Digital Holidaymakers!

What is a digital holidaymaker?

"Quite simply, they aren't trying to emigrate anywhere...Do you know any digital holidaymakers?

Quite probably yes.

If you've ever had the pleasure of leading in-service training on any ICT, you'll definitely have met some. They are the ones that will attend in-service training as it's a 'day out', go through the process of learning new things, cope well with the new ideas and then leave at the end of the day having shelved absolutely everything they learned - it was a day out of school after all, and the tutor was quite entertaining.You'll have met them on a day to day basis too. They are the ones that will incorporate ICT into lessons, units and topics where it explicitly says so. They are the ones that will use ICT to teach skills exclusively and make no connections to anything elsewhere in the curriculum. They are the ones that use the interactive whiteboard only on the day the QIO or HMIe comes to visit."

Well, I must admit that I have to deal with this daily!

www.whereisab.co.uk/blog/?p=521

Sputnik - Analogue Native?

50 years ago today!

Now, I really don't remember this because I was only three years old, but I bet this little beasty was made up of early transistors and didn't have a digital bone in it's body. I would love to see the circuit diagram of this 'bleeping machine'. I'll bet it had a bi-stable mulivibrator, modulating transformer and a big valve!

SPUTNIK 1

Launch date: 4 October 1957

Mission: First man-made satellite to orbit the Earth

In 1957, Sputnik 1 became the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth. The world looked on with awe as the space age began.
Sputnik was a triumph of technology. It sent back information about the atmosphere at the edge of space - and of course, it showed that man was capable of sending a spacecraft into orbit.
Yet Sputnik was never intended to be a scientific mission. The United States had already announced their plans to launch the first satellite. The Soviet Union wanted to show the world that their space technology was the best in the world. Sputnik's radio broadcast at a frequency that amateur radio fans could tune into - just to make sure the whole world was talking about the little craft.

Sputnik's transmissions were monitored all around the world. The craft itself was less than a metre across. However, the booster rocket that launched it also reached orbit, and this was easily visible from the Earth.
The satellite's batteries lasted about three weeks. The craft itself remained in orbit for nearly six months, and completed 1400 orbits of the Earth. The fact that the Soviet Union launched a craft that repeatedly flew over America did much to spur on the American space programme.

The word 'Sputnik' originally meant 'fellow traveller'. However, thanks to this little spacecraft, 'Sputnik' has come to mean 'satellite' in modern Russian.

Now this link is brilliant, it tells the story of and launch of Sputnik 1 Click HERE!

High Pressure!

Todays pressure map.

Historically, Autumn and particularly the first two weeks of October, brings High Pressure and superb openings on the VHF and UHF bands into the Continent and Scandanavia. My logbook shows some great openings on 2m, 70cm and even 23cm!

Checking out my log book, here are some stations worked with less than 10w!

28/9/83 EA1NU on 2m (Spain)

12/10/85 HB9MIN on 70cm (Switzerland)

12/10/85 EA1CYE on 70cm (Spain)

13/10/85 HB9AEN on 70cm (Switzerland)

4/10/86 OK1DIG on 70cm (Belgium)

This one is a classic, this time a later opening in November:

5/11/87 FD1FHI on 23cm with about 50mw of power!

7/11/87 SP6MLK on 70cm (Poland)

Sadly, I have no beams (arials) anymore for 2m and 70cm, I feel that i'm missing something, but when I listen on the bands it is completely dead...no DX at all. The magic of working DX on an Autumn evening with the bands open is no more. Sometimes I would stay up most of the night listening and the excitement of working a continental station with home made equipment has to be experienced!

Don't you just love High Pressure!

Piccadilly Radio 261!

While we are on the subject of Pop Radio Stations... Piccadilly Radio on 261 metres MW.

My Ford Escort had three of these stickers displayed at the time, two in the back window and one in the front!

It's now known as Key 103, but it's roots lie in the early 70's when it first came on the air on Medium Wave as a 24 hour station. Great to listen to at night and during the day when I spent my days on the road doing field servicing. The studio was in Piccadilly Plaza (on the second or third floor I think) and when I went to Manchester on Saturday afternoons with Kath, we used to call in at the station to pick up some stickers and other info about the station.

I also remember a visit to Radio Manchester at it's old site in Piccadilly (next to Woolworths)

It was a visit organised by the Bolton Radio Society when I was secretary. We had a look around the studios and talked to the producers and engineers. At the time James Stannage was on the air who caused quite a controversy when he was at Radio Manchester. Wouldn't think twice about using the word 'Pillock' which was not acceptable on-air then!

One night on Radio Manchester (or Piccadilly...I can't remember) Johnny Walker was a guest and invited people to ring up to speak to him on air...so guess what...I stopped my A35 car (with Kath) next to phone box near where she lived and rang up. I got through to the studio but then put on hold until my money ran out! At the time he had left Radio 1 and hadn't been heard of for ages. Now Johnny Walker is on every day on Radio 2!

Click HERE to find out more about Piccadilly Radio!

Radio 1 launch today in 1967!

September 30th 1967, Tony Blackburn presents the first ever show on Radio 1!

The 'Summer of Love' lasted all the way through the six weeks holiday when I was 13 years old. I can still remember the words of classic flower power records and Monkees singles! Going back to school still left me on a high listening to music at night on Radio Luxemburg and weekends on the Light Programme. Radio 1 was the BBC's answer to the Pirate Stations (which had been closed down by the BBC), Radio Caroline was my favourite!
Today 40 years ago Radio 1 was launched at 7.00am by Tony Blackburn, it was a Saturday so I missed the first half hour but woke up in time to listen to the rest of the programme on our transistor radio! From then on I would get up at 7.00am before school go downstairs, light the gas fire and switch on the GEC Transistor Radio (with it's PP9 battery) and listen to Tony Blackburn while reading my comics until ten to eight when I set off for school.
It was brilliant...pop music every morning with all my favourite songs before school!
The first record played by Tony Blackburn was 'Flowers in the Rain' by The Move.
Memories of Radio 1
Morning fry-ups (egg dips!)
The 7.30 news and a great record to follow
Reading Dandy and Beano comics while listening to Radio 1
Sitting next to the gas fire on a cold morning listening to Tony Blackburn (we didn't have central heating then!)
Waiting for White Plains 'My Baby Loves Loving' so that I could listen in my shack LOUD!
The GEC Transistor Radio sitting on top the 'stove' in the corner.

New Home!

Well, here it is...my digital classroom!
In the cabinet are 15 laptops and the whiteboard is a latest SMARTBOARD along with an Hitachi Digital Projector, Hi-Fi Denon Amp and JBL Speakers.
I must admit that tonight I feel pretty worn out after teaching my class, chasing technicians around the school and trying desperately to get Interactive Whiteboards to perform. The trouble with computers and digital technology is that nothing is ever simple! Setting up wireless networks, computer domains, virus protection, network users and policies...the list goes on! They say that patience is a virtue....you need it! Our technicians come for half a day a week...the rest I try sort out myself.
I enjoy it though, tonight I spent the best part of an hour after work sorting out and throwing out leads and digital projectors!

Digital Mischief!

Melissa loves my new school, lots of buttons to press and knobs to turn. On Wednesday she decided to test the fire alarm by pressing the button in my classroom causing havoc around the school! Builders and Electricians running around trying to find out what has happened and Staff leaving the building thinking that there really was a fire!
Well...who can blame her....she's a digital kid and three years old! The alarm box is actually eye level...for children! (You can see it in the picture below just to the left of the door) I wonder how many more Digital Kids will be tempted to press it!
It was all quite funny in the end!