Remember when we used to trace wiring faults with just a multimeter and a prayer?

I was working on an old 737 classic yesterday and had to pull out the old pin-out diagrams. Made me think about how different things were 15 years ago when I started. Back then we'd spend hours with a DMM and a schematic, flipping pages. Now I just plug in my tablet and run a diagnostic. The new kids don't know how good they've got it. Anyone else feel like we lost something with all this automation, or is it just me?

3 comments

3 Comments

jenny_hall7d ago

Used to hate the old pin-out books but you just changed my mind completely.

thompson.reese7d ago

Wait, you actually used to hate those old pin-out books? I remember spending hours with those things in the early 90s and they drove me crazy at first too. The print was always so tiny and the diagrams felt like they were drawn by someone with a ruler who had too much coffee. But once I figured out how to read the labels and trace the paths with my finger, they became this weirdly satisfying puzzle. I still have a beat-up copy of the ARRL handbook from 1992 with coffee stains all over the pin-out section.

josephmartin6d ago

@thompson.reese totally gets it - tracing those tiny paths with a finger was the breakthrough for me too.