COMPANY REPORT

Signal Analyzer Manufacturer Applied Instruments, USA

25 Years Applied Instruments

The power of this company is its robust signal analyzers Company plans worldwide expansion with its internationally compatible analyzers Special test signal generators for receiver manufacturers Special attention to ergonomic operation Technical customer service an important highlight of the company

www.TELE-satellite.info/11/11/appliedinstruments Direct Contact to Sales Manager

Business Voucher

TELE-satellite Magazine

Applied Instruments leases two suites in this

industrial complex from which digital TV signal analyzers are produced.

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COMPANY REPORT

Signal Analyzer Manufacturer Applied Instruments, USA

Robust Signal Analyzers Made in USA

General Manager Tom Haywood in the showroom with
a selection of products from Applied Instruments. He owns 50% of the company while his partner Jeff Haas, Director of Engineering, owns the other 50%.

Indianapolis

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 Jeff Haas is Director of Engineering

and prefers to work at this shack. He is co-owner of Applied Instruments.

A motorized C-band dish on the wall

as well as numerous other dishes on the roof are all used by Applied Instruments to develop and test their signal analyzers.

APPLIED INSTRUMENTS
Signal Analyzer Manufacturer, USA

www.appliedin.com

Company Details
Engineers in Research & Development | Total Number of Employees

0................................ 25 .................................. 50
Average Turnover (Previous, This, Next Year Estimates)

0................................ 10 ................... 20 Mio U$D

Production Certicates

DVB
Production Categories

own brand
Main Products

Cable TV Signal Analyzers, Satellite TV Analyzers, Noise Signal Generators, Noise Power Ratio Test Instrument
www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1109/eng/applied.pdf

A small family business has managed to become one of the most well-known names in the North American cable and satellite TV signal analyzer market. Its the perfect reason for us to go and pay Applied Instruments in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, a visit only to find out that the company is expanding into the international market with its products that are Made in USA. Whos behind Applied Instruments? It really is a family-owned business. It was founded exactly 25 years ago in 1986 by Doyle Haywood, the father of the current General Manager Tom Haywood. His son Scott Haywood also works for the company as a sales manager. When we look back at when it all started, we find out that theres even more history behind the companys founder Doyle Haywood: he founded a company back in 1973 that produced signal analyzers for cable TV. In 1979 he sold that company to a large corporation. But when he came up with the idea to develop clean reliable test signal generators for CATV, he quickly founded a new company: Applied Instruments. His

son Tom Haywood explains to us where the name came from: We apply a solution to every problem and provide the instruments just for that purpose Applied Instruments. The new company originally began with three employees, one of whom was David Poelstra, a research engineer that worked together with Doyle Haywood in the first company. In 1990 they released their first successful product to the market a cable TV signal analyzer that not only was easy to use but was also affordable. Over the years other analyzers appeared. In order to test long cable lengths, we produced a Return Path Test Set, remembers General Manager Tom Haywood, It consisted of a CW Test Signal Generator that was attached to one end of the long cable and a receiver at the other end. In this way we could check the quality of the cable. In 1994 MMDS (Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service), also known as wireless cable, gained widespread use primarily in rural areas and Applied Instruments was there providing the appropriate signal analyzers.

From here the path to satellite signal analyzers was not a long one. In 1998 we introduced the first satellite signal analyzer from the Buddy series, comments Tom Haywood. The Sat Buddy quickly became known and loved by North American satellite installers and over the years was consistently improved and fitted with new features. Scott Haywood, Tom Haywoods son and third generation in the company, is a sales manager at Applied Instruments and tells us about the newest Buddy version: Its the Super Buddy 29 and in addition to letting you measure satellite TV signals, it can also be used to install the Wildblue Internetviasatellite service. These LNBs require 29 volts that the Super Buddy 29 can supply, hence the 29 in the model name. Tom Haywood, the current General Manager, is actually a construction engineer but always enjoyed lending a hand at the company. In 1996 he decided to work exclusively for his fathers company: The creation of solutions and the ergonomic products have always fascinated me, he reveals, Its

not all that much different from being a building designer who must also be creative and a problem solver. When his mother, the wife of founder Doyle Haywood, began to have health issues, his father decided to leave the company and sell 50% ownership of the company to Tom Haywood. The other 50% was sold to Jeff Haas. Both are enthusiastic with the opportunity to further expand Applied Instruments. But the company doesnt only manufacture signal analyzers that are used at the receiving end. An especially interesting highlight is the Noise Power Ratio testing product that manufacturers of amplifiers, optical transmitters and receivers, and other active devices can use to test the operating range of their products. It consists of a noise generator that sends its signal to the receiver to be tested and a corresponding signal analyzer that measures the output signal from the tested receiver. Our NS-3 Broadband Noise Generator is often used by receiver manufacturers and satellite service providers to simulate rain fade and conduct carrier

to noise testing, comments Tom Haywood. General Manager Tom Haywood explains to us their product palette: 80% of our sales are made up of reception signal analyzers, 10% are test generators with the remaining 10% made up of complete systems consisting of signal generators and signal analyzers. And as far as sales figures go, he tells us, For the past several years sales have been stable at about US$ 5.5 million but for 2012 we are expecting roughly a 10% increase. Where will this increase come from? Sales Manager Scott Haywood has a few answers for us: We are currently developing a signal analyzer for DVB-S2 that will become available in the fourth quarter of 2011. We are also working on terrestrial signal analyzers for ATSC and QAM that will appear in the first quarter of 2012. Applied Instruments is looking at satellite signal analyzers as their way of expanding into the export market. Up until now, 95% of our products have been shipped to North America, that is

USA and Canada, with only the remaining 5% being shipped abroad to countries like Switzerland, Sweden, Great Britain, Belgium as well as Australia, comments Scott Haywood. But this is what will change in the companys 25th year of operation: We are actively looking for competent distributors in Europe, The Middle East and Asia. It is critical for Applied Instruments to find technically competent partners: Our products are not throwaway products; they are solidly built and can be repaired if the need were to ever arise. Technical customer service is actually quite important when dealing with products like signal analyzers; professional installers use signal analyzers on a daily basis and can thereby document a proper installation. Reliability and help with technical problems are excellent reasons why an installer would want to choose a quality product from a manufacturer that he knows will support him later on. We produce everything ourselves, comments General Manager Tom Haywood referring to his nine production employees, Our R&D team consists of
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seven engineers, the repair team is made up of five engineers and our technical customer service has four engineers. On top of that are three employees in administration as well as two sales managers so that a total of 30 employees make up Applied Instruments all of which work in an 11,000 Sq-foot office/production facility located in an industrial zone southeast of Indianapolis.
1. Sales Manager Scott Haywood enjoys reading TELE-satellite. Im especially interested in the satellite DXer reports, reveals Scott, It shows the enthusiasm they have for their hobby. Its an enthusiasm that Scott shares and that can be readily seen in the companys signal analyzers. 2. Diana greets visitors at the reception desk. 3. Camille Edmonds keeps track of finances and organizes the books.

After 25 successful years, Applied Instruments is ready to plow into the international market. The enthusiasm of the engineers and the requirements that customers have for their signal analyzers provides this company with an excellent chance to grow in the world market over the next 25 years with their robust signal analyzers.

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1. One of Applied Instruments most successful products: the Super Buddy, a satellite signal analyzer that is especially popular in the North American market. 2. The Noise Signal Generator NS-3 is another successful product from Applied Instruments used by satellite receiver manufacturers. 3. Another Applied Instruments success story: the Noise Signal Generator NS-1 is used by installers to check the condition of coaxial cable. It is handy and easy to use. 4. Marketed only to real professionals, this Noise Power Ratio Test Instrument costs around US$15,000 and is commonly used in a production environment by manufacturers of amplifiers and optical transmitters and receivers.

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1. The typical desk of a highly creative puzzle-lover: Luc Nguyen works in the Technical Department. 2. Scott Larson is Technical Service Manager and helps customers with more complex problems. 3. How do you properly connect the signal analyzer? Craig Shockley can always be reached by telephone and helps customers with technical questions. The most frequently asked questions have to do with Applied Instruments successful product, the Buddy. Here he is holding the newest Super Buddy 29 model. 4. To the right is the parts storage area and in the middle is production. Nearly all of Applied Instruments products are low volume products and are assembled manually. 5. If theres a problem with one of their products, the repair team jumps into action: Jeff Milner (left), Oren Williams (center) and Ryan Ramsey (right) quickly solve any problems. 6. Dave Clodfelter is one of the production technicians. He is seen here assembling a CATV Return Path test set. 7. For RF Engineer Russ Phillips theres nothing better than to be deeply immersed in the technology. His work station is fully loaded with test instruments which he uses to constantly improve Applied Instruments products. 8. The hardware is one thing, but a customer has to be able to operate it. Robin Ross is responsible for the software; he fine tunes each operational step to make it as easy as possible for the customer to use.

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