for operation of the various communications,
navigation equipment, radar and FLIR units.
- Developed a relatively complex 460 MHz remote control system for material
handling vehicles at Barrett Electronics.
- At Gould NAVCOM Systems, designed and developed a 950 MHz IF amplifier,
and performed receiver spurious response analysis. Also performed design
clean-up, conducted initial systems test of sophisticated ECM receiver,
evaluated and designed a high performance compressive receiver.
- At Teledyne Electronics, developed RF analysis of a complex airborne
IFF interrogator to determine angular error sensitivities of various elements
from the electronically steerable antenna array through the receiver to
the A/D converted output; angular accuracy and other performance predictions;
recommendations for necessary design improvements; and APCD documentation.
- Developed accuracy and other performance prediction analysis on a new
airline inertial reference and air data unit; failure and flight safety
analyses; and similar analyses on a GPS receiver at Litton Aero Products.
- Performed failure and flight safety analyses on a GPS differential
ground station in preparation for FAA certification for E-Systems.
- Supported many short-term programs including a microwave data/voice
systems design and repeater site selections for NASA/Ames, and a design
review for NL Petroleum's 140°C operating monitor-while drill system.
Robert holds 21 U.S. patents. He has taught in-plant transistor courses;
participated in many RTCA sub-committees and has a commercial pilot license.
He has published a number of technical papers in IEEE, Institute of Navigation,
and many company publications. He holds a secret clearance. He has a BSEE
degree Purdue University and has attended a variety of post-graduate technical
and management courses.
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