I have noticed that through the ages of man, power has been derived from various sources.

First we walked, lifted, and pulled with our own muscles.  Then came the age of beast power.  In my younger days, there was an often used expression “Shanks Mare.”  It meant traveling by foot.  Then came the machine age and with it wind power.  After that we started using electricity and then nuclear power.  Now we are into electronics and solar power.

Notice how all of the uses of power overlap.  We never really get rid of any of them; we just adapt new ways of using them.  Today we progress very quickly from what we are using to the newest gadget or power source.  Where before – centuries would pass using the existing means of power, today – if a certain way of using power lasts 10 years we think of it as very old.

Today we use all of these means of energy.  In my time I have used all them.  The use of electricity started less than 100 years before I was born.  I still have a difficult time understanding how some electronics can be used in one part of a building and not affect the electronics in another part of the same building.

For example when we first started wiring garages for electronic door openers, all an electrician had to do was supply power for the opener.  The installer did the rest.

One of the first ones we installed was on a home on a high traffic street.  The home owner called us back to the job saying the opener was not operating correctly.  We were in the garage checking our wiring when for no discernible reason the door opened.  A laundry truck had just passed by on the street.

When the delivery truck came back down the street, the door closed.

We called the company that had installed the door and the electronic controls.  They said; “Yes, it is possible for the door to open and close in response to traffic.  The ignition coil in a Ford has a strong signal.”

They came and changed the signal strength on the door opener and it eliminated the problem.

I have seen the same sort of thing happen with microphone and amp systems.  For awhile you could pick up CB talk on a sound system some distance away from traffic.

Today with electronic equipment everywhere, in every household, it is amazing that the signals are kept separate.

Who knows what the future will hold.