Shortly after moving to Toronto I took a job at Litton Systems Canada (LSL) — a division of Litton Industries. This division was primarily tasked with producing guidance systems, and at one point most of the commercial airline guidance systems in the US and Canada came from LSL.
My position was in a section called Test Equipment Engineering. They were responsible for making sure that all pieces of test equipment used in manufacturing were precisely in spec and accounted for. There were literally thousands of items that were considered “test equipment” — anything from a sophisticated electronic device down to a screwdriver, and also the software that ran any automated tests. Our task was to track every item, recall it according to its schedule, have it tested in a lab, and then update the records and return it to use. Our customers (many contracts were from the US pentagon and other countries) required such records be kept accurately.
When I started there, they had a rudimentary program based on old hierarchical database technology, but they wanted to modernize and improve the system. I was in charge of the migration to Unix-based computers (Hewlett-Packard HP-UX) and a relational database (Informix). I was instrumental in selecting the computer model and other related hardware, doing most of the database programming, and managing a few other workers.
The system pumped out printed forms for each item that was due for calibration, then these forms went to the calibration labs where engineers would retrieve the physical devices (each had a serial number tag). After they were calibrated (tested against standards), the forms were filled in and the devices were returned to use. Some devices required calibration only every few months, while others called for weekly or bi-weekly testing.
I was also responsible for our department’s computer terminal installations and re-locations. In those days, workers had a terminal on their desks, not a computer. The terminals were connected using a COAX cable, and communicated directly to the UNIX computer. One of the attached photos shows the COAX cable tap that was used to connect an individual terminal to the coaxial network line.
Another project that LSL worked on was the first “heads-up” display for the Apache helicopter. Although I wasn’t an engineer, someone offered me a tiny role just for fun: The system had some control buttons with a novel LCD backing that could change icons depending on its function. I was given the opportunity to design one of the LCD icons! I don’t recall what it was, nor do I know if it was ever actually used in production, but it was something of a thrill.
The Litton job (which I kept for 12 years until we left Toronto), was my introduction to UNIX, Hewlett-Packard, and relational databases.
