[SBE] Discussion topics

[k7cr]

Hi Kent -

Remember that the direction SBE takes is determined by the
- ELECTED - Board.   And that Board is elected from
Broadcast Engineers (such as myself) that CHOOSE to
run for election because of my conviction that I can exert
influence that will direct SBE in the path I feel it should go.

I don't always get my way, afterall there are others on the
Board whose thoughts may well be different than I, but I can
tell you, from 7+ years in that seat, that a person can make
a difference.

Now, with that being said, a couple more related items -


> This discussion is very helpful, the problem is we don't

have many of them.


> I  love to convey the feelings of members to SBE's

decision making body, however, like most things in our
democracy....It's much easier to gripe than to contact our
rep and make - constructive - comments.


> I know, first hand, that when the Nominating Committee

is searching for folks who would like to serve, many times,
it's slim-pickens.


> SBE is a democratically operated organization and as such

needs good, constructive input from it's members for
direction....ie, SBE is what the members, collectively,  wish
it to be.


> (Finally) keep up the input mechanism, via this Remailer,

and by contacting members of the Board.   We all make
a difference.

Thanks -

Clay Freinwald
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kent Winrich" <kwinrich at gmail.com>
To: "sbe member discussion mail list" <sbe at sbe.org>
Sent: Monday, March 17, 2008 9:30 AM
Subject: Re: [SBE] Discussion topics



> <rant mode>

>

> Clay I think you are hitting right on a topic near and dear to my 

> heart.....

> Younger engineers.

>

> I have been harping on an number of boards and reflectors.. what have YOU

> been doing to keep this business going?  Are you (not you Clay.. "you" in

> general) mentoring anyone?  Have you taken anyone to the transmitter site?

> Do you have someone over your shoulder for a day to see what you do? 

> Mainly

> I get silence.... to me that means most people are doing NOTHING.  The

> "kids" I work with are more than willing to do the work, but they don't 

> know

> what to do.  What appears to be laziness, is actually fear of doing

> something wrong.  Give them proper direction and they do just fine.

>

> I was hoping that SBE might be a path for younger engineers.  After some 

> of

> the rounds here, maybe not.

>

> See, I work with about 30 - 50 potential engineers PER YEAR here on Ft 

> Bragg

> (and there are many more across the country and around the world, plus 

> some

> of my co-workers as well).  These are people that are educated, but may 

> need

> a little help from the engineering community..... some guidance and hand

> holding.... mentoring.  To be honest the comment about this being useless

> chatter is in a direct OPPOSITE direction: stiffing communication between

> members, discouraging new people to chime in, and not helping younger

> engineers understand what is out there and what other people are dealing

> with.  Even if it is as "trivial" as tower heights.  You have created this

> list Chriss, so I guess it is yours.

>

> What many older engineers forget is that all the information you have in

> your heads and you find boring, are exciting and interesting to many 

> others,

> especially new engineers.  Trust me.

>

> I am sure at one point all of us were the star eyed engineers, and had the

> helping hand of another engineer.  I was very fortunate to have a 

> wonderful

> Regional VP of Engineering when I was at Clear Channel!

>

> So if it doesn't help YOU in YOUR business, well excuse me!  Unless your

> delete key is broken it should not be a big deal.  And if you have an 

> email

> reflector going to your Blackberry... well what do you expect from an 

> email

> reflector? (which is why I DONT have a reflector going to my Treo).

>

> Not all topics interests me.  So I delete it.  End of story.  If there is 

> no

> interest in a topic it will die on its own.

>

> As of right now, I am not seeing any real benefit from my membership to

> SBE.  AND, I don't see any real help for younger engineers.  Heck even on

> the SBE web site you need to be a member just to see the internships

> available.  If I were a potential engineer I would just click out and go 

> on

> to another site.  Or is it that there are no internships?!?!

>

> In regards to education, there are two seminars... and they are on

> leadership??  Unless you are a VP of Engineering, this is useless (IMHO) 

> as

> members are typically a one man shop.

>

> What about these new technologies?  Where are the seminars for those? 

> What

> about "old" (but never changing) technologies.... I had to go outside of 

> SBE

> to go to an AM transmission seminar.  Why isn't SBE doing things like 

> that?

> Just because the older members know about these things, doesn't mean other

> or new members don't need education like that.

>

> What about the chapters??  Has anyone visited any of the Chapter web 

> sites?

> I did a random click on a few....

>

> First One:

> Next Meeting December 1st

>

> Next one:

> Past Meeting December, Next meeting TBA

>

> Third:

> Next meeting August, 2006!?!?!

>

> Fourth:

> UP-TO-DATE NEWSLETTER!! (Way to go Milwaukee!! And always he best meetings

> too!)

>

> Fifth:

> No meetings currently scheduled??

>

> Sixth:

> WOW San Diego!  AWESOME!

>

> Seventh:

> web site cannot be found

>

> And so on....

>

> I guess my point is (in a rambling manner) is that if we:

> 1) don't communicate with each other

> 2) don't mentor our younger people

> 3) belittle younger engineers

> 4) don't share the history of engineering

> 5) don't educate the members we presently have

> then we are doomed as a business and an organization.

>

> You want new members and new engineers?  Get off the high horse and get to

> the level of the new potential engineer.  There are some incredible

> engineering minds here that I and others have a lot to learn from.

>

> I am sure I have ruffled some feathers.  My apologies to those people. But 

> I

> figure if we don't express our concerns then nothing gets done.

>

> Kent Winrich, K9EZ

> Broadcast Engineer, Systems Analyst III

> BAE Systems - Ft Bragg, NC

> ---and---

> BroadcastPro.Biz

> Raleigh, NC

>

> </rant mode>

>

> On Thu, Mar 13, 2008 at 11:28 PM, k7cr <k7cr at blarg.net> wrote:

>

>> Fred posed this question -

>>

>> > Are there any figures on what percentage of current SBE members are

>> > within five years of retirement?  Ten years?  It goes by rather

>> > quickly...and then what?

>>

>> This issue goes well beyond the matter of where SBE will find it's new

>> members.

>> I am within 5 years of retirement (my choice) and as I look over my

>> shoulder

>> I find no-one chomping at the bit to take my job...much less even apply

>> for

>> it.

>>

>> No one wants to get dirty, put on chains on all 4 and head up the 

>> mountain

>> in the middle of the night to work on something analog with 8kv on the

>> inside.

>>

>> When I started in this business back in 1961 there were plenty of young

>> Hams that were eager to apply their skills to things in a broadcast

>> operation...

>> but today those folks are old too.

>>

>> Largely broadcasting, Radio and TV, have become computer based operations

>> with the bit of analog tossed in just to rattle the minds of those that

>> think that

>> 15 volts is high-voltage and who are totally confused by schematics.   In

>> many

>> ways these folks are disconnected from the world that we knew and, in 

>> some

>> cases, continue to operate within.

>>

>> I could go on and on -

>>

>> My $.02

>>

>> Clay Freinwald, K7CR

>> Member of the Board

>>

>>

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