Originally Posted by hobiepilot

It is scary to see NUMEROUS u-tube videos in which the subjects demonstrate their vast knowledge of raw materials, and mechanical assembly skills, with a beer can, a screw-on plastic cap, a ice-pick, and a hot melt glue gun, to "build" something equally useless. Solution: Buy a kit, look at the pictures, follow the instructions.. and start at the beginning!

Other examples?: Conducting interviews for "Electronic Tech" job. Graduate of tech school says, "what is that one, with 3 wires?" "Uh, that's a transistor". Her reply, "Oh, is THAT what they look like!?!"

Conducting interviews for a machinist position. Applicants were given a simple machined part, the drawing, a dial caliper, and a mic... and asked if the part was within spec. Result? Too often, not a clue. The calipers and mic could have been alien chain-saws. Pretty sad!

Visiting my daughter's HS open house (circa 1990), I spoke with their "Industrial Arts" teacher. "Do you have a selection of mills and lathes?" Answer: "Oh no! The kids could get hurt on those things!"

If people gain some basic skills.. and have learned about success and failure AND LEARNING in general.. say by being involved in model building and R/C.. it spills over into all kinds of things in life. Playing with video games, or i-phones, and removing a ARF from a box? Not so much! And if you compare how many kids built models from the 20s and 30s and on.. and looked at US tech and mfg production, there was a strong correlation. Where will we be, when no one knows how to operate a screw driver?

I've had a similar experience with interviewing for a draftsman. I give the interviewee a sheet a paper, a ruler, a pencil, and a part and ask them to sketch an ortho of it in 1:2 scale. About 1/3 of the applicants can comprehend and do the problem.

I keep telling the local trade school to send me someone who can interpret engineering and machinist calculations into drawing, we don't need "graphical designers" or web developers.

Originally Posted by hobiepilot

I thought about a reply to this. Then bailed.. but I see another reference to it. I'll try to make this short, IT IS NOT! LOL

Simpler times?? RITFLOL!

TX and RX technologies: Ground based transmitters/boat anchors, Vacuum tubes, transistors, Integrated circuits, micro-processors. Super-regen, Super-Het receivers, Non-crystal controlled, crystal controlled, synthesized frequency, and channel hopping-w/tx-rx binding, SBUS.

Carrier: Un-modulated CW, AM, FM, and now spread spectrum Dolby.. and the occasional FAA-FCC spy satellite overhead... or in your face.

Bands: 27 MC (Mega Cycles, before name change to Hertz!), 72MHz, 75 MHz, 2.4GHz.. plus several Amateur radio bands. Wide band, narrow band, Peter, Paul and Mary singing, "How many times must a plane go down...?" Signal to noise ratios. JUST noise ratios! "Breaker one-nine.. you got a copy??"

Modulation: Keyed carrier, fixed tone (any tone), Copper-Tone, Reeds (6-10 preset tones, decoded with a vibrating reed set in the receiver), Galloping Ghost for REM, Analog (high speed 'decoded' GG), pulse train/digital proportional (Pulse position Modulation), Pulse Code modulation, various fail safe modes, fail safe modes that didn't. Positive shift, Negative shift, and auto detect... and long night shifts.

Programming: Doesn't work, does work, might work, should work, works part of the time, doesn't work correctly, repeatably, or with sufficient range, and the ever popular, "it WAS working!". One push button, 2 buttons, toggle switches, spring-loaded pots with levers, joy-sticks (1, 2, 3 axis, or broken), ***TRIM***!!! Mode 1, Mode 2, single stick. Then.. reversible, end points, differential, expo, mixing of every different possibility, timers, beepers, cute Stewardesses, serving coffee, PO'ed wives/GFs, planes eaten by hogs, trees, neighbor dogs, screen doors.. or aliens!

Power: Wet cells, dry cells, gooey cells, alkaline batteries, bad switches, broken wires, bad connectors, ** NI-CADS **!! Bad Ni-Cads.. CHARGED Ni-Cads! Ni-Mh, Lipos, Li Ion, Li Fe.. puffed batteries, FLAMING batteries!! solar cells, and nuclear (if you live in Japan).

Actuators: Rubber powered clock-works (Escapements), multi-escapements, pulsed magnetic actuators, motor driven no-feedback (fixed center-full travel, or non centering, move/stay on command, move W/O command!, Center-tapped motor driven (4+ wires), H-bridge feedback proportional (3-wire), coreless motors, digital servos for PCM.

Options: AMA "if found-Reward" stickers, beepers, trackers, lights, bombs, smoke, DESIRED smoke!, retracts, brakes, flaps, glow igniters, mixture control, open stacks, throttle linked baffles, mufflers, cash-o-lytic converters, LHS, overnight shipping, spoilers, parachute deploy, parachute didn't deploy!, still frame film cameras, digital cameras, DVRs, FPV, GPS, OSD, gyros, auto-pilots, from "interrupted free-flight, to full blown autonomous"... controlled flight, to uh.. un-controlled!! Pre-bagged crash remains, ... Mono-Kote! And pretty much everything in between. And of course.. RCG to provide opinions, sometimes assistance, and a few preachers w/15% nitro Holy water. The 12 step program! Homeless assistance. New and promising... medications. Divorce lawyers. Extra divorce lawyers, Arbitration for who gets the Extra 300.

Once again.. which was the SIMPLE part? Cox .049 spring starters.. for when the engines were so worn out they had no compression? Or those days, when you came home after 12 perfect flights.. with nothing broken, or lost. And you can still see it as the sun goes down, and you flare for that last landing! If we could only post THOSE pictures!! Priceless!!

The more I read the more I laughed, had to stop to wipe the tears from my eyes.... I'm pretty sure I aced this... Yup know every one of those "things" some of them from waaaaaaayyyyy back.

Not only gonna quote this, gonna copy and paste it and save for posterity.

Knocked it outta the park Hobie.

Mark

o_c

Originally Posted by old_coastie

... had to stop to wipe the tears from my eyes....
Mark

o_c

"I didn't mean to make you cry..."?? Borrowing a quote I've heard from the R/C gods all too often. I'm sure you've heard it before too! We all have!

As for the note?? Well, just about every time I get my fingers un-bonded from the CA, they want to play on the keyboard.

What did ALL OF US not know, when we got into R/C ?? A sense of humor is a absolute requirement.. and for all the patching, a few laughs can go a long way. I'll have Jason enter your test score! Well done! I wondered how many would relate!

But I really do appreciate the compliment. You won't believe the ball of striping tape I've got here, from that one! Jerry

Originally Posted by scottrc78

... I keep telling the local trade school to send me someone who can interpret engineering and machinist calculations into drawing, we don't need "graphical designers" or web developers.

After I retired, I saw an ad in the local paper, for the same Ivy Tech school, who had "graduated" my clueless interviewee. I love to teach. They were seeking instructors! I called up.. and they said, "You have to have your Masters degree".

I might have suggested they get people who actually knew the subject matter. Instead of...

"Yesterday I couldn't spell ingin ear and today I are one..."

To always keep a bottle of Acetone and some napkins or paper towels handy to clean the CA and other goop off my hands, floor, desk, airplanes, and on and on and on lol.

Harbor Freight would come to know you by your first name.

Originally Posted by foamnpacktape

Meh, still better off, eternal life and all that.

Build a man a fire and he will be warm for a day.

Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

Originally Posted by Ira NZ

Build a man a fire and he will be warm for a day.

Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

Reminded me of this poem. Johnny reads as well as he sings.

The Cremation of Sam McGee - Read By Johnny Cash (5 min 36 sec)

Broken flyers and funeral pyres?
Be Free.. our crunched R/C..!

When the thumbs gone numb, or the brain got dumb
their fate a death may be!

But there we are, ashamed and tired
to of this pain be free

We strike a match, but she just won't catch
Oh.. NO nitro meth oline !?!?

How can she go, without a glow
To set its soul be free?

You need a fire? Just TWIST THE WIRES...
and be ready.... to flee!

Out with the old for Lipo gold, the new technology?
Just be aware, this one will...
Void the warranty.

Hobiepilot

Poet Laurate of RCG

Yah gotta be at least a wee bit Irish.

o_c

about half

depending on the empty can count ;-)

We were supposed to count?

p.s. Need time to reply to your PM... spontaneous ruminations are best when rehearsed.

o_c

don't be filing any lawsuits, just because I don't fly EDFs! And after watching the guy on the beach, I doubt I'll be starting any time soon! I kept hoping HIS wires would get crossed!

There's one we didn't count on. How many of those guys would be in the hobby! A hole lot.. more than expected.

Originally Posted by hobiepilot

don't be filing any lawsuits, just because I don't fly EDFs! And after watching the guy on the beach, I doubt I'll be starting any time soon! I kept hoping HIS wires would get crossed!

There's one we didn't count on. How many of those guys would be in the hobby! A hole lot.. more than expected.

Even your edits are entertaining... "We" don't talk about "that" guy... And yeah I didn't see that coming... Good with the bad, way more good than bad, but some of the bad is horrible...

Mark