I submitted a link to this site to AutomatedBuildings.com and Ken Sinclair got back to me with an interview request!
You have find the interview in their April 2016 issue, here. In it we discuss in broad terms what this site is about and my plan for it going forward.
Here’s a snippet:
Sinclair: Is there enough content to cover in the general field of communication for automation equipment?
https://www.automatedbuildings.com/news/apr16/interviews/160323010909scheffel.html
Scheffel: Absolutely! A technician these days can be expected to understand OPC, Modbus (TCP and serial based), BACnet (UDP and serial based), Lonworks (TCP/UDP and FT10/XF1250), the pet propriety protocol of the company they work for, and all of the intricacies of TCP/IP networking in a virtual corporate environment run with an iron first by an IT department. Not to mention the recent addition of devices that communicate via Wireless USB, Zigbee, and other wireless protocols.
I also shared my hunch that security is going to be a serious concern for us in the future, as building automation security is poor in general. Hopefully we can learn from the past and avoid large-scale catastrophes by taking security seriously today. We know the kind of equipment is controlled by our devices in the field and we know their default passwords, too. Doing things securely is much harder on the technician, but it’s the right thing to do.
I expressed my goal of using my professional software development experience to build tools that can help automation specialists install and service automation systems. When I was at Honeywell, I did this more than I did anything else and it made my work and the work of my peers much easier. Unfortunately I can’t share anything I made while employed, but I can make new things!
Thanks for the interview and for providing such a great resource, Ken!