Here Comes Digital TV

Although I am very much a techie, I often lag in adopting the latest consumer technology. I don’t need to be the first one on my block to own the latest gizmo, since that usually means paying more for less, compared to waiting until next year. However, since our household has this pressing “need” for … Read more

Ham Radio Ruckus on Digital Bandwidth

Things have been a little too quiet on the various ham radio email lists. That all changed when the FCC issued a Public Notice concerning RM-11392, a petition by Mark Miller N5RFX to modify the rules concerning digital emissions and automatic control. The petition is posted in two parts on the FCC web site: RM-11392 … Read more

New Rover Rules for VHF Contests

Without much notice or fanfare, the ARRL posted a new set of general rules for VHF contests. The changes seem to be centered on the rover category, which has been the subject of much controversy over the last decade or so. See So You Want to Be A Rover for more information on the rover … Read more

Mobile Phones Hit 50% of World Population

Holy Freaking Cow! Try to count all of those cellphones. From Reuters: HELSINKI, Nov 29 (Reuters) – Worldwide mobile telephone subscriptions reached 3.3 billion — equivalent to half the global population — on Thursday, 26 years after the first cellular network was launched, research firm Informa said. Since the first Nordic Mobile Telephony (NMT) networks … Read more

Ham Radio in the News

Jeff KE9V picked up on a news item about the ham radio response in the recent Oregon floods. (The ARRL has a more detailed report here.) There is a news report from KPTV that has this great quote in it: “One of the problems in this is always communication,” Gov. Ted Kulongoski said after a … Read more

How Much Money Does NASA Spend?

Right up front, I admit I am a fan of the US Space Program (see info on working the International Space Station on 2M FM). This does not mean that I think NASA always spends the taxpayer’s money effectively,but I basically support the US Government spending money on space exploration. Thus, my interest was snagged … Read more