Did some work a while ago at a transmitter site that had three transmitters combined into one antenna. The site uses a Shively branched combiner:
Each transmitter can be tested into a separate 20 KW dummy load:
Transmitter themselves are Nautel NV15s:
Except for the one on end, which is an older BE FM20A.
The security camera system at WICC has been installed for a month or so. The greatest feature of this system is the Blue Iris monitoring software. Two weeks ago while I was out there, we calibrated the motion detection on all four cameras. The results are astounding; there are at least two red foxes and six to seven white-tailed deer, and on the weekends, the place is busier than Grand Central station.
The nighttime images are interesting, people with flashlights walking down the beach at 1 am and a naked guy causally strolling by the front gate at midnight. I will never go to this site at night without the police. Never, so don’t even ask. This is a video of a fence hopper with a can of spray paint in his hand:
Likely he intended some site beautification. His friend is out of the frame to the left when the cameras are spotted. A few seconds later both can be seen running away on the North facing camera. I find that rather funny. This is a still picture:
On the right-hand side of the screen, one can see all of the triggered events from all the cameras. The Blue Iris software is great, it can handle up to 64 IP cameras and has all sorts of neat features; color coding cameras, recording on motion, night time sensitivity settings, ability to NAT the camera interface to the public network, etc. The Blue Iris also has an iPhone and Android client which will allow remote access to the Blue Iris server and the server can be set up to push events to the mobile device. At $9.99, the app is a little pricey, but for high-security situations, it might be just the ticket.
We must also get some signage warning about trespassing and video surveillance and post them on the fences and buildings.
About a month ago, I dropped my phone on my way out of class, this is the result:
Now, that looks bad, I’ll admit, but the phone works just fine. It is my three-year-old HTC Droid Incredible and I have just customized it just the way I like. I was going to replace the front touch screen but after reviewing several youtube videos, that process looks like a right pain.
Unfortunately, every time I take it out of my pocket somebody invariably says: “Oh my God, what happened to your phone?” My strategy of late is to grab the phone and say “WHAT! WHAT!” while turning it over frantically to find some critical flaw, then look questioningly at the person.
Most often, the other person will look at me and figure out that I am messing with them. Some do not.
Sometimes it is the little things that catch the eye. When I was installing a Nautel transmitter recently, I was admiring the circuit boards used for the transmitter controller. I have seen a few circuit boards that are functional, but leave a little to be desired in the form department. Does it really matter? Perhaps not, but often times those tiny, almost insignificant details come back to bite you. Little things like having the voltage regulator pins correctly placed or putting a toggle switch on the correct side of the board. I have seen both mistakes from another, well known transmitter manufacturer.
Anyway, these are a few photographs of some well designed, well laid out circuit boards.
This is the main controller board.
Surface mount components.
Logic chips.
Part of the harmonic trap for the XR series transmitters.
It really is the little things that make big differences. A circuit board under a cover that few people will ever see may seem like a very small and insignificant detail, but I notice and admire these things…
