Comments for Tech Letters

Comment on Miscellaneous Comments by joemadas

joemadas — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:36:53 +0000

John Pegram Bittner of Flagstaff represented himself to the Navajo Nation as a member of the SBE (Society of Broadcast Engineers), even though his membership had lapsed. The Arizona Republic says “tribal leaders hired him to get the station off the ground, and the project began attracting grant funding.” In late 2010, Bittner was working the phones to Washington to get money deposited to a bank account he controlled. But he never bought any equipment or began construction, and the project is now seriously behind schedule. Last week, federal prosecutors filed a collection of 18 criminal charges against Bittner alleging theft, wire fraud and money laundering. That’s separate from the civil case they filed last December, hoping to recover $130,000 that has gone missing.
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More info may be seen below, from rbr.com and azcentral.com. -sb

http://rbr.com/man-indicted-for-taking-funds-from-navajo-fm-startup/
-and-
https://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2012/04/02/20120402navajo-radio-plan-grinds-halt-man-accused-taking-funds.html

Comment on CGC #1129 by Mike Worrall

Mike Worrall — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 21:28:21 +0000

With regard to Part 3 of your series of comments on bird anti-perching devices, and specifically the comment from one local engineer:

“The “non interference” version of the anti-perching wires is exactly the same thing with the V of steel wire encased in plastic….”

In terms of the products sold by Bird-B-Gone, this is not true. I wrote to the Bird-B-Gone Company this note:

“Can you please say whether-or-not your Polycarbonate Bird Spikes contain metal of any kind? Specifically, are the Polycarbonate Bird Spikes made from metal which is then *coated* with “polycarbonate”, or are they made from 100% polycarbonate (with no metal of any sort)?”

Mr. Jeff Watts from Bird-B-Gone replied:

“Yes, Mike, it is 100% Lexan polycarbonate – no metal.”

Comment on CGC #1126 by Steve Blodgett, W7RNA

Steve Blodgett, W7RNA — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:14:46 +0000

(Via Email RE: “Lightsquared”)-SB)

Subject: Re: CGC #1126
From: Stuart
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2012 22:16:28 -0400 (EDT)

A major factor regarding space based navigation (there are several, 2 fully operational) is that many different L band frequencies are involved. This means that the receivers must use wideband antennas, and front-ends to process very weak, spread-spectrum signals. GPS L1 the primary civilian carrier is centered on 1575.42 MHz and L2, used by the military (as well as some civilian users) is centered on 1227.60 MHz. There are a total of five operating or proposed frequencies ranging from 1176.45 to 1575.42 MHz in the GPS system.
The operational Russian system, Glonass L1 is on 1602.0 with satellites using different frequencies. They plan to have at least five different frequencies in use. The European Galileo system will also be in L band on international satellite frequencies, once it’s fully running in two years with 30 satellites in orbit. Some current civil receivers can use two or more systems for greater accuracy.
This block of L band has to be guarded from strong adjacent terrestrial signals, because the receivers have to be wideband. Unless Lightsquared and or the FCC can get around the physics of the problem, the adjacent bands should remain for satellite (weak) use only. Maybe we will all have to invest in cryogenic (super-cooled) filters to insure continued use.
For more information, take a look at Wikipedia, starting with GPS.

Stuart Landau
K6YAZ

Comment on CGC #1125 by Mike Worrall

Mike Worrall — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 20:35:44 +0000

In RE: # 1125
MORE ON OMNIA’S IMPROVED FM STEREO TRANSMISSION SYSTEM
Something seems odd to me when listening to / viewing the two samples of audio in the demonstration. The November 15 (FMDSB) audio does not sound like ‘multipath’ as I’ve experienced it; rather it sounds like ‘no RF’, i.e. the radio has nothing to demodulate. I would describe mulitpath as a brief audio anomaly manifested as noise that might be ‘described’ as “pffft, pfft, pfft”. The Nov. 15 audio is simply “missing.”
The November 16 audio (SSBSC) has good examples of what I have experienced as multipath.
So, I’m completely unconvinced – though the Omnia scheme may indeed produce a reduction in multipath, this demonstation does not relate to any multipath situation I have experienced.

Comment on CGC #1124 by Steve Blodgett, W7RNA

Steve Blodgett, W7RNA — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 02:57:54 +0000

I won’t buy one of these, but I confess, the thought crossed my mind as a solution to rude, loud restaurant cell users. – Steve Blodgett.

Comment on CGC #1124 by Steve Blodgett, W7RNA

Steve Blodgett, W7RNA — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 02:54:39 +0000

(via email from Dan Ramos)

I saw the video about the Philadelphia man using a illegal cellular jammer on a transit bus through the CGC newsletter.The TV station that posted the story is a local NBC affiliate, which means a lot of viewers saw this story in the local area. I am sure a few viewers were asking themselves ” Where can I get such a device?” Other viewers were certain they found a solution to a big talker in a office setting or coffee shop.

Unfortunately, due to the overzealous use of these wireless devices, people are getting fed up with their use and presence.There have been instances of cellular phones interrupting classical music concerts and people chased out of libraries because they used these devices in a quiet area.

In a society where breaking the law is common (speeding above the posted limit, using illegal drugs) I predict the use of these jammers will become prevalent as time goes on.People are going to find a way to stop cellular users invading their space, like it or not.Nevermind that the jammers are illegal.

Dan Ramos// Huntington Beach,CA

Comment on News from FEMA Online Seminar: Senate Warning Bill to be Introduced Soon by Richard Rudman

Richard Rudman — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 04:28:55 +0000

Not all committees are created equal, and current efforts to improve public warnings (and EAS) are starting to bear fruit. I would submit that mission, leadership, genuine cooperation are traits that set a functional group apart from Heinlein’s blanket assessment. The EAS device manufacturers group got together in a Committee and came up with a functional profile so CAP can work with EAS. When I chaired the FCC’s EAS National Advisory Committee, we were able to bring stakeholders from various groups such as the hearing impaired in to participate. The Southern California Frequency Coordinating Committee (SCFCC) is another good example of a functional group that has been running with good results since the late 70′s.

The committee proposed in Sen. Collins proposed legislation will be useful if it is populated by committed and knowledgeable EAS stakeholders. The behind-the-scenes advice given to Sen. Collins will take it in that direction — absent major changes in the current language of the bill. All this stems from this premise: It is the legal and moral duty for government, once it knows about a risk to life and limb, to warn people so they can do as much as possible to take actions to protect themselves and those around them. If you buy into that premise, please support efforts to help government to issue better warnings. There is more to this, but that is the basic premise I work from. If you have questions or comments, this is good place to post them along with other EAS-specific sites like the EAS Forum.

Comment on News from FEMA Online Seminar: Senate Warning Bill to be Introduced Soon by James K. Thorusen

James K. Thorusen — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 02:15:08 +0000

As Heinlein wrote: “A committee is a life form with six or more legs and no brain.” Here we go again…. another government-mandated committee and another layer of bureaucracy…. wasn’t it government that created the EAS mess in the first place? As Marian Mustoe wrote (as noted in the same issue of the CGC newsletter) it’s time to give the whole thing up as a bad job.