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Not long ago a survey of electronics technicians in several age brackets brought some unexpected revelations. It was found that many technicians still do not feel comfortable with certain electronic technology. Two events seem to cause this problem. (1) Traditional electronics education, while covering theory well, often neglects practical factors. (2) Technology advances so fast that even technicians fresh from training may lose sight. Keeping up seems time-consuming. The survey identifies three specific areas that hamper today's technicians. Digital electronics. The usual training leans heavily on binary numbering and calculations. What technicians need most, they feel, is to have digital circuitry explained in a way that relates it to practical dc and signal knowledge they already have. Solid-state circuitry. It turns out that some technicians still falter over transistors and other solid-state devices. Apparently they have never picked up certain practical techniques that make solid-state easy. It does differ from vacuum tubes; but those familiar with both insist that solid-state is easier to understand and work on. Test instruments. Not every technician feels at ease with instruments. High on the list of "What I would like to understand better" came the triggered oscilloscope. Probably no single modern-day tool proves more versatile and useful for troubleshooting a broad range of consumer and industrial electronics equipment. A technician whose scope familiarity is limited grows steadily more handicapped around modern electronic gear. Upgrading seminars We have a pretty good idea what technicians need. Our next concern: What can be done about it? Several factors come together to offer a solution. There is a young outfit called Liaison, which specializes in meetings, seminars, and convention planning. They search out qualified experts who can develop and present first-rate upgrading curriculums. Liaison then sets up, publicizes and produces a needed seminar or meeting. A Liaison spokesperson says, "Our programs are for people who need genuine help, not just a get-together. We price our seminars complete with lodging and food in a one-fee package. This adds convenience for companies, and lets us offer efficiently-run training bargains." When Liaison discovered recently the need for electronics upgrading, that awareness was translated into action. They engaged Forest Belt, well-known writer and editor and one of the best-known seminar instructors in the electronics field, to design a seminar curriculum that would meet all three prime needs. Thus came about the two 3-day Forest Belt Seminars that Liaison will take to St. Louis November 7-9 and 14-16. They will be held at the Henry VIII motel near the airport. Forest Belt and Wayne Lemons, both popular writers in Electronic Servicing, will be the major instructors. ES endorsement These seminars meet several criteria set by the management of Electronic Servicing. They also suit the magazine's philosophy of greater involvement with, and service to, Electronic Servicing readers. Hence, ES recommends and endorses these special seminars as the most effective upgrading presently available. The first seminar, November 7, 8, and . 9, concentrates on what consumer electronics technicians need. The second one, on November 14, 15 and 16, aims specifically at the industrial electronics maintenance technician. Both seminars deal with digital electronics, with solid-state technology, and with the triggered oscilloscope. But emphasis shifts the second week, to accommodate the kind of systems a factory technician must work on. As an extra attraction, on the Saturday after each seminar, Liaison offers a separate 1-day seminar teaching videotape recorder servomechanisms. November 10 covers VHS and Beta VCRs; U-matic is added for the November 17 session because it is the more popular format in many commercial video applications. Each VCR servomechanism seminar costs extra, and is separate and independent from the 3-day upgrading seminars. Technicians can enroll for one without necessarily having to attend the other. What's in the training If you enroll in either of the 3-day seminars, here's what you can expect. First comes an entire day of hands-on work with triggered oscilloscopes. Forest Belt conducts a series of exercises that leave you quickly and comfortably familiar with the four control groupings of modern triggered scopes: CRT, dual vertical input, time base, and triggering. You work with specific signals, and come to understand step-by-step how the scope displays them and how to analyze and measure their parameters. The sessions on triggering are unique. You learn to really understand triggering, how to trigger on any point of any shape of signal, and how to obtain triggering even if you don't know beforehand what a particular signal looks like. You learn advanced oscilloscope techniques; wideband and high-frequency scopes; pulse waveforms with high repetition rates, slow repetition rates, and very short duty cycles. Toward the final hours, you take up delayed-trigger oscilloscopes, and see how this special feature exposes minute portions of a waveform for close inspection. If you can imagine yourself feeling absolutely at home with a sophisticated oscilloscope, then you understand the aim of this day-long workshop. The technician who can manipulate a scope wisely holds the key to diagnosis in the most complex consumer or industrial electronic equipment. Solid-state upgrading/update It takes effort and time to keep up with solid-state technology. If you're only passingly familiar with practical, fundamental solid-state devices, you could also lose time whenever you're troubleshooting. So, instructor Wayne Lemons kicks this second day off with a brief and entertaining demonstration of what a solid-state device really is and what it does in a circuit. Technicians come away from this exceptional presentation astonished at their new perspective on solid-state servicing. Consumer technicians then concentrate on practical tips for troubleshooting solid-state receiving equipment. Maintenance technicians, in their seminar, direct their attention to higher-power devices. In many ways they are like lower-power counterparts; but testing and replacing them takes a slightly different tack. Finally, you gain some unusual insight into upcoming technology in solid-state. Some devices are only now going into equipment. Learn what they are, what makes them tick, and what kind of circuitry will use them, and gain some hints about troubleshooting bad ones. Digital electronics for home and industry This third day, Forest Belt and James R. Manery share instructor responsibilities. You first discover that digital circuitry closely resembles analog circuitry you're already familiar with. Belt demonstrates how truly easy steady-state digital concepts are to understand. You then see how gates work. In a unique way, you learn about truth tables and how to use them for troubleshooting. Before you hardly realize it, you're engrossed in digital signals. You soon realize that they are no more than steady-state highs and lows with the added element of timing. This is what makes digital circuitry seem complex-before you understand it. You also recognize the importance of a dual channel triggered oscilloscope for digital troubleshooting. You learn to identify certain digital signals on sight. Instructor Manery guides you through set-reset (R-S) flip-flops, the D-T stage, and then the ubiquitous J-K flip-flop. Manery explains this complex operation in a way any technician can understand. And since you are prepared it means even more. Near the end of the day, you deal with digital integrated circuits. Most technicians, even experienced ones, come away surprised at how much easier digital ICs are to service than they thought. The tough side of VCRs If one part of the videotape recorder bothers technicians, it's the servomechanism. Add to that the brushless, 3-phase, bilateral-current, electronically commutated, direct-drive dc motor that turns the head cylinder in many video machines today. (Yes, that's right: a 3-phase dc motor.) Understanding them, and how to troubleshoot them, occupies a fourth day (optional at extra cost). Forest Belt conducts these Saturday sessions. He has come up with unique explanations and demonstrations that remove the mystery from VCR servos, be they VHS, Beta or U-matic. How to enroll You'll find an advertisement about these seminars elsewhere in this magazine. Use the coupon and mail your enrollment to Liaison, Box 40821, Indianapolis, IN 46240. Enclose your check or money order, made out to Liaison, in payment for the seminar you wish to attend. Do it right away. All registrations must be made in advance, before November 1. None can be accepted at the door. Remember that your fee for either 3-day seminar includes three meals a day and breaks, and lodging for the nights of Tuesday through Friday. (Lodging is not included for Saturday VCR servomechanism seminars, and food Saturday at lunch and breaks only.) Lodging is double-occupancy; single occupancy costs you more. Let Liaison know right away if you're attending with someone you wish to room with. These new Forest Belt Seminars are unique. Nothing else like them is available. Liaison and Electronic Servicing are enthused about bringing you this unparalleled opportunity. We hope you and your company can take advantage of them. Also see: 1-2-3-4 Servicing simplifies industrial electronics maintenance |
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