July, 2006

< Prev Page 5 Next >

Amateur recognised in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
A new exhibition at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland , US will honour the extraordinary work of legendary sound engineer and radio ham Bob Heil, K9EID. Bob was responsible for designing the pioneering sound equipment used by many of the biggest rock acts of the 1970s, including the Eagles, the Grateful Dead and The Who. Bob's rise to fame in musical circles began one night in 1970 when the Grateful Dead arrived for a concert in St Louis without any sound equipment. Bob came to the rescue, supplying the influential band with a PA system from his Ye Olde Music Shoppe in Marissa. The band was so impressed by the quality of the system that they took it on tour with them. Later Bob was asked to design a custom quadraphonic mixing board for The Who's 1974 Quadrophenia tour. But perhaps his most famous invention was The Talk Box, a device that allowed guitarists to manipulate sound using their mouths. The Talk Box was used by Joe Walsh of the Eagles -- also a radio amateur -- during the legendary Mississippi River Festival in the 1970s. The Talk Box forms the centrepiece of the exhibition at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Other notable exhibits include a microphone used by The Who singer Roger Daltry. The microphone is still wrapped in the red gaffer tape Bob put on it to prevent it being lost in the crowd. Daltry was famous for swinging microphones from their leads and sometimes a mic would come loose and fly into the audience. Today, Bob continues to work in the music business through his company Heil Sound, which also supplies amateur radio equipment. [GB2RS}

21st International Space Colloquium
Amateur radio satellite group AMSAT-UK is holding its 21st International Space Colloquium at the University of Surrey , Guildford , England from 28 to 30 July. The highlight of the event is a guided tour of the satellite assembly facilities and satellite mission control centre at Surrey Space Centre. There will be a programme of lectures on amateur radio satellites, including a special beginner's session aimed at showing newcomers how to use amateur satellites. A number of University of Surrey postgraduate students will also present details of their space projects. Finally, the GB4FUN amateur radio demonstration vehicle will be in attendance to help visitors work some satellites. The 21st International Space Colloquium is open to radio amateurs and short wave listeners. Further details about the event, including a detailed programme, can be found on the AMSAT-UK website. Contact Jim Heck, G3WGM, at e-mail address g3wgm@<no spam>amsat.org if you would like to attend the event. [GB2RS]

Larger or Smaller?
Several weeks ago we reported the possibility that the next sunspot cycle, cycle 24, would be larger than normal. Now a NASA team has predicted that the solar maximum after that, cycle 25, will be the smallest in the last 200 years or more. The team reports the following: According to theory and observation, the speed of the belt foretells the intensity of sunspot activity for the next 20 years into the future. A slow belt means lower solar activity; a fast belt means stronger activity. The Great Conveyor Belt is a massive circulating current of hot plasma within the Sun. It has two branches, one in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern hemisphere, each taking about 40 years to perform one complete circuit. Normally, the conveyor belt moves about 1m per second. That's how it has been since the late 19th century. In recent years, however, the belts have decelerated to 0.75m per second in the north and 0.35m per second in the south. The slowdown we see now means that solar cycle 25, peaking around the year 2022, could be one of the smallest in centuries. (GB2RS)

Air Canada expands mobile check-in
Air Canada's Mobile Check-in has been expanded to include all flights within Canada. Air Canada customers traveling without luggage may now use their mobile device -- cell phone, blackberry or Treo -- to check-in at aircanada.com. Customers log on to mobile.aircanada.com using their mobile device one to 24 hours prior to departure and complete their check-in on their mobile by entering their name, departure city and one of the following: credit card number, Aeroplan number or reservation number. Once completed, customers make their way to a self-service kiosk at the airport to print their boarding pass.

July, 2006

< Prev Page 5 Next >