From: muratlanne@gmail.com   
      
   "Jim Wilkins"  wrote in message news:vq0kng$gpl0$1@dont-email.me...   
      
   I became involved in automotive electronic testing in the mid 1970's when   
   emissions laws and fuel economy forced the shift from mechanical to   
   electronic engine controls. Previously the only electronics in a car was the   
   radio which they bought, the voltage regulator used relays and intake vacuum   
   mechanically matched ignition timing to load.   
      
   There wasn't an available pool of design knowledge, aircraft and military   
   standards were too expensive although their concepts could be adapted, so   
   the companies hired new EE grads with little practical experience and they   
   learned by trial and error, mostly caught in testing before production. I'd   
   at least seen how the military ruggedizes electronics as a repairman and   
   made an effort to learn the practical aspects such as switch contact voltage   
   and current ratings and expected cycle life.   
      
   A  Ph.D. project manager issued a braking deceleration test specification to   
   the 8 digits of his calculator. He knew the math well enough, but he'd never   
   built anything himself and didn't realize that affordable components have a   
   tolerance range.   
      
   At the time high precision resistors for analog computation cost $5 and up   
   apiece, I bought the still accurate instrument they had been tested on when   
   its data connection became obsolete. A disdain for hands-on technician work   
   was fairly common among electrical engineers, in contrast to mechanical   
   engineers who all could run machine tools.   
      
   My education was a mix of theory and lab practice. As chemists we learned   
   how to calculate the uncertainty level of measurements well enough to defend   
   our results in court.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)