# High Impedance Air Gap



## MircleWorker (Mar 20, 2006)

Tonight I had a public forum, they wanted the Lectern on the other side of the stage. Well, I forgot to plug it in. So they started to speak and no voice into the sound console and PA, Oh Well. Except, the Superintendent was mad. Oh, Well


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## AVGuyAndy (Mar 20, 2006)

MircleWorker said:


> Tonight I had a public forum, they wanted the Lectern on the other side of the stage. Well, I forgot to plug it in. So they started to speak and no voice into the sound console and PA, Oh Well. Except, the Superintendent was mad. Oh, Well



That's not a very good attitude to have about this situation. Getting the superintendent mad is something you should not be proud of. I know our Asst. Superintendent well, and he wrote me a great college letter of reccomendation, and he definately helped me in getting a special award, which I will be receiving in a few weeks. (Acutally, early in the morning after the first show of the musical I am LD for...ugh)


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## Pie4Weebl (Mar 20, 2006)

A the High Ipediance Air Gap, what a fine expression.


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## len (Mar 21, 2006)

Did you manually calibrate it into place, or use a high impact device?


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## MircleWorker (Mar 21, 2006)

AVGuyAndy said:


> That's not a very good attitude to have about this situation. Getting the superintendent mad is something you should not be proud of. I know our Asst. Superintendent well, and he wrote me a great college letter of reccomendation, and he definately helped me in getting a special award, which I will be receiving in a few weeks. (Acutally, early in the morning after the first show of the musical I am LD for...ugh)


I feel he, superintendent, will get over it. I'm not going to loose any sleep that I made a mistake. I don't mind being humbled now and then. It just goes to show you that the simplest of shows you could still mess up on.


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## Mayhem (Mar 21, 2006)

len said:


> Did you manually calibrate it into place, or use a high impact device?



How does that old saying go - "Hammer to fit, paint to match"


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## ship (Mar 21, 2006)

"Superintendant will get over it" - next time he needs you.

POW's in the Viet Nam war had this concept for interrogations that serve well for all tech people in advice much less career.

At times you fail, you break down and will given torture will sign anything or say anything just to make the pain go away. The next day you wake up with a fresh intent to do better and start over. The only ones under the pressure we and they had that fail are those who don’t learn or attempt to do better again. Had a vow at one point that I would never let anyone else do my wiring for imprtant projects for me.

Mad it again given I had to allow others to at the last minute help me. I was ready in my end of doing the wiring, others were not and necessitated me trusting others understanding of for me simple concepts. Again I was shown that while I did not do it, I was responsible for it and failed. Next day was a new day, I could either let this get me down and think that my boss that called me on what crap I had done that was now costing us time and money on the job site in being wrong, or continue on with my job to the best extent I could.

Next day I did get a call from the boss in requesting other work done for me. I have sufficient brownie points and or good work done that it’s known that while there is exceptions and things learned, on the whole what I do is good quality and worth me doing it. At the point where what I do is more wrong than right, than I and the boss worries as opposed to an intent to replace me. 

So the next day I woke up in having some serious not in theory stuff I did but stuff under my supervision done work done badly, than went on doing the best I could.

Sure, they found a Soco type plug mis-wired and I specifically had someone testing these outlets. Yep, they found some five conductor cable plugs mis-wired but it was three people including one semi-lighting prep person and two carpenters wiring these outlets given I thought good instructions as to what color wire went into what outlet. This given the person who gave me cable length not just once I re-did but twice changed in shortening the cable length thus I in the end had to have a crew of people cover for this other person’s shortfall in starting over again at the last minute. My cable was pre-wired and done correctly but twice had to cut the cable in installing new outlets on it so as to compensate for someone else now making me look bad having necessitated me having other people do my wiring or making me fall behind in being done.

There was a soco cable mis-pinned... grr, I had someone test all of these cables... There was a few 10/5 cables mis-wired... but it was only me and the other ME for the company inside the splice box... oh' wait a minute, there was a crew of three wiring the outlets on the female side at the last minute. Now which between a older former phone tech who has been around, the Master Carpenter, The Assistant Shop Manager and myself was doing these later re-pinned ends but did not understand fully? Could have been me on if one outlet but for a multitude, these senior staff people I trusted, amongst one of them, there was someone that does not understand basic wiring and this even more than a problem with the wiring is something to be concerned with given a trust level or expectation.

Still, I chose the people that did the wiring, taught them and was to supervise them to an extent I was not able in also doing the last minute re-wiring. This I accept responsibility for and what went out the door with my name on it was wrong. In the future hopefully as normal, I will re-assert that all important wiring will be done by me. This or I will supervise more as opposed to also getting work done. In general not an option but the more it happens, the more I will allow work to slow down in getting it correct the first time. I can teach anyone my job, just takes time I often don’t have more time of to ensure it was understood.

Next day, I woke up and tried harder but also did my best without worrying about yesterdays’s failings. Also made a choice in the type of splice I was splicing a solid core ballast wire to some stranded wires. Had a lot of help in the installation of these cap splices installed on fixtures with my name on them, but overall it was me supervising and teaching and inspecting, and the choice of what was used. Option of me only doing the splicing given time and overtime allowed was not an option but final responsibility for work done yesterday was still mine. I could have used wire nut that is known to come unscrewed, this cap splice that is not designed to crimp solid wires or a $12.00 per ten pack high temperature set screw based wire nut for these wires. (Let’s see, I will have needed about 250 of them. I chose both what was economical and for the most part would not unscrew for this it’s just a cap to a twisted set of wires. Some of these cap splices came loose and this caused endless problems. Could have been even by me a too tight crimp that broke the solid wire, could have been something not crimped enough that even if all fixtures were tested, while on the road to the show pulled loose. Yep, my name is mud to say the least with some on the tours crew. They understand the problems and will not have gone the more expensive option, still find my name as they for the most part should find me rational to their current pain.

Wake up the next day, continue with what I am needed to do and help specify what I’m next to be doing up until such a time I am no longer useful in doing stuff or specifying what parts are to used. Been playing this game in at times failing over 15 years now and as a ME for seven years now. I do my best and at times fail. I feel really concerned and bad about mistakes and remember them over good things done - the Low Pressure Sodium fixtures also sent out to the tour worked as expected yet it’s going to be the other fixtures that I will be remembered for. 

Do your best, at times you fail but the bulk and weight of your work hopefully is well considered in being at times brilliant, and hopefully while not as easily remembered, the bulk of your work in general will overshadow what work yep was a problem no matter your intent or how much you tried. 

Wake up, accept the responsibility and do better the next day. Buck stops with you. Done the damage or been in charge of it having done or not. Do your best in your career, don't play the blame game in other than accepting the responsibility for but specifying what went wrong, and wake up and do better the next day. It's a recipie for keeping your job over ensuring what you were not responsible for you don't get blamed for or accepting responsibility for everything in general.

Yep you screwed up, you will try better next time. This specicifically went wrong, these were the choices or other work load things involved in the situation that caused the problem and here is the intent to do better due to this happening. Should there be a specific person under you that screwed up, that person is your responsibility. If evident so far that you screwed up, it's either falling under your supervision or not. Hmm, can't figure out how that guide wire out of a Dragon Anti-Tank Missle got fed out of a 155mm cannon, still here is the datta from what we fired. If otherwise what was screwed up and under your supervison, blame with those above you stops with you and those under your supervision, their rear is your's not your boss's unless important to state that while their rear is yours, they were the final cause given in your part a lack of their supervision.

Big boss, crew chief, and tech people are pissed in what you probably were not responsible for doing, got done wrong. You in accepting overall responsibility for it give them what they need - nothing worse than a on the job site assumption of blame and denial of it. You specify what went wrong and accept overall responsibility for it both in what went wrong and what you will do better. There is in the end no better options available.


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## gafftaper (Mar 24, 2006)

I've always taught my crew students that the important thing is not the screw up, it's what you learn from it. Any time a student made a big mistake, I always sat down with them about what they could have done to avoid the problem. 

Your mistake? It wasn't that you forgot to plug in the Lectern. Your mistake was that you didn't have (or follow) a standard preshow test routine. We all forget to plug something in now in then, heck sometimes you've got it plugged in and it still doesn't work. Dedication to boring nightly preshow routines seperates the wanabe's from the real techs.


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## Foxinabox10 (Mar 24, 2006)

I believe the key problem here is that the school did not communicate the proper set up early enough. The original statement led me to believe that the lectern had to be moved semi-last-minute and that is what causes problems like this.


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## gafftaper (Mar 25, 2006)

Foxinabox10 said:


> I believe the key problem here is that the school did not communicate the proper set up early enough. The original statement led me to believe that the lectern had to be moved semi-last-minute and that is what causes problems like this.



Not trying to pick on the original poster but the point is, there's ALWAYS time for one tap on the microphone or a quick listen over the headphones. Simple routines makes great tech every time.


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