Who we are …

… Marie-José den Brok and Ronald Dekker. We live in the village Valkenswaard just below the city of Eindhoven in the South of Holland. We have been married for about 25 years and we have two sons of 26 and 29.

I (Ronald), studied electrical engineering at the Technical University of Eindhoven, and have been working since my graduation at Philips Research in the same city. In 2004 I received my PhD from the Technical University of Delft, where I am working since 2006 as a part-time professor on the chair flexible and stretchable electronics. Most of the work I do both at Philips as well as at the university is related to the integration of electronics at the tip of minimal invasive medical instruments such as catheters and guide-wires. The last 15 years of my career at Philips I was heavily involved in organizing European initiatives like POSITION and MOORE4MEDICAL aimed at accelerating innovation in (electronic) medical devices. I retired from working life mid-2025 so that I have more time for hobbies and the “tube-tester business.”

Marie-José studied to become a social worker in den Haag (the Hague). After her study she had a variety of jobs varying from counseling refugees to working at the ticket office of our local theatre. Apart from raising the boys and keeping the household running she is at the moment actively engaged in community work in our local church and as a volunteer in the local children’s farm. Next to that she is the corner stone of the “Dos4ever” tube tester business where she takes care of all administration, logistics and complex matters like taxes etc.

Selling tubes tester kits was never a premeditated plan. It just came on our path. I have been an electronic enthusiast for as long as I can remember, an affection I inherited from my father! For well over a decade I have been posting projects and articles on my website dos4ever.com. A few years ago the idea for a tube curve tracer was born. Readers of my project blog requested for a kit, and that is how the uTracer was born. We don’t do this for a living, it is just a service for other enthusiasts, and it is fun because it brings us into contact with very nice, enthusiastic and sometimes a bit crazy people all around the world, who share the same passion for vacuum technology.

After a difficult 2 years relaxing with “poffertjes” and a drink at the annual fair in our village.
Poffertjes are an ancient Dutch snack. They have the shape and tast on miniature pancake and are traditionally eaten with a slice of butter and casting sugar, and you will find them on almost every Dutch fair.