I have a fun job. \u00a0Simply put, I’m a Test Engineer. \u00a0(^_^)<\/p>\n
Now, I’m not exactly an on-paper engineer. \u00a0I kinda don’t have that degree thingy or something. (>_<)<\/p>\n
But, I do all the stuff. \u00a0Programming, mechanical design, and electrical design. \u00a0The production floor out here is loaded with tests and equipment I’ve created. =^-^=<\/p>\n
What drives me nutzo is how I have to deal with getting the information I need to make the tests I do. \u00a0Thing is, communication out here is nightmarishly bad. \u00a0I have to practically reverse engineer every product I develop for. (>_<)<\/p>\n
Today it was a GPS device. \u00a0Designed in Australia to be produced here in America. \u00a0It has 2 GPS boards and a radio modem for receiving error corrections from another GPS “base”. \u00a0It’s more simple than the things I’ve worked with in the past, so, I figured the test I’d develop would be simpler as well. (^_^)<\/p>\n
Then the interconnect board caught fire. (O.o)<\/p>\n
So now I get to tell the design engineer that the thermal\u00a0dissipation\u00a0for the voltage regulator is not enough to survive over-volt conditions… Like, say, a tractor with battery problems. (>_<)<\/p>\n
And, that’s the fun part. \u00a0It’s almost my job to point and laugh at the bad board design because of how I quickly found a way to blow it up. XD<\/p>\n
The main reason I catch things like that is that I’m ‘flying blind’. \u00a0That’s to say, I I’m not told how the devices actually work. \u00a0I almost always have to sort it out for myself with little more than a power cable and a schematic. \u00a0And, a lot of GPS is voodooblackmagicmojo. DX<\/p>\n
Lots of times I find myself faced with a new gadget that has ump-teen different communication ports, different output voltages, strange analogue properties, RF noise issues, or (like today) protective circuitry that’s supposed to prevent damage under nearly any condition. =^-^=<\/p>\n
I gotta say, I enjoy the heck out of it. XD<\/p>\n
It’s like every new device is another toy to play with and find various ways to break. =^-^=<\/p>\n
When I introduce myself, I normally say “If you smell smoke; it’s me!” XD<\/p>\n
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I have a fun job. \u00a0Simply put, I’m a Test Engineer. \u00a0(^_^) Now, I’m not exactly an on-paper engineer. \u00a0I kinda don’t have that degree thingy or something. (>_<) But, I do all the stuff. \u00a0Programming, mechanical design, and electrical … Continue reading