Blackberry REACT February 2010 NewsletterQuick ClicksHaiti earthquake knocks out satellite commsSatellite communications, cell phones, and landlines were all knocked out by the quake. An aid worker outside Port au Prince reports that the only communication he could get with fellow aid workers in PaP was via HF radio. He took down an unused satellite dish from a cybercafe in Cap Hatien and was in the process of transporting it to PaP for installation to regain comms between offices. It's amazing how resilient radio communications are. I strongly urge people to get a general license for communications outside the local area. HF radio is often the only thing that still works. Amateur radio operators shot at in HaitiHams trying to install repeaters in Port-au-Prince were fired upon for reasons that are unclear. Two non-ham aids were hit, one badly. SF earthquakes on twitterUSGS data is automatically tweeted with geolocation. Because of the large number of quakes here, the number of tweets may exceed your limit for aggravation. Antikythera mechanismSci Fi site io9 has an interesting article on the Antikythera mechanism. The device was discovered in 1909 in the wreck of a Greek ship off Antikythera. The mechanism is still be explored by X-ray and other means, as disassembling the corroded device is not possible. It is an astronomical computer able to predict eclipses and the positions of stars and planets by rotating gears and dials. It shows (a) that the ancient Greeks were geniuses, or (b) that aliens dropped it on one of their visits here, or (c) that it was made in China to Greek specs but was contaminated by melamine, poisoning the crew and causing the ship to wreck. LetterheadsSome letterheads from the 30s and later: Der Fuhrer, Prime Minister, Walt Disney, Albert Einstein, and a few circuses. Equipped for rain?We've had a rain event or two blow through. If you were called out for a flood watch, could you stand in the rain for a few hours without your feet soaking and without getting your gear wet? Make sure you go-bag is current for the season. Here's a list for your pet's go-bag. Video when Haiti quake struckSomeone had a video recorder on when the quake struck, so we get to see and hear the shaking, then the lights go out, and we hear the yelling and crying. Getting out of a submerged carYou need something to break the window if the electric motors shorted out. Plug-and-Play Hospitals in HaitiWe'll need them here, too, after our big earthquake. I found the transcript of the interview more helpful than the video showing the set up. Because they don't have reliable telephones, they're using VHF handie-talkies to talk between the hospitals and the pharmacy, for example. Lost your cell phone charger?Replace it free. An Introduction to Haiti (1942)A ten-minute travelogue in color from 1942, this piece is propaganda for freedom against tyranny, using Haiti as an example of how well people do under a democracy. An interesting side note from near the end of the film is that Haiti's revolt against French rule convinced Napoleon to get out of the Western Hemisphere, leading to the Louisiana Purchase. We owe lot to the people of Haiti. Emergency Comms BoxesPowerport is selling boxes for your radio for use in emergency situations. There are several variations on the theme: you get to choose from boxes with a sealed battery of varying ratings, an AC inverter, cigarette lighter sockets, PowerPole connectors, an amplifier, and an external magmount antenna. You can run your handheld or mobile rig from the box, which is waterproof and contains a poncho, notebook, pen, flashlight and more. Prices range from $90 to $786. Take a look at the contents and see if you can't make a similar kit with what you've got on hand, plus buying a few items. Low frequency radioSome kid is being credited with inventing low frequency radio. His use is for spelunkers to be able to communicate with people on the surface through a thousand feet or so of rock. No article that I can find does more than scratch the surface on how is set up works, though. When I was in missiles in the Air Force, we had low frequency radio communications that would, supposedly, survive a nuclear attack, so this is of passing interest to me. His antenna, shown in the article, is considerably smaller than the ones we used. See http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/c3i/slfcs.htm for an article on our low frequency system, which was RTTY only. If you've never heard WWV for time hacks, here's a great parody. Remember penlights?Remember those small keychain flashlights that were called penlights? Remember batteries with carbon rods and some gooey mush inside the case that leaked all over that penlight in your pocket? Ah, Rayovac. Where did you get your name? Events
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