Satellite Shorts From All Over [AMSAT]

March 28, 2008 by kb3ljm.

• AMSAT Field Day rules have been uploaded to: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/awards/amsatfd.php They will appear in the next issue of the AMSAT Journal. Field Day will be June 28/29, 2008. Start preparing your Field Day stations and offer assistance to local clubs in assembling a station and instruct them in the best ways to operate the satellites.

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AMSAT Notes Passing of Arthur C. Clarke

March 28, 2008 by kb3ljm.

This week marked the passing of Arthur C. Clarke, author of more than 100 published books in which he foresaw the future of technology, promoted the possibilities of human innovation and exploration and combined these with the ability to explain these to non-scientific readers.

The most famous example is from 1945, when he first proposed the idea of communications satellites that could be based in geostationary orbits, which keep satellites in a fixed position relative to the ground.
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Iowa airport offers free phone calls

March 28, 2008 by kb3ljm.

From USA TODAY’s Airport Check-in column: “Last fall, Iowa’s Sioux Gateway Airport gave up trying to jettison the SUX airport identifier code and embraced it. T-shirts, caps and, now, coffee mugs, luggage tags and bumper stickers sport the ‘Fly SUX’ slogan. There was even a Valentine’s Day ‘Luv SUX’ T-shirt. ‘People have been buying this stuff online, at a downtown store and at the gift shop in the airport,’ says airport director Rick McElroy, who adds that the airport allows 30 minutes of free parking to accommodate shoppers.”

“Now, the airport has removed all seven of its leased payphones and replaced them with four phones that let callers make free local and toll-free calls. ‘No one was really using the pay phones anyway,’ McElroy says. ‘These days, most people use their cellphones. But now people are using the free phones for local calls instead of burning up their cell minutes.’ ”

http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/2008/03/airport-chec-11.html

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FCC Fines Colorado Company for Selling “Non-Certified CB Transceivers”

March 28, 2008 by kb3ljm.

On Friday, March 21, the FCC released a Forfeiture Order in the amount of $7000 to CB Shop and More in Loveland, Colorado for “willful and repeated violations of Section 302(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (Act), and Section 2.803(a)(1) of the Commission’s Rules.” According to the FCC, CB Shop and More was selling a “non-certified Citizens Band (’CB’) transceiver.”

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/03/26/10025/?nc=1

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Motorola To Split Into Two Companies

March 28, 2008 by kb3ljm.

Motorola Inc. on Wednesday said its board of directors OK’d a plan to break the conglomerate into two independent, publicly-traded companies. One company will focus on its mobile devices business, and the other will specialize in broadband and mobility solutions. Based on current plans, the creation of the two stand-alone businesses is expected to take the form of a tax-free distribution to Motorola’s shareholders, subject to further financial, tax and legal analysis. “Our decision to separate our Mobile Devices and Broadband & Mobility Solutions businesses follows a review process undertaken by our management team and Board of Directors, together with independent advisors,” said Greg Brown, Motorola’s president and chief executive officer. “Creating two industry-leading companies will provide improved flexibility, more tailored capital structures, and increased management focus - as well as more targeted investment opportunities for our shareholders.”

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/industries/technology/article/motorola-split-companies_534005_12.html

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HF with FFT-TV

March 28, 2008 by kb3ljm.

From: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/march2008/fft_tv.htm

I received an email a very interesting email from WA6NUT. I had never heard of FFT-TV until he brought it up. Here is his email:

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Hello Bryon, N6IFU,
Congratulations on your ATV Newsletter (I look forward to each issue). And your “Everything you Wanted to Know…” book on ATV is very helpful, too. Read the rest of this entry »

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