[R-390] Now *this* is a really nifty idea...

[Bruce Ussery]

MessageIn the electronics lab where I work we routinely work on boards with parts down to 0402 size chip caps, etc. (Several of us are over 50 so we would be useless without a good microscope.) If one of us techs sees one of the young EEs go into the lab when no one else is around, someone QUICKLY goes to help him lest he might try to solder something and create a mess for us to clean up (or worse, damage a very expensive pcb). I don't hold their lack of hands-on experience against them; they just didn't start soldering and building stuff at age 9-12 like some of us. At least they do try to learn and get better at it.
It's quite a contrast to replace a 200-plus pin processor or tiny chip caps and resistors at work, then come home and work on a boat anchor where the smallest part is a half watt resistor or ceramic cap with its giant leads. And I get to use big diameter solder that I can see with the naked eye at home. The smallest I can routinely find at work is .015 dia. Sometimes that's just too big and I use my stash of .010 dia. I've been hoarding for years. Parts have scaled down a bit.

73, Bruce
WA4ZLK
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Kim Herron 
  To: 'Tisha Hayes' ; r-390 at mailman.qth.net 
  Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2009 1:02 PM
  Subject: RE: [R-390] Now *this* is a really nifty idea...


    Hi Gang!!

    I have a funny short tale to relate to the group about a new, Pimply Faced Youth, electrical engineer;
    I took a PFY-EE out with me to a customer location where we were having a problem with drop-outs and low BER on a microwave system. I decided that the dish needed some slight alignment changes. The 10' dish was mounted on the roof of a 30 story building. (this is a 48 dB gain antenna). I instructed him to stay away from the front of the antenna, we had a pair of handi-talkies to discuss what adjustments to make from the back of the dish for azimuth and tilt.
    As you know, making adjustments to antenna alignment you frequently need to give a system a few minutes to settle in to measure data throughput on a link. This can take a few hours to get the alignment right on.
    All was well and we were at the point of making fractional adjustments to the antenna (I was down at the receiver, watching statistics, RSL, SNR, BER and data rates). Suddenly in the middle of a measurement cycle, performance would drop into the toilet for 20-30 seconds at a time. Now we were chasing our tails and trying to figure out what had changed, and what is so intermittent. After an hour of this I went up to the roof to find out what was going on.
    I found my PFY-EE standing on the edge of the roof, admiring the view, directly in front of the microwave antenna.
    I have no idea if he noticed any effects from essentially sticking his head in a microwave oven. It just reminded me how clueless and dangerous a newly minted engineer is.
         I've noticed this for years and it's not isolated to EE's.  It's everywhere and I'm not sure why.  It's a basic loss of common sense.  We shouldn't have to remind/educate about such things, but you can't take anything for granted anymore.  The word 'ASSUME' has taken on even more meaning than ever



  Kim Herron W8ZV
  www.goldenradioservice.com
  kim.herron at sbcglobal.net
  1-616-677-3706 



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