I'm not dead -- here's what I've been up to!

Hello all, i’m actually glad to see these forums are still here. Makes me happy to see the legacy continuing.
Wanted to pop in and mention how things have been since you all last heard from me (that farewell video).

I’m still living in the same house, but I am eagerly building savings to buy my own house. The alarm system is still there and it hasn’t changed since the last video I made (DMP panel and gentex alarms) – though yesterday I replaced one of the CO detectors, because it hit 10 year end of life. In the process of doing a full test of the system I also accidentally popped the kitchen heat detector by “overcooking” it with the hair dryer. I did have a spare in storage though so I was able to replace it.


I never got rid of my collection either – though it’s been moved to totes and placed in storage. It’s something I just can’t seem to part with, even though I never do anything with them anymore. The Fire-Lite MS-424 demonstration board is still on the wall next to my desk, as well as the Notifier AFP-400 with voice evac.

I’ve actually been involved with another hobby that still involves electricity. Vintage telephony. Bell system era stuff. I’ve recently restored a Western Electric “1A2” Key Telephone manufactured in 1969. 1A2 systems are business telephone systems that allow a group of phones to share a small number of phone lines. It’s not a PBX. I have a collection of rotary phones now as well.

In August last year I fulfilled a childhood dream of becoming a scuba diver - and man, it’s one of the most amazing things ever. I love going deep underwater, where it’s silent, you feel weightless, and you’re in a whole new world where everything is different. It’s seriously awesome.

I’ve completely left the life safety / emergency notification industry. I finally quit that poorly paid software development job. I’m now making more money than I ever had in my life as a marine electrician working at a shipyard that builds guided-missile destroyers for the United States Navy. I do occasionally get to install a fire alarm device though. The fire systems on the ships are nothing like what we’ve got on land. They’re actually a lot more technologically advanced in some ways. I wish I could go into detail about them but this is DoD stuff and I can’t really talk about it much. However I will say there’s Edwards 270-series pull stations on the ships, and the smoke detectors are made by Apollo.

So yeah, that’s basically how things have been.

Vintage telephony is something I’ve gotten interested in too. It started with stumbling upon Evan Doorbell’s tapes on YouTube, and I eventually got to meet the guy over coffee. He’s lived in San Antonio since the 90s and still makes narrated phone tapes today.

Very cool Andrew! I’m glad you’ve found a career that you enjoy, thank you for your service!

[quote=RSSAlarms post_id=86972 time=1588541531 user_id=4672]

Very cool Andrew! I’m glad you’ve found a career that you enjoy, thank you for your service!

[/quote]

I’m actually a civilian working for a defense contractor, but it’s a nice feeling doing something to contribute to national defense – and for the sailors who will serve our country on these vessels that we build.

[quote=NewAgeServer post_id=86973 time=1588542142 user_id=11] [quote=RSSAlarms post_id=86972 time=1588541531 user_id=4672]

Very cool Andrew! I’m glad you’ve found a career that you enjoy, thank you for your service!

[/quote]

I’m actually a civilian working for a defense contractor, but it’s a nice feeling doing something to contribute to national defense – and for the sailors who will serve our country on these vessels that we build.

[/quote]

Oh, you weren’t too clear about that, but still thanks either way!

Hey there! Thanks for checking in with us. It’s nice to have some of of the older community members stop by and say hi.

Wow, those are certainly some very cool things you are doing there! Glad you’re enjoying your new job as a marine electrician and still have telephones and scuba diving to go to during your free time.