William E. "Bill" Whitlock

After graduation, I attended SPJC and Pinellas County Technical Institute (top of class in electronics technology) and worked a year for General Electric Neutron Devices in St. Pete and 3 years aboard a missile tracking ship in the Pacific, the USNS Vandenberg, which was sunk in 2010 a few miles off Key West as an artificial reef and diving attraction. I moved to Hollywood, California in 1970 and started working toward my dream career ... I began designing large mixing consoles for recording studios in 1972, became chief engineer for Laserium (laser light shows) in 1975, and became head of electronic engineering for Capitol Records from 1981 to 1988. From 1989 to 2014, I was owner & chief engineer of Jensen Transformers, Inc., (see website) ... it's founder and friend had committed suicide. I moved up the coast to Oxnard, CA in 2000 and now spend most of my time writing technical articles for magazines and teaching seminars on grounding of audio and video systems (how to eliminate hum and buzz) at industry trade shows. I've also lectured at a number of universities, including MIT and the technical university in Buenos Aires. I have a reputation for solving problems that stymie other engineers, including a long-standing one at Seahawk Stadium and another that affected many American Airlines planes. I now hold five US patents ... several became successful products!

I came out as a gay man shortly after moving to California in 1970. Eventually, I met my husband Art in 2004 and we were legally married in 2014. He has a son from a previous marriage, who will be graduating high school soon and is proud to have two dads.

Since selling my business (on my 70th birthday) and semi-retiring, I'm able to concentrate on what I love best, technical writing and teaching. Most recently I taught my 4-hour seminar in Indianapolis September 1, 2021. I've been writing chapters in other books for many years, but I intend to start writing my own technical book next year.

Many will remember me as a "nerd" at Northeast (AV assistant, science club, radio club, ... you know the stereotype). I wore very thick glasses, was overweight, and had horrible acne, making me pretty much a social outcast ... but I had a few good friends. Perhaps my best friend was Kenny Fielder, class of '61, and we had great conversations on our daily school bus rides. Anyway, I was a deeply closeted gay ... but in those days (and especially in conservative Florida), I didn't even know what gay was, let alone know anyone like me. I remained a "closet case" until I moved to California, where I learned there were lots of people like me, that I wasn't "sick," and that I could stop pretending to be someone I wasn't.

I've always wondered what became of the popular kids at Northeast and I'm happy to have found this website! I feel very fortunate that - a bit like Bill Gates - my passion/hobby turned into a career that took me farther than I would have ever dreamed possible. I was chief electronics engineer for Capitol Records from 1981 to 1988 and then, for the next 25 years, I owned my own company with 15 employees designing and manufacturing professional audio products. I lived in a big house at the edge of a golf course on the California coast, and have no chronic health problems (knock on wood) except glaucoma. My brother Bob and his wife Nancy, truly wonderful people, still live in St. Pete and I visit them every few years.