Everything about Chapter 124 is summed up in the monthly
November 2011 Newsletter
(below the list of advertisers)
| Representative | Web site |
Business
card |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Abbott | Belden Electronics Division |  |
| Michael Bach WB6FFC |
|
|
| Al Jason | Harris Broadcast (Radio) |  |
| Tom Franklin | Norcom |  |
| Matt Granard | Westlake Electronic Supply |  |
| Joe Harrington | Harrington Tower Services |  |
| Gray Haertig | Gray Frierson Haertig & Associates |  |
| Bryan Jones | Broadcast Electronics |  |
| Matt Leland | Dielectric |  |
| John Pierce | Tektronix |  |
| Robert Rogers | Broadcast Tower Services |  |
| Larry Sayer | Rohde & Schwarz |  |
| Debbie Storz | Econco |  |
| Ellis Terry | Nautel |  |
| Bob Trimble N7IYI |
RF Specialties |  |
| Michael Troje | Continental Electronics |  |
Snail mail:
SBE Chapter 124
PO Box 1727
Portland, OR 97207-1727
You may use excerpts if attributed to the original
source and
"Water Cooled Newsletter" SBE Chapter 124, Portland, OR
In order to prevent e-mail addresses from being "mined" and then spammed, there are no longer clickable links to e-mail addresses, or intact e-mail addresses. For the addresses shown, substitute "@" for "at" and "." for "dot." Thanks!
| WHEN: |
Tuesday November 8th, Noon |
|
| WHERE: | Buffalo Gap Saloon &
Eatery 6835 SW Macadam (at California) Portland 503-244-7111 |
|
| WHAT: |
Stuart Brenner, Western Sales Manager for Cobalt Digital will do a presentation on their latest OpenGear products including ones for the upcoming CALM act.
Lunch will not be covered. |
|
Almost all the presentations are made at the meetings of all three Oregon SBE Chapters.
The Eugene meeting is usually the day after the Portland meeting.
The Medford meeting is usually two days after the Portland meeting.
The Portland meetings are held at lunchtime 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 Street-side door, turn left, and go upstairs. We have the whole upper floor, which has its own bathrooms. Be sure to get there early, because after the Gap's parking lot fills up you'll be searching the narrow streets for blocks around to find a place to park. 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 and directions see http://www.sbe124.org/SBE124_maps.html .
Advanced Broadcast Solutions presented Robert Nunez from Ensemble Designs
Dave Spraker, the ABS Oregon rep was on hand as well.
Robert
The Chapter
12/13: Annual Holiday Party. The Chapter will buy lunch. Lots of door prizes!
January '12: Joe Falcone of JVC will bring their latest products.
February '12: Graziano Casale of Screen Service America will do a presentation on their latest products including Translators.
March '12: Advanced Broadcast Solutions will bring Apantac
May '12: Jay Wallace, Regional Sales Manager - Northwest, at ClearCom
June '12: Jonathon Powell, sales manager, of Advanced Fiber Products will do a presentation on the basics of fiber technology, as it particularly relates to broadcast TV usage. It is designed to be a “refresher” on fiber, and has little or no “sales” content, just one slide at the end.
by Kent Randles K7YXZ CBRE
Senior Engineer, Entercom-Portland
Co-Chair, Portland/Vancouver LAECC
Chapter Secretary/Newsletter Editor
the_secretary at sbe124 dot org
FEMA announced today [11/3] that the National EAS Test will only be 30 seconds long. Theories about how it got shortened by more than 2/3rds include lobbying by cable system operators with EAS systems still lacking the means to put up any video other than the output of their character generators. Since this is a "live code" test, if you just watched with the sound turned down, or were hearing impaired, you might think it was the real thing.
Then there are the folks who are convinced that the end of the test will be cut off and their EAS boxes will be stuck on the EAN forever. I experimented with a couple Sage boxes, plus Sage has put out a PDF about it: push the ABORT button. This will send the EOM and bring your station, and any station monitoring you, back to normal. However, after this happens your Sage's screen will stay locked in the EAN mode and you'll have to reboot it. But you will not be stuck.
I don't think there is going to be a problem, but the audio is not going to be pristine after going through three or four EAS boxes and two or three processing chains.
A National Test is almost 15 years overdue.
Several good links:
http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/emergency-alert-system-nationwide-test
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/ipaws/eas_best_practices_guide.pdf
And for Sage owners, http://www.sagealertingsystems.com/
From Vic Gamble, President, Professional Video and Tape, Inc.
To all Professional Video and Tape customers and vendors,
Pro Video and Tape is making some changes in its retail sales and demo floor. In doing so sales manager Brian Walker was laid off. After his termination Mr. Walker sent out an email titled "It's Been a Grand Ride" without authorization to do so and without the knowledge of any PVT management or staff. The email was entirely false and misleading.
Let me be clear. Although PVT is undergoing some changes that will interrupt the flow of retail business for the next few weeks, we are OPEN FOR SALES, SERVICE, AND INTEGRATION. We are here as always. We welcome your business. We value our relationships with you.
My apologies for the confusion this may have caused. Looking toward the future and many more years of doing business with you.
From http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter?issue=2011-10-13#toc01
As the third quarter of 2011 came to a close, ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, began calculating the number of licensed Amateur Radio operators in the US, as well as the number of new licensees. “At the end of September, I saw that the number of hams in the US was high,” she said. “When I started comparing that number with other years, I found that it was an all-time high.” For the first time, there are more than 700,000 radio amateurs in the US.
“When looking at the three current license classes -- Technician, General and Amateur Extra -- these numbers are impressive,” Somma explained. “The number of Technicians peaked in March 2011 at 342,572, while in September 2011, we saw both Generals and Extras peak at 159,861 and 125,661, respectively. As new Technicians earn their Amateur Radio licenses, and current Technician licensees move on to General and Generals upgrade to Extra, this can cause up-and-down fluctuations for these totals.”
Somma said these high numbers mean that hams are upgrading and renewing in larger numbers and staying interested in hobby: “These are compelling statistics and I am thrilled to see the highest number of amateur radio licensees ever! When I began working at the ARRL back in the mid 1980s, there were approximately 450,000 amateurs in the US. Our VEC program conducted an average of 55 sessions a week. Today, we administer approximately 150 exam sessions each week, and our total number of licensees across all three license classes continues to grow each year.”
In the past 40 years, the number of Amateur Radio operators in the US has grown at a remarkable rate:
December 1971: 285,000
December 1981: 433,000
December 1991: 494,000
December 2001: 683,000
September 2011: 700,221
Source: 1971, 1981, 1991: print editions of Radio Amateur Callbook. 2001, 2011: www.ah0a.org/FCC/Graphs.html. Please note: While the number of licensees has grown considerably over the years, we realize that these numbers include some who are no longer active in Amateur Radio. A recent survey of ARRL members, however, indicates that more than 80 percent of those responding are active.
“As technology changes and advances, it is especially vital to keep up or be at the forefront,” Somma said. “I believe that Amateur Radio has done just that! The measurable results are our indisputable license numbers. It amazes me after all these years how important and relevant Amateur Radio remains. I am proud to be one of the 700,221 licensees and to see this historic and important milestone.”
Click here to go to the SBE124 Facebook page. You'll want to "like" it.
There are 14 FM HD signals (thirteen with HD2, and one of those has an HD3) and usually three AM HD signals on the air in the Portland market. Go here for a complete list.
There are now over 1000 multicast stations and 100 HD Radios to choose from. See the buyer's guide here.
89.9 KQAC has added an HD2, simulcasting not-on-the-air-yet KZME, which I.D.'s itself as being on 107.1, a translator on the Stonehenge Tower. So now the Mt. Hood Community College student-run station is back on 89.1 KMHD-HD2.
The Society of Broadcast Engineers has
announced the opening of the SBE University; a series of on-line, on-demand
courses designed to bring expert instruction on a variety of technical
radio and television topics to broadcast engineers at an affordable price.
Beat the recession with these all-new, affordable "nuts and bolts" courses available to take anytime at your convenience. No travel, hotel or other costs to eat up your limited training budget, these courses are developed by experts for the SBE.
The Society of Broadcast Engineers offers numerous levels and types of certifications for broadcast technicians and engineers.
Operator Level Certifications
Broadcast Networking Certification
Engineering Level Certifications
Specialist Certifications
Exams are given several times a year locally, and annually at the NAB Convention in Las Vegas.
Exam schedule:
| Exam Date/Window | Location | Application Deadline |
| February 3-13, 2012 | Local Chapers | December 31 |
| April 17, 2012 | NAB convention | March 23, 2012 |
| June 1-11, 2012 | Local Chapters | April 13, 2012 |
| August 3-13, 2012 | Local Chapters | June 1, 2012 |
| November 2-12, 2012 | Local Chapters | September 14, 2012 |
For information, e-mail our Chapter Certification Chair, Eric Margeson certification at sbe124 dot org.
The new SBE CertPreview will be a download from the SBE website or you may choose to have the CD mailed to you. The program will be installed onto your computer and will be machine specific. The program will be available for Windows and Mac. Each sample test contains 100-150 questions typical of those found on an actual exam. You will take the exam in its entirety and be able to mark and review questions before scoring your sample exam. By scoring the exam, you will be given a percentage and a breakdown of categories contained within the exam. This will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses. You will also be able to revisit questions that you answered wrong.
Cost is: $29 for the download (per test)
or $33 for the CD (per test)
add $3 per CD for shipping/handling
* Multiple tests can be purchased on one CD
Click here for the fillable order form
From Jack Roland KEØVH
The net meets on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month (except in August) at 10 AM Pacific Time. The SBE IRLP HAMnet is based in Denver using the NØPQV Rocky Mountain Radio League repeater, IRLP node #3350, And national and worldwide via the IRLP reflector 9615. All of this information can also be referenced at http://www.sbe.org/sections/IRLP.php.
See http://www.eham.net/articles/25478 .
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 #9615.
If you need further help contact me at KEØVH at qsl dot net .
[A good Portland node is 3420, N7PIR at 440.450 with a PL of 103.5 Hz, now located on the Skyline Tower. SBE 124 <1 GHz frequency coordinator Mike Steiner KD6LVP is the trustee. See http://www.qsl.net/n7pir .]
For southwestern Washington and ALL of Oregon: >1 GHz call Ev Helm W7EEH at 503-977-7752, fax 503 293-4877, or e-mail microwave at sbe124.org; <1 GHz call Mike Steiner KD6LVP at 503-235-8517, fax 503-231-4624, or e-mail under1gig at sbe124.org.
You can browse the database at http://www.sbe124.org/part_74/.
If you are not IN the database, you are NOT coordinated.
Event notices are sent to members of the sbe-pdx e-mail list. To sign up, go to http://lists.radiolists.net/mailman/listinfo/sbe-pdx .
At noon on the second Tuesday of every month, broadcast engineers in Portland meet at The Buffalo Gap Saloon & Eatery, 6835 SW Macadam (at SW California), 503-244-7111. Enter on the California side, take the first left, and go up the stairs. We have the entire 2nd floor and our own bathrooms. Get there early, because after the Gap's lot fills up, you'll be searching the narrow streets for blocks around to find a place to park. For more information on the restaurant see http://www.thebuffalogap.com . For directions, go to http://www.sbe124.org/SBE124_maps.html. For chapter information call Chapter 124 Chair Ev Helm at 503-977-7752, or e-mail chairman at sbe124 dot org. As usual, anyone, member or not, is welcome to attend.
