Radio alignment tools

[NSM]

The L3-Com prototype was so poorly designed we kept the mockup on
display in the Manufacturing Engineering office for everyone to see how
not to do things. It was flimsy, poorly laid out and would have been a
nightmare on the production floor.

A lot of the software out there is not designed any better. I worked for
three years on very large database systems. Occasionally, for amusement, I
would tell my co-workers that as I walked in the door on my first day I was
concerned that I would be unable to measure up to the knowledge and skill of
the other people there. Inevitably they would break out in hysterical
laughter, tears streaming down their faces.

N

"To retain respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in the
making.". Otto von Bismarck

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

A lot of the software out there is not designed any better. I worked for
three years on very large database systems. Occasionally, for amusement, I
would tell my co-workers that as I walked in the door on my first day I was
concerned that I would be unable to measure up to the knowledge and skill of
the other people there. Inevitably they would break out in hysterical
laughter, tears streaming down their faces.

N

My first day on the job I was assigned a "Trainer" to bring me up to
speed and warned that I only had six weeks to get up to at least 70% of
the work produced by the existing techs. By the end of the first day I
was repairing modules the trainer thought were scrap. The start of the
next week I got my test stamp five weeks early, and the following Monday
a "Committee" of angry techs arrived at my bench and threatened me.
They ordered me to reduce my output, because I was making everyone else
look bad. I smiled and gave them three options. They could work
harder, they could work faster, or they could get out of my face because
I wasn't working up to my ability yet and they weren't going to stop
me. I made some enemies, and a lot of friends. I offered to teach them
better techniques and logical troubleshooting. Some took the offer and
got better, while others just grumbled and insisted they were the best
techs because they had been there for 15 years or more.

 

[NSM]

My first day on the job I was assigned a "Trainer" to bring me up to
speed and warned that I only had six weeks to get up to at least 70% of
the work produced by the existing techs. By the end of the first day I
was repairing modules the trainer thought were scrap. The start of the
next week I got my test stamp five weeks early, and the following Monday
a "Committee" of angry techs arrived at my bench and threatened me.
They ordered me to reduce my output, because I was making everyone else
look bad. I smiled and gave them three options. They could work
harder, they could work faster, or they could get out of my face because
I wasn't working up to my ability yet and they weren't going to stop
me. I made some enemies, and a lot of friends. I offered to teach them
better techniques and logical troubleshooting. Some took the offer and
got better, while others just grumbled and insisted they were the best
techs because they had been there for 15 years or more.

What is it the Marines say? "Lead or follow but get out of my way"? I once
got a new job and was sent to head office for a week's training as a HVAC
estimator. On Wednesday they told me I could leave now, since in two days
I'd learned everything I could be taught and I hadn't been too subtle about
it.

N

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

What is it the Marines say? "Lead or follow but get out of my way"? I once
got a new job and was sent to head office for a week's training as a HVAC
estimator. On Wednesday they told me I could leave now, since in two days
I'd learned everything I could be taught and I hadn't been too subtle about
it.

N

I wrote software to calculate the cost of retrofitting older homes
with better insulation and storm windows in 1986. It also created a
B.O.M. and a sheet of calculations on how long it would take to pay back
the cost to upgrade.

There was already one commercial product on the market. It took two
or three hours to enter all the data into the forms, and reloading three
different paper forms into the printer. It leased for $1,000 a month.
I did it on a Commodore 128 with three printers, and you could enter the
data and do the calculations in under 15 minutes. Total cost was a
couple hundred dollars. It was fun to see people jump when three
different dot matrix printers started spitting out paper on the shelves
behind them.

 

[Travis Jordan]

The prices are high because the production numbers are low. On the

And because there is a tremendous amount of overhead in the bidding and
contract management process. And then you have the 'added value' from
DCAA, DCAS, DCMA, DCMC, and of course the ACO. Thank you, taxpayers.

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

And because there is a tremendous amount of overhead in the bidding and
contract management process. And then you have the 'added value' from
DCAA, DCAS, DCMA, DCMC, and of course the ACO. Thank you, taxpayers.

We were so niche that we usually got the frantic phone call asking,
"Is there any way you can make model # XX do this?" Some systems took a
lot of time to bid, but they were usually sure they would get it before
spending much time preparing a bid.

 

[Travis Jordan]

We were so niche that we usually got the frantic phone call asking,
"Is there any way you can make model # XX do this?" Some systems
took a lot of time to bid, but they were usually sure they would get
it before spending much time preparing a bid.

I remember a few times where a contract went to a lower bidder, and then
later the contracting agency would come back to us with their hat in
their hands and ask if we'd be interested in submitting a new bid for a
slightly modified system. That was a clear sign that the low bidder
couldn't deliver, and you can be sure the folks involved in the rebid
knew that there wasn't going to be any competition..