Below are some interesting ham related items taken from the latest issue of the CGC Communicator (newsletter for southern California broadcast engineering professionals). For past issues, see http://www.bext.com/_CGC/contents.htm. A complete issue will give you more information on the e-newsletter. HNY.Fried(^.^) ____________________________________________________________________________ __________ A TOWER CLIMBER'S SAFETY HARNESS CAN KILL AFTER IT SAVES This authoritative government web site will open your eyes to an unimaginable problem with riggers' safety harnesses. The very devices designed to arrest a fall can kill a climber in a matter of minutes due to a curious phenomenon called "suspension trauma" that has nothing to do with the jerk force exerted by the arrest itself. Discover the details at: http://www.cdc.gov/elcosh/docs/d0500/d000568/d000568.html ****************************************************************** FCC OPENS SMART RADIO PROCEEDING In light of the ever increasing demand for wireless transmitters, the FCC has adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order that sets forth proposals and seeks comments on the uses and applications for "smart" radio systems. Smart radios have the ability to adapt their use of spectrum to their environments. For example, a smart radio system could use geolocation and table lookups to determine whether certain frequencies are candidates for use in a particular area. Then, those frequencies could be scanned, idle spectrum identified, and the best frequencies and power levels selected for a particular link. http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-242312A1.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-03-322A1.doc ****************************************************************** RULES FOR 5.9 GHZ INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION ADOPTED The FCC has adopted service and licensing rules for the 5.9 GHz Band (5.850-5.925 GHz) for Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) in the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Radio Service. DSRC systems will provide a limited-range, wireless link to transfer information between vehicles traveling at high speeds and roadside units or other vehicles. Some examples of short-range ITS applications include intersection collision avoidance, work zone warnings, road condition warnings, electronic toll collections, and electronic payment for gas, fast food, or parking. http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-242309A1.doc ****************************************************************** FCC'S POWELL PROMOTES A FREE MARKET TELECOM REVOLUTION The chairman of the FCC is sending out a message that the migration to digital telecommunications will not falter, and entrenched service providers such as telephone companies and cable television providers can either join the party or suffer the consequences. In an interview with reporters and editors from the San Jose Mercury News, Michael Powell shared a number of personal views including this gem: "I have no problem if a big and venerable company no longer exists tomorrow, as long as that value is transferred somewhere else in the economy." http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/7591252.htm ****************************************************************** WILL THIS VARIATION ON BPL ALLEVIATE INTERFERENCE CONCERNS? This interesting article from the "TV Technology" web site suggests that a new, higher speed transmission system using the microwave spectrum rather than HF, could indeed be an appropriate response to worries about anticipated interference to HF from Broadband over Power Line ("BPL") operations. And, if you think that microwaves cannot be transmitted over power lines, you might be surprised. Check out the story at: http://www.tvtechnology.com/dlrf/one.php?id=259 [Thanks to John Webber at KTVQ for the link.] ****************************************************************** NEW TV SCREENS CAUSE INTERFERENCE TO AM RECEPTION (CGC #607) Emails on plasma and LCD TV screens suggest that there could indeed be a serious radio frequency interference [RFI] problem caused by these screens, as shown below: ----- "I can confirm the [RFI] issue. My wife and I bought a 42- inch plasma and I have to shut it off completely to hear AM in my home. The monitor is great and the reception of the signals over the air of KPBS-DT is worth the price of admission. But when I come home, I can "hear" that the set [is] on while in the driveway and listening to the car radio." Christopher Carmichael, mailto:me@ChristopherCarmichael.net ----- "If plasma TVs give AM listeners problems, what will they do to the HF ham bands?" Neil McKie, mailto:n.mckie@bendcable.com ----- "I have an LCD rear-screen projection HDTV at the house. When I turn it on, it wipes out a perfectly good AM receiver in an adjacent room!" Ron Russ, mailto:russ@ktwv.cbs.com ----- [If you acquired a plasma or LCD TV from Santa this year and your AM reception has been affected, email us with your report. Are LCD monitors equally problematic? Mailto:steve@earthsignals.com. -SB] ****************************************************************** SATELLITE HISTORY: SYNCOM I, II, & III - I WAS THERE (CGC #607) I was one of the US Navy folks at Kingsport during the entire series of Syncom 1, 2 & 3 launches and tests. I have audio tapes of the launches and phone calls between the Prime Minister of Nigeria and President Kennedy, who were both assassinated not long thereafter. Syncom 1 worked during its initial launch, but when they fired the apogee rocket for geosynchronous orbit it exploded. During Syncom 2's launch, there was no equatorial correction, so it had a 22 degree north-south ellipse in a 24-hour period. With the corrections, Syncom 3 achieved near geosynchronous orbit. My job was range and range rate, parameters that are important for maintaining geosynchronsity; too close [to the earth and the satellite] would go faster than the earth's rotation; too high and it would lag the earth's rotation. During the project, I met my wife in Florence, Italy and courted her over Syncom II, probably the first time such a thing was ever done. Larry Bloomfield, KA6UTC, mailto:Larry@Tech-Notes.TV ****************************************************************** SOME LINKS OF INTEREST TO RADIO HISTORY BUFFS First, here's a listing of Internet links to historical sites, thanks to a tip from Johnny Morris: http://www.adams.net/~jfs/links.htm Then there is this link for updated WLW and VOA Bethany web pages thanks to Barry Mishkind: http://www.oldradio.com/archives/stations/cinc.htm ****************************************************************** AMATEUR RADIO DISTANCE RECORD SET AT 241 GHZ Ham radio operators have a keen tradition of pushing technology to its limits and setting new records of all sorts. Now, another Extremely High Frequency ("EHF") distance record has been set by the Virginia-based team of Brian Justin, WA1ZMS, and Pete Lascell, W4WWQ. The duo has stretched the 241 GHz record to 38.4 miles (61.8 km) where severe atmospheric signal absorption makes normal R-squared losses look trivial by comparison. The new distance record was set on Wednesday, December 3, 2003. [Base story from Amateur Radio Newsline, as edited by CGC. Also see <http://www.mgef.org/>.] ____________________________________________________________________________ __________