Dave Willis

David Willis, long-time chief engineer, TCI, now retired, supervised on June 30 the unloading of library and museum collections of The Cable Center as they arrived in Denver from Penn State.

SCTE Hall-of-Famer Dave Willis
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Dave WillisDave Willis

Editor's Note : For the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers' 30th anniversary issue , we wanted to interview an engineer whom everyone would recognize as a pioneer.I could picture only a very few with as much background as Dave Willis.Here is an engineer who designed and constructed systems without the benefit of the modern equipment or technology we enjoy today.With tube equipment , basic test equipment such as 704s , a volt-ohm meter ( VOM ) and a diddle-stick , Dave built and engineered the cable operator known until recently as TCI , now owned by AT&T.Let's take a look back through the years.

Communications Technology : Tell us about your days before cable.

Dave Willis : I was born in Nebraska , only 165 miles from Denver.In the early years , right after high school , I went to work in the oil fields.Then the Korean War broke out , so in December 1950 , I enlisted in the Air Force to get an electronics background.

I was assigned duties as an electrician at an Air Base Group.I had applied for a tech school for almost a year before I got into airborne electronics.The Air Force sent me to Keesler in Biloxi , Miss. , for a year.
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Dave Willis : A company from Denver , Collier Electric Co. , was building a cable system in Sydney , Neb. , so I went to the engineer to see if I could get a technician job.He hired me , gave me the plans for the system , and went back to Denver.So within the next few months , I completed the system.

I hooked up a lot of subscribers ; we had about 80-percent penetration the first year.The first 30 days I spent on top of a 750-foot tower installing antennas.We picked up Denver , over-the-air , on that 750-foot tower from about 165 miles.

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Dave Willis : Cable was such a remarkable development , and people didn't seem to understand television.I was overseas during the last two years of my enlistment and had never actually seen television until I came home in 1954.This was in western Nebraska , and there wasn't a lot of television around.

My Dad had a TV set and a big rooftop antenna.You could occasionally , in the evening , get 30 minutes of something that looked like a picture.I hired on with the cable TV company thinking I would see where all this would go.
...
Dave Willis : Jerry Shield , director of engineering for Community TV , invited me to Denver to work for him.
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Dave Willis : In 1971.We moved to the Denver Tech Center and started to expand dramatically.
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Dave Willis : Among the great things I remember was the continuous progression of equipment.Every aspect of cable TV improved year by year by year.There was a constant improvement in amplifiers , one product after another.Cable improved , studio equipment and especially in-home equipment , tap devices-tremendous advances in such a short period of time.

The other thing is how this was truly a grass-roots industry.It was never subsidized by any government entity that I know of.
...
Dave Willis : After I became the director of engineering in 1971 , I wore many hats.I was purchasing agent , director of engineering , in charge of facilities and training.I don't think I had to do windows , but I did just about everything else.Because of that , I got a very broad view of all the things involved in the technical department and facilities.This put me in contact with many , many vendors.

I remember fondly the many vendor relationships I had with all of the various people.
...
Dave Willis : I cherish the memories of some of the guys I got to work with.I never had a real enemy within my own camp , or at least if I did , I wasn't aware of it.The guys I worked with closely were just extremely good guys , very conscientious and hardworking.We worked so hard that we didn't have a lot of time to raise our heads and look around.

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Dave Willis : It was amazing that the years flew by so quickly.It seems only yesterday I was climbing poles , soldering taps and doing all the things I did.And now here , all of a sudden , I'm 68 years old and retired.How quickly it went.

And what a wonderful experience it was being a part of this unbelievably dynamic industry that was really just a bootstrap operation that I think everyone in the industry should be proud of.Whenever I hold a class or give a talk , I always emphasize that cable TV made some contributions not immediately apparent.
...
Dave Willis : I was single when I entered the cable industry , and I think I had been in cable for three years before I got married.It always kind of galls me when I hear people today saying , Well , it's this television that makes these kids go wrong and do bad things..I have three kids , and they are wonderful kids.They never knew a day in their lives without cable TV , and I've got to say my kids never got into any serious trouble.They've lived pretty good lives , and they've turned out to be excellent individuals.I have four grandkids now , of whom I am very proud.When they get older , they may disown Old Pappy , but right now I just love them.

Dave WillisDave Willis

Editor's Note : For the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers' 30th anniversary issue , we wanted to interview an engineer whom everyone would recognize as a pioneer.I could picture only a very few with as much background as Dave Willis.Here is an engineer who designed and constructed systems without the benefit of the modern equipment or technology we enjoy today.With tube equipment , basic test equipment such as 704s , a volt-ohm meter ( VOM ) and a diddle-stick , Dave built and engineered the cable operator known until recently as TCI , now owned by AT&T.Let's take a look back through the years.

Communications Technology : Tell us about your days before cable.

Dave Willis : I was born in Nebraska , only 165 miles from Denver.In the early years , right after high school , I went to work in the oil fields.Then the Korean War broke out , so in December 1950 , I enlisted in the Air Force to get an electronics background.

I was assigned duties as an electrician at an Air Base Group.I had applied for a tech school for almost a year before I got into airborne electronics.The Air Force sent me to Keesler in Biloxi , Miss. , for a year.
...
Dave Willis : A company from Denver , Collier Electric Co. , was building a cable system in Sydney , Neb. , so I went to the engineer to see if I could get a technician job.He hired me , gave me the plans for the system , and went back to Denver.So within the next few months , I completed the system.

I hooked up a lot of subscribers ; we had about 80-percent penetration the first year.The first 30 days I spent on top of a 750-foot tower installing antennas.We picked up Denver , over-the-air , on that 750-foot tower from about 165 miles.

...
Dave Willis : Cable was such a remarkable development , and people didn't seem to understand television.I was overseas during the last two years of my enlistment and had never actually seen television until I came home in 1954.This was in western Nebraska , and there wasn't a lot of television around.

My Dad had a TV set and a big rooftop antenna.You could occasionally , in the evening , get 30 minutes of something that looked like a picture.I hired on with the cable TV company thinking I would see where all this would go.
...
Dave Willis : Jerry Shield , director of engineering for Community TV , invited me to Denver to work for him.
...
Dave Willis : In 1971.We moved to the Denver Tech Center and started to expand dramatically.
...
Dave Willis : Among the great things I remember was the continuous progression of equipment.Every aspect of cable TV improved year by year by year.There was a constant improvement in amplifiers , one product after another.Cable improved , studio equipment and especially in-home equipment , tap devices-tremendous advances in such a short period of time.

The other thing is how this was truly a grass-roots industry.It was never subsidized by any government entity that I know of.
...
Dave Willis : After I became the director of engineering in 1971 , I wore many hats.I was purchasing agent , director of engineering , in charge of facilities and training.I don't think I had to do windows , but I did just about everything else.Because of that , I got a very broad view of all the things involved in the technical department and facilities.This put me in contact with many , many vendors.

I remember fondly the many vendor relationships I had with all of the various people.
...
Dave Willis : I cherish the memories of some of the guys I got to work with.I never had a real enemy within my own camp , or at least if I did , I wasn't aware of it.The guys I worked with closely were just extremely good guys , very conscientious and hardworking.We worked so hard that we didn't have a lot of time to raise our heads and look around.

...
Dave Willis : It was amazing that the years flew by so quickly.It seems only yesterday I was climbing poles , soldering taps and doing all the things I did.And now here , all of a sudden , I'm 68 years old and retired.How quickly it went.

And what a wonderful experience it was being a part of this unbelievably dynamic industry that was really just a bootstrap operation that I think everyone in the industry should be proud of.Whenever I hold a class or give a talk , I always emphasize that cable TV made some contributions not immediately apparent.
...
Dave Willis : I was single when I entered the cable industry , and I think I had been in cable for three years before I got married.It always kind of galls me when I hear people today saying , Well , it's this television that makes these kids go wrong and do bad things. I have three kids , and they are wonderful kids.They never knew a day in their lives without cable TV , and I've got to say my kids never got into any serious trouble.They've lived pretty good lives , and they've turned out to be excellent individuals.I have four grandkids now , of whom I am very proud.When they get older , they may disown Old Pappy , but right now I just love them.

Cable pioneers and engineers such as Archer Taylor, Dave Willis, Alex Best and others, and new millennium technologists, visionaries and decision-makers such as Glenn Jones, Tony Wasilewski and more, have their own theories on cable's most impactful technologies of the past, and future.
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Perhaps just as dramatic a discovery, albeit 25 years earlier during cable's "seat-of-the-pants" era, was transistorized amplifiers, says Dave Willis, curator of technology and artifacts for the Cable Museum and a TCI (TeleCommunications Inc.) engineer in cable's early years."That was really a leap forward in the early 1960s," Willis says."The next millennium will see the rapid movement of cable and computers.And content over a computer is where the future is.People want changing content, and cable will have to make deals with the AOLs and others to expand the use of cable networks," he notes.

Cable pioneers and engineers such as Archer Taylor, Dave Willis, Alex Best and others, and new millennium technologists, visionaries and decision-makers such as Glenn Jones, Tony Wasilewski and more, have their own theories on cable's most impactful technologies of the past, and future.
...
Perhaps just as dramatic a discovery, albeit 25 years earlier during cable's "seat-of-the-pants" era, was transistorized amplifiers, says Dave Willis, curator of technology and artifacts for the Cable Museum and a TCI (TeleCommunications Inc.) engineer in cable's early years."That was really a leap forward in the early 1960s," Willis says."The next millennium will see the rapid movement of cable and computers.And content over a computer is where the future is.People want changing content, and cable will have to make deals with the AOLs and others to expand the use of cable networks," he notes.

CT Editor-in-Chief Rex Porter talks with Dave Willis of the National Cable Television Center and Museum.

Cable pioneers and engineers such as Archer Taylor , Dave Willis , Alex Best and others , and new millennium technologists , visionaries and decision-makers such as Glenn Jones , Tony Wasilewski and more , have their own theories on cable's most impactful technologies of the past , and future.
...
Perhaps just as dramatic a discovery , albeit 25 years earlier during cable's seat-of-the-pants era , was transistorized amplifiers , says Dave Willis , curator of technology and artifacts for the Cable Museum and a TCI ( TeleCommunications Inc. ) engineer in cable's early years.That was really a leap forward in the early 1960s , Willis says.The next millennium will see the rapid movement of cable and computers.And content over a computer is where the future is.People want changing content , and cable will have to make deals with the AOLs and others to expand the use of cable networks , he notes.

David Willis Named Industry Fellow for The Center  » The Cable Center
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David Willis Named Industry Fellow for The Center - October 05, 1996

David L. Willis, active in cable television engineering and technology for more than 40 years, including 21 years as director of engineering for TCI, has been designated the first Industry Fellow of The National Cable Television Center and Museum.

The designation recognizes distinguished service to the cable industry extending to individual and volunteer service to The Center. As an Industry Fellow, Willis will serve as curator of the Technology and Artifacts Collection of The Center Library.

David Willis Named Industry Fellow for The Center »

David Willis, curator of the Technology Collection, said that preference in judging was given to unique original headend and transmission items, original tools and original drop equipment such as cable clamps, tap-off devices and apartment distribution devices.

The Center co-sponsored the competition with the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE), Communications Technology Magazine and CED Magazine. The equipment has been added to the Technology Collection of The Center.

The prizes were presented at the annual meeting of the SCTE. There were eight entries. Willis said that The Center gets calls regularly from potential donors of cable equipment. Instead of shipping the items to The Center, Willis suggests that potential donors send him a materials list. He will review the list and select items that are not already at The Center and inform a potential donor of The Center's needs, thus saving the donor unnecessary shipping costs.