Central Shifting Time
Monday May 29, 2023 - Memorial Day U.S.
6:06 AM -- Ford to Restore AM Radio to Future Cars --
Sunday May 28, 2023
10:18 AM -- Get Your Lighthouse While Supplies Last --
9:32 AM -- Legacy Communications --
Much attention has been placed on the importance of AM radio for its unique capacity to reach the wide-spread public in times of regional emergency, but what about times when the public wants to communicate when the frills of cell-phone and internet go down? 'Old Hat' radio is again the legacy way!
Saturday May 27, 2023
2:13 PM -- Empty Dashboards Devoid of AM Radios --
Mark marks the month of May with regard to the diabolical plot to shun AM radio by the car makers. He writes:
Very sad. This will put the nail in the coffin.
A glimmer of hope?
Wednesday May 24, 2023
6:58 AM -- COVID is Still Stalking Us! --
Monday May 15, 2023
3:32 PM -- Welcome to DeSantis --
11:10 AM -- Battery Advisory --
If you were ever considering using these new rechargeable lithium batteries that look like this in the picture for a radio....don't! They have electronics inside that emits EMI and kills AM radio. Stay with NiMH.
- Mark
Appreciate the heads up, Mark. The Blare Blog did not know about these batteries, and luckily we are very content with NiMH re-chargeables.
Saturday May 13, 2023
12:25 NOON -- Longwave Antennas --
Upon thinking about the new 'Lowdown' 730-meter HAM band transmitting antenna announced this week by Bill Baker at Information Station Specialists, I wrote to Bill with a radio hobby question. This is what I asked:
- Hello Bill:
- About your "Lowdown" 730-meter longwave antenna...
- Even lower down in the waves is FCC Part 15.217 which permits 1-Watt into "final RF stage" feeding a 50-foot antenna, license free.
- It would be my guess that "The Lowdown" would not be ideal for this, but I want your official word on the subject and will post this as a general interest item.
- Thank you,
- Carl Blare
Mr. Baker wrote back with these words:
The Lowdown antenna is designed specific to the 472-479 kHz slot, but we can build antennas for any frequency if there’s a market!
Too bad, as we are one transmitter short of a 'market'. No one today manufactures a longwave part 15 certified or uncertified transmitter nor kit. There was a day when Palomar Electronics offered such a device, but it was discontinued. We ourselves began designing a longwave transmitter under the project name 'Deep Voice' but stopped short at the buffer stage with no RF output amplifier. We could get back to working on that idea, but not this year.
Friday May 12, 2023
9:45 PM -- I Think AI is Being Used in Insurance Quotes --
It's a confidential email, but in describing terms and conditions to obtain coverage from this particular company, some very strange language was used and my insurance guy was the first to point it out. He didn't fully understand what was being said, nor did I.
6:01 PM -- Elon Musk Steps Down as Twitter CEO --
Carl Blare Comments by saying: New Twitter CEO
Linda Vaccarino has a strong facial resmblance to Elon Musk, do you
agree?
Wednesday May 10, 2023
1:42 PM -- Tall Poles --
Not so long ago I think we blogged about the changing of the pole & transformer serving the Internet Building, home of KDX Worldround Radio, and daily spend a moment admiring the new installation. So as not to always knock local radio, I was thrilled earlier today when the AM talker welcomed an electric company rep who described their pole-replacement division which is responsible for over a million poles throughout the service area. They even mentioned the favored species of tree used to supply the straightest poles, if only I'd jotted it down. How many other listeners paid such rapt attention to an interview about power poles?
12:18 NOON -- Carmakers to Trade America's Safety for Their Savings? New "HOA Friendly" HAM antenna? --
Bill Baker essential message on AM automobile radio:
Carl
Here are safety-related articles that might interest you:
Safety to Take a Back Seat?
The National Association of Broadcasters has launched a petition drive to ask Congress to prevent automakers from removing AM receivers from future automobiles. Why would car makers that we’ve supported propose to endanger the US population with such a move?
Remote Parks Rely on Radio
What’s an "information desert?" In remote park & historic site locations with no cellular service, radio plays a key safety role.
A Brand New Band?
With the wavelength of this new HAM Radio band nearly a half-mile in length, no wonder amateur radio afficionados struggle to set up a 630-meter antenna in their backyards! Read about a new antenna solution.
Bill Baker
Information Station Specialists
theRADIOsource.com
616.772.2300 x102; Direct 616.741.9406
Founded in 1983, Information Station Specialists is the USA's best known source for specialized radio components, advisory signage and related products & services.
Hello Bill Baker! I knew that you would be speaking out on the AM auto radio controversy since your work is mainly about AM in cars!
11:53 AM -- Pitifull Programming All Day Long --
KDX Radio is not streaming at the moment and I'm leaning on local licensed radio stations for something to enjoy while doing routine desk work, but the rare AM talk station has been going on and on about theaters, plays, and other public entertainments, and the public radio station is delving into dog shows and the various canine breeds enjoyed by fanciers. Meanwhile, but not worth mentioning, the banking system teeters, wars trend toward expanding, people are losing their homes and can't figure out what to do next because access to the internet becomes unavailable, and publicity seekers frantasize about mass shooting as a way of getting onto the video screen. Good news though about Trump and Santos, but will they spring back to action unscathed?
11:21 AM -- Microwave Walk-In Shower --
Moderator and contributor Mark will be disappointed to hear that I have returned to the microwave bath resulting from a new DECT 6.0 cordless telephone. The thing puts out signals in the 1921.536 to 1928.448 MHz range, just below the 24-GHz Wi-Fi band. For almost a year we used an old wired phone but became very annoyed by its shortcomings. Besides the tethered aspect of being shackled to the wire, there were two more complaints: persons at the other end of a call mentioned what they called a 'feedback' or echo that made their audio difficult to hear with clarity, and a hang-up button located on the face of the phone continually got depressed by accident when tapping out numbers on the keyboard causing constant disconnections and requiring re-dialing. My original cordless phone was removed from service when its battery finally drooped after years of use but had been an amazingly stable device that let me wander up to 200-feet around the campus. A trip to Walmart and a very reasonable price brought the newest Vtech model and once again we have superior voice quality during the executive level calls our work requires. According to my spectrum analyzer there is already an ocean of microwave radiation from all directions coming from routers, modems, utility smart-meters, public works, cell towers and many other uses. Compared with what's already in the air my single cordless phone adds an inconsequential amount of radiation and I love it and cannot live without it. Wi-Fi and related technologies are the new part 15 and create open access for government snooping from drive-by vans using Israeli spy-hacking software.
Monday May 8, 2023
3:22 PM -- Royal Pride Parade --
If you noticed an empty chair at the Coronation that was my reserved seat had I attended. But I let it slip by, although I've been following the television footage showing the pomp mixed with circumstance, and am reminded of a gay cosplay party I attended a few years back. I have fond memories of seeing the DeBaliviere Avenue Cheerleaders in their tu-tu's with lumberjack beards, and the evening's host seated at a main table while his demure wife sat feet away ready to hop up and serve treats at the bequest of his husband. King Charles cast very much the same demeaner as the crown was placed atop his mound of silken fabrics. He actually looked somewhat lost in silliness, but most attendees were too busy trying to see Harry and Prince Andrew and didn't notice anything irregular. I have some headgear too, including a pith helmut, and would very much like a construction hard hat. What about you. Do you suit up at any time, to play-act some role you have always dreamed about (?) An archbishop's hat would be something.
5:05 AM -- Off, On, Maybe Off Again --
Our KDXradio.com website was closed overnight under threat of severe storms, but no storms having arisen we opened up, but have now been dealt two nearby claps of lightny/thunder and an abrupt downpour of rain with hints of hail. Should we go offline again or take the risk of plunging into nature's fury(?) The initial surge seems already to have quieted, so let's look out the door and see what it's doing... Be right back.
Alright, we looked... now it's very still and drippy. We may have experienced an exceptionally short tempest.
4:58 AM -- Bucket Survival --
Yesterday afternoon when 24-hours had passed since rescuing the TECSUN PL-310 from drowning in a bucket of water, we estimated that there'd been time for proper drying-out so inserted batteries and gave it a try. Nothing. To be sure we tried another set of batteries and again had no response. The dear little radio may have been a goner. Then came the dawn of another day and we had the idea of trying again. This time the radio came alive and as I type this little story we are hearing underwriting messages from public radio. It almost seems like the radio is better than before and perhaps all radios should be baptised in a bucket.
Saturday May 6, 2023
4 PM -- TECSUN PL-310 in a Bucket of Water --
Accidents have a way of happening when we think everything is fine. The small battery operated radio was playing NPR while I reached something else from the shelf and somehow the radio got caught in the action and plunged into a bucket of water several feet below. With a rapid reflex grab I quickly removed the radio and noticed it was still playing albeit now with a very subdued sound. An attempt was made to press the off-switch but the radio kept playing with a distant quality. Next the batteries were hastilly removed and the dripping radio was set in outdoor air where it's been drying. It remains to be seen whether the TECSUN Radio will return to normal service after the trauma. Now the stage is set for the next accident which could come at any moment. What will it be? How are your accidents?
Thursday May 4, 2023
2:32 PM -- Artisan Radio Imparts Some Authentic Intelligence
Look for that title posted May 3. Artisan is 100% correct in his view and we know it, our interest in AI is merely as another toy to play with in the radio toybox. Almost all part 15 and personal radio stations are sophisticated toys and cannot be taken too seriously, but we also know that AI is propaganda in itself in so far as the way it's presented and perfectly suited to spout artificial knowledge, same thing governments, commercial corporations, religious institutions, political parties and the misguided do as a matter of course. I am not a bot. I recognize 4 school buses in the pictures.
2:26 AM -- Oh So That's It --
Ya but, what does GPT mean?
Easy. It means 'Generative Pretrained Transformer'.
Sort of obvious once you know.
Other questions? Ask The Blog.
Wednesday May 3, 2023
6:41 AM
Monday May 1, 2023
10:41 AM -- GPT is Popping Up All Over --
7:44 AM -- Virtual On Air Talent --
Monday May 29, 2023 - Memorial Day U.S.
6:06 AM -- Ford to Restore AM Radio to Future Cars --
tech
crunch
Sunday May 28, 2023
10:18 AM -- Get Your Lighthouse While Supplies Last --
The Guardian
9:32 AM -- Legacy Communications --
Much attention has been placed on the importance of AM radio for its unique capacity to reach the wide-spread public in times of regional emergency, but what about times when the public wants to communicate when the frills of cell-phone and internet go down? 'Old Hat' radio is again the legacy way!
The Guardian
Saturday May 27, 2023
2:13 PM -- Empty Dashboards Devoid of AM Radios --
Mark marks the month of May with regard to the diabolical plot to shun AM radio by the car makers. He writes:
Very sad. This will put the nail in the coffin.
YouTube
Mark further writes:A glimmer of hope?
YouTube
Very
good pairing of AM radio news items, Mark. And we must start to raise a
fuss as Part15ers who depend on the AM band as a main outlet for our
own radio stations. Our hobby would be closer to extinction if AM radio
dies. Wednesday May 24, 2023
6:58 AM -- COVID is Still Stalking Us! --
FORTUNE
Monday May 15, 2023
3:32 PM -- Welcome to DeSantis --
bOiNgbOiNg
11:10 AM -- Battery Advisory --
Don'ts
Good friend Mark contributes this advice:If you were ever considering using these new rechargeable lithium batteries that look like this in the picture for a radio....don't! They have electronics inside that emits EMI and kills AM radio. Stay with NiMH.
- Mark
Appreciate the heads up, Mark. The Blare Blog did not know about these batteries, and luckily we are very content with NiMH re-chargeables.
Saturday May 13, 2023
12:25 NOON -- Longwave Antennas --
Upon thinking about the new 'Lowdown' 730-meter HAM band transmitting antenna announced this week by Bill Baker at Information Station Specialists, I wrote to Bill with a radio hobby question. This is what I asked:
- Hello Bill:
- About your "Lowdown" 730-meter longwave antenna...
- Even lower down in the waves is FCC Part 15.217 which permits 1-Watt into "final RF stage" feeding a 50-foot antenna, license free.
- It would be my guess that "The Lowdown" would not be ideal for this, but I want your official word on the subject and will post this as a general interest item.
- Thank you,
- Carl Blare
Mr. Baker wrote back with these words:
The Lowdown antenna is designed specific to the 472-479 kHz slot, but we can build antennas for any frequency if there’s a market!
Too bad, as we are one transmitter short of a 'market'. No one today manufactures a longwave part 15 certified or uncertified transmitter nor kit. There was a day when Palomar Electronics offered such a device, but it was discontinued. We ourselves began designing a longwave transmitter under the project name 'Deep Voice' but stopped short at the buffer stage with no RF output amplifier. We could get back to working on that idea, but not this year.
Friday May 12, 2023
9:45 PM -- I Think AI is Being Used in Insurance Quotes --
It's a confidential email, but in describing terms and conditions to obtain coverage from this particular company, some very strange language was used and my insurance guy was the first to point it out. He didn't fully understand what was being said, nor did I.
6:01 PM -- Elon Musk Steps Down as Twitter CEO --
Wednesday May 10, 2023
1:42 PM -- Tall Poles --
Not so long ago I think we blogged about the changing of the pole & transformer serving the Internet Building, home of KDX Worldround Radio, and daily spend a moment admiring the new installation. So as not to always knock local radio, I was thrilled earlier today when the AM talker welcomed an electric company rep who described their pole-replacement division which is responsible for over a million poles throughout the service area. They even mentioned the favored species of tree used to supply the straightest poles, if only I'd jotted it down. How many other listeners paid such rapt attention to an interview about power poles?
12:18 NOON -- Carmakers to Trade America's Safety for Their Savings? New "HOA Friendly" HAM antenna? --
Bill Baker essential message on AM automobile radio:
Carl
Here are safety-related articles that might interest you:
Safety to Take a Back Seat?
The National Association of Broadcasters has launched a petition drive to ask Congress to prevent automakers from removing AM receivers from future automobiles. Why would car makers that we’ve supported propose to endanger the US population with such a move?
Remote Parks Rely on Radio
What’s an "information desert?" In remote park & historic site locations with no cellular service, radio plays a key safety role.
A Brand New Band?
With the wavelength of this new HAM Radio band nearly a half-mile in length, no wonder amateur radio afficionados struggle to set up a 630-meter antenna in their backyards! Read about a new antenna solution.
Bill Baker
Information Station Specialists
theRADIOsource.com
616.772.2300 x102; Direct 616.741.9406
Founded in 1983, Information Station Specialists is the USA's best known source for specialized radio components, advisory signage and related products & services.
Hello Bill Baker! I knew that you would be speaking out on the AM auto radio controversy since your work is mainly about AM in cars!
11:53 AM -- Pitifull Programming All Day Long --
KDX Radio is not streaming at the moment and I'm leaning on local licensed radio stations for something to enjoy while doing routine desk work, but the rare AM talk station has been going on and on about theaters, plays, and other public entertainments, and the public radio station is delving into dog shows and the various canine breeds enjoyed by fanciers. Meanwhile, but not worth mentioning, the banking system teeters, wars trend toward expanding, people are losing their homes and can't figure out what to do next because access to the internet becomes unavailable, and publicity seekers frantasize about mass shooting as a way of getting onto the video screen. Good news though about Trump and Santos, but will they spring back to action unscathed?
11:21 AM -- Microwave Walk-In Shower --
Moderator and contributor Mark will be disappointed to hear that I have returned to the microwave bath resulting from a new DECT 6.0 cordless telephone. The thing puts out signals in the 1921.536 to 1928.448 MHz range, just below the 24-GHz Wi-Fi band. For almost a year we used an old wired phone but became very annoyed by its shortcomings. Besides the tethered aspect of being shackled to the wire, there were two more complaints: persons at the other end of a call mentioned what they called a 'feedback' or echo that made their audio difficult to hear with clarity, and a hang-up button located on the face of the phone continually got depressed by accident when tapping out numbers on the keyboard causing constant disconnections and requiring re-dialing. My original cordless phone was removed from service when its battery finally drooped after years of use but had been an amazingly stable device that let me wander up to 200-feet around the campus. A trip to Walmart and a very reasonable price brought the newest Vtech model and once again we have superior voice quality during the executive level calls our work requires. According to my spectrum analyzer there is already an ocean of microwave radiation from all directions coming from routers, modems, utility smart-meters, public works, cell towers and many other uses. Compared with what's already in the air my single cordless phone adds an inconsequential amount of radiation and I love it and cannot live without it. Wi-Fi and related technologies are the new part 15 and create open access for government snooping from drive-by vans using Israeli spy-hacking software.
Monday May 8, 2023
3:22 PM -- Royal Pride Parade --
If you noticed an empty chair at the Coronation that was my reserved seat had I attended. But I let it slip by, although I've been following the television footage showing the pomp mixed with circumstance, and am reminded of a gay cosplay party I attended a few years back. I have fond memories of seeing the DeBaliviere Avenue Cheerleaders in their tu-tu's with lumberjack beards, and the evening's host seated at a main table while his demure wife sat feet away ready to hop up and serve treats at the bequest of his husband. King Charles cast very much the same demeaner as the crown was placed atop his mound of silken fabrics. He actually looked somewhat lost in silliness, but most attendees were too busy trying to see Harry and Prince Andrew and didn't notice anything irregular. I have some headgear too, including a pith helmut, and would very much like a construction hard hat. What about you. Do you suit up at any time, to play-act some role you have always dreamed about (?) An archbishop's hat would be something.
5:05 AM -- Off, On, Maybe Off Again --
Our KDXradio.com website was closed overnight under threat of severe storms, but no storms having arisen we opened up, but have now been dealt two nearby claps of lightny/thunder and an abrupt downpour of rain with hints of hail. Should we go offline again or take the risk of plunging into nature's fury(?) The initial surge seems already to have quieted, so let's look out the door and see what it's doing... Be right back.
Alright, we looked... now it's very still and drippy. We may have experienced an exceptionally short tempest.
4:58 AM -- Bucket Survival --
Yesterday afternoon when 24-hours had passed since rescuing the TECSUN PL-310 from drowning in a bucket of water, we estimated that there'd been time for proper drying-out so inserted batteries and gave it a try. Nothing. To be sure we tried another set of batteries and again had no response. The dear little radio may have been a goner. Then came the dawn of another day and we had the idea of trying again. This time the radio came alive and as I type this little story we are hearing underwriting messages from public radio. It almost seems like the radio is better than before and perhaps all radios should be baptised in a bucket.
Saturday May 6, 2023
4 PM -- TECSUN PL-310 in a Bucket of Water --
Accidents have a way of happening when we think everything is fine. The small battery operated radio was playing NPR while I reached something else from the shelf and somehow the radio got caught in the action and plunged into a bucket of water several feet below. With a rapid reflex grab I quickly removed the radio and noticed it was still playing albeit now with a very subdued sound. An attempt was made to press the off-switch but the radio kept playing with a distant quality. Next the batteries were hastilly removed and the dripping radio was set in outdoor air where it's been drying. It remains to be seen whether the TECSUN Radio will return to normal service after the trauma. Now the stage is set for the next accident which could come at any moment. What will it be? How are your accidents?
Thursday May 4, 2023
2:32 PM -- Artisan Radio Imparts Some Authentic Intelligence
Look for that title posted May 3. Artisan is 100% correct in his view and we know it, our interest in AI is merely as another toy to play with in the radio toybox. Almost all part 15 and personal radio stations are sophisticated toys and cannot be taken too seriously, but we also know that AI is propaganda in itself in so far as the way it's presented and perfectly suited to spout artificial knowledge, same thing governments, commercial corporations, religious institutions, political parties and the misguided do as a matter of course. I am not a bot. I recognize 4 school buses in the pictures.
2:26 AM -- Oh So That's It --
Ya but, what does GPT mean?
Easy. It means 'Generative Pretrained Transformer'.
Sort of obvious once you know.
Other questions? Ask The Blog.
Wednesday May 3, 2023
6:41 AM
Jacobs
And I would add, don't use AI as artificial
listeners. But
on second thought, why not?Monday May 1, 2023
10:41 AM -- GPT is Popping Up All Over --
OpenAI
7:44 AM -- Virtual On Air Talent --
RADIOWORLD