I always find it interesting to learn where certain idioms originated. Most times we don’t think about the history involved with these phrases when we use them, but some can have noteworthy origins. For instance, “riding shotgun” nowadays means sitting in the passenger seat of an automobile. However, it’s believed to come from the Old West where it wasn’t such a pleasurable choice. In those days to “ride shotgun” meant to actually carry and quite possibly use one, as you sat next to the stagecoach driver fending off bandits and/or hostile Native Americans. With death a real possibility, you probably wouldn’t be so quick to call “Shotgun!” in those days!
Another common idiom is “being shown the ropes”. Now, many of us probably wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for the helpful guidance of senior professionals in our industries. I for one can attest that being “shown the ropes” as a Controls Engineer intern, definitely gave me a great head start. For those of you who don’t know, the phrase “show the ropes” or “learn the ropes” comes from the golden age of sailing, when understanding how to handle the ropes necessary to operate a ship and its sails was an essential maritime skill.
“Learning the ropes” from an experienced colleague who has been there and done that, is extremely valuable and numerous online forums have been created to help facilitate the sharing of experience. Our newest community is one of those places. A place where like-minded professionals can engage with each other and share knowledge, offer advice or exchange ideas. Inside the community you’ll find technical forums that are active with thousands of users including hobbyists, engineers and even some of our development partners. There is also a Knowledge Base which provides numerous resources including example programs, FAQs and how-to videos. The General Community Information section includes read-only topics such as new product announcements, firmware/software updates and includes a place for community forum feedback and suggestions.
Here are just a few recent discussions from the Community technical forums, which are organized by product group as seen in image below:
• How to program a P2-HSI to show Rate (RPM)
• Wiring banner indicator light to P1000 P1-08TD2
• Send EA7 program to new EA9 HMI screen
• BRX to HMI via onboard RS-232
The Community page is always available – 24/7/365. Check it out and bookmark it now at https://community.automationdirect.com/s/.