July 31, 2008 by kb3ljm.

We would like to thank all of our workers, vendors, general admission people and our tailgaters for making this edition of The Famous BRATS Maryland Hamfest and Computer Fest one of the best yet… Without each of you we could not have done it! Thanks also to our legendary weather committee for their usual fine job! (a little on the hot side, but the rain held off). Thanks
again to all and 73,
Mayer, W3GXK

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July 31, 2008 by kb3ljm.

BARC’s Public Service Coordinator Henry, KB3NYW, is looking for additional hams to help with the Hadassah 5K Run around the Hunt Valley Mall on Sunday August 3rd. Hams are needed from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

Please come out for 2 hours and give us a hand with this public service event. Meeting place will be Hunt Valley Towne Centre
118 Shawan Road in Hunt Valley.

Contact Henry KB3NYW by email to henrykz@earthlink.net, or contact me Ian, N3CVA at 410-303-1412.

Thanks,
Ian, N3CVA

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July 18, 2008 by kb3ljm.

After a 15-month trial at Singapore Changi, a new surveillance system that detects foreign objects and debris on runways will be installed at Chicago O’Hare later this year.

Installed by aviation technology firm SITA, the system uses a series of cameras installed along the runway to constantly capture surface images. The images are sent back to computers, allowing airport officials to verify the presence of a foreign object and determine whether to deploy a clean-up crew.

Traditionally, airports have relied on radar and manual inspection to detect foreign objects on runways.

Umar Khan of SITA says testing at Changi showed that it was able to detect objects less than an inch in size from 330 yards away. Changi is installing the system on two of its runways.

The 2000 Concorde crash in France was determined to have been caused by runway debris. A metal strip on the runway caused a tire to explode on takeoff, damaging the supersonic jet.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-07-13-airport-checkin_N.htm

Posted in Travel, USA Today | Comments Off

July 18, 2008 by kb3ljm.

While airline cuts have passenger traffic on the decline at many U.S. airports, Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) reported its busiest May ever this year. According to the airport, 1,913,777 passengers flew through BWI in May, an increase of 1.8% when compared to the same month a year ago. Southwest was the airport’s top carrier in May with 1,008,912 passengers, a 1.5% increase for the carrier from May 2007. AirTran was BWI’s fastest-growing airline in May. AirTran’s year-over-year passenger count at BWI soared 27.5% to 270,984. BWI says it has had 21.4 million passengers during the last 12 months it has statistics for, making that the busiest 12-month period in the its history.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=52838794.blog

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July 7, 2008 by kb3ljm.

On July 2, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with RadioShack, announced a voluntary recall of 13.8 V dc power supplies. The CPSC said that consumers should stop using these power supplies immediately, as the “power supplies are wired incorrectly, posing electrocution and fire hazards.” No injuries have been reported in conjunction with the power supplies that were sold in RadioShack stores nationwide from October 2004-January 2008 for between $50 and $85. Manufactured in China, the CPSC said that the recall involves RadioShack 13.8 V DC Power Supplies, catalog numbers 22-507 and 22-508 with date codes from 08A04 through 01A08. Date code format is MMAYY where MM is the month and YY is the year. The catalog number and date code are located on the back of the power supply. Power supplies with a green dot on the product and the product’s packaging have already been repaired and are not included in the recall. The CPSC recommends for consumers to unplug the recalled power supply immediately and take it to any RadioShack store for a free repair. Registered owners of the recalled power supplies will be mailed a notice. For additional information, contact RadioShack at 800-843-7422 anytime, or visit their Web site.

http://www.arrl.org/?artid=8320

Posted in ARRL Web Extra | Comments Off