Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1573 - October 7, 2007
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1573 with a release date of Sunday October 7, 2007 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a Q-S-T. The U-S Postal Service deals a blow to radio reading services -- even some that help hams. Also, two life sentences for the first convicted in the Hawks murders at sea and the ARRL disqualification of Carl Gardenias, WU6D, to run for Director leads to an investigation backed by an on-line giant. Find out the details on Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report number 1573 coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here) ** ASSISTED RADIO LIVING: HIGH POSTAGE RATES COULD DOOM CASSETTE-CASTERS If you are a visually impaired radio amateur and get your ham radio news or any information from radio reading services, listen up. A recent postage increase in the United States may doom a lot of the cassette based reading services. Services that cannot mail using the Postal Services Free Matter category, and which do not have some other way to generate revenue. Several tape based reading services have hinted that they will close their doors in December once there are no longer any funds for postage. Fred Vobbe, W8HDU, has mo -- Recently, we were dealt a great disservice by the United States Postal Service. The cost to mail a cassette tape has increased from 63 cents to $1.30. According to the USPS, the issue is that the postal regulations have changed. Any item thicker than 1/4 inch is now subject to this new higher rate. Ironically, its now cheaper to send a tape Canada, the United Kingdom or even Kuwait, than it is to someone right down the street from me. Go figure. Now, I am a member of the Lions Club, and I have talked to several other magazines-on-tape. This postage increase has been hurting a lot of cassette tape magazines. Those that are not sending "Free Matter" and are not subsidized, either have to pass their costs on to their subscribers, or they go out of business. I'm Fred Vobbe, W8HDU. -- Statistically 10 million people in the United States are "legally" blind or visually impaired. However, the number of people ages 15 and older, with a limitation in sight, who use a computer regularly is a bit under 1 million. This makes audio distribution to this group of citizens a problem to not for profit content providers. Amateur Radio Newsline stopped its cassette mail-out service almost 20 years ago. (W8HDU, NRCDXAS) ** RADIO JUSTICE: WOMAN SENTENCED IN HAM RADIO YACHT SLAYINGS A Long Beach, California, woman has been sentenced to two terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole. This, for her role in a plot involving her husband and others to kill a retired ham radio couple and steal their 55-foot yacht. 26 year old Jennifer Deleon was convicted last November of two counts of first- degree murder in connection with the November 15, 2004, slaying of retired probation officer Thomas Hawks, KD7VWJ, and his 47-year-old wife, Jackie, KD7VWK. A jury also found special circumstances of murder for financial gain and multiple murder, making mandatory the life without parole sentences. Mrs. Deleon was tried separately from her husband, Skylar and three other men indicted in the case. Skylar Deleon will be tried in January along with John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against the two men, describing them, respectively, as the brains and brawn behind the murder for profit plot. (OC Register and other media reports) ** HAM RADIO POLOTICS: ARRL EXEC UPHOLDS WU6D DISQUALIFICATION A follow-up to our recent story revolving around the controversy in the ARRL Southwestern Divisions race for Director. The League's Executive Committee says that it has completed its consideration of the appeal filed by Carl Gardenias, WU6D, of the decision of the ARRL Ethics and Elections Committee. That decision disqualified him as a candidate for Director.. The Executive Committee says that based on its own independent review, it has voted unanimously to affirm the decision of the Ethics and Elections Committee. According to the ARRL Letter, this decision was communicated to WU6D on October 1st, along with detailed findings of fact and conclusions of the committee. The Executive Committee is meeting as we go to air and says that it will release additional information after the meeting. But it may not be over yet. At least not as far as Carl Gardenias, WU6D, is concerned. He is now taking the fight over his disqualification to the ham radio community. WU6D has created a website on which he has posted in chronological order all communications on this matter between himself and the ARRL. Also posted is the letter of complaint penned by incumbent Director Dick Norton, N6AA, that lead to Gardenias disqualification. It's quite an interesting story for anyone who follows ARRL politics. You can find it in cyberspace at www.wu6d.com (ARRL, others) ** HAM RADIO POLITICS: AZ AND CA HAMS LAUNCH PROBE INTO WU6D DISQUALIFICATION Meantime it appears as if the QRZ.com website and its founder Fred Lloyd, AA7BQ, are assisting into an independent inquiry of the Carl Gardenias, WU^D, disqualification. Writing on his website, Lloyd says that a small group of hams in Arizona and Southern California are conducting an independent fact finding inquiry of their own. This, to determine whether there is more to the WU6D disqualification story than has been made public. Lloyd is asking anyone with credible information about this event to please send an e-mail to the investigatory team at . He asks that you include evidence or a statement as to why you believe your information is factual and true. Also, to please include your original sources when possible. Lloyd ays that those what want their message to be anonymous, put the word ANONYMOUS in the subject line and Lloyd says that your identity will be kept confidential. More about this independent inquiry into the disqualification of Carl Garnenias, WU6D, to run for ARRL Southwestern Division Director is on the front page of www.qrz.com under the title of "Trouble in River City." (QRZ.COM) ** RADIO LAW: PALMDALE CA. ORDERS HAM ANTENNAS TAKEN DOWN A Palmdale, California, ham has had his permits to install an antenna on his property revoked. This, after neighbors complained that his ham radio operations were interfering with their consumer electronic equipment and posed a threat to their safety. Heeding complaints from these residents, the city's Planning Commission voted unanimously Thursday, September 27th to revoke the minor-modification permits obtained in 2005 by Alec Zubarau, WB6X, to erect a tower and antenna. Asoka Herath, Palmdale's director of planning says that the vote means Zubarau will have 10 days to ask the City Council to overturn the commission's ruling. The decision also means that within 14 days, Zubarau must cease using the tower and any antennas that now are considered illegal. Zubarau will be allowed to re-apply to the city for any permits he would need to legally install and use other antennas. If the commission's decision is appealed but upheld by the City Council, Zubarau will have to dismantle the antenna tower he constructed earlier. Earlier this year, Zubarau's neighbors came to the city alleging his radio transmissions were interfering with the television, radio and telephone reception. In response, Zubarau said his radio equipment met all standards set by the Federal Communications Commission and should be having no effect on his neighbors. Zubarau's attorney Fred Hopengarten, K1VR, is quoted in news reports as saying that if interference were a problem, it would be up to those neighbors to find, acquire and install interference-eliminating equipment. At least 10 people, including three attorneys, spoke in Zubarau's defense. They advised the planning commission any interference by the city with the operation of a ham radio station could violate federal regulations. Attorney Pamela Royce, W6PNW, told the commission that it should consider very carefully the cost of possible litigation if Zubaru is forced to take his antennas down or is forced off the air. (AV Press and others) ** BREAK 1 From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the Three Rivers Amateur Radio Club repeater serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (5 sec pause here) ** WORLDBEAT: IARU REGION 2 CONFERENCE COMPLETES BUSINESS The IARU Region 2 Conference we recently reported on has completed its work. According to a report from Radio Amateurs of Canada, several recommendations from the Region 2 Working Group on Emergency Communications were adopted. These include establishing an Emergency Communications Committee that will be responsible to the Executive Committee for carrying out planning, training, and the maintenance of equipment and personnel inventories for emergency assistance deployment. Also, a Region 2 Relief Fund was established with an initial transfer of US$5,000.00 from the general reserve of Region 2, with additional contributions to be solicited. The Fund will be administered by the Executive Committee and will be available solely to assist Region 2 member societies whose club stations and buildings, including antenna systems, are damaged by natural disaster. Band-planning was another hot topic with a new Region 2 band plan for 160 through 10 meters was adopted. It becomes effective on January 1, 2008 and is modeled on one adopted previously by IARU Region 1, with regional differences taken into account. Steps were also taken to try to reduce interference to national emergency nets, including establishing an inventory of such nets and calling their importance to the attention of the radio amateur community. An offer by Radio Club Argentino to be responsible for translation into Spanish of the IARU Region 2 electronic bulletin was accepted. The Conference also accepted the offer of the Club de Radio Aficionados de El Salvador to host the 17th General Assembly in 2010. The conference held in Brazil was attended by 40 delegates and observers representing 18 countries in the Americas. 11 were there in person and 7 by proxy. (RAC) ** RESCUE RADIO: THE ARRL GOES TO MARS The ARRL now has a new Emergency Communications tool in its toolbox. It's the Military Affiliate or MARS call sign AAN1ARL. The League's MARS station will be housed at W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station. According to W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, the AAN1ARL call sign was requested to reflect both the holder of the license and the various MARS services. (ARRL) ** RADIO LAW: FCC PROPPOSES UNLICENED DEVICES ON UNUSED DTV CHANNELS The Federal Communications Commission is considering allowing unlicensed radio devices to operate on locally unused broadcast TV channels. The proposals are intended to allow what the Commission terms as the development of new and innovative types of unlicensed broadband devices and services for businesses and consumers. This, by utilizing vacant spectrum that the FCC says to be particularly well suited for these purposes. The cable TV industry has expressed anxiety that such devices could cause interference to television receivers connected directly to a digital cable TV service without the use of a set-top converter box. The concern exists because the portion of TV spectrum that is not used for TV broadcast in a given local area is still likely to be used within the cable-TV transmission system. The cable industry says that depending on the effectiveness of shielding of a TV receiver's tuner, emissions within an unused broadcast channel could potentially cause co-channel interference to a TV receiver tuned to a digital cable channel that overlaps that same spectrum. The FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology recently published a report on tests to investigate this issue. (FCC, RW) ** RADIO TECHNOLOGY: CITADEL TURNS OFF IBOC Citing many complaints from listeners, Citadel Broadcasting, the parent company of ABC Radio network, has instructed all 10 of it's A-M affiliates who had already converted to In Band On Channel or IBOC digital, to cease night time use of the modulation scheme. Some complaints came from listeners of the IBOC modulated stations. Others came from listeners of adjacent channel stations, that were being interfered with due to the bandwidth required fot digital operations. Citadel's Director of Engineering is Marty Stabbert. He's quoted as saying that due to the lackluster performance, limited benefit and various reports of significant interference, Citadel is suspending nighttime IBOC operations. He then directed the stations to reinstate their previous procedures for daytime-only Iboc operation as soon as possible. Daytime IBOC for the ABC network affiliates is not affected at this time. (CGC) ** RADIO ACCIDENT: TOWER WORKER KILLED IN FALL Tower worker Daniel Plants of Triadelphia, West Virginia fell to his death on Sept. 24th. This, while working alone to dismantle a storm damaged radio tower in East Deer Township, Pennsylvania. According to press reports, Plants was an experienced tower climber who worked regularly on sites in the Pittsburgh area over the past 30 years. He was about half-way up the 200-foot tower when he fell. Although he was wearing a safety harness and other rigging gear, it was unclear if it was attached to the tower at the time of the fall. OSHA is investigating the accident. The tower is owned by gospel station WGBN AM based in a suburb of Pittsburgh. (CGC) ** RADIO RULES: NEW US 500 KHZ LICENSE Richard Dillman from the Maritime Radio Historical Society reports a new United States class 1A common carrier Morse code coast station has been licensed by the FCC. Station KDR has been licensed to James A. Dalke in Bellevue, Washington. Dalke is a broadcast engineer who just happens to have a 5kW Medium Frequency transmitter. KDR is licensed for operation on 500Khz and 482KHz at 5 kW. Two people made applications. Dalke's was granted on September 24th. (Various) ** RADIO ON LINE: BETTER AUDIO WANTED More and more, the home audio experience is happening via the family computer. This, according to the Consumer Electronics Association which says that almost three quarters of online adults in the United States are using home computers to listen to audio content,. While most home PC audio users are satisfied with the audio experience, more than a third want better sound quality. When forced to choose between having a quality audio experience and owning a large number of audio files, almost half of home PC audio users chose quality over quantity the research stated. (RW) ** THE SOCIAL SCENE: NEAR-FEST IN NH ON OCT 12 - 13 The New England Amateur Radio Festival is slated for on Friday October 12th and Saturday October 13th at the Deerfield Fairgrounds in Deerfield, New Hampshire. Convening in May and October, the NEAR-Fest celebrates the wonderful art and science of Amateur Radio. And as General Chairman Michael Crestohl, W1RC, tells us this years proceeds will be used to fund a very special project: -- W1RC: "The proceeds from this one are going to finance an Amateur Radio Station at the Christa McAuliffe Planeterium in Concord New Hampshire." -- Cresthol says that the planetarium staff are very excited at the prospect of having a radio station they can exhibit and operate. They also hope too use it to communicate directly with the International Space Station and other NASA facilities. A local area radio club has offered to represent NEAR-Fest and assist Planetarium staff members become licensed and proficient in the use of the equipment. Again, that's the NEAR-Fest slated for October 12th and 13th at the Deerfield Fairgrounds in Deerfield, New Hampshire with the proceeds going to the establishment of a new Amateur Radio station at the Christa McAuliffe Planeterium in Concord New Hampshire. More is on-line at http://near-fest.com (W1RC) ** THE SOCIAL SCENE: AMADOR CTY ARC SWAP MEET OCT 13 IN CA On the other side of the country, California's Amador County Amateur Radio Club holds its Swap Meet on Saturday, October 13th. The location is thre Martel Jackson area with talk-in on the 146.835 MHz repeater. For more information e-mail (E-mail) ** THE SOCIAL SCENE: THE THIRD ANNUAL PARIS TEXAS HAMFEST Also on Saturday October 13th is the Paris, Texas Hamfest. Its being held at the Red River Fairgrounds in Paris beginning at 8 a.m. local time. This one has free parking, an indoor flea market, forums, ham radio testing and lots more. Talk-in is on the 147.040 MHz repeater. It requires a 100 hertz sub audible access tone. For more information contact Richard Lenoir, KI5DX, at hi callbook address. (E-Mail) ** RADIO HONORS: DARA TO PUBLISH FALLEN MILITARY HAM MEMORIAL The Dayton Amateur Radio Association is looking to honor silent key operators who have died in service during the conflicts in Afghanistan or Iraq. According to the ARRL Letter, DARA is looking to publish a memorial page in the Hamvention 2008 program. One that will list these fallen hams by name, call sign, branch of service, rank and unit. (ARRL) ** RADIO HONORS: ARRL INVITES NOMINATIONS FOR 2007 INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN AWARD Nominations are being solicited for the 2007 ARRL International Humanitarian Award. The honor is presented to a ham or group of hams who demonstrate devotion to human welfare, peace and international understanding through Amateur Radio. Nominations should include a summary of the nominee's actions that qualify the individual or individuals, plus verifying statements from at least two people having first-hand knowledge of the events warranting the nomination. Nominations should also include the names and addresses of all references. All nominations and supporting materials must be submitted in writing in English to the ARRL International Humanitarian Award, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 USA. Nomination submissions are due by December 31st of this year. (ARRL) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: WA4SXM NAMED AMSAT VO FOR USER SERVICES AMSAT President Rick Hambly, W2GPS, announced the appointment of Gould Smith, WA4SXM, to the position of AMSAT Vice President of User Services. In his new position Smith will serve on the Executive Team and will be responsible for the leadership of a team that will include the management of the AMSAT Journal. He will also oversee the AMSAT New Service, the AMSAT HF radio nets, Field Operations, Awards and Contests, the Dayton Hamvention display and other duties as may be assigned by the President or the Board. (ANS) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: VE7UQ IS NEW MANAGER FOR INCOMING QSL BUREAU FOR BC Ken Clarke, VE7UQ, is the new Incoming QSL Bureau manager for British Columbia, Canada. With this change, the new address is the VE7-VA7 Incoming QSL Bureau, 12441 - 58A Avenue, Surrey B.C. V3X 1X6. Clarke replaces Dennis Livesey, VE7DK, who served in that post for the past 19 years. (RAC) ** BREAK 2 This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur. From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline with links to the world from our only official website at www.arnewsline.org and being relayed by the volunteer services of the following radio amateur: (5 sec pause here) ** EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: THE POWER OF THE SHOE Inventor Trevor Baylis hand-crank radio made him the toast of Africa. Now he wants to unleash pedestrian power world-wide. We have more in this report from the WIA News: -- Its an electric shoe capable of charging batteries by pedestrian power alone, this for cell phones, two-way pagers, MP3 players, or just about any other low-power portable gizmo. Baylis's spiel: Put away those plugs, chuck those re-chargers and cords - 'cause juicing up will soon be as easy as a walk in the park. This man is an avid inventor, from the non drip tea-pot to the talking potty, a children's toilet trainer that barks congratulations each time its occupant performs to order. I dont think that one charges batteries though .... So, back to his shoes, the heel insert is fashioned from piezoelectric crystal, and this when bent, squeezed, or struck, produces a high voltage at a very low current - rather like the static electricity created by rubbing fur on a balloon. Trevor went on to explain "We then put that charge back through a little electronic circuit, which sorts it out before squirting it into the battery of the mobile phone - or "can't live without" electronic toy, held in a pouch sewn on the back of the boot." -- It appears as if the man who gave us the crank-up radio is inspired, once again. (WIA) ** RADIO TRENDS: NEW GUIDELINES FOR AM BROADCASTING The AM Broadcasting Subcommittee of the The National Radio Systems Committee has adopted a new guideline titled Bandwidth Options for Analog AM Broadcasters. The document is a standard for broadcasters who wish to operate their AM facilities with audio bandwidths below 10 kHz. It also offers an explanation of why reduced AM bandwidth may be advantageous. Additionally, the AMB Subcommittee adopted a guideline titled AM Pre-emphasis/de-emphasis and Broadcast Audio Transmission Bandwidth Specifications," and another to be known as "Emission Limitation for AM Broadcast Transmission." These are revisions to previously adopted standards, as a result of the group's periodic standards review process. (RW) ** EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: IS THE PRICE REALLY RIGHT? Here's something to think about the next time you go out to buy a new radio or station accessory. According to a new study, the amount of the discount may be less important than the numerical value of the farthest right digit. This theory is explained in a new study from the Journal of Consumer Research. Keith S. Coulter of Clark University and Robin A. Coulter from the University of Connecticut are the first to identify a visual distortion effect that may influence how consumers look at sale prices. The researchers show that "right-digit effect" influences consumer perception of sale prices. When the right digits are small, people perceive the discount to be larger than when the right digits are large. In other words, an item on sale for $211 from the original price of $222 is thought to be a better deal than an item on sale for $188 from an original price of $199, even though both discounts are $11. Got that so far? Well theres more. The researchers also find that when consumers view regular and sale prices with identical left digits, they perceive larger price discounts when the right digits are "small" -- less than 5 -- than when they are "large," or, greater than 5. The study's authors say that when consumers examine multi-digit regular and sale prices in an advertisement, they read those prices from left-to-right. If the left digits are identical, consumers will pay less attention to those digits, and instead will focus primarily upon the disparate right-most digits in the price comparison process. The authors say that their findings indicate that comparative price advertising can distort consumers' perceptions in ways unintended by the seller. Then again, its doubtful either of these two gentlemen ever spent time at a hamfest to see what real bargaining is -- first hand. (Journal of Consumer Research) ** HAM RADIO TECHNOLOGY: DFCWI BEACON ON THE AIR A beacon using the newly created DFC Wi type modulation is on the air from the United Kingdom. On Wednesday September 19th, the 10 GHz GB3SCX beacon located in Dorset began operation using the new modulation technique to assist in evaluation of the mode. The GB3SCX beacon modulation still carries a normal on/off CW identifier followed by 15 seconds of carrier on its G-P-S locked frequency of 10368.905 MHz. This is then followed by a DFC Wi transmission with tones 400 Hz higher for a Dot and 600 Hz higher for a Dash. DFC Wi stands for Dual Frequency CW, with a third idle tone. It is described in more detail at www.scrbg.org/g4jnt/ (GB2RS, Southgate) ** DX In D-X, the 3B7C team on St. Drandons went QRT on September 25th around 03:31 UTC. The operation netted 135,500 QSOs. This total makes this expedition 3rd only to D68C and 3B9C. QSL information is on the 3B7C web page. And word that Southgate Amateur Radio Club member, G3RWL will be active as 8P6DR from Barbados through October 14th. He plans to operate CW and digital modes on 80 through 10 meters. QSL via G3RWL, direct or bureau. E-mail requests for bureau cards can be sent to g3rwl at amsat.org. Lastly, FO5RK, reports that his planned Dxpedition to Rotuma as 3D2AG/P is on schedule. His operation will take place between December 2007 and January 2008 with the actual dates will be announced later. FO5RK will be managing his own QSL requests upon his return home. Upon his return home, he will have his logs available on-line. (From various DX sources) ** THAT FINAL ITEM: T-HUNTING FOR THE BIRDS Since 1998, hams and other VHF listeners have been helping biologists by listening for pulsed signals from radio collars and tags. This fall's project involves another endangered bird. Newsline's Joe Moell K0OV has the details. -- Fall is here and North American birds are heading south to find winter homes. Every year, Eastern Loggerhead Shrikes leave nesting grounds in Ontario, Canada, but fewer and fewer are returning in the spring. Scientists want to know what happens to these critically endangered songbirds, and they're asking for our help. Researchers at the University of Guelph in Ontario have placed radio tags on 16 young shrikes. They need assistance from hams and monitoring enthusiasts in eastern states to find out if the birds end up in Florida as expected, or somewhere else. You can help from the comfort of your hamshack by tuning in regularly to the tag frequencies, which are between 172 and 173 MHz. The complete frequency list is at my Web site, along with articles to help you distinguish the tags from other signals you may hear there. Get started now, because these Loggerhead Shrike tags will only be active into November. The information is at _www.homingin.com_ (http://www.homingin.com) . That's homingin, as one word. Thanks in advance for your help. From southern California, this is Joe Moell, K0OV, for Amateur Radio Newsline. -- Again that website is www dot homing in dot com. (K0OV, ARNewsline(tm)) NEWSCAST CLOSE With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC Communicator, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the RSGB, the Southgate News and Australia's W-I-A News, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline(tm). Our e-mail address is . More information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline's(tm) only official website located at www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us at Amateur Radio Newsline(tm), P.O. Box 660937, Arcadia, California 91066. For now, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, fresh off an Airbus 320 from Denver Colorado saying 73 and we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. |
#2
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]() -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 In "William M. Pasternak" writes: Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1573 - October 7, 2007 [...] ASSISTED RADIO LIVING: HIGH POSTAGE RATES COULD DOOM CASSETTE-CASTERS If you are a visually impaired radio amateur and get your ham radio news or any information from radio reading services, listen up. A recent postage increase in the United States may doom a lot of the cassette based reading services. Services that cannot mail using the Postal Services Free Matter category, and which do not have some other way to generate revenue. Several tape based reading services have hinted that they will close their doors in December once there are no longer any funds for postage. Fred Vobbe, W8HDU, has mo -- Recently, we were dealt a great disservice by the United States Postal Service. The cost to mail a cassette tape has increased from 63 cents to $1.30. According to the USPS, the issue is that the postal regulations have changed. Any item thicker than 1/4 inch is now subject to this new higher rate. Ironically, its now cheaper to send a tape Canada, the United Kingdom or even Kuwait, than it is to someone right down the street from me. Go figure. Now, I am a member of the Lions Club, and I have talked to several other magazines-on-tape. This postage increase has been hurting a lot of cassette tape magazines. Those that are not sending "Free Matter" and are not subsidized, either have to pass their costs on to their subscribers, or they go out of business. I'm Fred Vobbe, W8HDU. [...] I don't know a lot of detail about the economics of this, particularly at the bulk/wholesale level, but I wonder if switching to CD-R's would be a reasonable alternative at this point. At retail at least, I observe that spindled CD-R's are about as cheap, if not slightly less so, than cassette tapes. CD players with headphones are approaching $10-$15 at box retailers, and CD-capable drives are ubiquitous in most households that have either PC's or DVD players, so this shouldn't be a hardship for the listeners, either. I recall a CBS "60 Minutes" piece about NetFlix, where they determined that a DVD could be mailed in a simple flat envelope inexpensively, and the odds of accidental breakage was low enough, that it was cheaper over large quantities to send it that way and just send a replacement for the occasional broken disc. CD-R's mailed that way would at least be under the 1/4" limit, and would save the extra postage. There would be the need to set up CD burning equipment, but most standard PC's seem to already come with CD burners, and are not that expensive to buy separately. Whatever investment in new equipment by both sender and receiver would appear to be quickly offset by the saved postage multiplied over many bulk mailings. Is one possible issue that the recipients like to reuse the cassettes? If so, then going to CD-RW's might be an option if they are not cost-prohibitive. - -- Paul W. Schleck http://www.novia.net/~pschleck/ Finger for PGP Public Key -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.5 (SunOS) iD8DBQFHCQGV6Pj0az779o4RAqASAKCEbLHHb5TzvKg7rbpzLH wRiQLdHACdFlsj 1vjfZIdy33wiBptE+0hR72s= =Se85 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- |
#3
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
"Paul W. Schleck" wrote in message
... [snip] I don't know a lot of detail about the economics of this, particularly at the bulk/wholesale level, but I wonder if switching to CD-R's would be a reasonable alternative at this point. At retail at least, I observe that spindled CD-R's are about as cheap, if not slightly less so, than cassette tapes. CD players with headphones are approaching $10-$15 at box retailers, and CD-capable drives are ubiquitous in most households that have either PC's or DVD players, so this shouldn't be a hardship for the listeners, either. I recall a CBS "60 Minutes" piece about NetFlix, where they determined that a DVD could be mailed in a simple flat envelope inexpensively, and the odds of accidental breakage was low enough, that it was cheaper over large quantities to send it that way and just send a replacement for the occasional broken disc. CD-R's mailed that way would at least be under the 1/4" limit, and would save the extra postage. There would be the need to set up CD burning equipment, but most standard PC's seem to already come with CD burners, and are not that expensive to buy separately. Whatever investment in new equipment by both sender and receiver would appear to be quickly offset by the saved postage multiplied over many bulk mailings. Is one possible issue that the recipients like to reuse the cassettes? If so, then going to CD-RW's might be an option if they are not cost-prohibitive. One thought that occurs to me (because I have personal experience of it) is that some disabled people may actually not be able to physically handle CD's. I know this because my brother is one of them. He is severely physically disabled, has cerebral palsy and simply cannot pick up a CD/DVD from its case and put it into a player. He can just about, with a lot of physical effort, put a cassette into a tape player and set it running, but he has a lot of difficulty manipulating the controls and is always chewing up tapes due to continually stopping/starting/winding them. He is a big fan of classical organ music and we buy him CD's and copy them onto cassettes for him, but as he is constantly (through no fault of his own) destroying them, we have to re-record them every so often. The trouble is, blank cassettes are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. Those stores that do still stock them say that when their stocks are exhausted they won't be having any more. What my brother and people like him (surely he can't be the only one..?) will do then is anybody's guess. 73 Ivor G6URP |
#4
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
Ivor Jones wrote:
He is a big fan of classical organ music and we buy him CD's and copy them onto cassettes for him, but as he is constantly (through no fault of his own) destroying them, we have to re-record them every so often. The trouble is, blank cassettes are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. Those stores that do still stock them say that when their stocks are exhausted they won't be having any more. What my brother and people like him (surely he can't be the only one..?) will do then is anybody's guess. Hi Ivor, This might be a solution. Radio stations now use "cart" software, instead of the cartridges of old. I've seen some of this software, at least for the mac - I'm certain that PC has them too. The sound or music is selected and played after being digitized and placed on a hard drive. In this way, the CD's can be digitized into MP3's, and he can select by pushing a key or use a mouse if he is capable. I don't know all the particulars of the situation, but maybe this could help? - 73 de Mike KB3EIA - |
#5
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]() "Ivor Jones" schreef in bericht ... "Paul W. Schleck" wrote in message ... [snip] I don't know a lot of detail about the economics of this, particularly at the bulk/wholesale level, but I wonder if switching to CD-R's would be a reasonable alternative at this point. At retail at least, I observe that spindled CD-R's are about as cheap, if not slightly less so, than cassette tapes. CD players with headphones are approaching $10-$15 at box retailers, and CD-capable drives are ubiquitous in most households that have either PC's or DVD players, so this shouldn't be a hardship for the listeners, either. I recall a CBS "60 Minutes" piece about NetFlix, where they determined that a DVD could be mailed in a simple flat envelope inexpensively, and the odds of accidental breakage was low enough, that it was cheaper over large quantities to send it that way and just send a replacement for the occasional broken disc. CD-R's mailed that way would at least be under the 1/4" limit, and would save the extra postage. There would be the need to set up CD burning equipment, but most standard PC's seem to already come with CD burners, and are not that expensive to buy separately. Whatever investment in new equipment by both sender and receiver would appear to be quickly offset by the saved postage multiplied over many bulk mailings. Is one possible issue that the recipients like to reuse the cassettes? If so, then going to CD-RW's might be an option if they are not cost-prohibitive. One thought that occurs to me (because I have personal experience of it) is that some disabled people may actually not be able to physically handle CD's. I know this because my brother is one of them. He is severely physically disabled, has cerebral palsy and simply cannot pick up a CD/DVD from its case and put it into a player. He can just about, with a lot of physical effort, put a cassette into a tape player and set it running, but he has a lot of difficulty manipulating the controls and is always chewing up tapes due to continually stopping/starting/winding them. He is a big fan of classical organ music and we buy him CD's and copy them onto cassettes for him, but as he is constantly (through no fault of his own) destroying them, we have to re-record them every so often. The trouble is, blank cassettes are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. Those stores that do still stock them say that when their stocks are exhausted they won't be having any more. What my brother and people like him (surely he can't be the only one..?) will do then is anybody's guess. !. there must be huge stockpiles of cassettes at institutions or private housholds who used them. They are not blank, but can be used. The only problem is to find them before they are thrown away. In Holland you can find hundreds of them in recycling stores. 2. second solution is to find another way of packing the CD. No jewel box but paper or plastic sleaves or something else? MRE |
#6
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]() "Ivor Jones" wrote in message ... One thought that occurs to me (because I have personal experience of it) is that some disabled people may actually not be able to physically handle CD's. I know this because my brother is one of them. He is severely physically disabled, has cerebral palsy and simply cannot pick up a CD/DVD from its case and put it into a player. He can just about, with a lot of physical effort, put a cassette into a tape player and set it running, but he has a lot of difficulty manipulating the controls and is always chewing up tapes due to continually stopping/starting/winding them. He is a big fan of classical organ music and we buy him CD's and copy them onto cassettes for him, but as he is constantly (through no fault of his own) destroying them, we have to re-record them every so often. The trouble is, blank cassettes are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. Those stores that do still stock them say that when their stocks are exhausted they won't be having any more. What my brother and people like him (surely he can't be the only one..?) will do then is anybody's guess. 73 Ivor G6URP Ivor , Here is a possible solution. I use a Sony DVD "Disk Explorer". My old model holds 200 disks. It will play audio CD's, MP3's, WMA, DVD, Video CD,s etc. They make/made a newer model that holds 300 disks. I know these units can be cascaded via jacks on the back of the units. I bet there are similar audio CD only units out there. Once loaded with disks, the disks never need to be touched again. 73, Ace - WH2T .. |
#7
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
As I understand it -- at least here in the USA -- the Radio Reading
Services (RRS) are locked into cassette tapes for the foreseeable future. This is because the players (and player recorders) are specifically designed to be "blind friendly" as defined by the Americans in Disability Act. While many sightless people can manipulate CD players, there is no established "standard" as there are for cassettes and no real impetus to create one. Don't hold your breath waiting. B-T-W: Most RRS tapes run at 15/16 IPS -- half the speed of the normal 1 7/8 IPS of cassette machines -- tho some like those my friend Hap Holly KC9RP (Of RAIN fame) are dual speed. At low speed a C-120 (2 hr) cassette will store 4 hours of voice quality sound. Another reason that the cassette is so popular with the RSS. de Bill P. / WA6ITF Ivor Jones wrote: "Paul W. Schleck" wrote in message ... [snip] I don't know a lot of detail about the economics of this, particularly at the bulk/wholesale level, but I wonder if switching to CD-R's would be a reasonable alternative at this point. At retail at least, I observe that spindled CD-R's are about as cheap, if not slightly less so, than cassette tapes. CD players with headphones are approaching $10-$15 at box retailers, and CD-capable drives are ubiquitous in most households that have either PC's or DVD players, so this shouldn't be a hardship for the listeners, either. I recall a CBS "60 Minutes" piece about NetFlix, where they determined that a DVD could be mailed in a simple flat envelope inexpensively, and the odds of accidental breakage was low enough, that it was cheaper over large quantities to send it that way and just send a replacement for the occasional broken disc. CD-R's mailed that way would at least be under the 1/4" limit, and would save the extra postage. There would be the need to set up CD burning equipment, but most standard PC's seem to already come with CD burners, and are not that expensive to buy separately. Whatever investment in new equipment by both sender and receiver would appear to be quickly offset by the saved postage multiplied over many bulk mailings. Is one possible issue that the recipients like to reuse the cassettes? If so, then going to CD-RW's might be an option if they are not cost-prohibitive. One thought that occurs to me (because I have personal experience of it) is that some disabled people may actually not be able to physically handle CD's. I know this because my brother is one of them. He is severely physically disabled, has cerebral palsy and simply cannot pick up a CD/DVD from its case and put it into a player. He can just about, with a lot of physical effort, put a cassette into a tape player and set it running, but he has a lot of difficulty manipulating the controls and is always chewing up tapes due to continually stopping/starting/winding them. He is a big fan of classical organ music and we buy him CD's and copy them onto cassettes for him, but as he is constantly (through no fault of his own) destroying them, we have to re-record them every so often. The trouble is, blank cassettes are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. Those stores that do still stock them say that when their stocks are exhausted they won't be having any more. What my brother and people like him (surely he can't be the only one..?) will do then is anybody's guess. 73 Ivor G6URP |
#8
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
Bill Pasternak wrote:
At low speed a C-120 (2 hr) cassette will store 4 hours of voice quality sound. Another reason that the cassette is so popular with the RSS. But this capacity pales in comparison to digital devices. I was amazed to discover that some of those little hand-held digital recorders store 144 hours of "extra high-quality" sound. That technology sure has changed since I last looked at it. 73, Steve KB9X |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|