Customer Profiles | Rapid Electronics

Ever thought of having a vintage multimeter on your mantelpiece, which provides the time rather than a voltage reading? Or a beautifully made clock containing nixie tubes?

Security is paramount on construction sites. It is vitally important for site managers to control who gains entry and exit, as well as obtain accurate data on timekeeping and attendance, without slowing down productivity. This is where the work of construction software specialist Biosite comes in...

Creating a buzz for young children around electronics is easier said than done. Components can be fragile even in adult hands, while health and safety regulations have made teachers even more conscious of the need to protect their pupils...

Most men have a shed, but not like Sam Lanyon's. Behind the doors of a workshop in Falmouth he creates weird and wonderful interactive objects, all stunning to look at and even more interesting to operate...

EDWARD HOLMES

When Staffordshire University student Edward Holmes was offered a place at a Science and Engineering summer camp in the US, he was asked to design a project to take with him. So, inspired by his love of circuitry and the digital sounds of the Stylophone, he came up with a product made entirely with components sourced from Rapid...

GHOST EFFECTS

Fuzzboxes – where would rock 'n' roll be without them? Almost since the dawn of the electric guitar itself, musicians have been devising ways to distort the sound the instrument makes. 'Fuzzboxes' – effectively small amplifiers designed to be overdriven – became the most popular means of achieving these effects.

We have all dreamed of being the lead guitarist in our favourite band, playing signature riffs or solos in front of thousands of adoring fans. But the reality is rather different from our tennis racket fantasy in front of the mirror. An incredible amount of skilled work is involved during a recording or live performance...

IAN STEELE

When we sell 100 units of an OLED display, we are always a little intrigued about what they are being used for. Perhaps something more than a display in a PLC, or an output for a home-made electronics project? So it is always interesting to discover that they have actually helped to create something truly unique...

For the likes of Jimi Hendrix or Pete Townshend, smashing up a Fender Stratocaster or Gibson Les Paul was just part of the show. If anyone salvaged these poor instruments after they had been consumed by fire or decapitated in the name of art, they are probably now priceless exhibition pieces...

Who would not want their very own lightsaber? Your boss would never mess with you again. Wielded by the likes of Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi, they are the weapon of choice for both good and evil during the six-film Star Wars franchise...

There is nothing amateur about amateur radio. It is full of highly skilled, passionate people like Nigel Booth whose hobby is also a way of life. It is subject to strict regulation, with standards and licenses only issued by the government after a series of demanding qualifications have been achieved...

Too little wind at sea and yachts will be becalmed. Too much and the waters will resemble the Southern Ocean. But wind can also keep the lights on, the laptop charged and the fridge working. Marlec Engineering – the oldest renewable energy company in the UK and one of the biggest customers of Rapid Electronics – is helping to do this for boat owners around the world...

Paul Freshney is certainly a multi-tasker. A software developer since the early 1990s, he also produces microcontroller-based electronic kits that provide instruction at all levels of programming and circuit-building, as well as coding gaming and educational apps...

If you are paying overboard for PCB designs, there is an alternative. Robin Mitchell is a Masters of Engineering student who has launched his own business producing low-cost PCB boards for students and consumers alike...

If you thought that making music involved tinkling at the piano or strumming a guitar, think again. Sticking some electronics components and jumper wire into a breadboard, twiddling some knobs, connecting them up to an amplifier, and boom, you have sounds!

David French doesn't just make headphones (although that would still be quite impressive). Under the name Muamp, he makes electrostatic headphones – the holy grail of the headphone world...

NERVOUS SQUIRREL

Imagine doing the job you dreamt about when you were 8 years old. Now imagine it being everything you dreamed it would be: its novelty never wearing off, every day being different...

Not many cable professionals get their own blog on one of the most influential websites in the electronics trade. But then not many have the passion for their product as Nick Locke, the man behind cable assembly specialists Nicab...

Pete Griffiths is well known in the electronics world as the man behind Pic Projects, the website on which he shares microcontroller projects, programs and circuits and sells kits based on those projects...

While Rapid does business with customers from all over the UK and the world, it is always a pleasure to supply successful local businesses or start-ups: the well-known faces we see regularly in our trade counter, collecting their latest order or just popping in to pick up some essential components...

Musician, developer, lecturer, game designer, animator, teacher, hacker (in a good way), author, Matthew C. Applegate is one of those people whose talents defy traditional labels or boundaries. Although 'multidisciplinary artist and techno anthropologist', as he describes himself, goes pretty close...

An American manufacturer of bespoke guitar effects equipment goes to great lengths to source his components from Rapid. Marc Ahlfs, the man behind Skreddy Pedals, has very specific requirements for his devices which help guitarists achieve certain tones, fuzz, delay and feedback effects...

Most people are too young to remember those old evocatively decorated tins that used to hold tobacco, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, as they were at their peak in the first half of the 20th century. However, in what must be one of the most original examples of repurposing, these vintage items are being used by a Rapid customer as enclosures for bespoke audio effects devices...

If you spent your formative years mashing the arrow keys on a ZX Spectrum, or going through the levels on a Nintendo Gameboy, chances are you will have played a game developed by Tiertex Design Studios...

It is one of the great challenges of being an OEM. You've designed a product for a client. You've tested the prototype for usability, build quality and ingress protection. You've done your market research. Then, suddenly, the big order comes in...

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