b'FeatureDIY geophysicistThe Do-It-Yourself geophysicistsoftware and hardware from the philosophy of the GNU movement (www.gnu.org); and advances in transducer electronics including modern power electronics. Consumer and industrial electronics developments, especially the green revolution and internet of things, have made many very sophisticated components looking for new markets accessible.Changes in the marketing and use of many micro-electronic devices over the last decade also help where there is less use of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) engineering as an intermediatory, and more reliance on direct sales to the end Anton Kepicuser manufacturers. To aid this change the manufacturers have RoqSenseSeisXmade available engineering Computer Aided Design (CAD) awkepic@gmail.com drawings and specifications including the Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM) files to manufacture ready-to-go evaluation systems, often mounted on single printed circuit boards (PCBs). My path to DIY These designs and the specifications of these evaluation boards are freely available to copy and repurpose because the My undergraduate degree was a BSc with a major in physics atmanufacturer is in the business of selling components and UWA in Perth. Prior to the 1990s, a degree in physics or electricalnot the evaluation boards themselves. Thus, any reasonably engineering was not an uncommon path to geophysics.skilled and brave person that can use a computer and perform My interests in electronics and programming started muchpurchases online can create sophisticated measurement tools earlier, and I considered a degree in electronic engineering infor specialised needs.my teens, but that seemed too specialised for me. Instead, I went to university to learn and discover rather than train for a profession. Physicists are traditionally trained to anticipateChallenging timesthat they may have to make their own equipment, and so asThe recent COVID pandemic and war in Ukraine have well as fundamental physical concepts and much mathematicspresented challenges to my original assertions in the AEGC I was taught skills in electronics, including programming2021 presentation. Parts that were plentiful and abundant embedded microprocessors in assembly, and many techniquesin 2020 have disappeared due to part shortages or export in measurement. Even basic machining skills on a lathe wererestrictions. The nationalisation of strategic electronics and the taught. Thus, armed with knowledge and deeper skills, I wenthuge demands in progressing Western economies to greater to UBC in Vancouver, Canada, to become a geophysicist viaenergy independence has been a big factor. However, the a PhD. I joined Don Russells Geophysical Instrumentationelectrification of the car industry with a wave of demand for Group and became a professionally trained Do-It-Yourself (DIY)consumer electronics during the pandemic also contributed geophysicist. These DIY electronics and programming skillsto shortages in many semiconductor devices (chips). This is have been applied over three decades in research and assistingnot hyperbole, every design engineer I have talked with in the the commercialisation of various inventions. It has beenlast year, and myself, has stalked the internet in the evenings invaluable. In addition, I have selected, purchased, tested, andlooking for wanted electronic parts to appear in stock, and used many millions of dollars in geophysical equipment. Theto quickly buy before they disappear before the next batch is understanding of how things work, and the corollary why itready in mid-2023 perhaps. Manufacturing and buying from doesnt work, is incredibly valuable when selecting, buying andChina has often become painful with respect to delays. Some operating equipment. This article is an extension and update ofof my recommendations in 2021 are already a bit dated due a presentation at AEGC 2021 (Kepic, 2021) where I encouragedto quickly changing world events. If you want it fast, buy from a path to becoming a DIY geophysicist, different to the one Ithe US and sometimes Australia, if you want it cheaper buy took. Herewith is an abbreviated guide to opportunity and hintsfrom China, or India perhaps. By 2023 it seems that many issues for a much, much shorter path, but it still requires acquiringwill have worked themselves out to a new order. For example, knowledge via discovery and experiment. Texas Instruments (based in Austin, USoriginally Geophysical Services Inc and started by DIY geophysicists) will be producing Enabling technologies 100 million chips each day (Analogamplifiers, ADC, DAC, power regulators, precision devices etc) from newly constructed There is a lot of choice when it comes to the ability to make oursemiconductor fab plants in Richardson, US. Adversity creates own measuring instruments and analysis of data. This is notopportunities for the entrepreneurial.obvious to most of us who have mostly lived in a production environment in our professional careers. There are many occasions where a bit of customisation makes a huge differenceTools for the DIY geophysicistin capability and marketability for the entrepreneurial. An example is the migration to drone platforms with strap onUseful tools in your workshop will be a PC workstation instruments (Franke and Verezub, 2020). (Windows, or Linux), which you likely have already, a multi-meter, a regulated (voltage and current) DC power supply, and There are three important developments for the DIYa quality soldering iron. A current limiting power supply is a geophysicist: powerful embedded microcontrollers becominggodsend for testing and preserving electronics from wiring ubiquitous and available on easy-to-access platforms; openmisadventure. Once you are of an age requiring reading DECEMBER 2022 PREVIEW 50'