Archive for September, 2008
Pumpkin Toss!
Fall is my favorite time of year. The corn has been harvested, and the pumpkins will soon appear everywhere as a sign of a good harvest. And of course, to be carved into jack-o-lanterns towards the end of the month. Then turn it around, and you have a Fall decoration for November, unless it got smashed Halloween [...]
Maximizing the Antenna
My antenna was doing fine, but I felt it could be a bit better and I wanted to search the airwaves for “hidden treasure”. I mentioned earlier in a post about DXing, but another form of searching the airwaves is peeking into neighboring markets. It’s fairly easy to pick up analog signals from Richmond, VA. [...]
A Lesson on Installing an F-Connector
One Thing You Should Put Off Until Later
We’re all busy these days and sometimes it seems there’s not enough minutes in the day to accomplish everything we need to do. Some things get pushed aside, and possibly forgotten until it’s too late. Then, there’s a mad rush to get it done which wears you out to the point that you put something [...]
Seeing the Unseen
Broadcast signals circle your head constantly following straight paths from point A to point B. They are everywhere and it would be extremely difficult to find any square foot of this planet that does not have some RF signal present. Think about it, satellites pretty much cover the entire planet, signals from radio and TV [...]
TV Antennas are Crazy
Now that I have my converter box in hand, I’m researching antennas here in the burbs of Wendell. I just picked up a Phillips Silver Sensor PHDTV3 indoor antenna at Target in Knightdale and ran some tests versus my outdoor antenna. Target has also re-stocked the RCA box, and a trip across the street to [...]
NC Stations Conduct a DTV Soft Test
Many stations in the state participated in a DTV soft test coordinated with the NC Association of Broadcasters, where we put up a slide over the NTSC feed to help people identify which televisions, cable, and satellite signals are not yet digital ready. The results were very favorable, and mostly what we (at least what I) [...]
CECB Shopping Part Two
Shopping for my first converter box went fairly well, even though I was disappointed in the displays because I was shopping with the average man-shopper mentality, get it and get out without help. I found most stores had an adequate supply of boxes. Discovering the features of the box by reading the packaging is not very accurate, and [...]
Replacing an Outdoor Antenna
I recently replaced Mom’s antenna which had endured damaging winds in Northeastern North Carolina. Well, maybe not endured as it had lost several elements, but it was still working for the most part, although one of my “to do list” items every time I went home was to turn the antenna back towards the stations [...]
9-12-2001
On September 12th, 2001, NBC 17 hosted a candlelight vigil at the downtown Raleigh Civic Center Plaza with local radio stations, to bring the Triangle citizens together to remember and heal. Local recording artist Ben Folds delivered the National Anthem, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd. Afterwards, Pastor Shirley Caeser, another favorite local recording artist [...]
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