by John Leeman | Feb 15, 2026
A Hands-On Instrumentation Workshop for Scientists August 3–7, 2026 | Gentry, Arkansas Registration for the GEARS 2026 workshop is officially open. GEARS (Generalist Electromechanics for Applied Researchers) is a five-day, hands-on instrumentation workshop designed to... 
by John Leeman | Sep 15, 2025
Hard to believe it’s been five years! The GEARS workshop hit a major milestone in 2025, celebrating half a decade since our first gathering in 2020. Over the years, we’ve relentlessly refined the workshop, constantly seeking the perfect balance to deliver... 
by John Leeman | May 15, 2025
What if we could bring the GEARS workshop experience directly to you? That question drove us to try something completely new in January 2025: our first-ever traveling workshop, hosted at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). This groundbreaking idea started... 
by John Leeman | Nov 20, 2024
This year we hosted twelve students for the GEARS 2024 workshop at the end of August. While the general content of the workshop has remained similar for the last couple of years, we are always tweaking things to be different and better than in the prior years. This... 
by John Leeman | Jul 17, 2024
One of the most crucial aspects for any shop, lab, industrial maintenance area, or even a hobbyist’s workspace is how you approach your work environment. This involves where you work, how you work, and how to make the process as easy and safe as possible. As... 
by John Leeman | Jun 25, 2024
Everybody likes a desk toy – it is even better when it can be a learning tool as well! That’s why a few years ago we released the original Geologist’s Squeeze Box. This was our small-scale spin on the classic structural geology lab apparatus that was... 
by John Leeman | May 20, 2024
Everyone has been there – you’re in the field setting out instruments to monitor an event with little time to plan or you’re in the deep field where a hardware store run is not an option. You pull out the batteries, solar panels, and instruments and... 
by John Leeman | May 10, 2024
When designing a circuit or working on a piece of equipment we get used to seeing the same “standard” resistor values. For example, when making a voltage divider the math may say you need a 2341 ohm resistor, but in general we would see that implemented as... 
by John Leeman | Apr 1, 2024
Following decades of development by Chrystler and Rockwell Automation, today I’m excited to share with you the latest adaptations of encabulator technology to the geophysical industry. For a number of years now, work has been proceeding in order to bring perfection to... 
by John Leeman | Mar 20, 2024
Seismometers, designed to measure the Earth’s surface velocity or acceleration, are primariloy utilized for traditional scientific goals like earthquake detection, nuclear test ban treaty monitoring, and attempting to map out our planet’s interior. But, as... 
by Caitlin Goddard | Feb 29, 2024
Enroll Now! We are thrilled to announce that registration for the 2024 GEARS (Generalist Electromechanics for Applied Researchers) Workshop, August 26 – 30, is now open! With three successful workshops behind us, we’re eager to welcome a fresh group of... 
by John Leeman | Dec 3, 2023
2023 brought about a lot of changes for our business. We moved facilities (and were therefore shutdown for some time) in the early part of the year, we welcomed another team member, and we added lots of new capabilities. All of this chaos meant that we ended up...