My Uncle Jack Seidel passed away this past week, my father's younger brother. Jack and I were never really close, and time and distance had taken its toll of our relationship. But I do remember well his involvement in my early years and his part in one of the Great Unanswered Questions of my life.
When I was a young boy, Jack worked for International Telephone and Telegraph (IT&T) in Nutley, NJ. They had a vast, sprawling manufacturing and development plant there, and since it was next door to the town I grew up in, I sometimes had a chance to go there and glimpse the world of electronics technology; it certainly had a part in directing the course of my life.
When I was about ten, Jack built an improved model railroad controller for me. It had two big rheostat dials on the front, and lots of switches and lights. I can't remember exactly why he built it, but possibly because the controller that came with the set had failed. Of course, we put it to good use as designed, but I think Jack and my Dad never imagined the other uses I would put it to. For one, it became the control console of my interstellar space ship. But, more importantly, I realized that it was, in effect, just a big power supply. I used it (as I perhaps not too accurately recall) to arc-weld plastic parts, to power a motor with a gear tooth that I used to cut plastic parts and to experiment with electro-plating. I was the mad scientist even then.
Uncle Jack also helped me get summer positions at IT&T after both of my sophomore years in college. The first year I worked in the Industrial Engineering department. The major product at the plant those years was a massive telegraph system, made up of huge racks of equipment and circuitry. I developed aids so that people on the manufacturing floor could assemble and solder components and build wiring harnesses. Jack was a supervisor on the floor; we worked together and almost daily had lunch together. Those were fun and informative times; in our lunchtime discussions I learned a lot about business politics and human nature. My second summer there was spent as a parts and equipment purchaser.
When I was a senior and about to graduate, I of course applied to IT&T for a permanent position. And so we come to the Great Unanswered Question. Uncle Jack by then had moved on to another career, so he was unable to help me with the answer.
At my first interview, the engineer conducting the interview sketched a transistor circuit. He did not use a pre-printed form, but sketched it by hand. He asked what the current gain was. Now there is a simple, rule-of-thumb answer that it is the ratio of the collector to emitter resistors. But I sensed a trick question: did the interviewer want the quick answer, or a more technical discussion of the transistor physics and biasing involved in determining the exact answer? Having gotten A's in transistor physics and circuit theory, I assumed the latter, and launched into a long discussion. After a bit, the engineer interrupted me, and said it was the ratio… I proceeded to ignore him and continue to spout off, but he interrupted me again, and I decided to agree and henceforth keep my mouth more shut.
I went on to my second interview, and the guy sketched the exact same circuit and asked the exact same question! I wondered what was going on here - was this a test to see if I was going to knuckle under and accept the easy answer? I was young and bit confused, so I blurted out "It's the ratio…". He said, "Right!" and the interview went on.
But, IT&T did not offer me a job! I didn't consider this a big loss, as I had many other job offers and actually didn't want to stay in Northern New Jersey anyhow. But to this day, I still ponder how I had failed the test!
Goodbye Uncle Jack - rest well, and thank you.
Bob Seidel is a local computer consultant in the Southport - Oak Island area. You can visit his Website at www.bobseidel.com or e-mail questions or column ideas to him at bsc@bobseidel.com. For specific inquiries, please call Bob Seidel Consulting, LLC at 278-1007.