Dennis Thompson
Most of you probably already know that the SBE 66 community lost one of its long-time engineers when Randy Stover passed away on December 27th. Randy had been the radio frequency coordinator for the Central Valley and was a contract engineer for many radio stations throughout the San Joaquin Valley since the 1960’s. Read more about Randy in the newsletter HERE.
A reminder to all the full-power and Class A TV licensees, that you have until February 4 to get your public inspection file uploaded to the FCC’s on-line system. If you’re a little behind (make that A LOT behind, you’ve only got ONE week) click HERE to find out what needs to be uploaded.
Is your Master Control layout getting a bit boring? Perhaps your amateur radio room needs a bit of spicing up? Take a look at these photos of the Space Shuttle Endeavour’s cockpit HERE to grab a few out of this world ideas on a remodel.
Are LED flood/spot lamps not ready for prime time? The Swedish national amateur radio society reports on a case of LED lights in a shop’s windows that jammed city bus radios on 167.0375 MHz. The lights causing the problem were LED spotlight lamps. It was discovered that the lamps generated considerable RFI and they are now being replaced. Anyone experiencing failures/RFI with their hi-tech LED lamps? The current February issue of “Consumer Reports” has giving very favorable reviews of the LED bulbs they have been testing, both in terms of life and performance, with one exception. The “Eco-Smart PAR38 ECS 38 Bright 75W 866194,” a $33 75-Watt equivalent bulb, showed low enough in their test scoring that CR does not recommend them now. Play it safe and keep your receipts, just in case.
Some good news in Radio, at least for FM’s. The number of stations are up from previous years (see chart below). Of course I’m assuming that more = better. Open for discussion, no doubt.
|
CATEGORY |
2012 |
2002 |
1992 |
% SINCE ’92 |
| AM STATIONS | 4,738 | 4,804 | 4,961 | (-4%) |
| FM COMMERCIAL | 6,598 | 6,173 | 4,785 | +38% |
| FM EDUCATIONAL | 3,860 | 2,354 | 1,588 | +143% |
| TOTAL | 15,196 | 13,331 | 11,334 | +34% |
| FM TRANSLATORS/BOOSTERS | 6,075 | 3,825 | 1,954 | +211% |
| LOW-POWER FM | 809 | 0 | 0 | ~ |
One more thing, it’s that time of year when the good folks at SBE 66 treat us to a great Italian dinner at Luna’s Restaurant in Clovis. Hope to see you all there at 7PM in their banquet room. Anchovies, Spumoni and Chapter 66 Officer elections all in the same night–don’t miss it!
