Dennis Thompson
We’ll be taking a short break in the meeting schedule for the month of July. No gathering this month, but look for the SBE 66 gang to return in August (Thursday the 27th-TBA) and of course, the Meadow Lakes BBQ and Picnic on Saturday September 19th. Details to follow.
Blue Moon alert: TONIGHT (Thursday July 30th). Ok, so it probably wont look blue, unless you have special glasses, or an erupting volcano, or massive wild fire nearby. No doubt, you’ve probably witnessed a few of these blue moons before. According to the modern definition, a blue moon is actually the second full moon in a calendar month. July 2 was the first full moon appearing this month. Keep in mind that this will be the last blue moon until Jan. 31, 2018 (there will be two that year) just in case you need some extra incentive to go out and peak. NASA explains the blue moon in greater detail HERE.
Know what your gate keeper is up to! The engineer for WENY in Southport, NY left the gate open for a tower crew, and a week later FCC field agents found it–still open. The station called it an inadvertent error that the tower crew did not relock the gate. The FCC disagreed. The definition of “willful” came into play, with the FCC saying it was not necessary that one intended to violate the rules. “All that is necessary is that the licensee knew it was doing the act in question.” Apparently, the FCC’s $7,000 fine will stand.
Every little bit helps. . . AT&T’s decision to include FM Chip activation in their 2016 device specifications for Android smartphones will give their customers access to local radio news, entertainment, weather, and failsafe emergency alert connectivity. FM radio might even get a boost from younger listeners with access to apps like NextRadio, to employ song tagging and interactivity features that have become increasingly popular.
Sometimes those smartphones can be a bit too smart-alecky in the wrong hands. A flaw in several Chrysler automobile models ‘Uconnect’ wireless service, that connects these cars to the Sprint cellphone network, has allowed hackers to remotely control them over the Internet, posing an unprecedented danger for American drivers. Hackers could cut the brakes, shut down the engine, drive the vehicle off the road, or make all the electronics go haywire. Jeep Cherokees, Chrysler 200s, Dodge Rams (2013 to 2015 models), and several other vehicles are vulnerable to such attacks.
While we are on the subject of getting hacked, remember to keep a watchful eye on your stations RDS. Someone managed to change the feed to the RDS on Houston station KBXX sending out obscenities to listeners displays. The audio portion of the broadcast was apparently not affected. “What’s on your RDS?”
Remember, no meeting for July-but we’ll see you in August. It will be interesting to see if ‘El Nino’ will mess with our usually perfect weather for the Meadow Lakes Picnic in September.
