Dan Feinberg: From Ham Radio to Hall of Fame Stories

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Daniel (Baer) Feinberg is president and CEO of Fein-Line Associates, Inc., a consulting firm focused on the electronic interconnect (printed wiring board) and assembly industries, and a founding Partner in the Quantum Performance Group, LLC, a market research firm. He is a recipient of the Hall of Fame Award from the Global Electronics Association.

For more than two decades, Dan Feinberg has helped shape PCB007 as a columnist, technical editor, and trusted industry voice. In this interview, Dan reflects on a lifetime in electronics—from ham radio and rock bands to PCB innovation, executive leadership, and consulting—revealing the experiences that fueled his career and his enduring passion for the industry.

Dan, tell us about yourself. Where were you born and raised? Can you share a favorite childhood memory?

I was born and raised in Newport, Rhode Island. Newport was a busy Navy Base during World War II, and my father was a doctor there. He was also a Ham Radio operator and got me interested in electronics as a pre-teen. I obtained my Ham Radio license (my call letters are still K1DQS) at the age of 12. I played in a rock band in the late 1950s and early ’60s, as well as in a local band at the Newport Jazz Festival one year, which was a great childhood/teen event and memory.

 Where did you attend college and what did you study?

I went to Capitol Institute of Electronics and also Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where I studied electrical engineering.

 How did you get into this industry specifically?

Instead of going home after classes one summer, I took a job and started building my career at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, assembling test electronics devices and making prototype PCBs. (I also played with a rock band in D.C. during that time.) 

What are some personal milestones that you’re proud of?

After a few years of working, instead of going back to college, I took a job at Atlantic Research. We needed prototype printed circuits and required them quickly, so we set up a prototype PCB fabrication facility, which I ultimately managed. Learning how to make PCBs and understanding the details of using photoresist, as well as the plating and etching processes, started my career in the PCB industry.

For example, we collaborated with Kodak, optimizing the process to utilize their KPR resist for making PCBs. I eventually took on the East Coast sales and regional manager positions for what was then a growing PCB resist supplier, Dynachem, and later moved to California to assume the national sales manager position.

Over the next five years, I progressed from VP of marketing and sales to executive VP and ultimately president of the company. We achieved considerable success, particularly developing new products, such as Laminar A aqueous processing dry film resist. Eventually, we sold it to Morton.

I then started a consulting company, which has kept me busy representing other chemical suppliers. I also started writing.

How do you create a healthy work-life balance?

I am now mostly retired, but I still have a few clients. I write articles and build high-end computers as a hobby. I also play in a country/rock band here in Southern California. We participate in numerous events for charitable organizations and have a great time doing so. I am happily married and have four sons and four granddaughters, all of whom play music, which has become my passion.