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Happy New Year! Also, Virtual Machines
I’m Jason Firth. Happy New year to everyone! I promised to talk more about virtual machines last time, and I’m finally following up on that. First, some definitions. A Virtual Machine is basically a machine (a computing machine with what we’re about to talk about) implemented in software. A simple virtual machine may be very…
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The Cloud, Virtual Machines, and Arduino (Oh my!)
I’m Jason Firth. I’ve noticed a number of discussions lately about using different technologies that are less expensive than typical controls equipment. “Why not use Arduino? Why not use virtualized PCs? Why not use the cloud?” These questions really trouble me. “Cloud computing” generally relates to computing resources being pooled in third party data centers…
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This one is for the travellers
I’m Jason Firth. Fly-in Fly-out jobs are becoming commonplace in Canada, because the places where resources happen to be are not the places people want to live, or places where it’s not practical to place a down, or simply because the skills you need are not in the same place as where you need them.…
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5 reasons I gave up being an instrument guy (for now)
I’m Jason Firth. Recently, I accepted a new role within my organization for a while: I’m assisting with a project to deploy a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. My role is to bring maintenance expertise to the project specific to the plant I’m stationed at. When I told my team about it, my partner…
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Big legal in engineering technology land
I’m Jason Firth. One part of the OACETT and CTTAM codes of conduct is a responsibility to learn the applicable laws and codes to your field. To that end, I often load up CanLII and search for information relating to the field of engineering technology, and people certified as engineering technologists. I found this 1996 case,…
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Modbus Plus communication to your PC without a $2000 USB Dongle
I’m Jason Firth. A few months back, I had a discussion with someone about how to communicate with a PC over Modbus Plus without breaking the bank. I decided to take the highlights of that conversation and bring them together in a blog post so others might be able to use the information. Modbus Plus…
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Certified Engineering Technologist? Not here, you aren’t!
I’m Jason Firth. There’s one thing most people don’t know about the law that they should: The law isn’t the same everywhere. Often, people will talk about “how things are”, as if their experience in their location describes everyone’s. That’s incorrect, and it’s quite dangerous. In an earlier entry, I talked about what it takes…
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You need your own competence!
I’m Jason Firth. So, now that oil has dropped dramatically, oil companies are discovering something I’ve always said: You need your own competent people. The oil and gas industry has found out in a very abstract way: They’ve realized huge cost overruns on projects since they decided to let other companies monopolize engineering competence. When they…
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What’s inside a Modbus Plus connector?
I’m Jason Firth. Eventually, I knew I would be writing at length about Modbus Plus. Modbus Plus is the protocol that Modicon created to supersede the Modbus protocol. It has some superficial similarities, but it quite different under the hood. Modbus is a Master/Slave protocol. One device is the master, and tells which Modbus slave…
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Connected
I’m Jason Firth. Today, when people use the word “Connected”, they’re usually talking about ethernet networks. That’s not what I’m talking about today. Quite often as an instrument technician or technologist, I get asked to help participate in jobs that don’t immediately appear to be related to my trade. In one case, I was asked…