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Admin
Duh, Virtual Key.
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But what about the smell of fried electronics the first time VK was activated?
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Probably more burned fuel smell or something like that.
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Better than failure?
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(I actually work with HIL testers for engine controls. Fuel injectors are LOUD.)
(BTW: TRWTF here is using people not familiar with engines to develop anything that interfaces with an engine. Causes all sorts of problems due to misunderstanding how the system is supposed to behave.)
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I for one congratulate Alex for the excellent job of proof-reading this article! Best I've seen so far!
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So the WTF was that the WTF was not a WTF at all? And how do you relocate a room? In less than 30 minutes?
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I can see this. Most car parts make some sort of noise that seems out of place when you eliminate the actual engine running noise.
Admin
Don't believe for a second that the sound of a running car is simply whatever happens to be the sum of all the noises the individual parts make.
Car makers have "sound engineers" whose job it is to use all allavailable tricks (adding parts, modifying shapes, changing materials, etc.) to ensure that the end result sound smooth, reassuring and/or macho.
Admin
The lesson here is pulling all nighters clouds judgement. When electronic circuits fail, they usually release a puff of smoke (and maybe sparks and flames) and then stop working. The fact that the test machine continued doing stuff should have been a clue that things were working. Did he even check if dummy lights had turned off? Because that should have been his primary test criteria.
Admin
Well, that or someone who has no experience at all with engineering. To a person like you, the world is a magical place that operates according to changing principles that a select few magicians understand. Yes, engine noise is the sum of the noises of the individual parts. Engineers care very little about the sound of the car: that is caused by explosions. If they could completely eliminate engine noise, they would. They can't, but they suppress it as much as possible.
Admin
Wow, talk about the blind leading the blind. And yet it all came together in the end, WTF?!
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Harley-Davidson trademarked the sound of their bikes.
I love it when someone vociferously and angrily calls someone out and is totally wrong-headed themselves. What does schadenfruede sound like?
/CAPTCHA: "persto" -- "persto chagne-o!"
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Anyway, what was that you were saying about schadenfreude...?
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[quote user="too_many_usernames]
(BTW: TRWTF here is using people not familiar with engines to develop anything that interfaces with an engine. Causes all sorts of problems due to misunderstanding how the system is supposed to behave.)[/quote]
Right, because you always want programmers who are also absolute domain experts. Everyone knows that a good programmer is a fully trained professional in no less than 3 disciplines outside his own.
TRWTF is that they didn't have a domain expert on hand not that the guy wasn't it. That however is also business as usual.
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Are you sure? That's what liposuction is for.
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You should of course always wait until equipment catches fire or sparks dangerously before attempting to correct a hardware problem. After all, Finagle's Law of Testing states quite clearly that the value of testing equals the value of equipment ruined in the process.
Admin
And don't forget the box at the end of the exhaust, which in your world clearly makes a very loud anti-noise, since without that box, the overall engine noise is very loud indeed.
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Backing into success is always a great story.
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I know that machine or a similar machine. They make one He|| of a racket. If I hadn't been warned and in a different room with a glass panel dividing the machine and us, I would have panicked too.
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We completely agree: "People" doesn't mean "programmer" or even "that specific programmer" in this case - it means "organization." So if you don't have a domain expert in your organization (helping your programmers/testers/etc.) that's a problem. There's nothing that says the domain expert has to be one of the programmers or testers (although that does have some large benefits).
At the very least I'd expect my programmers/testers to be aware that there are domain-specific things about which they might need to be aware before they start a panic cascade. You could even argue for the general management WTF of having a single engineer working all night to get something to work without having appropriate understanding of what "work" actually means. (That is, why did the behavior of the working tester surprise him so much? Sleep deprivation notwithstanding, of course.)
Admin
This was a fun story to read. I didn't get that VK was "Virtual Key." But the 0V-12V spec gave a clue that it had something to do with the battery, and probably the ignition.
Not really a WTF but still a good story.
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In which case I retract my sarcasm and offer my apologies.
Of course, the semi engrish, semi engineerish manual is its own, familiar, wtf. All you base are belong to us. (ok, I was searching for a way to throw that in, so sue me.)
Admin
Electronic equipment usually fails almost instaneously when you apply power to a bad configuration (usually from miswring). So waiting isn't really an option. The thing is toast before you can reach for the power switch. Additonally, there is usually very little mechanical action associated with elecronic component failure. I've fixed (and broken) enough electronic devices to vouche for my statements. I was an electonics tech for several years before entering the programming field.
The one thing I didn't mention previuosly but is worth mentioning is that Christophe shouldn't have applied power without knowing what the signal did. So that is an additional lapse of judgement.
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It's called NVH Indeed, there are engineers who specialize in this field. In fact, it gets a lot of attention these days.
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This read like a M. Night Shyamalan script. The mystery, buildup, suspense, twist and the feeling that you saw it coming.
But unlike his movies, this story actually was entertaining.
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You're right about the all-nighters, particularly changing anything the night before a demo.
But, me not being a car guy, I can sympathize with Christopher. Any multi-million dollar computer that starts making the sounds my car makes after shoving it some unknown signal would have me very worried at any time of the day. This device may not have had a kill switch, but that wouldn't be terribly uncommon. In hindsight, sure, you wouldn't expect the sound to continue.
Admin
Its not racist to make fun of people's accents
-if a white kid was raised by Japanese people, and then learnt English, he would sound 'rearrry ultimatt superhappy number 1 strange' too...
Also, why would you leave 1 person in charge of multi-million dollar technology, have him SCREW IT UP (even if it wasn't)
and, wait for it... GO HOME!!!
Seriously, if I thought I had done something like that, my choices would be call the boss, or move to Mexico...
Admin
This story has almost everything! Suspense, drama, comedy, murder, and one heckofa softcore sex scene. Although he finally figured out how to turn her on, it turns out she was faking it the whole time...
However, I was surprised at the lack of a Godzilla or someother massive city killer. The Japanese were present so the setup was all there.
Admin
Incidently, it would seem the racist accusator's post was removed...
Who's post makes them look like a douche?
Right here, that's whose.
Admin
Your not restricted to 12V in a car. You can use devices like voltage doublers, regulators, and inverters to get a wide range of DC and AC voltages.
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Key voltage. Probably actually typed as V sub k
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Haha! Bet you feel like a douche now!
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It's always hard to know when folks are being sarcastic in forums...and I need to be better about qualifying responses "just in case you're not being sarcastic..." or similar.
Plus, even after all these years, it's good to be aware of ownership changes of one's base.
Admin
Never bright to call someone an idiot when you aren't an expert. There are indeed engineers that help to make the sounds more appropriate to the design of the car. They don't necessarily want to remove engine noise altogether. Maybe in your luxury saloon, but not in a sports, super or hyper car.
Finally, that noise isn't explosions. It's a common misconception that engines work by exploding fuel. They don't. They work by performing a controlled burn. Explosions mean that the engine is running too lean and causing detonation. This will cause damage.
Admin
Your argument may apply to silly little city cars and commuters but it absolutely does not apply anywhere from the entry-level performance categories upwards.
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I guess what I don't understand is, if it's applying ignition voltage, shouldn't the (virtual) car have fired up after a couple of seconds? Shouldn't have been enough time for anyone to get scared by the noises, realize what's happening, run over to the machine, and push a big red button.
Admin
Wow. Please don't spread that type of misinformation. Electronics fires are common and easily started. Many components heat up sufficiently to carbonize the plastic coating on PCBs and components. This creates surface conductivity, and in turn heat, which eventually cycles into a real fire.
The only time you DONT get a fire with failed electronics is when you A) dont have enough current to cause large arcs B) are lucky enough to blow a component and break the circuit instead of it blowing in the open position.
Hell, I've seen large caps spontaneously combust and start fires all on their own.
Admin
Actually, from a certain point of view, the noise the engine makes could be seen as wasted energy. So from that point of view you do want to remove it. (of course, I am so much not an expert I'll jump the gun and call myself an idiot right now)
However, electric cars make so little noise they are actually making them simulate engine noise. Apparently its considered a cheat hitting pedestrians without giving them fair warning.
Admin
OOOHH!
DOUBLY DOUCHEY!
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So when they got this multi-million dollar test machine and half japanese instruction manual... they never thought to request that the client provide one of their engineer's phone #s for any questions that may come up?
TRWTF is letting these clowns touch your stuff considering they don't know how it works, can't read the instructions, and don't bother to ask when they have questions.
Admin
What misinformation am I spreading? I have seen this general symptom that you're describing many times. Usually, at some point, the localized fire stops. I have replaced many a circuit board in equipment that look like someone shot a hole though it. Guess what, that equipment was sitting powered up on not on fire before the failure was noted.
Arcs require voltage not current. However, most electrical fires are caused by excessive heat from excessive current.This is the rule and not the exception. Most electronic devices are designed with multiple failsafes such as internal fuses. Additionally, don't forget that once a component has "let the smoke out" it usually becomes an open circuit.
I've seen electrolytic caps do this because the dialectric broke down. Again, it did not cause an emergency.
BTW- I am not advocating that anyone leave smoking electronics powered up.
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It went "Zip" when it moved, and "Bop" when it stopped, and "Whirrr" when it stood still. I never knew just what it was, and I guess I never will.