This had nothing to do with GPS. It was an off the shelf, customer configurable, diversity Telemetry system. The 10 MHz came from other equipment. It could be configured from 1 KHz to 40 MHz bandwidth fo it could be applied to anything from tracking a deep space probe with low data rate telemetry, to remote controlled weapons. They didn't tell us what they were used for, or how they were used. All they did was sometimes requset a feature not programmed into a standard unit. It was the last new design I worked on.
-0400 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:
There is the one side which says "make it good, and get it to last". There is the other side which wants it "soon" to last "long enough". I recall reports of a determination by various War Department Planners which determined that the "life expectancy" of combat aircraft was limited to N hours. Ergo, it was not "cost effective" to build aircraft which would "last" for 2N hours, if half the useful life was not going to be used. And there is the story of Henry Ford, who sent Engineers out to the junk yards to find the parts which weren't breaking on his automobiles. Those parts were "over built", so they could be less "well made", and saving the Company money in the process. What's the old saw - that eighty percent of the cost is in the next decimal place.
-- pyotr filipivich "With Age comes Wisdom. Although more often, Age travels alone."
It's that aspect of old cars which I do NOT miss at all. I'm very happy today without any grease under my fingernails, TYVM. I would, however, like to be able to maintain my vehicles if necessary. I'm not sure I'd be happy doing a valve job on the Tundra's 4-valve-per-cyl heads, though. It keeps me conservative in my maintenance schedule, both time- and mileage-wise.
The problem with that is that in reality, the service lifetime is almost always exceeded, causing greater-than-necessary maintenance costs and labor.
Ol' Henry wasn't perfect, by any means, but I'm sure that little story was put out by competitors. If you look at the history of GM vehicles in the Consumer Reports User Satisfaction charts for many decades, you'll find them to be nearly the worst of the bunch. Japanese cars joined them in the late '60s and '70s, then they swapped ends of the spectrum, becoming the best of the best, leaving GM on the bottom end again. The ease of maintenance and longevity were two reasons (Dad and) I chose Fords over other brands early on. I owned 2 used GM products and would never own another, unless it was a free gift -and- the SHTF/TEOTWAWKI had already begun. Um, and there was a GM junk yard/parts store right next door. OTOH, I'd rather change a GM than a Ford water pump on the side of the road... I was working as a lube monkey for a GM dealer (my very first job out of tech school) when the campaigns came in to replace all motor mounts on all vehicles, and add a cable tiedown to the left mount. That was a true PITA.
That has been true in the extreme, but the advent of CNC machining has lessened it, at least on the bottom-to-middle end. It has provided more accuracy without an increase in price, and usually a decrease. Tenths and microns are still pretty damned expensive, though.
On Friday, September 26, 2014 12:32:23 PM UTC+2, Lloyd E. Sponenburgh wrote :
Don't get me started. I have a good friend who has a high position in aviat ion safety engineering. He has such an astoundingly poor understanding of b asic physics, mechanics, and electricity that I don't understand how he eve n manages his household, let alone his job . Many examples, but one day we were talking about car brakes, and I mentioned that the rear discs were typ ically smaller than the front ones. He had no clue as to why that should be . Still, he makes way more money than me. My practical knowledge seems to h ave thwarted my joining the 1%, but I have friends in the 0.1% who say that when the shit really does hit the fan, then it's going to be good old Rob who gets them through it. I like that.
Don't get me started. I have a good friend who has a high position in aviation safety engineering. He has such an astoundingly poor understanding of basic physics, mechanics, and electricity that I don't understand how he even manages his household, let alone his job . Many examples, but one day we were talking about car brakes, and I mentioned that the rear discs were typically smaller than the front ones. He had no clue as to why that should be. Still, he makes way more money than me. My practical knowledge seems to have thwarted my joining the 1%, but I have friends in the 0.1% who say that when the shit really does hit the fan, then it's going to be good old Rob who gets them through it. I like that.
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In my experience the most capable engineers resist being moved into management, so the less qualified ones become the bosses.
I think the answer is that we should *collect* those old things, admire them and shine them up on weekends, and show them off when the neighbors come over.
And then put them back in the garage or basement, and drive away in our new cars that we hardly have to touch.
iation safety engineering. He has such >an astoundingly poor understanding of >basic physics, mechanics, and >electricity that I don't understand how
Well in any event, fitting traditional credentials and keeping the correct connections *ON PAPER* is usually enough to get and keep a respected place in any profession.
I've been making the rounds of dealerships to price a few parts and to see what I might want if a tree fell on my car (the wind is roaring outside right now). They are telling me that it's a good thing they don't need much because any serious work requires connection to the computer to reprogram it. I could still replace plugs and brakes and belts, but not too much else like the new ignition system I put in my truck.
Well, it's good to know that republicans spend time with yard work. I figu red that wasn't the case when Mitt Romney was caught setting an example of hiring people with disputed social security numbers to do that kind of work .
WAY too true. The good engineers (among other disciplines) don't have a stomach for the politics and bullshit that is involved, generally, in a management position. They know what they are good at - and prefer to stay with that.
Those who are not so good at what they do move up to something else.
Cars, we agree, are better. My last car went twelve years with only a starter motor failure. Died of rust in salted-road country. When I was in the trade 45 years ago, a car that made 100,000 miles without major mechanical work was nearly unheard-of.
OTOH, household stuff ain't so good. I recently retired a recliner chair when the recliner mechanism broke terminally. It's Naugahyde upholstry was cracked here and there but intact. 44 years old. The new one is three years old and the surface has worn off the fake leather upholstry everwhere the sitter's body touches it. The seat shape is better -- nearly therapeutic for aging joints -- but it looks like something found in a alley.
My electric toaster was 100 years old last year. How long does a toaster last today? My inherited blender, circa 1950 model, broke. We went through three new blenders before I got serious, repaired the old one. Repair is three or four years old now.
Oh, well, my perceptions are probaly distorted. As a blacksmith, the average age of a tool in my shop is probably in excess of 50 years, all the newish mechanic's and power tools notwithstanding. Hey, I have a Black & Decker 1/2" electric drill and B&D end grinder that are going strong -- models advertised for sale in a 1925 catalog.
Nah, I think your perceptions are right. Small electric appliances are often real junk these days. I don't know why, except that they also tend to be very cheap.
On Monday, September 22, 2014 6:31:43 PM UTC-4, Lloyd E. Sponenburgh wrote: .... ..... I have a 1948 Meteor SP (1/2-frame 35) rotary focal plane
A bit late to the game, but I have a Universal Camera Corp Mercury II, Mode l CX, also a rotary shutter 1/2 frame 35mm. It was Dad's, so I'm unsure wh en it was made. Late 40's, I think. I used it all thru high school. I don' t think the film advance works anymore, but I sure ran some Tri-X thru it b ack in the day. It's just a shelf nick-knack / keepsake now.
I also have his Kodak Medalist 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 baby press camera. Supposedly it was the last one off the line before the Navy started taking all of 'em for ship's cameras. The leather case has a steel liner. Somewhere around here there's a repair manual for it, stamped 'Classified'.
He was the yard photographer at Norfolk Naval Shipyard when the US entered the war.
Look back at what a toaster, electric mixer, or, horror of horrors, a blender or food processor cost in the fifties or sixties. You can buy them for the same price today (or less) No wonder the one from the fifties will still outlast the new one....
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