The Weirdest Glitch: A Burroughs Sorter's Unlikely Fix

The banking industry has relied on document processors, or 'sorters,' for decades. These large machines—up to 40 feet in length, 6 feet high, and 4 feet deep—can process millions of checks. They use magnetic ink to make each transaction identifiable and efficient. This article explores an unusual and challenging glitch I encountered as a young field engineer for Burroughs Corporation in Denver, Colorado.

A New Glitch in an Old Machine

One of the largest components of these machines is the spray endorser. This seemingly simple device is responsible for applying a unique endorsement to each check to mark it as processed. In one installation, however, the spray endorser was non-functional, despite the machine being brand new from the factory. No one, from the factory engineers to the site staff, could get it to work, and tensions ran high as legal disputes and paperwork consumed the team.

Deep Dive Into the Hardware

Upon my arrival, I began a deep dive into the machine. The spray endorser relied on complex circuitry, involving both optical and electrical systems to ensure the accuracy of transactions. I spent several hours troubleshooting but encountered an unexpected issue: the signals generated for the endorser were never arriving, despite the proper ones being generated and sent.

The InDepth Circuitry Investigation

The circuit boards were inserted into a backplane, a frame containing up to 20 large circuit boards. Integrated circuits, like PLLs and oscillators, controlled motors and vital systems. The backplane, with its 100,000 tiny green wires crisscrossing through a maze of square pins, posed additional challenges. After examining the signals at different points and oscilloscope waveforms, I traced the problem to a few specific pins on the circuit boards, where a simple miswiring seemed to be the culprit.

The Unexpected Fix

Upon accessing the motherboard inside the card cage, I realized the issue was more serious. The wires were wrapped on the wrong pins. This misalignment would not have been apparent from the top of the motherboard but became evident when viewed from the bottom. Using the Burroughs-issued tool grip, I unwound and repositioned the wires to the correct pins. The result was impressive: the spray endorser began to work flawlessly.

The Aftermath

After that day, I was transformed from the new-hire to a celebrity among the team. The issue that seemed impossible to resolve had been fixed, and it was done by someone right on the site. The lawsuit was dropped and the customer's satisfaction with Burroughs increased. However, this experience was overshadowed by the global workforce reduction caused by Michael Blumenthal's tenure as the CEO. Ten months after I was hired, Burroughs laid off most of its workforce, and I was included in this devastating restructuring.

This story highlights the importance of understanding complex hardware components and the potential impact of meticulous component-level troubleshooting. Despite the challenges and the eventual layoffs, it serves as a reminder of the ingenuity and dedication required in industrial computer repair.