ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Introduce yourself ..

Welcome to the board Mark.

You are still a pup compared to some of us.
I worked for IBM for 30 years and after an assortment of "computer" sort of jobs and when the writing was on the wall I pivoted to the construction side, building computer rooms and data connectivity around the building.
About 1990 I bumped into Harold Endean and the Secret Society of Electricians on Prodigy.
From there I started taking the NEC training that allowed me to be certified and licensed by the state while I was still building and LV wiring. IBM had me doing informal code seminars.
I retired from IBM in 1996.
I got the contract to be the state electrical inspector for 8 counties and I did it for 8 years.
Now I am really retired but I still like keeping up with the code.
I also think electricians are the fun people to hang out with.

BTW we really try to avoid politics religion and unions talk (pro or con).
It makes this a better place to be.

That's impressive gfret,

Computers and all the various data technology is an incredibly interesting subject .. that's a whole different animal, I suppose that's why I continue to work on the bulky stuff.

This Industry we all share is such a vast plain of opportunity, so many variation of the business.

pup ..") I'm feelin like a pretty old pup ,but thanks

The computer business and the electrical business are joined at the hip now anyway. You guys are seeing a whole lot more "smart" equipment. There is a microprocessor in your meter now along with a lot of that stuff with 750 Kcmil lugs on it.
I am sure you have, what I would have called an "enterprise mainframe", in your phone.

As I said, the writing was on the wall for me. Computers are not that room full of "sub zero refrigerator" sized boxes with 2000 cards each in them. It is a tiny little chip that is everywhere. Big computers just gang up a bunch of those chips.
There are still big computer rooms but big is relative. It is not an acre of raised floor but it has a bunch of computing power. It still needs a big a feeder coming in, distribution and a bunch of data lines, hence my pivot.
The rest is "cut open the box and plug in a new one".
Not very interesting.

I had the opportunity some years ago to work within a clean room of some facilities, one being Boeing .. I knew I was in for a whole new experience when I walked across the sticky pad on the entrance and learned of the intimidating ansul system that sucks all the oxygen out of the room within seconds .. that was comforting to know.

working within an environment of such intensity as far as potential liability was a very humbling experience.

I'm back too, don't know how long I've been gone though.
Still retired and still wondering how I ever had time for a regular job. Anyway, hello to you all

togol:
Welcome back from one of the 'Jersey guys'

Howdy John, and thanks.

I see a lot of familiar names are still around

Yes, some are here, alas, some are gone but not forgotten.

Heck Ya'! Story may become quite boring, so have a fresh pot of Coffee available...

First off, let me Date Myself (accumulated age date, not "Date Myself" as in I get dressed up, take myself to Dinner, etc...)

My "Handle" is ""Scott 35", which dates back to first enrollment as a Member of ECN on 10-19-2000, at an Age found by removing the Alpha-Portion of the User Name.
Formula for Date-Code Continuity = 12 days prior to 01/01/Current Year - 2000 + number of User Name

Been in the Trade & related Fields for a few Years: actually, been on jobs as far back as when I was "Scott 08"!
Father was an EC... Began in 1959; prior to this Change Of Life, He was a Carpenter.
Heard He got the "Electrical Influenza" from a very well-trained Commercial EC on a particular Project in late 1958.

As expected, I Grew up mostly around Construction Trades Persons, so not only did I pick up some skills of what the other Trades do, I also became very fluent in Profanity, Dirty Jokes, and various levels of Practical Jokes!
This was during the era when it was perfectly acceptable to drink Beer on the Job! In fact, I would be "Teased" for drinking Water or Soda, in lieu of Beer; so, when I was "Scott 14" I decided to comply to the requests, and experienced my very first Beer Buzz!
Next Day sucked big time, and the Beer thing got postponed to somewhere around "Scott 21"!!!

Work in the "Scott 12" through "Scott 23" era was a mix of Commercial, Industrial and Residential, with the majority of Project Bases in descending order.
Commercial portions being >60% Bank Branch related, with the remainder covering anything not being classified as "Financial Institutions", "Industrial" or 'Residential".
Industrial ranged quite vastly, while Residential held a "40-40-20" Percentile for 1 Family Tracts, Multi Family Dwellings, and Custom 1 Family Dwellings.

Began using Computers at "Scott 17". Machines were TRS-80 Models 1 and 2.
Model 1 was fun; used a Cassette Tape to Load Operating System + Programming in BASIC.
Model 2 used 8" DSDD Floppy Disks, ran apps written in BASIC under the "TRSDOS" Operating System.
Around the same time, decided it was time to begin the never-ending trek of Electrophysics and In-Gin-Earring... (still on the trek!!!)

Ran my first job at age "Scott 20", with a crew of 3 plus myself.
Compiled my first Electrical Design-Build Plan Set for a Commercial T.I. at "Scott 23". Plan Check corrections were to Design Lighting & Controls per CEC Title 24, Part 6, Chapter 5; plus include Interior Lighting Compliance Forms on Plan Set.
This led to understanding the concepts behind "a/b" switching, "slave/master" troffers, and the 2 Hour Manual Spring-Wound Override Timer for the HVAC!!!

By era "Scott 28", my Project Base became almost exclusively Commercial, with >80% Projects being oriented around Financial Institutions.
Computer usage moved up to 80286 based clones, then to an 80386SX-16 Machine, then to several flavors of 80486DX Machines.
Started to become more familiar with IBM ATMs & LAN equipment (lots of Type 2 Cabling!!!)
Design-Builds, Engineering and Consulting became more and more common, and by the era of "Scott 32", 50% of my Work was in the field, the other 50% in Design / Engineering / Consultation / Management (and Broom Pushing!!!).

Per the Y2K roll-Over situation, the Financial Associations were upgrading Data Systems for Compliance and Standardization.
Out went the IBM 4100 Systems (Controllers - Terminals, stand-alone Gateways, etc.), the old, yet very familiar IBM ATMs, the older Security Systems, the old Mosler Film Cameras, Telephone Systems, Training Stations, and everything I worked around for nearly 15 Years.

In came a new line of IBM Equipment, with a GUI Operating System... OS2/Warp!!! LAN Cabling went from Type 2 / Thinnet, to CAT-5 (CAT-3 for POTS Lines)
NEC ATMs, mostly Model 5685, but around 2002, the P86's began to be seen.

Worked with ADT for Security / CCTV System Design-Builds. Got really crazy circa "Scott 35" to "Scott 37", as this time period involved multiple CCTV / Security System Designs across California.
I was Designing at least 5 Branches each Day, 5 Days per week, with an ADT Rep, a Corporate Security Staff R&D Rep., and an Asbestos Testing Agent - all flying around some Retail Branch for up to 1.5 Hours!

Around "Scott 38", things began to slow down, and I found myself nearly exclusively in the Office.
My last days in the field (with tools on, installing stuff...) were between "Scott 39" and "Scott 42", and as of "Scott 43", the only site related stuff is per Surveys, Project Data Recording, Troubleshoots, Consultations, Inspection Walks, Final Commissioning and Closeout stuff.

Now "Scott 48" has returned to School, as that Beer I had per the "Scott 14" era influenced me to only study + learn a small fraction of the many things out there.

The adage: "The More I Learn, The Less I know" applies here, in a grand scale!!!

So, that's my story.

Along the way, I have met many different people; Good and Bad (fortunately, a very minimal number of Phallus Heads were encountered - but they sure left their mark!!!).
Worked with some of the most Talented and Capable People around - their Talents and Abilities were inspirational!
Lost nearly all of my closest and dearest Friends, due to various Health issues; namely Hepa-Related failures and HIV; but then Life tosses that Odd Ball one out, and kills someone just riding their Motorcycle.

My Wife and I are going on our 24th Year together. Back in January of 1990, I never thought She would stay with Me, but apparently She thought the same thing about me as well!!!

Time to grab that Pot of Coffee and Drink Up!!!

--Scott (EE)

Scott35 etc:
Eloquence to the 10th degree in a walk down memory lane!