2015, GE Speedtronic Mark V control system

“Timers and counters” refer to a special memory location in Mark V ( and perhaps in most generic control systems), where their values are simply counting up (accumulated). Timers and counters are mostly used to record the life events of a machine, such as: hours of running, times of startups, times of trips, total amount fuel used thus far, and etc. 

Unlike other variables, their values are constantly updated and stored in non-volatile memory location, where in Mark V case is the good old EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only-memory), so that they are kept after a power cycle or processor reboot. The reason for this is clear: you don’t want to reset the numbers!

But, sometimes (though very occasionally) the accumulator or totaliser, name by which timers and counters are formally called, can be messed up.

Ending Remark

I may not am the first in this world who managed to hack this (besides the original inventor himself), but it was the process of taking up the challenge, finding clues and answers that are not readily available, and finally able to solve it, that thrilled me most and gave me great job satisfaction.

Quoting from “Life’s a Pitch” by Stephen Bayley,

“It is not the originality of the idea which drives most (business) successes, but it is the commitment to making the idea happen.”

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