Mike, once I got done chuckling, I figured I'd pass on a similar tale... a
little OT, but still...
I once worked at the State College remote studio for the old WGMR-FM
Tyrone/State College. The chief engineer who worked at the studio was and
old-fashioned kinda guy, very set in his ways... and didn't believe in
grounding. Just didn't believe it was neccesary! Waste of time!
Well, for a long time, if someone was recording commercials in the late
morning, afternoon, or evening, I noticed on playback that you sometimes heard
a voice or CW in the background. Of course, I immediately recognized the
source of the background noise, since I was an alumni of the Penn State ARC;
K3CR sat about, oh, 100 yards or so on the other side of West College Avenue
from the studio. So if someone was in the shack working DX or a traffic net or
ragchewing at the same time the commercials were being recorded...
The CE's response? He was all set to complain to the FCC and Penn State and
have "those kids!" thrown off the air and out of school. Until I also pointed
out to him that we were sometimes picking up the State College police, Alpha
Fire, the 146.74 K3HKK/R repeater, even my 1 W Wilson 1402 HT.
He still didn't believe it was "his" studio at fault, until just to humor me,
he grounded everything. Problem went away. Imagine that.
And FWIW, this is the same guy who helped build the original WBLF-AM studio in
Bellefonte PA. In a converted apartment. He always claimed the original
transmitter remote controls were located in the bathroom... specifically, in
the tub & shower. Supposedly, when the FCC people came to inspect the station
before it went on the air, they took one look at THIS setup and broke up
laughing (and worse). I heard THAT tale from a number of people, and I don't
know if it's actually true -- but if it's not, it should be!
73, ron wn3vaw
---------------------------------------------------
From: Mike Gorniak <mgorniak@genesiswireless.us>
Date: Tue Mar 28 12:07:30 CST 2006
To: tentec@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Orion Aux Audio output (explained)
Larry, I agree with you in principle. However, I must add an anecdote that
illustrates the problem in the real world:
I once worked for a radio station that had a sound system that they used at
various remote broadcasts and other events that required a PA system. For some
reason, the Chief Engineer had chosen good old fashioned AC Plugs and modified
extension cords as the interconnects.
The results were eminently predictable. The CE received a phone call from an
intern who was working an event. It seems that every one of the loudspeakers
had the same fault...he'd plug it in, briefly hear a very loud hum, and then
the speaker would belch black smoke. As I recall, he did that with 4 600 dollar
loudspeakers before bothering to call anyone.
Now, who is responsible? The CE or the intern? Or both?
73,
Mike
NM7X
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 09:38:18 -0600
From: "Larry Menzel" <retire@means.net>
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Orion Aux Audio output (explained)
To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment" <tentec@contesting.com>
Yes, I must admit to several "gozinta" errors while getting to know my
Orions. None fatal, however, thus far.
RANT ON:
But you know, as I look at my amplifiers, my oscilloscope, my audio gear, my
sig-gen, all have common ports for many functions, any one of which,
misaligned, will yield faulty results. Let's put any blame for mis-plugged
plugs directly where it belongs: On the Operator!
Wouldn't it be nice, a kinda kindergarten thing, to have every port color
coded, and different shaped so we can be protected from oursleves, huh?
But, guys, were big boys and girls now, and we should be aware enough to
make SURE the plug is in the right hole before proceeding. A quick check,
even if it's with a mirror if you can't get to the back of the rig, should
be SOP when interconnecting devices. Let's not blame the tools, eh?
This is a serious radio for serious applications and operators. It's not a
toy with non-functional or multipurpose plugs. WE get to decide what we want
the radio to do, and we have to be able to figure that out AND take
responsibility for our own errors in judgement or execution.
No offense, guys, but we got what we paid for. I love the phase, Bob,
"performance outweighs warts" if you want to call them that.
RANT OFF:
Larry, N0XB
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