Hi! I'm Ernie. I've been playing with this stuff since I was introduced to collecting 78 rpm records in 1961. Got a second hand record player; when it broke, I could toss it or learn to fix it. That was the start.

I love this stuff, I love the challenge of figuring out problems, I even love the simple work because somehow it's never repetitive. I learned to know more about an item than was needed just to use it, and that attitude has helped me come up with new ways to use old tools...just don't ask me to explain it as succinctly as ed.

The first remote I programmed was a Crestron Smartouch -- closed myself into my garage with it for a week and came out with a decent program. I could even charge for about half of that time, as only about half of it was wasted figuring out the program. Alas, that was when Crestron was simple. I now do mostly RTI, the occaisonal Prontoid, the rare Universal.

If you need advice on turntables, I'm still up on them, but not the exotic ones. If you want a 78 rpm needle, I know where to get it. And, Lord knows, if you've got a question about a word, go for it!