Letters to the Editor: Miraculous Meter Save

We’ve asked for your equipment horror stories (mashed meters, etc.), and you’ve delivered-in spades. We can’t fit all the letters we’ve received into this issue, but here’s one of the first. Watch for more such letters in the May (and possibly June) issues of Communications Technology. Back in the late ’70s, our corporate office of A-R provided me a new, very expensive signal level meter to evaluate. One evening, I received a call that there was an outage, so I arranged with a colleague to go directly to the area having trouble while I swung by the office to pick up a bucket truck. I transferred some tools and set the new meter on top of the utility bin. In a rush, I hopped in the truck and drove about 2.5 miles, and as I looked in the side rearview mirror to merge onto the highway from the entrance ramp, I saw that new meter still perched on top of the utility bin. I’m sure I turned ghost-like white. Horrified, I gingerly braked and pulled over, grabbed the meter, looked to the heavens appreciatively, kissed the meter and proceeded on my way. How it stayed atop the bin for that ride… Joe Baniak
NYS Office of Telecommunications