[SBE] Discussion topics

[Kent Winrich]

Great points Clay.

First off I certainly hope that I was not just complaining without and
discussion of solutions.  And a couple of board members have heard from me
many times ;-).

My goal was to raise a couple of issues for discussion.  If I am wrong (and
that would not be the first time) then so be it.  I learn and move forward.


I guess a number of topics have festered in my head for a while.

So where do we go from here?

Kent


On Mon, Mar 17, 2008 at 12:53 PM, k7cr <k7cr at blarg.net> wrote:


> 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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> >

> >

>

>

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