• WARNING: Tube/Valve amplifiers use potentially LETHAL HIGH VOLTAGES.
    Building, troubleshooting and testing of these amplifiers should only be
    performed by someone who is thoroughly familiar with
    the safety precautions around high voltages.

My time at Hovland - HP-100 Lore

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Young man,

A gentleman never badmouthes his ex employer regardless of what happened.

I for one am quite saddened by the demise of the Hovland Company.

Regards

Jozua
This is one of those cases where to withhold the truth is as bad as lying. There is some good that came out of this, that is next. Guess I'm not a gentleman though, darn it!

Who you callin' young anyway!
 
Disabled Account
Joined 2010
Don't laugh, visual replenishment systems are quite "in" these days for lean manufacturing.

Yes,

Red, yellow, and green tags...Used like this....A wall full of metal draws with U shaped pieces of metal painted /clipped over the draw top kept in in the draws. When someone takes The parts down to half inventory the green tag is replaced with a yellow tag, when down to one left a red tag is fitted...with a glance at the wall Everyone can see straight away what you have and what you need. If its not been used for 6 months a purple tag is fitted to show (check if no longer in production)...Standard Lean practice..Cheap and effective.

Regards
M. Gregg
 
Our local audiophile club has what appears to be a 6 foot 6 inch transgender, who sells speaker wire for $11K per 20 foot pair (if I remember correctly). "She" claims it sounds better... At a local audiophile event some egotist put on, I got an opportunity to meet the main brain behind one of the most admired no feedback hi-fi tube amps (won't mention any names or brands here); another transgender... wtf next?

Well women do have better hearing ...:)
 
You would have fit right in with another amplifier company, where I understand the big guy does all of the design --- by taping up PCB artwork! Then the stuff is thrown over the wall to people who extract the schematic and figure out how to test the product. One of those people contacted me to find out if I could consult there, the principal "decoder" having been on a long leave of absence due to health concerns, but having sent a resume I never heard from the owner. Evidently the person I know is still there.

Beats dowsing the schematics ....:)
 
SY said:
Don't laugh, visual replenishment systems are quite "in" these days for lean manufacturing.
"Visual Replenishment Systems" could be a whole module on a production-based MBA. People could write essays and run spreadsheets on the optimum Bin Interrogation Frequency. As we speak, someone in the EU will be devising a mandatory colour code for component bins in order to assist labour mobility and ensure a level playing field for manufacturers.
 
Disabled Account
Joined 2010
As we speak, someone in the EU will be devising a mandatory colour code for component bins in order to assist labour mobility and ensure a level playing field for manufacturers.

"Kaizen" Pardon...:D ..Black belt in paper folding or Bin labelling...non profit and the 7 wastes...EEK!
Take english motor bike and fit gaskets..take over the whole market..
Take electronic design..apply Zen...can't afford robots..use cheap labour..target market..zap..Sony..LOL Take over whole market..

Regards
M. Gregg
 
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I guess 50 is the new 17 :)
That is Fifty ONE to you sir:D The way I see it is, if I was old enough to be aware of what was happening when Nixon looked into the camera and said "I am not a crook", Then I can be classified as old. ;)

Besides, that stern, belittling "young man", staring down the bridge of the nose whilst lifting up the reading glasses; Gee whiz! Save it for the dudes with the underwear hanging out of their pants.
 
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Don't laugh, visual replenishment systems are quite "in" these days for lean manufacturing.

Yes,

Red, yellow, and green tags...Used like this....A wall full of metal draws with U shaped pieces of metal painted /clipped over the draw top kept in in the draws. When someone takes The parts down to half inventory the green tag is replaced with a yellow tag, when down to one left a red tag is fitted...with a glance at the wall Everyone can see straight away what you have and what you need. If its not been used for 6 months a purple tag is fitted to show (check if no longer in production)...Standard Lean practice..Cheap and effective.

Regards
M. Gregg

"Visual Replenishment Systems" could be a whole module on a production-based MBA. People could write essays and run spreadsheets on the optimum Bin Interrogation Frequency. As we speak, someone in the EU will be devising a mandatory colour code for component bins in order to assist labour mobility and ensure a level playing field for manufacturers.

"Kaizen" Pardon...:D ..Black belt in paper folding or Bin labelling...non profit and the 7 wastes...EEK!
Take english motor bike and fit gaskets..take over the whole market..
Take electronic design..apply Zen...can't afford robots..use cheap labour..target market..zap..Sony..LOL Take over whole market..

Regards
M. Gregg
You guys are cracking me up!:rofl: How about a simple sign out sheet next to the parts rack? That's the budget way it was done in most of my past employments.
 
Back when Tektronix was a stellar company to work for (before about 1985ish), they had the little u shaped colored metal indicators that were put on the part boxes in the parts stock rooms. It worked great.

On the issue of using spiritual practices for processing parts... building electronic stuff can be boring, especially when it's the same thing over and over. I can see doing some of that just to annoy the young newbie whippersnapper smart-***. It sounds like it worked. :eek:
 
Disabled Account
Joined 2010
You guys are cracking me up!:rofl: How about a simple sign out sheet next to the parts rack? That's the budget way it was done in most of my past employments.

Its a culture "Lean"

Tied up with things like value added and non value added work..ie if you carry a part from one machine to another its non value added..if you drill a hole as part of the job it Adds value to the component..even down to how far you have to move your hand to drill the hole, if the down movement of the drill is traveling in the air for most of the stroke its non value added time. Only the cut time is value added...how long it takes to clamp the part or position the part..
How long it takes to etch a board is value added, however if the process is done faster at another company any time beyond that interval is non value added..(the company is wasting time with an outdated process).

Regards
M. Gregg
 
On the issue of using spiritual practices for processing parts... building electronic stuff can be boring, especially when it's the same thing over and over. I can see doing some of that just to annoy the young newbie whippersnapper smart-***. It sounds like it worked. :eek:
Sidney Harman did the old make the coin disappear and pull it out of my daughters ear once. I think I can tell the difference! You are making Hovland out to be like the Magic Castle in order to bolster your dislike of my forthright composition.

Au contraire! Let me make this as clear and concise as possible: The dowsing was an integral part of the daily assembly process of the HP-100. It was not done as some distracting medicine show.
 
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