TNoB video

Troubleshooting techniques: Affirming the consequent

Listen to the audio:

Join the conversation; call 1-877-763-3246, leave a comment below the video, or hit me up on Twitter (@PaulAlanClif)

On today’s Tech, No Babel: Troubleshooting techniques: Affirming the consequent

“Affirming the consequent” is a term in the study of logic. It means, basically, inferring one of many possible causes from the effect.

Just because it could be the cause, doesn’t mean it is. Learn why here:Click To Tweet

The problem with doing this in troubleshooting is that you immediately eliminate possible causes, concentrating, instead on one, which may or may not be the cause.

Here’s an example from my own life. My microphone needs a battery to work. It also needs a working XLR cable. When I recently had trouble with the microphone not working, I thought to myself, “If the battery is dying, the microphone won’t work. The microphone doesn’t work. I’ll change out the battery.” That didn’t fix it. Why? It was a possible cause, but it wasn’t the cause. The actual cause was a short in the XLR cable that connected the microphone to the sound board.

Affirming the consequent is like that. You think of a cause and get convinced that it’s the cause. It’s much better to do it the other way around. What are all the possible causes? Can you eliminate any of them based on other evidence. Then, and only then, do you try testing to see which is the cause.

Keep in mind, though, that sometimes testing will fix a problem when you didn’t purposely address the cause. Moving a cable with a short while changing a battery may make it seem like the battery was the cause, when it was the cable.

So, just because one thing seems to fix the problem, that doesn’t mean it did. You have to be vigilant and keep your eyes open for things that don’t fit.

For more tips on avoiding this mistake, watch the video.

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate.

About this show:

If you do video or graphic design to advance your church’s mission, this show is for you.

How to Subscribe to the show (for free):

* Subscribe on YouTube

* RSS feed

* iTunes one-click subscription and don’t forget to rate the show there as well.

*

For more questions, comments, or snide remarks, comment below or contact me at:

Facebook or Twitter

More video can be found on YouTube.com

Also check out my Google+ page

Troubleshooting Techniques: Correlation vs Causation

Listen to the audio:

Join the conversation; call 1-877-763-3246, leave a comment below the video, or hit me up on Twitter (@PaulAlanClif)

On today’s Tech, No Babel: Troubleshooting Techniques: Correlation vs Causation

There’s a danger that you can fall into when you’re troubleshooting. It’s possible to start to think that things that are correlated in time are cause and effect. That may be the case, but it may not as well.

Correlation isn’t causation. No matter which of the troubleshooting techniques you choose, be careful not to make that mistake.Click To Tweet

Today’s featured image shows this mistake perfectly well. Time is the only relationship between use of Internet Explorer and the murder rate, but you may be tempted to think that they’re somehow linked because of the chart I’m showing here.

Don’t. There’s no relationship between these things. Likewise, while “what changed” is a good question to ask, not all changes caused what happened after them. Maybe they did, but there should be a stronger correlation. If something is truly a cause, it should make sense. Work by a plumber is unlikely to cause a projector to quit working, but work by an electrician might.

For more examples, watch the video above.

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate: http://patreon.com/paulalanclif

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate.

About this show:

If you do video or graphic design to advance your church’s mission, this show is for you.

How to Subscribe to the show (for free):

* Subscribe on YouTube

* RSS feed

* iTunes one-click subscription and don’t forget to rate the show there as well.

*

For more questions, comments, or snide remarks, comment below or contact me at:

Facebook or Twitter

More video can be found on YouTube.com

Also check out my Google+ page

Listen to the audio:

Join the conversation; call 1-877-763-3246, leave a comment below the video, or hit me up on Twitter (@PaulAlanClif)

On today’s Tech, No Babel: Troubleshooting Techniques: Using the Scientific Method

Asking a question: What is the cause of this problem?

Hypothesis: What you think it is

Prediction: If this is true, what is also true

Testing: Seeing if this aligns with reality

Analysis: Seeing if the hypothesis is correct

Repeat: If you’re correct, the results should be repeatable under identical circumstances.

One of the best troubleshooting techniques is to use the scientific method. Watch this to learn more:Click To Tweet

Example: Switcher doesn’t work at all, no lights nothing.

Question: Why doesn’t it work at all?

Hypothesis: The outlet isn’t working

Prediction: If the outlet isn’t working, plugging the switcher into another, should cause it to work. Likewise, plugging something else into this outlet should cause that something not to work.

Testing: Plug switcher into another outlet, plug a known working piece into that outlet.

Analysis: Switcher works in new outlet. Lamp works in suspected bad outlet. Outlet isn’t the cause of the failure, unless it’s not sending enough electricity to power the switcher, but is for the lamp.

Repeat: Check if cord has an intermittent short, if switcher now works in the suspected bad outlet, etc.

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate.

About this show:

If you do video or graphic design to advance your church’s mission, this show is for you.

How to Subscribe to the show (for free):

* Subscribe on YouTube

* RSS feed

* iTunes one-click subscription and don’t forget to rate the show there as well.

*

For more questions, comments, or snide remarks, comment below or contact me at:

Facebook or Twitter

More video can be found on YouTube.com

Also check out my Google+ page

Listen to the audio:

Join the conversation; call 1-877-763-3246, leave a comment below the video, or hit me up on Twitter (@PaulAlanClif)

On today’s Tech, No Babel: Troubleshooting Techniques: Asking the right questions

In The Matrix, Trinity tells Neo, “It’s the question that guides us.” Then she asks, “Do you know what the question is, Neo?”

In troubleshooting, asking the right questions in invaluable. If you ask the wrong questions, you’ll get the wrong answers.

One of the best troubleshooting techniques is “asking questions”. Here’s why:Click To Tweet

Troubleshooting is basically a logic game. You gather information and eliminate hypotheses that don’t fit. Whether you’re asking someone else or asking yourself, you need to ask the questions that reveal the information you need.

Watch the video for more.

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate.

About this show:

If you do video or graphic design to advance your church’s mission, this show is for you.

How to Subscribe to the show (for free):

* Subscribe on YouTube

* RSS feed

* iTunes one-click subscription and don’t forget to rate the show there as well.

*

For more questions, comments, or snide remarks, comment below or contact me at:

Facebook or Twitter

More video can be found on YouTube.com

Also check out my Google+ page

Listen to the audio:

Join the conversation; call 1-877-763-3246, leave a comment below the video, or hit me up on Twitter (@PaulAlanClif)

On today’s Tech, No Babel: Troubleshooting Techniques: Avoiding Problems before they happen

A relative of mine (distant, but I’m still claiming him) said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. When it comes to troubleshooting, that’s so true.

Sometimes, you know that a problem will happen, but it hasn’t gotten as bad as it will. Do this and you’ll thank me later:Click To Tweet

Have you ever had something break, but it wasn’t severe enough to warrant you fixing it right away, so you put it off?

The car I’m driving now had a problem where it would overheat in traffic. I don’t get in traffic all that often, so I didn’t worry about it. One day, I got stuck and couldn’t get going fast enough to move air through the radiator fast enough, so the broken radiator fan issue became a broken radiator. If only I’d fixed the radiator fans, it would have solved that problem, but I waited and had to fix both.

Tech can be like that. Sometimes, you see a piece starting to go south. Fix it early, so that it doesn’t break more stuff.

Watch the video for more.

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate.

About this show:

Tech, No Babel is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-4 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

But, if you miss the live show, I’ll put up the edited show later (usually on the same day) right here.

If you do video or graphic design to advance your church’s mission, this show is for you.

How to Subscribe to the show (for free):

* Subscribe on YouTube

* RSS feed

* iTunes one-click subscription and don’t forget to rate the show there as well.

*

For more questions, comments, or snide remarks, comment below or contact me at:

Facebook or Twitter

More video can be found on YouTube.com

Also check out my Google+ page

Listen to the audio:

Join the conversation; call 1-877-763-3246, leave a comment below the video, or hit me up on Twitter (@PaulAlanClif)

On today’s Tech, No Babel: Troubleshooting Techniques: Upgrading production software

Both Microsoft and Apple have recently released new versions of their OS. It can be very tempting to upgrade as soon as possible, but you should be careful if your computer is used for live production.

When should you update your production software? Probably not when you think:Click To Tweet

With an OS update, some software will just stop working. Other software will work, but have glitches. Some hardware might quit working as well.

Before you update, list the most important software you have. Do you use ProPresenter, Photoshop, or some other software? Check with each vendor to see if they’ve not only tested the software with the new version, but tested it with hardware that you’re using. Especially with Windows, there are so many configurations that it’s possible you’d have a configuration that mostly works, but the part that doesn’t is something like a capture card or another mission-critical piece.

That’s why you should never update on the first day. You should also update with the most possible time to spare. That way, if something breaks, you have days, not minutes to fix it.

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate.

About this show:

Tech, No Babel is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-4 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

But, if you miss the live show, I’ll put up the edited show later (usually on the same day) right here.

If you do video or graphic design to advance your church’s mission, this show is for you.

How to Subscribe to the show (for free):

* Subscribe on YouTube

* RSS feed

* iTunes one-click subscription and don’t forget to rate the show there as well.

*

For more questions, comments, or snide remarks, comment below or contact me at:

Facebook or Twitter

More video can be found on YouTube.com

Also check out my Google+ page

Listen to the audio:

Join the conversation; call 1-877-763-3246, leave a comment below the video, or hit me up on Twitter (@PaulAlanClif)

This show is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-4 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

On today’s Tech, No Babel: Troubleshooting Techniques: Dealing with Digital

For some things, digital works great. If you’re hooking up a BluRay player to a tv, 3 feet away, HDMI is awesome. For production, it’s less than ideal.

Troubleshooting digital signals has some unique challenges. Learn about them here:Click To Tweet

One thing to consider is that HDMI has a maximum range (according to spec) of 10 meters (or about 33 feet). Look in your sanctuary and estimate how long a cable would have to run to get to your projector. Don’t forget that you have to go up the wall, along the ceiling, and then down to the projector. When you add all that up, 33 feet isn’t very long.

So, you can adapt the signal to SDI which will travel farther or use a set of Baluns to send it over cat5, etc. The problem is that each conversion may introduce difficulties.

Now, don’t forget that digital signals don’t show degradation like analog signals. An analog signal will slowly get fuzzier and lose color. A digital one will just disappear. So, it’s possible to have a signal that “just barely works” and it looks perfect and a signal that “just barely doesn’t work” and it shows nothing. The difference between those two looks like a lot, but in practice, it might just be an oxidized connector or a slightly weaker signal. In practice, this means that an install that “worked perfectly for months” could “suddenly quit working” for no apparent reason.

Watch the video for more information.

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate.

About this show:

Tech, No Babel is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-4 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

But, if you miss the live show, I’ll put up the edited show later (usually on the same day) right here.

If you do video or graphic design to advance your church’s mission, this show is for you.

How to Subscribe to the show (for free):

* Subscribe on YouTube

* RSS feed

* iTunes one-click subscription and don’t forget to rate the show there as well.

*

For more questions, comments, or snide remarks, comment below or contact me at:

Facebook or Twitter

More video can be found on YouTube.com

Also check out my Google+ page

Listen to the audio:

Join the conversation; call 1-877-763-3246, leave a comment below the video, or hit me up on Twitter (@PaulAlanClif)

On today’s Tech, No Babel: Troubleshooting techniques: What it can do and what it’s designed to

It’s valuable to know everything a piece can do, even if it’s not designed to do it. When you’re troubleshooting, you should check if the system depends on making a piece of equipment do something it’s not supposed to do because sometimes that will cause a failure later.

Sometimes you can stretch what something can do; other times, that’s the problem. Watch this to see what I mean:Click To Tweet

Other times, by stretching the capabilities of a piece, you can do more than your budget allows. The trade out is that sometimes it won’t be as stable as the right piece or sometimes you’ll spend more time and effort making the wrong piece work than buying the right piece. So, do the research to see which is the case.

For more, watch the video.

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate.

About this show:

Tech, No Babel is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-4 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

But, if you miss the live show, I’ll put up the edited show later (usually on the same day) right here.

If you do video or graphic design to advance your church’s mission, this show is for you.

How to Subscribe to the show (for free):

* Subscribe on YouTube

* RSS feed

* iTunes one-click subscription and don’t forget to rate the show there as well.

*

For more questions, comments, or snide remarks, comment below or contact me at:

Facebook or Twitter

More video can be found on YouTube.com

Also check out my Google+ page

Listen to the audio:

Join the conversation; call 1-877-763-3246, leave a comment below the video, or hit me up on Twitter (@PaulAlanClif)

On today’s Tech, No Babel: Troubleshooting Techniques: Troubleshooting a Computer

What troubleshooting techniques should you use when troubleshooting computers? Some of them are similar to troubleshooting other hardware, but the software layer in a computer adds complexity.

What troubleshooting techniques should you use when troubleshooting computers? Take a look:Click To Tweet

First, always reboot. Software left running can get glitchy.

Next consider what software may have been added to the mix. New software sometimes breaks things.

The hardware can be to blame, too, though. Power supplies can weaken over time and spinning hard drives do eventually fail.

Watch the video for more tips.

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate.

About this show:

Tech, No Babel is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-4 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

But, if you miss the live show, I’ll put up the edited show later (usually on the same day) right here.

If you do video or graphic design to advance your church’s mission, this show is for you.

How to Subscribe to the show (for free):

* Subscribe on YouTube

* RSS feed

* iTunes one-click subscription and don’t forget to rate the show there as well.

*

For more questions, comments, or snide remarks, comment below or contact me at:

Facebook or Twitter

More video can be found on YouTube.com

Also check out my Google+ page

Listen to the audio:

Join the conversation; call 1-877-763-3246, leave a comment below the video, or hit me up on Twitter (@PaulAlanClif)

On today’s Tech, No Babel: Troubleshooting Techniques: Dealing with multiple causes

First, determine if you may have multiple causes.

Consider it as a possibility if:

-removing a known bad piece doesn’t fix the problem.

-adding in a suspected good piece breaks the system again.

-you can’t eliminate the problem.

When you’re troubleshooting, how can you tell if you have multiple issues? Try these tips: Click To Tweet

What to do:

-get extra simple.

-try to test each piece.

-consider a single cause for the multiple failures.

For more details, watch the video.

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate.

About this show:

Tech, No Babel is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-4 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

But, if you miss the live show, I’ll put up the edited show later (usually on the same day) right here.

If you do video or graphic design to advance your church’s mission, this show is for you.

How to Subscribe to the show (for free):

* Subscribe on YouTube

* RSS feed

* iTunes one-click subscription and don’t forget to rate the show there as well.

*

For more questions, comments, or snide remarks, comment below or contact me at:

Facebook or Twitter

More video can be found on YouTube.com

Also check out my Google+ page