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 In this post we will finish the list of FCC historic spectrum management mistakes that began with Part 1 of this series. 12. Land Mobile “Re-farming:” (1990s-present). By itself not a major league blunder, but more of a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” gambit. The basic idea is to halve, and then later halve again, the [...] Now, we continue the long list of FCC historic spectrum management mistakes that began with Part 1 of this blog series. 6. Nextel (1990s). Back when it all began they were known as “Fleetcall,” but their real intention became apparent with the re-naming of the company after a few years. Their mission: to construct a [...] The Curmudgeon recently read an account of yet another potential spectrum management (engineering) gaffe toward which the FCC has been briskly marching, and that set him to pondering. The FCC has, historically, produced a series of what might be classified as spectrum management mistakes, ranging from blunders at the marginally tolerable level to complete fiascos. [...] The Curmudgeon, having been licensed in the Amateur Radio Service for more than fifty years, has had a long-standing desire to attend the nation’s premiere annual ARS convention, the Dayton Hamvention. However many small, niggling practical matters, such as employment, family, and funding have always created road blocks. Now in full retirement and well along [...] In this series we have been looking at the telecommunications technology available to the average consumer in the year 1960 and comparing it with what exists today. In this concluding post we will summarize what has been presented and draw some (personal) conclusions. Summary: It should be somewhat apparent to the reader of these past [...] In this series of posts we are looking at the telecommunications technology available to the average consumer in the year 1960 and comparing it with what exists today. We will perhaps be able to see some of the changes in daily life that the technological advances of the past fifty years have brought, as a [...] In this series of posts we are looking at the telecommunications technology available to the average consumer in the year 1960 and comparing it with that which exists today. We can trace some of the changes in daily life that the technological advances of the past fifty years have brought, and also see how our [...] In this series of posts we are looking at the telecommunications technology available to the average consumer in the year 1960 and comparing it with what exists today. We will perhaps be able to see some of the changes in daily life that the technological advances of the past fifty years have brought, as a [...] In writing these posts the Curmudgeon has tried to bridge the views and outlooks of its readers’ several different age generations, and has attempted to prepare the descriptions to be meaningful across the entire range of ages. But indications have become evident that the views about the role of telecommunications (and related products) in human [...] “Whatever happened to HF radio?” (No, not HD radio, HF radio!). “High Frequency” radio flourished back in the days before “radio” became “wireless,” when perhaps it was better known as “shortwave radio!” And if you are old enough, the term “shortwave” can still conjure up some half-forgotten memories. Of crackling news broadcasts from far away [...] Last time we began a discussion about some of the factors (mostly human-created) which could limit the future usability of the RF spectrum. The first two were spectrum-use saturation and the spread of poorly-designed, RF-radiating digital devices. In this post we’ll conclude the Curmudgeon’s list with three more possible factors, and then toss it open [...] The recent series of posts dealing, in part, with the future of the Amateur Radio Service launched the Curmudgeon’s thinking into a new direction. Being a “philosopher dude” kind of guy whose thoughts tend to move toward larger and more futuristic issues, the Curmudgeon generalized his thinking to consider the future prospects for the entire [...] Last time we looked at the consequences of a broadcast channel allocation matter in which a small, analog Low Power TV station was displaced from its high UHF channel assignment in Pleasantville (a medium-size city located near Gotham City, a regional metropolis) by the FCC’s re-allocation of its existing LPTV channel to the new 700 [...] There is an article in the October 2010 issue of IEEE Spectrum (p. 26), “The Great Spectrum Famine.” It makes much the same case as does the Curmudgeon, but from more general considerations and a bit higher level. The Curmudgeon said: “It really doesn’t say much that we don’t already know, and I don’t really [...] This is a tale of two cities and a case of monumentally stupid broadcast regulation by the FCC that has afflicted their region of the country. The story in Part I will make a small point, but one which has larger ramifications that will be developed in Part II. The Curmudgeon lives in a mid-sized [...] In this final part of the series, the Curmudgeon looks backwards (with just a little nostalgia) at the ARS of fifty years ago as a reference point for today’s Service and notes that, even then, it was not a perfect society. And he gazes into a well-clouded crystal ball and hazards a few guesses about its future. [...] In the previous post, the Curmudgeon looked at the first of the two major sociological changes that, in his opinion, have occurred in the Amateur Radio Service during the past fifty years: the “dumbing down” and “consumerization” of the ARS. In this post he examines the second major change. This other change, the Curmudgeon suggests, is the ascendency of ARS operators’ ego as a principal organizing force. It has changed the Service during the past half-century, and not for the better. There are several ways in which this trend manifests itself today. [...] It’s not been the Curmudgeon’s intention to devote appreciable coverage to the Amateur Radio Service (ARS) in these blog postings. A majority (perhaps most) of today’s telecommunications professionals are no longer licensed hams, although in past decades they most likely would have been. However, two recent personal events again brought the ARS into focus. In the first, earlier this year the Curmudgeon (today an Amateur Extra Class licensee) celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of earning his first ARS license, which was the (former entry-level) Novice class ticket. The second event was receipt of a gift of some computer CD-ROMS containing sets of page image files for the historic 1930 through 1959 issues of QST Magazine (the principal ham journal, published by the American Radio Relay League). [...] The US economy, juiced by the national popular culture, is about to commit another major telecommunications blunder! The title of this piece gives a clue to it. Since there is no way to stop or to prevent the developing blunder, it might be of some use at least to understand what we are doing. American [...] Within the developing utility Smart Grid universe, this time we’ll look at some special concerns about the customer-centric Advanced Metering Initiative area. Here the deck is stacked entirely against the consumer. First, the consumer will have to pay the costs for implementing the Initiative; in California alone, the costs just for replacing a significant portion [...] Last time we introduced the new buzzword term, the utility Smart Grid, provided a quick overview of the concept-undergoing-creation, and noted that doubts exist whether the utility industry can successfully implement it. Now let’s spend a little time examining those doubts as they relate to the utility-centric side of the Smart Grid effort. The first [...] There is a new “next great thing” concept now moving through the land, undergoing promotion in the popular press and probably destined to be a future concern (and cost burden) to the citizens of the United States. That term is “Smart Grid.” And it’s a term that would be much easier to deal with if, [...] As everyone knows, the FCC has released a draft of their National Broadband Plan. Whoopee! They labored mightily, and they gave birth to a mouse. And probably a congenitally deformed mouse at that! At least in its outline form, the plan is what you might expect from a panel of LEPs (Lawyers, Economists, and Politicians) [...]  In response to the last blog posting, a San Diego Amateur radio operator kindly forwarded to the Curmudgeon the enclosed photograph and some of his observations of the monster residential ham antenna that set off the furor with the city government. The enclosed photo shows the situation on the ground there. For identification, this antenna [...] The Curmudgeon has received word about and has done a little investigating on an evolving issue. It’s the sort of thing that has to make you scratch your head and wonder just exactly where we have taken ourselves. It’s the kind of matter that causes you to feel a bit queasy inside. We’re back for [...] There’s so much heat on in the spectrum and broadband areas today, LBA asked the Curmudgeon to expand a bit on his last posting’s spectrum musings. In the last blog post we identified the looming potential problem of total consumption of the radio frequency spectrum. If we want to head this off, we need to [...] LBA asks the Old RF Curmudgeon to put on his magic glasses and look through the swirling mists of spectrum policy. In this several part (he’s still looking) series the Curmudgeon will share with us the fantastic visions of spectrum usage and policy that he tunes in. Look with him carefully, as the spectrum path [...] LBA asks the Old RF Curmudgeon “Now that the remaining analog TV nightlight stations have gone dark and the DTV transition fireworks are pretty much over, what is the success, or lack thereof, of the enterprise. This event is important because it was a major field test of whether the general population can be successfully moved [...] LBA asks the Old RF Curmudgeon how “being wired-in continuously” on hand held RF devices is affecting the (still) finite RF spectrum. The Curmudgeon believes that, without necessary and sufficient prior consideration, the US is starting down a technological path which may well prove to be unfortunate, festooned with many unforeseen consequences. One wishes that [...] LBA asks: What do you think of the future of AM broadcasting as you see it today? This one is emotional, of course. After all, AM radio is one of the very oldest uses of the radio spectrum (beginning ~1919), as evidenced in part by the Medium Frequency band on which it began and still [...] |
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