Author Archives: Rob

Project Engineer

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AVI-SPL moved me to the role of Project Engineer. The main responsibilities are to participate in the equipment procurement process and to develop CAD drawings. This position is familiar to me as I’ve been seeking the change since well before the pandemic started. This moves me away from the commission engineering to working at a desk and with the Design Engineering team.

My previous work in the field was always an adventure. My time developing good relationships with the clients helped AVI-SPL to win repeat business. We have a great team. Nonetheless, I will NOT be missing the 1.5 to 2 hour commute to Chicago every day (one way). Instead I’m filling that time with family, exercise and volunteering with the youth at my church. It’s a good move.

Zoom Rooms Certified

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Zoom’s platform is hitting the AV industry by storm and I’m seeing lots of corporations integrate Zoom into their infrastructure. This comes in examples like the Logitech Tap and Crestron FLEX using an interface such as the Mercury or TSW-1060.

This certification was thorough and took several weeks to complete (since I predominately did it on the train while commuting to Chicago). This covered the Zoom story, meetings, hosting webinars through Zoom, account management, Room administration and integration with 3rd party systems such as Polycom and Microsoft. The integration portion covered protocols such as H.323 and SIP. It also provided procedures for activating licenses per the many platforms upon which Zoom can integrate.

This certification was first achieved December 2019.

Bluebeam Revu

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Bluebeam Revu is an industry standard construction software used primarily for drawing markups. I’ve been using it for years for field As-Built drawings and design submitting. AVI-SPL offers a training suite that covers company processes along with how to use the software properly. Previously I was using Autodesk CAD exclusively. This week I completed the trainings.

Microsoft Teams Rooms Technical Assessment

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Since the COVID-19 pandemic corporations have started utilizing “soft codecs.” These consist of video conference software like Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Webex. The traditional conference room utilizes hardware such as Cisco Webex Room Kit Pro or Polycom GroupSeries. Soft codecs provide a USB for a user laptop to connect to the conference room’s microphones, camera and speakers. So the world is now about USB connections and platform licenses on the soft codec.

This training was for Microsoft Teams Rooms. Microsoft historically has lead the market in hardware compatibility. Teams Rooms are no different. The Microsoft Teams Room is compatible with many hardware types including Lenovo, Logitech, Crestron and Hewlett Packard. The training covered the entire process of installation, to network configuration, to deployment all the way to user implementation.

CTS-I Certification

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AVIXA offers three industry standard certifications. The CTS (Certified Technology Specialist) is the base and prerequisite for the others which was earned in 2015. I earned my CTS-I (Installation) last week by building upon the foundation of the CTS. My situation in Chicago is a bit strange since I’m in the engineering department and not a union installation technician. If I were employed in a non-union area I would be doing both install and engineering. Since I’m in Chicago, most of my work is engineering in the field.

A Certified Technology Specialist – Installation (CTS-I) certification confirms the AV system installer is capable of installing and maintaining audiovisual systems by following specifications, schematics, codes and safety protocols; administering installation process logistics; troubleshooting and problem-solving systems; maintaining tools and equipment; and communicating with clients, designers, other trades, other installers and staff to provide the best audiovisual solutions for clients.

Zoom Room Refresher

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I’m already Zoom Certified but this webinar was nice to keep current. It was a technical discussion focused on integration. They discussed size of room, types of peripherals required and licenses required based on the platform. It was covid-19 style. I’m an essential worker which means I don’t work from home – which is both good or bad depending on one’s attitude for the day.

Shure Integrated Systems Certification Level 2

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The second part of Shure certification includes the Dante certification. Fortunately, I’ve already completed this so that saved a day or two. This section was by far the most beneficial as it addressed wireless microphone coordination. This included design of antennas and television auctioning.

  • Conference Room Design Basics
  • Networking for AV Professionals – Part 2
  • Shure Master Class: Wireless Best Practices & Techniques
  • Dante Certification Level 2 Completion