I created this page simply to help show the work I did while assigned to the Pod Mounted Seeker Project. Here is an article on the project.

We were a 5-person team charged with making this program work - an electrical engineer lead, a mechanical engineer, a software engineer, and two technicians. I was the only military person asked to be a part of this team and I had fun.

We designed and built 16 black boxes to complete the pod, including a VAX computer with 8 interface cards we designed and built. The pod contains a hydraulic cooling system, power suplpies, the computer, a wideband recorder, a test point junction box, two interface boxes, and a controller.

 While the pod was being built, we also had to design and build the Test And Check Out (TACO) Cart. The cart and its software had to facilitate control of the pod, monitoring of all pertinent signals, automated testing of various boxes and components, and be compatible with aircraft interfaces (primarily a 1553 bus).

As one of the technicians, I had to read the engineering drawings and schematics and convert them into working boxes, interfaces, and wiring bundles. While difficult at times, it was also satisfying. At the end of the day, I could see the physical results of my work.

As the first pod neared its completion, documentation was nothing but drawings and I was due to be re-assigned. Since no one else brought it up, I took it upon myself to put all the pieces together in one place. I brought in a video camera and over the course of a couple of weeks, interviewed the lead engineer. The tapes I converted into technical manuals.

These manuals became the basis for the program's "T2" documentation - without them, the program would have been set back months, as regulations would have required the documents to be contracted. The team leader for the program was very pleased.