Newsletter
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http://www.sbe124.org
SBE Chapter 124
PO Box 1727
Portland, OR 97207-1727
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"Water Cooled Newsletter" SBE Chapter 124, Portland, OR
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| WHEN: | Tuesday January 9th, Noon. |
| WHERE: | Buffalo Gap Saloon & Eatery 6835 SW Macadam (at California) Portland 503-244-7111 |
| WHAT: | Dialight on LED Obstruction Lighting |
Details below.
Doug Woehler of Dialight will do a presentation on LED obstruction lighting. Obstruction Lighting products utilizing L.E.D. technologies were introduced in 1999 with an L810 sidelight and then in 2000 with the L.E.D. beacon. Today’s L.E.D based sidelights and beacons last at least 10 years versus the 12-18 months for an incandescent fixture or a maximum of 2-3 years with strobe technology tubes. In addition, an L.E.D. beacon consumes 48 watts and a sidelight consumes only 12 watts, whereas an incandescent technology system consumes a minimum of 1240 watts for a beacon and 116 watts per sidelight.
This session will address the existing regulations that we must conform to, along with the required configurations and lighting technologies that are currently available. In addition, an overview of lighting technologies "pluses and minuses" will be reviewed with a focus on L.E.D technology. Finally, the seminar will address retro-fitting existing control and monitoring systems and product specifications.
See http://www.dialight.com/Products/ObstructionLighting.cfm .
The Portland meetings are on the second Tuesday of every month. Everyone is welcome to attend the meetings. When you get to the Buffalo Gap, go in the SW California St. side door, turn left, and go upstairs. We have the whole upper floor. For more information on Chapter 124 in Portland/Vancouver/Salem, contact Chapter Chair Ev Helm, e-mail chairman at sbe124 dot org, or call him at 503-977-7752. For a map see http://www.sbe124.org/SBE124_maps.html .
Just lunch, though a Holiday Party, and the chapter picked up the tab! About 20 of us played "unknown facts" where you try to guess who the facts are about. My favorite: Larry Holtz (far left - so to speak - in the picture below) purposely spec'd the tower-once-known-as-KGON to be 3 feet taller than the Space Needle.
LP Technologies. A full band spectrum analyzer for the Sprint/Nextel 2 GHz Relocation Project. This device is under the allowance of the Broadcaster's 2 GHz Relocation Reimbursement program. See http://www.lptech.com/
by Kent Randles K7YXZ CBRE
Senior Engineer, Entercom-Portland
Co-Chair, Portland/Vancouver LAECC
Chapter Secretary/Newsletter Editor
watercooled at sbe124 dot org
If you are reading this online, you can subscribe to the e-mail version by going to http://www.broadcast.net/mailman/listinfo/sbe-pdx . Your address will NOT be used for ANYTHING else. The web version of the newsletter is at http://www.sbe124.org/newsletters/pdx0107/ .
Contract Engineer James Boyd K7MKN got a new left knee on December 15th. We have been kidding him about not being able to have any more knee-jerk reactions, not being able to get through airport security easily again, etc. He's doing fine: On the 29th he was trying to talk me into asking his wife to drive him up to Stonehenge (I know better).
Holding at 12 FM HD signals (nine with HD2) and two AM HD signals on the air in the Portland market.
Look for an HD Radio booth at the Portland International Autoshow January 25-28. Show site is http://www.paragonexpo.com/201.html?flash=0 .
Disney's 1640 KDZR should turn on their HD signal this month, leaving the market with just one AM Stereo station, during the day at least: 1450 KBPS.
Lots of new radios coming out, and a buyer's guide at http://www.hdradio.com/hdradio_buyers_guide.php .
Ibiquity has revamped their HD station lists, AM, FM, and HD2+ together at http://www.ibiquity.com/hd_radio/hdradio_find_a_station .
Steve Kaluza, Transmitter Supervisor for KGW-TV, says: "MediaFlo plans to begin radiating from their new antenna at the top of the Skyline Tower Site's main tower Friday, January 5th. They are on channel 55, 716-722 MHz., at 50,000 Watts ERP." Hopefully you don't have any wireless mics near that frequency.
See the overview at http://www.mediaflousa.com/back_stage/index.html
.
From http://www.times-news.com/local/local_story_360105026.html
by Michael A. Sawyers
Cumberland Times-News
December 26, 2006
CUMBERLAND, MD — Chazz Offutt, a fixture on Cumberland radio
since 1959, collapsed and died Tuesday morning during his popular "Morning Road
Show" broadcast on [1450] WTBO.
Offutt, 66, was stricken as he was speaking on-air.
"I was listening to Chazz. He had just said the time, 20 minutes after 8, and all of
a sudden I heard a noise and then there was just nothing," said Joanne Van, mother of
Jim Van, one of Offutt’s fellow DJs. "The mike was open and I heard somebody say
‘Chazz,’ then I heard them say ‘Call 911,’ then Jimmy called and gave
me the bad news. People will miss Chazz. He is a wonderful man."
The station’s general manager, Richard Cornwell, said the value of Offutt’s show
for WTBO was priceless.
"And I don’t mean that in a financial way. I mean that it was priceless for what
he meant to the town, to listeners, to all of us at the station. There is only one Chazz
with two Zs. That’s how we all knew him," Cornwell said.
Dec. 21, 2006 - Evidence is mounting: the next solar cycle
is going to be a big one.
(From http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/21dec_cycle24.htm?list862527)
Solar cycle 24, due to peak in 2010 or 2011 "looks like its going to be one of the most intense cycles since record-keeping began almost 400 years ago," says solar physicist David Hathaway of the Marshall Space Flight Center. He and colleague Robert Wilson presented this conclusion last week at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.
According to their analysis, the next Solar Maximum should peak around 2010 with a sunspot number of 160 plus or minus 25. This would make it one of the strongest solar cycles of the past fifty years—which is to say, one of the strongest in recorded history.
(From http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/12/15/104/?nc=1)
NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 19, 2006 -- In an historic move, the FCC has acted to drop the Morse code requirement for all Amateur Radio license classes. The Commission adopted the long-awaited Report and Order (http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-06-178A1.pdf) in WT Docket 05-235, the "Morse code" proceeding, and released it December 19. The FCC R&O also includes an Order on Reconsideration in WT Docket 04-140 -- the "omnibus" proceeding. It will modify the Amateur Service rules in response to ARRL's request to accommodate automatically controlled narrowband digital stations on 80 meters in the wake of rule changes that became effective December 15. The Commission designated the 3585 to 3600 kHz frequency segment for such operations, although the segment will remain available for CW, RTTY and data. The effective date of the FCC's R&O will be 30 days after publication in the Federal Register -- most likely in February. Currently, Amateur Radio applicants must pass a 5 WPM Morse code test to operate on HF. The FCC's action will eliminate that requirement all around.
From Jack Roland KEØVH
The net meets on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month at 11 AM Mountain time. Locally in Denver on the WA2YZT repeater, on 146.805 and 447.175 with a pl of 186.2. AND, through the Internet Radio Linking Project on the Denver Reflector Node #9874.
To find a node in your area you can go to the www.irlp.net website, click on the "Node Info" on the left, then click on the "List of nodes and frequencies" in the middle of the page. In a moment a full list of node numbers, cities, countries and the like will appear and do a page search for you city. When the node is highlighted click on the node number and that repeater information will appear, usually with contact information of the trustee/repeater owner. When you have done this and are able to access your node (usually at 4 digit code on the local repeater unless it is a closed club system), you will want to connect to the Denver Reflector Node #9874. . See also www.wa2yzt.com
If you need further help contact me at KEØVH at qsl dot net .
[The participating Portland node is 3420, N7PIR at 440.450 with a PL of 103.5 Hz, located on the Stonehenge Tower. Our own Mike Steiner KD6LVP is the trustee. See http://www.qsl.net/n7pir .]
by John White K7RUN
Chief Engineer, KKPZ/KDZR
(Pictures at http://www.sbe124.org/newsletters/pdx0107/)
On Thursday evening in the week prior to Christmas, a predicted winter wind storm hit the Oregon and Washington coast. Across Oregon, Portland General Electric reported 122,000 customers out of service. Pacific Power, Clark County, and other public utility districts reported similar levels of outages. One Oregon highway had more than 100 trees down in a 20 mile stretch. At the Mt. Scott, Sylvan, and Stonehenge broadcast facilities, commercial power failed early Thursday evening or was sporadic at best.
Fortunately this storm was primarily wind, without snow or freezing rain, which in theory would make travel to check out or for repair of transmitter facilities easier. Or, would it?
In fact, travel was a real problem after this storm. A large part of the traffic problem was the result of decisions made 30 years ago when local and state government decided that if they build roads then people will just use them. So, of course, they haven't built any. The absence of new roads coupled with the normal levels of holiday traffic made for more than the typical high levels of congestion even without a storm.
Friday, the morning after the storm turned congestion into a real traffic nightmare. Trees were down blocking roads, power was out at intersections, and power crews were everywhere blocking roads and repairing power lines. Traffic was seriously stalled. At the SE 111th and Foster Road intersection, access to Mt. Scott, the power and traffic lights were out. Traffic was backed up on Foster past 92nd. The alternate route of Flavel to Mt Scott blvd was closed by a traffic accident.
Lesson one: Look for and plan multiple alternate routes before an emergency.
For those familiar with the Mt. Scott area, the Idleman to Walnut access was open, but Tyler was blocked by a large tree down across the power lines to the west of Walnut. On Eastview drive a commercial tower was down across the power lines.
That commercial 2-way tower was located behind a residence on the west side of the 9800 block of SE Eastview DR. The tower came down across the house, through the tree, and smack dab on top of the power pole. In the process the tower crowbarred all three phases of the 2400 V distribution lines. From the look of things at the time, commercial power was going to be down for some time.
At the Crawford Mt. Scott transmitter site, the one with the self-supporting AM towers, there were a lot of limbs but no trees down and there was no immediate damage visible. The wind vibration did take out both upper side lights on one tower. That's not an immediate problem, although another relamping will be needed soon.
Once inside the transmitter building, the fuel supply was another story. At Scott the generator is mounted inside the building with the cooling air vented outside. This is a very common installation method used when there is sufficient space in the building. There is one disadvantage with this approach: for each cubic foot of air the generator exhausts from the building, a cubic foot of outside replacement air is required. Thursday evening and Friday that outside air was in the mid-30's. Yes, you guessed correctly. The 30 KW of electric heat was full on consuming generator fuel at a prodigious rate.
Lesson two: Evaluate the generator heat, cooling air, and fuel supply as a system.
Last summer I attempted to top-off the generator fuel supply. I basically got nowhere. The single biggest roadblock was the minimum delivery of 300 to 500 gallons. Fortunately our station manager has a business relationship with a local company for his home heating fuel. So I thought that relationship would help get an emergency refueling. Well it was a thought. They still insisted on a large minimum delivery, larger than a full tank. It took some calling but Friday afternoon we did manage to arrange an emergency delivery for Saturday.
Lesson three: If possible before the emergency try to get an agreement with a vender for emergency fuel delivery.
With fuel low and a delivery 18 hours away the next step was conservation. Building heat was the first to go. Fortunately with temps in the mid 30's heat was not critical. Had temps been below freezing protecting the fire sprinkler system would have been a major issue. So, off went the heat and all unnecessary power usage: the hot water tank, the refrigerator, everything not necessary. Additionally both stations were reduced to half power.
The next step was to locate a couple of 5 gallon containers to allow some fuel to be ferried to the generator. As it happened, PGE had been able to restore power at Foster road late Friday. The Foster gas station which also sells diesel fuel was open again. I also arranged to borrow the use of the local vintage Railroad Club's fueling rig. Even though it only has a capacity of 50 gallons, that rig represented a potential life line.
Lesson four: Have a fuel/power conservation plan and possible back up fueling plans in place prior to an emergency.
Other than all that, how was the storm? I was impressed by the response of the general public. Many roads were opened by local residents' chain saw work parties. Everyone pitched in and responded. Well done everyone!
by Chris Murray
Co-Chair, Oregon EAS (SECC)
Director of Engineering
McKenzie River Broadcasting, Eugene
ichabod at kknu dot fm
(See http://www.broadcast.net/mailman/listinfo/eas-or)
More from Chris next month.
by Everett E. Helm W7EEH CPBE
Director of RF Engineering
Oregon Public Broadcasting, Portland
>1 GHz Frequency Coordinator, Oregon and SW WA
Chapter Chair
chairman at sbe124 dot org
The FCC recently issued an NPRM to take the 12 MHz of wideband 700 MHz spectrum that was allocated to Public Safety and convert it to broadband use. The NPRM would reallocate that spectrum to a nationwide "public/private partnership" to create a broadband network that both commercial and public safety users can use - with public safety having priority. The spectrum could be used for video surveillance, E-mail, text messaging, and file transfers. The hope is that with a nationwide commercial licensee utilizing the spectrum on a secondary basis, the services would be available sooner and at less cost. Public Safety would always have priority. For more information, see: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-06-181A1.pdf
This is the same upper 700 MHz spectrum (TV channels 63, 64, 68, and 69) that the public safety community has been anxiously waiting for the broadcasters to clear.
With last month’s storms blowing though the Northwest, it’s probably rare to find someone that did not lose power at least for some period of time. We were out at my home QTH for 2 ½ days. We were the only PGE customer in our neighborhood that was without power for that length of time, due to a damaged pole transformer that feeds our house. Gave us a good chance to try out the 5 kW generator that up to this point had only been used for Field Day. The house became a spider web of extension cords that eventually fed even the computers and TV, beyond the essentials, such as the freezer and refrigerator. Even water pressure from the well was available for several hours each day to wash, flush, etc. Heat was from a wood stove. We did okay, but as I often commented, "the first 24 hours is an adventure, after that, it’s survival."
Skyline Tower apparently was out some short period of time, but we had already put the generator in "Storm avoidance" mode and operated very nicely throughout the power glitches and spikes on the line. Nary a glitch as the gen set synched up to the power grid both going on and off line.
As you should know by now, on January 1st the FCC is requiring all digital Broadcast services that participate in an EAS plan for their analog stations, must also provide EAS service to all digital program streams. This means the HD2 channels in radio, and all of the program services in the DTV transport stream. With radio, it’s not too bad an ordeal, since most of the audio is either AES, or analog at some point in the program line. With TV, it’s more involved unless you are already decoding the elementary program stream down to base band and re-encoding. Even at that, it still needs to be injected on all program services, which means it may have to be upconverted from SD NTSC to digital HDTV.
At OPB we have the additional complication that the new rule applies to all of our full service DTV stations. The transmitter sites do not decode the elementary transport stream at all, making it very difficult to add local information. It is possible, and at least one manufacturer is making a box to add the audio message and character generation at the ASI/ MPEG level. Basic problem is that the units are expensive, about $45K per site, and not deliverable yet. OPB has ordered one unit for the Network Center that will relay national and state EAS. It will not be operational by the 1st. We have asked the FCC for waivers of the new rules to cover the installation delay at KOPB and the implementation at the other 4 stations. Is there hope that someone will come up with a less expensive version for less money? The analog stations of course, which serve at least 95% of the viewers, will continue to provide the complete EAS package.
If you know of a young, energetic person who would like to work a little while traveling across the US and back to the west coast from Monday, April 30th through Friday, September 14th. What an adventure! Staging the "Taste of NAB Road Show!" Think of all the interesting places and people you would see! Please contact Larry Bloomfield directly if you or someone you know is interested.
Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years! And now, let’s have a great new year ahead too!
All for now.
Thanks, CUL, & 73, Ev
by Michael D. Brown N7AXC CSRE
Brown Broadcast Services, Inc., Portland
mike at brownbroadcast dot com
Mike's column appears in "even" months.
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