Random Notes

Posted on September 13, 2018 by mewcomm

NOTE 1

Kenwood and Yaesu introduced new HF transceivers with completely different architectures. Kenwood managed to build a fresh new HF-radio– with some distinct features yet without diminishing the 5-year-old big brother– the TS-990S.

TS890S Front

Kenwood’s TS-890 . is a full- down conversion receiver (No FPGA-SDR). The spec sheet lists an H-Mode Mixer , which some say will place the radio at the top of the Sherwood Engineering list. As an appliance operator– I’ll take their word for it. Price is expected to be around $4K.

Yaesu ft101D photo

Yaesu’s FTDX-101D is a full-on SDR. The price point seems fuzzy. Between $3,000 and $4000 from one source. I think closer to $4000.

Icom 7610

Both of these new rigs appear targeted against the Icom 7610.

There are already on-line user groups set up. I joined just to follow the doings as these radios finally ship and we get to hear real-world feedback.

FTDX-101D Group Here TS-890 Group HERE

They both look like fun Mid-Range HF Rigs.

NOTE 2

Elon Musk is a business magnate, investor, and engineer.

Arguably one of the most interesting and creative men of the Digital Era. A genius from South Africa who had a tumultuous upbringing and fled to the United States. Entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, he sold one of his internet companies, PayPal, for $1.5 billion. — From his “Boring Company” to his $500 Flame Thrower to his Giga Battery Factory in Nevada he continues to innovate. Elon Musk is not a “One-Hit’ wonder.

ELON MUSK

Recently, at the end of a 2 hour and 37-minute interview, Musk smoked some Pot at the invitation of his PodCast Host. Wall Street went wobbly, Tesla stock dropped, Jim Cramer of CNBC went into a tizzy and High Times suggested Musk could lose his Government security clearance. — No matter. Keep your eye on the ball. 2 hours and 37 minutes is a L–O–N–G time. But it is substantive and stimulating. — Way better than listening to elderly men on 40 meters talking about the weather. Oh! And Neil DeGrasse Tyson compared Musk to Thomas Edison. He defended Musk’s Pot Smoking in USA Today, saying, “Let him get high!”

Curious? You should be! The full fascinating interview here: Joe Rogan Experience #1169

Where is Vietnam?

Posted on June 22, 2018 by mewcomm Leave a comment

I was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam. The Division Area of Operation or AO was designated as I Corps. 4 Maps below to get you there. Why the maps? Because Geography matters. Climate and geography LINK HERE

Map 1. shows where Vietnam is on the Global Map.

World Vietnam

Map 2: The Shortest flight path from the USA to Vietnam is 8,584 miles

USAVN Flight

Map 3: depicts the region of South East Asia at large and the arrow point to the specific part of Vietnam my unit worked in. Vietnam Regional

Map 4 Depicting the area the 101st Airborne was assigned to. The important features are the Firebases in the center (Birmingham, Veghel, and Bastogne) and of course the famous Ashau Valley where the Division saw significant combat. (During my time in Vietnam–70-71 I never went into the Ashau on a mission.) 101STAO

Please Scroll Down

John Hinckley Special Event Station

Posted on June 21, 2018 by mewcomm Leave a comment

1982 Hinckley Beach

In June 1982 as a Cameraman for NBC News based in Washington D.C. every Saturday for a month, I was assigned to stake out the U.S. Federal Courthouse where the trial of attempted Presidential assassin John Hinckley was underway. All the networks and the print media set up on the front lawn of the courthouse. (This was back when Federal Courthouse security was waaaay laxer than it is today.) Our job was to await new developments and the lawyers would periodically come out and stand in front of the microphones and update the press. We in the Press Corps called the setting, “Hinckley Beach” since it was summer and little happened until the end of the trial. We’d bring lawn chairs, coolers, and umbrellas to beat the DC summer heat and humidity.

One weekend, I threw my Kenwood TS-130 HF rig in the microwave truck and and a Hustler Mobile Whip that I mounted on an upside down trash can (a faux ground) and set it up on the roof of the van. A Washington Post photographer thought my radio set up was interesting and shot the photo above. It didn’t make it into the paper, but he sent me a copy.

My recollection is, I worked a lot of DX on 15 meters that day. I declared myself a “Special Event” station and foreign hams would express surprise when I told them where I was operating from. Surely operating from the courthouse would be prohibited! I was on the air, MC-60 mic in hand when this photo was taken. It was fun.

NOTE: Some years later (mid 90’s) I would see Hinckley up close and photograph him thanks to (Bearcat Scanners)….but that’s another story for another time(and video too!)

ham radio

Education matters in a Globalized Knowledge-Worker era

Posted on June 21, 2018 by mewcomm Leave a comment

mew1oma OMABldg

In High School, I attended a military boarding school in Oklahoma. Known as the “West Point of the South West”, the Oklahoma Military Academy was well run and had a good staff of former military professionals. I went back for the 50th Anniversary of my 1968 graduation in June of 2018. That school made me a better soldier in the Army when I joined in 1969.

OMA Cadets Memorial

A photo I shot reunion weekend in 2018, 50 years since I was last there. The memorial above honors the Cadets who were Killed during WW II, Korea and the 21 who died in Vietnam.

OMA Diploma

___________________________________________________________________________________________

“Hook ’em Horns”

It took me 6 years to get my undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin. I had the GI Bill, and I worked part-time and I was in No hurry!! Who wanted to leave Austin in the 70’s?!?

I picked up an FCC 1st Phone Ticket and got an entry-level gig in Austin at KLRN-TV.

First Phone

I was a “go-fer” on the PBS Music Show Austin City Limits (which is still on the air!) and most summers I went out and worked Pipeline Construction around the nation. (New Mexico, Oklahoma, Michigan, Alabama, W. Virginia and Texas of course.) As I finally was getting around to graduating I sent my Resume all over the country. I got a job as a VR (Vacation Relief) at NBC Washington. I was made a permanent hire 3 weeks after I started.

In DC there were always lots of cool courses on the various campus sites in the city. NBC paid for coursework that was related to your professional responsibilities. I took at least 10 continuing education classes over the years– from graduate programs in the area. I picked up a Six Sigma Green Belt and ITIL certifications which were pretty standard in management programs. Life-long continuing education is no longer optional.

After spending 18 years in the field as a Cameraman/Editor/Field producer/Tech Ops I took a Masters Degree at American University and then I promptly descended into management. I had a blast in the AU graduate program. And I was invited back to teach in the Film and Video program as an adjunct in 2000/01/02. There was always an interesting course each year somewhere in the region. I took advantage of it.

Footnote: My favorite Media production “Learning” environment? Lynda.Com It is a part of LinkedIn and owned by Microsoft. Quality software apps and business process learning. If you’re not familiar with it— You should take a look.

Education

Veterans Day Special Event Stations

Posted on June 20, 2018 by mewcomm

I was the network television pool camera for the Desert Storm “Victory” Parade. We were on a Flat bed truck rolling in front of the parade leaders. I took this still image of General Schwarzkopf and his staff at the front as they marched down Constitution avenue in Washington DC., The parade was in June of 1991. I used the photo for a “Veterans Day Special Event Station” 1991. On Veterans Day that Year (91) it was pouring rain! Wet and Cold. We operated near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the service drive next to the Lincoln Memorial. We were in an empty truck similar to a UPS delivery truck with no packages. We set up a table and put wire antennas out. It was fun.

This was the first Special Event Station I organized. Me and several Hams from NBC manned the station, set up near this monument statue at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. On the air there was a tremendous response. I shot this photo on the morning of Veteran’s Day 1990. About 7am. I’ve always liked this statue. Jan Scruggs the Vet who made the wall happen, came by that day and said hi at the station site.

.Radio Domain

Posted on June 20, 2018 by mewcomm Leave a comment

The Internet Domain Space for the Global Radio Community

Radio URL break out

Most Hams don’t have a personal Web address. But if you’ve ever thought of claiming your call sign domain— there’s an even better reason to claim it now. Instead of being wa4d.net. or arrl.org you can now register for your call .Radio This is a new internet extension reserved for the Radio Community. ” .radio is a new top-level domain (like .com or .net) which is exclusively dedicated to radio stations, web radios, radio professionals, companies selling radio goods and services and radio amateurs.”

Radio url graphic

Learn about the .radio extension–Click on image below. or GO to www.nic.radio.

ham radio

Random career photos

Posted on June 6, 2018 by mewcomm

mew collage

mewcamunknown Looks like about 1982. I can’t remember what the event was! Laughs.

2013: You could sell that iD for $1000 on the day of the Emmy’s! Laughs

mewAndrewsunknown

1979 Andrews AFB The Pope had just arrived.

Summer 1985 — Joe Namath was to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. In early summer we flew up to Connecticut where Namath still has summer Football camp for kids. As I recall we were there 3 days to shoot a “profile piece” on Namath for NBC Sports. It’s impossible to overstate how much fun it was shooting that story. Namath was sincere,friendly and you would never have known he was still one of the most famous Sports celebrities in the nation. Below: I’ve still got the Sun Visor!

mewDesertStorm Middle East: Military Transport Depot Dahran, Saudi Arabia. January 1991 (before the ground phase began).

Above: Hollywood– Academy Awards 2009

Some of the dozens and dozens of Press Passes from over the years.

fullsizeoutput_41b

Above: With the US Army Parachute team: The Golden Knights. 227D57C6-96A0-4495-9DF9-239353559AD6-1226-000002C5EAD096D4

Above: 1979 Cop Killer on the loose. Murder Scene 14th Street Washington DC 2:00am

MewKABC1

Los Angeles Mayoral Debate 2012. Me in the Control Room.

Wordpress1

Regional Emmy’s I won for News Photography

SONY DSC

Above: I worked at the Oscars for 9 years in a row. What a blast! Who gets to have this much fun in the last decade of their career?

mew capitol

Above: This is the shot millions of Americans recognized in the years of Washington Coverage pre-1990. This is the balcony of the Russell Senate Office building. Known as “the Russell balcony”. Reporters have stood at this open window for decades delivering Washington DC coverage.

fullsizerender

Above: My first time at the White House. Jan or Feb of 1980. President Carter was not in the White House compound that day.

Me and Jessica Savitch. Among the first Women to anchor a Network Evening Newscast.

Los Angeles Lakers NBA Champions 2010 PARADE Crowd. wa4d photo.

Career

« Older Entries

WA4D.Radio

seeking analog sensibility in the digital era