You must defeat Shen Long to stand a chance!

Shen Long used to teach at University of Denver or something like that and it was time for him to teach me. His background from what I can tell is telephony. Well as I said earlier Shen Long was only playing with me on our first day of our knowledge transfer he had other tests that he wanted to put me thru and this is when this job got real serious real quick. I needed to make an RJ-45 loopback cable for an adapter that plugged into a two 9-pin serial adapter so I can test some radio channels on a unit we just “happen” to have in the office. Don’t know what I’m talking about? That’s ok I didn’t either. I mean I know what a 9 pin connector is, I know what a RJ-45 adapter is, I know what a loopback cable is. I’ve just never had to build one from scratch. So he gives me some cable, the tools, and some connectors and says, “Let me know when you are done.”

Then he goes to sweeping up dust in the office like I don’t exist. So here I am with a pile of parts and I have no clue where to go. I mean I know enough to say each pin belongs in a slot on the 9-pin connector from the RJ-45 adaptor. There is one more challenge that I need to mention. The RJ-45 to DB9 adapters are the only ones in country and if I screw this up we have to wait two weeks before we get more DB9 adapters in country and that is a might. We don’t have a pin remover so I only have one shot to get this right. Ok, no pressure.

My learning style is one that if someone shows me how to do something once I can remember it and copy it. I am a very visual person by nature and I learn best in the visual arena. I never really pay attention to the why; just give me the how. Now I’m here sitting in front of this pile of junk and I HAVE to make it work. Shen Long still sweeping begins to speak,

Shen Long: You former military or college?

Me: College.

Shen Long: What was your major?

Me: Computer Science

Shen Long: You hardware or software.

Me: Systems mostly some software.

Shen Long: Any hardware?

Me: Nope.

Shen Long: Hmmmm.

Then he goes outside to dump the sand he collected out of the office I’m thinking to myself, “You gonna fucking help me or look like Mr. Janitorman all day? Then he comes back in and says,

Shen Long: Where’s your paper?

Me: What paper?

Shen Long: I guess you don’t need paper if since you know how the loopback would connect in your head. Don’t you have a wiring diagram that is in the CDs that you were issued before you left the states?

Me: Uhh, I guess.

Shen Long: Is that so? Then I would uhh guess to look at your reference CDs. You think that would be a good idea? While you are there check out the section on Type II E&M signaling.

Me: Uh, yeah ok (inside I’m on fire).

While I’m scanning thru my CDs he is tidying up the room putting things in place and totally not paying attention to me, like I don’t exist. I swear he is like a den mother or something. I finally find the cable diagram but it just tells me how to physically connect it (hell anyone could have figured that out). There is a section on E&M signaling that I read thru and I begin to piece together what I need to do and I grab a few sheets of paper off the printer so I can get ready to start my plan of attack. He leaves and then goes to the bathroom. When he comes back he asks me what am I trying to do and I reply,

Me: Wire this connector.

Shen Long: Well, yes I see that buy why are you doing that?

Me: So I can test the radio?

Shen Long: Are you asking me?

Me: Yeah motherfucker, I’m asking you (Now, that’s what I THOUGHT it came out like)! No, I’m not asking you; uhh I’m telling you.

Shen Long: Oh, ok it sounded like a question. So what is the purpose of a radio?

Me –Thinking: Besides having a blunt object to smash your skull in with?

Me- To communicate.

Shen Long – Well what is communication?

Me - Exchange of information.

Shen Long – So how do you exchange information?

Me – Well, there are a million different ways.

Shen Long – A million is a little high but to put you in the proper frame how are we exchanging information right now?

Me – Talking

Shen Long – No, well yes, but if both of us are talking at the same time then we aren’t exchanging information. So how are we exchanging information?

Me – Thinking: What are you talking about you crazy old man?

Me: One of us is talking and the other is listening.

Shen Long: Right, so that means what?

Me: One of us has to transmit information for the other one to receive it.

Shen Long: Hmmm.

Then the crazy old coot goes to checking his email like I don’t exist anymore (I’m really starting to get tired of that). But, at any rate does it make sense to you yet? Well it does to me and here it is. The pins have to connect in a way that will allow for communication that mean the pins used to transmit on one side (talk) have to connect to the pins used to receive (listen) on the other side. If the talk side is connected to the talk side then there is no communication and vice versa. So now after reading some more it comes clear to me that E&M is short for Ear and Mouth (technically earth and magnet) so here it is the answer has been with me for weeks and all I had to do was look. So I have to wire the loopback cable up so the wire allows communication between the radios. That means that the wires have to “crossover” to allow the Tx to get to the Rx. Sound like I know what I’m talking about, huh? Well I didn’t 24 hours ago. If someone would have said in the states that I needed a crossover cable then I would have headed to Fry’s or OfficeMax and picked one up but now I know how to make one (in theory). See all you gotta do it match up the 8 color coded wires. You know the blue, orange, yellow, black, red, red, brown, white.

Uh-oh, there can’t be two red wires. I’m red/green color blind so now I have an additional challenge not only do I only have two adapters in the entire country there is a real chance that I might really screw up and not because I don’t know what I’m doing. I just can’t distinguish the difference.

Me: I know how to wire up the connector but I’m red/green color blind can you tell me which one is green?

Shen Long: Is that an excuse?

Me: No, it’s reality. I just don’t want to fuck up the only RJ-45 to DB9 connectors that we have in country.

Shen Long: Indeed, I wouldn’t want you to fuck them up either.

Then the old coot goes back to his email. I’m thinking to myself did I just end up in Retardo-land? Dude, I seriously need help here and you want to sort your junk mail?

Shen Long: Why don’t you use that voltmeter on the table next to you?

I look next to me and the voltmeter has been there pretty much the entire time. The old coot put it there when he was cleaning up and when I just got started.

Shen Long: You can set it to beep so you can hear when you have a connection on both ends. This isn’t special copper wire as long as your transmit and receive are consistent then you will be fine.

Then he goes on the web to check his investments.

Well that’s only part of it. I have to figure the combination of what wires go where to insure that the crossover is done correctly. I’m going thru several combinations of switching cables over. And I finally come up with the right solution so I tell him that I have the right combination.

Shen Long: That’s nice.

Me: Yeah it is.

Shen Long: Do you think you are the only person to make a crossover cable?

Me: No.

Shen Long: I don’t either; if someone was resourceful enough they could check on the Internet. I’m sure they could find loads of diagrams on how to route the wiring. The Internet is not just for email and pretty ladies you know.

Me: I’m beginning to see that.

So of course I hop on line and do a search on crossover cables and I get a gazillion hits with diagrams and pictures and everything. Had I done this at first I would have saved about three hours. So finally I get done and start testing the radios and he turns around and says “You done?”

I nod at him halfheartedly because I’m in the middle of my tests. I had totally began to ignore him as he had done to me. He was no longer important to me doing my job. He looks at me and says you did a good job getting that all set up and tested. He gets up and goes to a corner of the office and comes back and pulls about another half dozen adapters (the ones we had to wait two weeks to get) out of a bag of 100 or so on the table. So when you get time could you wire another three loopback cables up? I look at him and say you son of a bitch! He only smiles and goes back to working something on his laptop.

As you all are reading this it sounds short but this entire process took about 10 hours and this was just day two. I went about this kind of stuff the entire week. It was a hard lesson but it was one of the best lessons I’ve had since my Dad taught me to tie my shoes. You have to understand what the objects of the lesson were:

1. I learned the mechanics of type II E&M signaling interfaces.
2. How to create a crossover cable from scratch.
3. Use my on hand resources to get information.
4. Draw up my plan before I execute.
5. Make sure I have all the tools I need to compensate for any deficiencies I may have.
6. How to work with no outside communication or support.
7. How to work with limited resources.
8. How to work under pressure.
9. How to think on my own.

If you couldn’t tell I was furious the whole time I was going thru this but as I went along I became less concerned about being pissed at him and more concerned about solving my problem. I saw what he was doing, he made himself a representation of an external stressor (CO yelling and screaming, missile attack, shooting, Tech guy who is in the way) it taught me to divorce myself from the stress and realize that the stress was taking away from my ability to solve the problem. Again to someone who doesn’t handle stress well his teaching style would bring you to the brink of murder. But, for me he was just what I needed.