Blackberry REACT May 2009 NewsletterQuick Clicks100 Rayovac AAA batteries for $15The batteries are blemished, but are promised to be new, unused batteries with expiry dates from 2010 – 2013. The price includes standard shipping. Joe Cocker at WoodstockCompletely unrelated to anything, but here’s a video of Joe Cocker singing “A Little Help from my Friends” at Woodstock back in the Sixties or whenever it was. It has subtitles in case you don’t know the lyrics. Stick with it, there’s a reward. Where gadgets go to diePhotos of a recycling facility for electronics. It’s all on a disassembly line. Bletchley Park againThe British have reconstructed some of the machinery used to decode Enigma traffic during World War II. The site below has tons of fascinating photos on Bletchley Park, a historical treasure. Photos from the rebuild project. Atomic Disruptor RaygunYou know, there was a time you could carry one of these handsome beauties around and not gotten your head blown off – er, scuse me, disrupted by a cop who thinks it’s real. This toy is built from old camera parts and a few vacuum tubes, and it’s a fine piece of work. I don’t know who does the photography, but that’s a fine piece of work, too. The discreet companion lady’s raygun is here. Links to more steampunk weaponry The end of the Civil WarThis essay proposes that the American Civil War was the first modern war: accurate rifles and artillery, the gatling gun, ironclad ships, railroad, telegraph, and lethal, intentional attacks on civilians (called “total war” in WW II). It’s an interesting article which summarizes the technological changes that made the Civil War so lethal to both sides with links to additional information on specific issues. Free software for SDRSDR is Software-Defined Radio, and the gnu foundation has freely available software for you to use to create your own radio-in-a-computer. The software is available in ‘blocks’ just like those blocks in your ham test: digital-to-analog converter, mixer, filter, and more. For the anarchists in Blackberry REACT, the gnu SDR lacks the Broadcast Flag that the MPAA wants installed in all receivers to block recording of content off the air; this SDR can receive (and record) broadcast digital TV. Minivan HighwayY’know when I watch this, I see Phil Henderson, Jerry Haag, and Jon Mosby. Notice that the computers they’re using have doors for the 5.25-inch floppies. Blackberry REACT could totally do this! Brazilians hacking military comm satellitesThey’re using US military communications satellites for their nationwide CB. Uncle Sam’s upset. Too much hype is a dangerous thingIn the influenza pandemic* of 1918, only about a quarter of the populations in the US and Canada got the flu. Worldwide, only 2.5 percent of the people who got the flu died. Looking at it the other way, in the deadliest pandemic of the 20th Century, over 70 percent of the population didn’t get it. Of those that got the flu, over 97 percent survived. Pandemic: an epidemic that is geographically widespread Epidemic: a classification of a disease that appears as new cases in a given human population, during a given period, at a rate that substantially exceeds what is “expected,” based on recent experience My note: it appears we’ve taken the technical definition of pandemic and used it to replace the technical definition of epidemic. Hospital foodAnd I thought airline food sucked. Fast fireLanguage is not safe for workplace. A camera crew in Nova Scotia is covering a forest fire when they’re suddenly surrounded by flames. Notice they’re calm and collected but focused on getting their pictures till someone looks around, then it’s total panic. The lesson: keep your head up and look around; tunnel vision can kill you. VeratectI don’t know who Veratect is, but they promise to track epidemics for you so you don’t have to. They even have a twitter account: http://twitter.com/veratect How to extend battery lifeSome tips on getting longer battery life from some devices. Blackberry REACT’s Maker Faire pageFor information on our mobile station at Maker Faire on May 30 and 31 See our volunteer page for talk-in frequency and more information. A Cyper-Attack on an American CityYou may remember from ages ago in ancient history, someone cut the wires for telephone service in the South Bay. Here’s an article about what happened and how ham radio helped out. Events
UpdatesVolunteers are still needed for the Art & a la Carte event. Please let Phil Henderson know if you can make it. Our program last night was by Bill Dale, our ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator, and he gave us the big picture on how the ARRL and we fit into emergency communications. It was an excellent view of the big picture and how local clubs fit into the local, regional, and national emergency structure. Programs
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