Chat with an old Otis mechanic at a supply house changed my mind about digital controllers

This guy told me he's been fixing elevators since the 70s and said the new tech is great until a lightning storm fries a board, then he just walks away and waits for a part while the old relays could be patched up in 20 minutes with a screwdriver and a prayer, got me wondering how many of you still work on old relay systems?

3 comments

3 Comments

sarah5314d ago

Did he mention how heavy those old relays were to lug around?

wyatt_green313d ago

My uncle threw his back out for a week moving one of those old relays in a barn he was clearing out.

adam_thompson533d ago

Oh man, those things were absolute beasts. My grandpa had a whole crate of old relays from some telephone switching station he helped tear down back in the 70s. You could barely lift one without throwing your back out, solid metal and massive transformers inside. He said they used to have to set them in place with two guys and a dolly just to move them across a room. Makes you appreciate how tiny and light everything is now, but back then you got a real workout just swapping out a faulty relay.