A chat with a retired installer in Omaha made me see my work differently

I was finishing a job at a retirement home last week and got talking to a guy named Frank who used to do this in the 80s. He told me, 'We didn't have cable testers, we had to listen to the hum on the line to know it was live.' That stuck with me because I rely on my Fluke meter for everything now. It made me think about how much the tools change but the core job of getting a good signal through stays the same. Anyone else have a moment like that, where an old timer's story gave you a new view on a routine part of the job?

3 comments

3 Comments

wren6522mo ago

Wait, they really just listened for a hum? That sounds so dangerous! I can't imagine trusting my ear to know if a line was live, that's wild. It really shows how much we take our safety gear and tools for granted now. Frank must have had some serious guts to work like that every day. Makes my job seem pretty tame in comparison.

victor_barnes483mo ago

Ever feel like a tool-using chump?

-1

abby_palmer3mo ago

Totally get where you're coming from, @victor_barnes48. Some days it seems like every app and gadget is just using me to get something done. My own phone makes me feel like a button-pusher for some company's goals. It's a weird modern trap, trying to use tools without letting them use you back.