About the Engineer
Cornwall Electronic Repairs is built on decades of practical electrical, electronic and technical experience, the business is run by David Dawkins, whose career began in the electrical industry before developing into electronics, computer systems, technical engineering and complex fault diagnosis.
That combination of traditional electrical training and many years of work with modern electronic and computer systems provides a broad technical background for the repair and investigation of domestic, commercial, specialist and legacy electronic equipment.
About David Dawkins
David began his career as a fully qualified JIB-approved electrician and went on to work in a wide range of demanding high-voltage electrical and technical environments before moving into electronics, computer systems and modern technology.
His experience includes work with the South Western Electricity Board (SWEB), electrical companies throughout Cornwall, Wheal Jane tin mine near Truro, offshore NAM Dutch oil platforms in the North Sea and electrical work overseas in Syria.
Over the following decades, his career developed into computer systems, electronics, IT infrastructure, systems engineering, cyber security and complex technical fault diagnosis across commercial and industrial environments.
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A Career That Began in Electrical Engineering
Before moving into computer systems and electronics, David worked as a fully qualified JIB-approved electrician.
His early electrical career included work for the South Western Electricity Board (SWEB) and a number of other electrical companies throughout Cornwall.
This provided extensive practical experience of electrical installations, power systems, electrical fault finding and working safely with electrical equipment.
The work required a disciplined approach to diagnosis, testing and electrical safety principles that remain fundamental when investigating electronic equipment today.
Mining Electrical Experience at Wheal Jane
David also worked as a mine electrician at Wheal Jane tin mine near Truro before the mine closed in January 1992.
Mining environments place particular demands on electrical equipment and the people responsible for maintaining it.
Electrical systems must operate reliably in difficult industrial conditions, and fault finding often requires a methodical understanding of power distribution, winding gear machinery, control equipment and associated electrical systems.
That experience added an important industrial dimension to David’s electrical background.
Offshore & International Electrical Work
David’s electrical career then also included work on offshore oil and gas platforms in the North Sea and electrical work overseas in Syria oil production plants.
Working within major industrial environments required a high standard of electrical competence, attention to safety and the ability to diagnose technical problems in equipment where reliability is extremely important.
These environments provided experience very different from conventional domestic electrical work and contributed to a broader understanding of industrial electrical and electronic systems.
Moving Into Electronics & Computer Systems
David’s career subsequently developed into computer systems, electronics and information technology.
Over the following decades, David worked with increasingly complex technical systems across a range of demanding commercial environments.
This experience has included work associated with:
- Computer systems
- Electronic hardware
- IT infrastructure
- Technical fault diagnosis
- Power and supporting systems
- Banking technology
- Petrochemical environments
- Power generation
- Commercial and enterprise systems
- Cyber security
- Systems engineering
Although the technology has changed considerably throughout his career, the underlying engineering approach has remained the same:
Understand how the system should operate, measure what it is actually doing, isolate the unusual behaviour and identify the underlying cause.
That same approach is now applied to electronic repair work at Cornwall Electronic Repairs.
Electrical Experience Meets Electronic Fault Diagnosis
Modern electronic equipment can contain a combination of mains-voltage circuits, switch-mode power supplies, low-voltage electronics, digital logic, analogue circuits and sophisticated semiconductor devices in accordance with the latest IET Wiring Regulations 18th Edition BS 7671.
A background that combines electrical engineering with electronics and computer systems is particularly useful when diagnosing this type of equipment.
Depending upon the equipment and fault, investigation may involve:
- Mains input circuitry
- Power supplies
- Rectification and filtering
- Switch-mode power supplies
- Power semiconductor devices
- Voltage regulation
- PCB power rails
- Analogue circuitry
- Digital circuitry
- Control electronics
- Communication interfaces
- Signal processing
- Microprocessor-controlled systems
Understanding both the electrical power side and the electronic control side of equipment can be valuable when diagnosing faults that cross the boundary between the two.
Component-Level Electronic Repair
Cornwall Electronic Repairs focuses on diagnosing the actual cause of an electronic fault wherever practical.
Rather than automatically replacing a complete circuit board, we may investigate the individual circuits and components responsible for the failure.
Component-level work can involve testing and replacing:
- Resistors
- Capacitors
- Diodes
- Rectifiers
- Transistors
- MOSFETs
- IGBTs
- Voltage regulators
- Optocouplers
- Relays
- Transformers
- Inductors
- Connectors
- Integrated circuits
PCB tracks, solder joints and other board-level faults may also be investigated where appropriate.
Professional Test & Measurement
Modern electronic repair requires more than visual inspection.
Our workshop uses professional electronic test and measurement equipment to investigate faults systematically.
Depending upon the equipment, this may include:
- Digital multimeters
- Oscilloscopes
- Differential measurement equipment
- Component testers
- Signal generators
- Bench power supplies
- Thermal investigation
- Semiconductor testing
- Capacitor and ESR testing
- Signal tracing
The objective is to gather evidence and understand the fault before replacing components.
Experience With Difficult & Legacy Equipment
One of the areas of particular interest at Cornwall Electronic Repairs is older, obsolete and difficult-to-replace electronic equipment.
Decades of technical experience are valuable when working on equipment for which:
- Manufacturer support has ended
- Service information is limited
- Replacement circuit boards are unavailable
- Components have become obsolete
- Previous repair attempts have been unsuccessful
- The equipment forms part of a larger commercial system
- Replacement of the complete system would be expensive or impractical
Older equipment often requires traditional fault-finding skills rather than simply following a manufacturer’s board-replacement procedure.
A Practical Engineering Approach
Not every electronic fault can be repaired, and not every repair is economically sensible.
The approach at Cornwall Electronic Repairs is therefore based on practical engineering judgement.
Where possible, we aim to determine:
- What has failed
- Why it has failed
- Whether the fault can be repaired safely
- Whether suitable replacement components are available
- Whether the repair is technically sensible
- Whether the likely repair cost is reasonable for the equipment involved
Customers will not be encouraged to proceed with work where repair appears impractical or uneconomical.
From Heavy Industry to the Electronics Workbench
The technology encountered throughout my career has ranged from electrical power systems and industrial environments to computer systems, electronics and modern digital technology.
Experience gained through work with SWEB, electrical companies in Cornwall, Wheal Jane tin mine, offshore oil platforms, international electrical work and subsequent decades within computing and electronics now provides the technical foundation behind Cornwall Electronic Repairs.
It is this combination of practical electrical experience, modern electronic fault diagnosis and long-term technical problem solving that David brings to every repair enquiry.
Cornwall Electronic Repairs
Cornwall Electronic Repairs provides electronic fault diagnosis and component-level repair for domestic, commercial, specialist and legacy equipment.
If you have equipment that requires investigation, please contact David Dawkins at Cornwall Electronic Repairs with the manufacturer, model number and a description of the fault.