Entotem’s Plato: Seeking Enlightenment in Derby

21st September 2016

Based upon the Android operating system and with a range of in-house technologies situated within, Derby’s Entotem has big plans for its Plato entertainment system, as Paul Rigby discovered

Entotem Ltd was founded in 2013 by four entrepreneurs looking to design and develop a multimedia home entertainment system, which integrates both high resolution audio amplification and high definition video. I recently paid them a visit to find out more about the company and the hardware. Actually, I completed this visit earlier in the year but the development of my new website delayed its publication, so I want to hurriedly apologise to Entotem for the delay. This visitation is different from the older visits published on The Audiophile Man because it is based, primarily, on audio which is easier to use and access and, with the removal of a humungous amount of text, prevents eye strain!

Hence, the visit is separated  into a host of sound files, each themed accordingly with a brief introductory piece of text plus a range of images taken during the visit.

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Entotem’s Plato Entertainment System

Dave Belcher (Development Director), supported by Ian Grostate (Commercial Director), describe the Plato in detail: what it can do and its technical specifications.

 

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Ian Grostate

 

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Dave Belcher

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Ian Grostate and Dave Belcher talk about Entotem’s Red Dot Recording a new and intriguing service that they hope to take nationwide, after testing locally.

 

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Another chat with Ian Grostate and Dave Belcher. This time they talk about the various types of Plato variants in existence, prices and technologies featured plus the latest components and their capabilities.

 

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MD, Martin Boddy

I was privileged to obtain time with the company’s Managing Director, Martin Boddy. Here, Boddy talks about Entotem: where it came from and where it’s going.

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The domain of Brian Ross, Production Manager, attached to the main building, this factory unit is where the Plato units are made for Entotem.
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Entotem make all of the printed circuit boards within their factory unit and assemble the systems. The metal work and painting is out-sourced.
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Each Plato unit contains 11 circuit boards. Each board is tested before it’s included within the main assembly.
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A stencil, through which falls the solder paste onto the circuit board. The holes in the sheet match up to the apertures on the circuit board.
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The reels are ‘pre-loaded’, as it where. Each holds all of the electronic components. From here, the required components (i.e. the capacitors, resistors, etc) are picked and placed upon the circuit board.
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A program in the machine tells it which component is required and where upon the board it is required to be placed.
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Each board is fully processed in about 10 minutes. It’s difficult to see the tiny components on these taps but each tape features a small pocket in which the component is held.
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Each Plato is soak-tested for 24 hours and then tested again before shipping.
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The Plato chassis ready for assembly.