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February 8, 2004

Modest but probably sustainable growth

The Telecommunication Industry Association or TIA (external link) (internal link) predicts total wireless spending will increase by 7.6% in 2004. Much greater for WiFi, slightly less for infrastructure. Subscriber growth will be in the single digits. This prediction is consistent with what I've heard since fall: wireless in 2004 will fall somewhere between the highs and lows of its recent boom and bust years. Telecom is a cyclical business, but perhaps less violent swings of its pendulum are on the way.

February 6, 2004

Fixed the modulation page; it is now working again. I write a little on that page about ultra wideband modulation, a very difficult to learn topic. A recent, clearly written article on that subject is here. Don't blame me if they pull this link:

http://www.eet.com/story/OEG20020911S0072

February 4, 2004

I'm taking the rest of the week off to do ranch work, art related things, and to study Russian. I'll keep answering my e-mail, though, so feel free to contact me with any questions.

February 3, 2004

Q. Which country led cellular radio development around the globe?

A. No one country did. The United States, the Scandinavian countries, and Japan all contributed. Although America now leads because of Qualcomm and CDMA technology, the Nordic countries and Japan contributed as much if not more to establishing cellular.

Adept at producing high quality communications equipment, Scandinavia and Japan did not have domestic markets large enough to justify research, development, and production costs. From the beginning they meant to sell products world wide. And although Motorola sold its AMPS like systems wherever they could, they found stiff competition from Nokia, Ericsson, and Oki.

The wildly successful all digital, Smart Chip based, GSM system was a totally non-American technology. It was so successful that it even spread into and across the United States, renamed for us under the name PCS. Japan, Scandinavia, and for some time now Canada, because of Nortel, produce handsets and cellular networking equipment that matches anything American companies produce. It is this competition between equally competent companies and countries that led to cellular radio's quick spread around the world.

February 1, 2004

Let's see if they actually do it

"Beginning January 29, 2004, telemarketers must transmit Caller ID information in order to comply with the Federal Trade Commission’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). This information will help consumers choose which sales calls they want to take."

"The FTC, the nation’s consumer protection agency, amended the TSR by creating the National Do Not Call Registry. The Registry protects consumers’ privacy by giving them a choice about whether they want to receive most telemarketing calls."

"Telemarketers are required to transmit their telephone number, and if possible, their name, to consumers’ Caller ID services. While it is technologically possible to transmit callers’ numbers nearly everywhere, transmitting callers’ names may not be available everywhere yet."

continues here (external link to the FTC)

January 29, 2004

How low can you go?

Is this the deepest underground payphone in the world? The photo is from Larry Johnson's Heritage of Time: The People and Times of GTE Southwest 1976- 1988. It shows an underground payphone at 750 feet below sea level. It was installed in 1956 but the original line had been run in the late 1920s.

I understand a newer model still exists at Carlsbad Cavern. But it might not be the lowest payphone of any kind. The Dead Sea near the Israel/Jordan border is 1,312 feet below sea level. Does anyone know of a public payphone there? Write me! Click the image for a bigger picture:

January 28, 2004

Q. I can't stand cell phones going off in my theatre. Any way to jam their signals?

A. Yes, but it's illegal to do so. You can't interfere with any radio transmission authorized by the F.C.C. You can ask people to turn off their cell phones or radios but you can't physically interfere with a properly authorized, licensed signal. And it's not the small F.C.C. fines you should worry about. If someone has a heart attack and people can't call 911 because you are jamming their cell phones, well, you and your theatre will be sued out of business.

Although products like this can be had, I am sure they are illegal to use in the United States:

http://www.suresafe.com.tw/showroom1.html (external link)

January 22, 2004

Q. What are the connectors called that join the handset to the telephone? They're different than the ones that join the telephone to the wall.

A. (From Cowboy Frank:)

Howdy,

It took just a bit of research, but the handset connectors are referred to as 4P4C. RJ11 (the standard phone jack) and RJ45 (the Ethernet jack) are actually construction standards and not the plug shapes themselves. I have never bothered with looking up the standards before, but it would appear they refer to such things as the general shape, use and position of the little lock tab, spacing of contacts, insulation qualifications, acceptable voltage levels and so fourth of the connectors.

This web site is excellent for finding different connectors. It links to a which actually has some technical specs for the 4P4C plugs this company offers:

http://exw.en.alibaba.com/group/0.html

It was actually lucky you asked now instead of 6 months ago. I have just recently bought a crimping tool for handset cords and it had the number on the side which allowed me to look it up :-)

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