RF Shorts - May 13, 2010

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WIRED has a nice article on a RadioShack store that still stocks a wide range of parts for people who want to build their own electronics. "The Lost Tribes of RadioShack: Tinkerers Search for New Spiritual Home" describes Andy Cohen's store in Sebastopol, Calif.: "His shop is a lone outpost; in a single generation, the American who built, repaired, and tinkered with technology has evolved into an entirely new species: the American who prefers to slip that technology out of his pocket and show off its killer apps. Once, we were makers. Now most of us are users."

The FCC released its list of experimental licenses granted from 2/1/10 to 3/1/10 [PDF]. The only grant that involves TV broadcast bands is WF2XHR, which allows the University of Utah Department of Physics and Astronomy to use 54.1 MHz in Delta, UT to study high-energy cosmic rays.

The FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [PDF] to change Part 15 rules for Unlicensed Personal Communications Service (UPCS) devices operating in the 1920-1930 MHz band to make more efficient use of this spectrum.

Chile's first DTV station will use a Jampro antenna, according to this press release.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung
Contributor

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack. A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.