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180 Posts
this may not be a new thread, but what does everyone do for a living or what did you do if your a retired?
What does everyone do?
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927 Posts
Paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division, U.S. Army, Fort Bragg, NC
All the way!
All the way!
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180 Posts
certified welding inspector here.
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12,350 Posts
Supervisor at a software company. Oh, and I have a pretty cool cycling/outdoors online magazine. And I volunteer on a really fun cycling website. And I have a portable bike repair/maintenance business, with fees based on ability to pay, meaning I give away a lot of my time.
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6,902 Posts
Thank you!Jahwarrior said:
Next beer I have will be for you & the 82nd!!!
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6,902 Posts
I have most people here believing all I do is travel, ride and occasionally drink a few beers.
I like living this fantasy life. I think I'll keep it.
It is much better than the alternative.
I like living this fantasy life. I think I'll keep it.
It is much better than the alternative.
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517 Posts
I drink... heavily. Hella pro.
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21,195 Posts
Lineman
---EDIT---
As an afterthought
U.S. Air Force 11 years 6 month and 4 days but who's counting A.G.E. ( Aerospace Ground Equipment )
Waukeska Alaska - 3 years Prime and Stand by power - Almost all VHP 16 cylinder with one on the sixth floor of the federal building in Anchorage.
NC Machinery - Anchorage, Ak. -Cat dealer - heavy equipment
Moved to Va.
ClearMoore - site development heavy equipment mech SUCKED!!! Owners moto = run it til destruction and that only happened in the field when 1.it was raining or 2. when it was 100+ degrees and everybody else was at home
Current -I tell everyone I'm a lineman just cuz it's easier than trying to explain what a Sweep Tech FNT II ( Field Network Tech II) Basically I use a spectrum analyzer all day long working on MER/BER ( Modulation Error Rates/ Bit Error Rates ) C/N ( Carrier to Noise ratios ) which all begins on a fiber backbone and fiber is BORING!!!!!
“Basically, sweeping is the process of injecting a signal across the entire frequency spectrum of the cable plant
(at) the headend and then using a sweep meter to balance the actives to design specifications and to measure the
frequency response throughout the entire system. The sweep technicians will start at the node and then move to
next active in line and continue until they reach the end of line. In addition to checking and documenting
frequency response, sweepers will also check system voltage, operating voltages of the actives and document any
design variations. Most of the systems will require the sweep technician to repair any problem they may find”.**
The term “optimize” is fairly easy in most cases because cable systems typically are drafted onto maps and those
maps are wonders to behold.***I could also go on for another one hundred pages talking about cable maps as well.**
Seriously, I’m that crazy about maps but will try holding this to a few lines.
Most of the info on cable maps is derived from two basic sources:**Geographical data typically provided by the
folks who built the power and phone networks and your system’s Design Criteria, AKA Design Engineering
Notebook.**Equipment vendors and system designers typically work together to load criteria into the design
software based on performance minimums your engineer’s want to see at the last tap.**In a nut shell if your
sweep techs are not adhering to the design criteria, that’s a problem because doing so is your best bet for getting
the most out of your network.**Assuming you cannot lay your hands on a copy of the criteria for your network it’s
not the end of the world.**Most of the info one needs to optimize a cable system can be derived from the map
data alone but typically there’s a gem or two in the criteria that can’t be pulled from most maps so it’s nice to
have both.
Finally, proper padding and equalization, alignment for overall sweep response, and thorough documentation,
complete the picture for optimization.
The term “isolate” is also fairly simple to define.**Believe it or not there are only a handful of issues we typically
run into in the field.**Bad cable, poor splicing, poor balancing, malfunctioning equipment, design errors, water in
devices and cable, and locations not built to the map.**Of course all of the above can be expanded on for pages on
end but suffice it to say these are the basic problems, often occurring in combinations between two given
locations.**When someone hands in a poor sweep trace, or low inputs to a given active, or low outputs at a given
end of line tap, it should be accompanied by documentation as to the cause.
---EDIT---
As an afterthought
U.S. Air Force 11 years 6 month and 4 days but who's counting A.G.E. ( Aerospace Ground Equipment )
Waukeska Alaska - 3 years Prime and Stand by power - Almost all VHP 16 cylinder with one on the sixth floor of the federal building in Anchorage.
NC Machinery - Anchorage, Ak. -Cat dealer - heavy equipment
Moved to Va.
ClearMoore - site development heavy equipment mech SUCKED!!! Owners moto = run it til destruction and that only happened in the field when 1.it was raining or 2. when it was 100+ degrees and everybody else was at home
Current -I tell everyone I'm a lineman just cuz it's easier than trying to explain what a Sweep Tech FNT II ( Field Network Tech II) Basically I use a spectrum analyzer all day long working on MER/BER ( Modulation Error Rates/ Bit Error Rates ) C/N ( Carrier to Noise ratios ) which all begins on a fiber backbone and fiber is BORING!!!!!
“Basically, sweeping is the process of injecting a signal across the entire frequency spectrum of the cable plant
(at) the headend and then using a sweep meter to balance the actives to design specifications and to measure the
frequency response throughout the entire system. The sweep technicians will start at the node and then move to
next active in line and continue until they reach the end of line. In addition to checking and documenting
frequency response, sweepers will also check system voltage, operating voltages of the actives and document any
design variations. Most of the systems will require the sweep technician to repair any problem they may find”.**
The term “optimize” is fairly easy in most cases because cable systems typically are drafted onto maps and those
maps are wonders to behold.***I could also go on for another one hundred pages talking about cable maps as well.**
Seriously, I’m that crazy about maps but will try holding this to a few lines.
Most of the info on cable maps is derived from two basic sources:**Geographical data typically provided by the
folks who built the power and phone networks and your system’s Design Criteria, AKA Design Engineering
Notebook.**Equipment vendors and system designers typically work together to load criteria into the design
software based on performance minimums your engineer’s want to see at the last tap.**In a nut shell if your
sweep techs are not adhering to the design criteria, that’s a problem because doing so is your best bet for getting
the most out of your network.**Assuming you cannot lay your hands on a copy of the criteria for your network it’s
not the end of the world.**Most of the info one needs to optimize a cable system can be derived from the map
data alone but typically there’s a gem or two in the criteria that can’t be pulled from most maps so it’s nice to
have both.
Finally, proper padding and equalization, alignment for overall sweep response, and thorough documentation,
complete the picture for optimization.
The term “isolate” is also fairly simple to define.**Believe it or not there are only a handful of issues we typically
run into in the field.**Bad cable, poor splicing, poor balancing, malfunctioning equipment, design errors, water in
devices and cable, and locations not built to the map.**Of course all of the above can be expanded on for pages on
end but suffice it to say these are the basic problems, often occurring in combinations between two given
locations.**When someone hands in a poor sweep trace, or low inputs to a given active, or low outputs at a given
end of line tap, it should be accompanied by documentation as to the cause.
Joined
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1,544 Posts
Nearly 20 years operating computers when a megabyte was refrigerator size, before PCs. A few years in Real Estate for some quick bucks. Then 20 years as an interior painter of faux finishes & basic murals.
Now designing for my on-line gift store with over 10k products & growing. Pariseau's Market
Retired
Now designing for my on-line gift store with over 10k products & growing. Pariseau's Market
Retired
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21,195 Posts
I'm not able to see that in my future....retirement that is.
Joined
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12,350 Posts
Ben hit it. Our new techs will ask me a question, and I ask them if they have checked our KB or Googled it.
I've also worked in the insurance industry for ten years. In Australia, I worked for the NSW Police, the transport industry, and the Australian Electoral Commission. While working at a bike shop there, I ran my own online business importing cycling gear. Before moving there, I purchased the entire stock of a bicycle brand that had gone out of business, and sold it online to finance my six week vacation to New Zealand and Australia. The bicycle industry has treated me extremely well.
I've also worked in the insurance industry for ten years. In Australia, I worked for the NSW Police, the transport industry, and the Australian Electoral Commission. While working at a bike shop there, I ran my own online business importing cycling gear. Before moving there, I purchased the entire stock of a bicycle brand that had gone out of business, and sold it online to finance my six week vacation to New Zealand and Australia. The bicycle industry has treated me extremely well.
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5,147 Posts
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1,973 Posts
My first career was as a draftsman. This was back in the day when you used pencil, paper and triangles... and or course erasures. Then one day somewhere around 1986 the company I worked for bought a PC based CAD system (AutoCAD) to do our drawing with. I totally fell in love computers. I began tweaking, customizing and programming the CAD system to the point where you would enter a couple parameters and it would do the drawing for you and spit out a sales quote and bill of materials for the order dept. That was the beginning of my career as a software developer.
Six years of night school scored me a degree in Applied Computer Science. Since then I've worked at several dot com companies back in the 90's, IBM for a while. Then a 'sentence' in the wealth management area of one of the countries largest banks. I call it a sentence because when I interviewed there I was asked if it would make me crazy if things that should take 30 minutes to do, wind up taking weeks due to 'corporate process' and paperwork. I said no, and she said give it time it will. She was right. But when you work on the software that manages 180 billion dollars of trust funds that's the way it goes. Took 6 years but I finally figured out I wasn't cut out for large company corporate culture.
I now work at a small insurance company building and maintaining the software that manages customer policies, claims, etc. On the side I also build and manage websites for several non-profits that I'm involved in.
Six years of night school scored me a degree in Applied Computer Science. Since then I've worked at several dot com companies back in the 90's, IBM for a while. Then a 'sentence' in the wealth management area of one of the countries largest banks. I call it a sentence because when I interviewed there I was asked if it would make me crazy if things that should take 30 minutes to do, wind up taking weeks due to 'corporate process' and paperwork. I said no, and she said give it time it will. She was right. But when you work on the software that manages 180 billion dollars of trust funds that's the way it goes. Took 6 years but I finally figured out I wasn't cut out for large company corporate culture.
I now work at a small insurance company building and maintaining the software that manages customer policies, claims, etc. On the side I also build and manage websites for several non-profits that I'm involved in.
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12,350 Posts
IndustryOutsider.com needs a Poolie.
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