At a recent fiber optic technician training class, I heard some interesting stories about using existing pre-installed fiber optic links for various types of data communication.

As technology marches on, we are reaching some interesting inflection points. I have found that there are many devices and software programs that appear to be smarter than me, which is quite disconcerting. (Ever see “Terminator 2”?)

Dave Engebretson tests a variety of Wi-Fi access points to see their performance

Dave Engebretson tells a tale about the wi-fi at his mother’s home. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to dramatically change our customers’ security and video surveillance system needs. Where past concerns were primarily focused on intrusion detection, shoplifting and/or vandalism, and life safety, now added to these issues are concerns about the spreading of the coronavirus from proximity to an infected person. 

One of the themes I have been presenting in my classes and speeches is the “professional” products and services that our industry can provide clients. It should be obvious to anyone that the flood of do-it-yourself (DIY) products  combined with the megadollar advertising budgets of their manufacturers are enabling consumers to DIY their alarm and video.

Throughout the past four decades in the electronic security, business technicians have often had to rely on testers and tools that were not specifically designed for our industry’s needs.

If you read the kind of stuff that I do, you cannot help but be amazed at the explosive growth of the Internet of Things, IoT for short. With the costs of Wi-Fi interfaces dropping into the range of $1 per device in large volume, more and more “things” are getting connected to LAN networks and the Internet.

As life moves on I often require assistance in taking care of my training business.