Posts by PBXTech

Nothing's working, and I've checked everything, so it must be YOUR fault

Re: Several times...

Lost track of how many time that, per contract, I had to bill "portal-to-portal travel + 2hr minimum" for a site visit that showed on the "Resolution" as "Troubleshoot/Repair open circuit".

This was our code for "Drove 100 miles one-way to plug phone cord back into wall jack". We couldn't do it for free, but really hated to see some poor receptionist get canned over not noticing that the plug wasn't fully seated in the jack.

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On a more technical side, the old AT&T/Lucent/Avaya SCC cabinets (and the newer G650 carriers which replaced them) in a stack configuration have a ribbon cable which connects the carriers together.

More specifically, the architecture is a common TDM bus. Each carrier has two TDM bus connectors. A single-cabinet has a terminator plug on both bus connectors. Adding a cabinet requires removing a terminator, installing the TDM Bus cable between the cabinets, and moving the terminator to the unused connector on the new cabinet.

Both the terminator plugs and the ribbon cable have an arrow embossed in them. Unfortunately, it is physically possible to install a terminator or cable in the wrong orientation, resulting in dead cabinets, really weird system behavior, etc....

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Site visit for a totally down PBX. As we are heading for the comm room, my escort mentions something to the effect of "Bad enough that the network servers are down due to a failed UPS, but just too much to lose the PBX at the same time".

Me:

"So you lost the (huge single "room") UPS and all your servers went dark, and the PBX in the next room went down at the same time?"

Escort:

"Yep. Servers tend to do that when they dont have power...Oh F**k. Bet I know where the PBX rack is powered from..."

Me:

"I think I have a pretty good idea as well."

About a month later I was back there with a truckload of rack-mount UPS units, PDUs, and EBMs to install. Seems that the "Whole room UPS" crowd lost out to the "Multiple UPS systems with bypass switches" crowd.

Pulling down a partition or knocking through a door does not necessarily make for a properly connected workspace

Re: Putting walls up!

New security door for the server room. All high-tech with keypad entry on the outside and an Egress Button on the inside...with a wall that went up to the drop ceiling...and stopped.

Several unhappy management types after I demonstrated that I could grab a ladder, pop a ceiling tile outside the door with my hand, gently lever up a tile with a screwdriver on the inside of the room, then simply poke the Egress Button with a broom handle, use my foot to open the door, then let it close on the broom handle.

After the wall was extended up to the hard ceiling, I just went back to my old method of sliding a credit card down the gap between door and jamb until it released the striker...

Re: I remember Grandma's houses wiring

Nothing intrinsically wrong with K&T wiring. They generally used a large enough conductor to avoid most problems.

The problem generally comes in back at the fusebox full of the old screw-in fuses. Fuse keeps blowing? Obviously, you need a higher amperage fuse. If it STILL blows, then you obviously need some fingernail polish.

(Glue a penny a bit off-center to the end of the fuse with the fingernail polish, then run it on in, back it off, then run it on in again. Running it all the way in breaks the fingernail polish, backing it off allows the penny to fall, running it back in locks the penny between the bottom and the center contacts of the fuse holder.

Anybody know what the ampacity rating is for a solid copper US 1-Cent coin?

In the US, you would use a "Three-Way Switch"...Double pole/Double throw.

In a nutshell, You are toggling back and forth between two terminals. One switch is wired to power and the other to the light. In operation, Switch A sends power to the other switch over Lead A, leaving Lead B cold. If Switch B is set to connect to Lead A the light is on. Toggle it to Lead B and the light is off. Toggle it back to Lead A and the light comes back on.

Assume that Switch B is now toggled to Lead B, leaving the light off. Go to the OTHER switch and flip it. This routes power to Lead B instead, turning the light back on.

This configuration requires what we in the US call a "traveler"...an extra hot lead between the switches. Instead of the standard White/Black/Bare or White/Black/Green (Neutral/Hot/Ground) you instead use (generally) White/Black/Red/Green (Neutral/Hot1/Hot2/Ground.

To add to the confusion, a standard residence in the US is actually wired for 240...we just use half of it. A standard residential panel is wired for 240V/200A. The difference is that the pole transformer is center-tapped to provide a Neutral. Incoming to the panel are two phases, a Neutral, and a ground. Between either phase and Neutral is 120, between the two phases is 240. In theory, Neutral and Ground should be at the same (lack of) potential. Neutral is the return path, Ground is safety if you lose the Neutral. The service panel has a bus for each phase, with each 120 breaker picking up an alternate phase. A 240 breaker is basically just two adjacent breakers ganged together to provide 2 hots instead of 1.

High-current appliances (water heaters, furnace, air conditioning, range top, oven, etc.) are generally 240, with everything else being 120. To allow for internal 120 circuits within an appliance (oven timer, oven light, etc. current code requires that the Neutral be present in a 240 receptacle, even if not used. This means that opening up a 240 junction box will most likely reveal a Neutral, 2 hots, and a ground...White/Black/Red/Green...just like the box on the wall for your 3-way (120) light switch.

The old standard did NOT require a Neutral, so you would just find Hot1/Hot2/Ground...Black/Red/Green. If the device required 120 internally, they just used the Ground as a return path. This could cause unpleasant surprises while working in the box, as lifting the ground connection from the ground bus resulted in a bright flash and an ENERGIZED BARE CONDUCTOR running around in your breaker panel.

I am NOT an electrician. I generally work with 48VDC, and only see 90-120VAC when the phone rings...I do Telecom. Electrical knowledge is courtesy of the US Navy, as is the Telecom. (FWIW, Navy ships are all 480V, 3-phase, 60 Hz, then we do the same weird shit for 240/120 equipment. I've sat switchboard watch with 8MW worth of steam turbine generators online and paralleled.)

Space Force is go, go, go! Because we have a child as President of the United States

Re: Deception

BINGO!

Many DoD/Intelligence assets in orbit. All this does is take related functions scattered between various agencies and consolidate them.

I'd say that this a first step towards admitting that we have had the capabilities for many years to make things in orbit which we don't like permanently disappear. No secret that the US has had ABM capabilities for decades. Really think we can't extend that out another hundred miles and take out something in a known orbit?

For that matter, think we don't have sats in orbit as we speak that can take out another sat? All it takes is a few pounds of ball bearings and a difference in velocity.

Starliner: Boeing, Boeing... it's back! Borked capsule makes a successful return to Earth

I've known bosses who would have given you 100% of the commission on the second screw-up...as well as Bernard's office as soon as he got his personal belongings out of it after being terminated.

It’s been two years since net neutrality was killed in the US. Let’s celebrate by having another fight over it

As far as I am concerned, the less federal regulations, the better.

Just like the cell phone companies, the market will force them to self-regulate. If Company A and Company B both offer a comparable product, and Company B offers it for a better price, then Company A will review and drop their pricing or add something of value to what the offer in order to compete.

Another user mentioned the "patchwork of state laws" as a bad thing. In truth, this is the way it is SUPPOSED to be. The Constitution specifically lists functions which the Federal government is empowered to perform. Anything not enumerated as a function of the federal government is supposed to be "reserved to the states and to the people". The intent was for residents of a state to be able to control the laws which governed them.

Polls are pretty much worthless. To use a hot-button example... "Should private ownership of firearms be legal". If you poll 100 people showing up at the local gun range on a Saturday morning, you will get one answer. If you poll 100 people showing up at a rally paid for by Handgun Control, Inc., you will get another answer.

As far as Democrat Vs. Republican votes go, if you were to remove all votes within 50 miles of the East and West coasts, you couldn't get a Democrat elected as dogcatcher in this country.

Confused why Trump fingered CrowdStrike in that Ukraine call? You're not the only one...

Re: Look behind the curtain

"Crowdstrike are the Clinton linked “cyber-security” company which provided the “forensic data” to the FBI on the alleged Russian hack of the DNC servers – data which has been analysed by my friend Bill Binney, former Technical Director of the NSA, who characterises it as showing speeds of transfer impossible by internet and indicating a download to an attached drive."

Is this where I bring up Seth Rich, DNC employee gunned down in Washington DC during a "failed robbery attempt" in which nothing was apparently taken? There is a "conspiracy theory" that Seth Rich was the insider who actually pulled the files.

Police say nothing was taken because he still had his wallet, keys, cell phone, etc. What they do NOT know is what ELSE of value which he may have had on his person. Is it possible that the robbers got exactly what they were looking for and ignored the rest?

Something like, perhaps, a thumb drive or external SSD?

Time for another cuppa then? Tea-drinkers have better brains, say boffins with even better brains

Re: Smarts drink tea or Drink tea makes smarts

I'm a coffee drinker. The coffee pot makes 72 oz. of coffee and shuts off automatically after two hours. Is it a bad thing if I have to turn if off then back on in order for it to brew my second morning pot?

Is it a bad thing that I generally go through 3-4 pots per day, more if performing work requiring thought?

My brain is non-linear and very ADHD. This is a positive thing. 10 linear thinkers with similar training and background will generally give you the same answer to a given question. I probably won't.

I've finally got my managers trained on how to "manage" my tasks. Tell me what the problem is, tell me what the desired end result is, give me all available information, then leave me alone.

Wake me up before you Gogo ... so I can jump out: Kenyan MP takes on aeroplane flatulence

Sounds like my US Navy days. Ship hits port, 3/4 of the crew hits the beach for fast food and beer. Some hours later, a bunch of broke and drunken sailors return to the ship and hit their racks. Shortly thereafter, the air in the Engineering berthing area became somewhat thick.

For those who have never been on a ship, they stack the bunks 3-high in two end-to-end rows with a 3-foot aisle between them. End result is 12 guys sleeping in a 7X12 foot area. Same arrangement is repeated all down the main 4-foot aisle. Kind of like a main road with a bunch of cul-de-sacs.

Thankfully, the gyrocompass equipment and the PBX required air conditioning...And there was just enough space down in the shop to stretch out with blanket and pillow behind the workbench.

Mazatlán was probably the worst that I can remember. About 75 engineering types returning after a night of Mexican food, bad water, and cheap beer...

Pro tip: Plug in your Tesla S when clocking off, lest you run out of juice mid hot pursuit

Re: Due To Police Incompetence

I am really enjoying the current run of electrical puns....

Comms room, comms room, comms room is on fire – we don't need no water, let the engineer burn

Re: P.C's dont' really burn - Do they?

Not sure how Halon works in a server room. I'm hoping it is different than it was on an older US Navy ship in the Fire Room or Engine room.

1) Hit the button. alarms sound and supply ventilation dampers close/fans stop.

2) Delay to evacuate the space. Exhaust ventilation system still running.

3) Quantity of Halon almost equal to the volume of the space is released.

4) Delay while air is displaced through ventilation exhaust vents.

5) Exhaust fans shut down, exhaust dampers close.

By the time the sequence is complete, you have an oxygen level insufficient to support a fire (or life) and a sealed compartment filled with Halon at a very slight overpressure. Now you just wait for things to cool off completely before aligning the ventilation to purge the space.

Obviously, the Halon was a last resort triggered as the firefighting teams evacuated after failing to control the fire.

Never underestimate the usefulness of 15-20 high-pressure Halon bottles about the same size as you dumped into a space which can be made pretty much airtight.

Owner of Smuggler's Inn B&B ordered to put up a sign warning guests not to cross into Canada

"Most British Columbians just go over the border to Washington State to get cheap gas (petrol) since our gas is $1.72 CAN a litre whereas Washington state is $1.05 CAN a litre or even less in some places!"

Unfortunately, some of them bring their attitudes with them. Remember standing in line to buy cigs at a convenience store in Blaine listening to a gal (old enough to know better) literally SCREAMING at the cashier for trying to rip her off.

The alleged crime was trying to charge her like $26.00 for $20.00 worth of gasoline. She just couldn't/wouldn't understand that the CANADIAN $20.00 bill she handed the clerk was worth about $15.00 US. Worst thing about it is that I could save money by driving 30 miles south to get gas...Blaine gas prices are about the highest in WA state...wonder why.

It's not just gas. I've seen cars with back seats filled with groceries, especially milk and eggs.

Interesting trying to get a doctor's appointment within 50 miles of the border, as there seems to be an issue with the Canadian "free health care for all" which makes paying cash to a US doctor a better alternative. It could be that calling in and getting a doctor's appointment for the next day is the norm, rather than the exception.

Weirdest thing is that there is apparently something about crossing the border which affects Canadian drivers in a negative manner. I know for a fact that streets north of the border in Canada come equipped with stop lights, stop signs, speed limit signs, etc. Never could figure out why cars with Canadian plates always seemed to have difficulty figuring these signs out when in the US.

Re: Jurisdiction?

"Presumably the owner is accused of a crime in Canada and is currently physically in custody in Canada. If they wish to be granted bail, and to be allowed to leave the country to cross back to the USA, one would expect the bail conditions to be onerous."

They probably nabbed him when he entered Canada to mow that little strip of grass between the rocks and the road...

Out-of-office email ping-pong fills server after server over festive break

Re: Been there

Know of system that used to be set up to auto-generate a trouble ticket when a message was received in a specific mailbox. It would then email the ticket number back to the email that the request was sent from.

That concept went away after several instances where customers sent emailed requests from their help desks, which of course had an auto-reply to tell you that they had received your email.

So they would send an email, the ticket was generated, and the ticket number was sent back to the customer. Their system received the email and auto-replied. Of course the auto-reply generated a new ticket, with accompanying email back to the customer with the new ticket number....

Wanna guess how many trouble tickets can be generated by dueling email servers over a three-day holiday weekend?

Beyond code PEBCAK lies KMACYOYO, PENCIL and PAFO

Not an acronym, or even computer-related, but...

While working for a small telecom interconnect many years ago, had quite a few tickets which I closed as "Troubleshoot non-working phone to electrical open in line cord".

While it was occasionally an actual faulty cord, it generally meant:

"Didn't want to get the customer's employee canned by documenting that I drove 60 miles one-way on a ticket with a per-mile trip charge and 1-hr minimum labor charge to discover that her phone had come unplugged from the wall jack"

Hawaiian fake nukes alert caused by fat-fingered fumble of garbage GUI

Perhaps we are over-thinking this a bit. Is the whole alert thing really necessary?

You are on an ISLAND. There is an inbound multi-megaton nuclear weapon. Where exactly do you plan to GO?

Meteor swarm spawns new and dangerous branch

Re: "we will wake up to this threat only when half a continent has been erased from existence"

CustardGannet said:

"(We all know which half I'm talking about - and it's not the ice-hockey-playing half.)"

Isn't just horrible when your children get mad at you, move out on their own, refuse to move back even when you try to kick down their door and force them to, then do BETTER than you ever thought of?

Isn't even more horrible when your nasty neighbors come calling and you have to beg your children to come back and protect you...Twice?

Greetings from the States! :)