TWIAR News Feed

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via HACKADAY: More Power: Powel Crosley and the Cincinnati Flamethrower

Posted: 06 Feb 2017 06:10 PM PST
http://bit.ly/2kfNQC6

We tend to think that there was a time in America when invention was a solo
game. The picture of the lone entrepreneur struggling against the odds to
invent the next big thing is an enduring theme, if a bit inaccurate and
romanticized. Certainly many great inventions came from independent
inventors, but the truth is that corporate R&D has been responsible for
most of the innovations from the late nineteenth century onward. But
sometimes these outfits are not soulless corporate giants. Some are founded
by one inventive soul who drives the business to greatness by the power of
imagination and marketing. Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park “Invention Factory�
comes to mind as an example, but there was another prolific inventor and
relentless promoter who contributed vastly to the early consumer
electronics industry in the USA: Powel Crosley, Jr.

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VOA Celebrates 75 Years on the Air

Posted: 06 Feb 2017 06:10 PM PST
http://ift.tt/2lh7w8P

The Voice of America marked its 75th anniversary on February 1. Not 2
months after the US officially entered World War II, a live, 15-minute
shortwave broadcast was transmitted into Germany from a small studio in New
York City, introduced by “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.�

Announcer William Harlan Hale then said, “We bring you Voices from America.
Today, and daily from now on, we shall speak to you about America and the
war. The news may be good for us. The news may be bad. But we shall tell
you the truth.�

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via HACKADAY: Ham Radio Trips Circuit Breakers

Posted: 06 Feb 2017 06:10 PM PST
http://ift.tt/2jVFnTv

Arc-fault circuit breakers are a boon for household electrical safety. The
garden-variety home electrical fire is usually started by the heat coming
from a faulty wire arcing over. But as any radio enthusiast knows, sparks
also give off broadband radio noise. Arc-fault circuit interrupters (AFCI)
are special circuit breakers that listen for this noise in the power line
and trip when they hear it. The problem is that they can be so sensitive
that they cut out needlessly. Check out the amusing video below the break.

Our friend [Martin] moved into a new house, and discovered that he could
flip the breakers by transmitting on the 20-meter band. “All the lights in
the place went out and my rig switched over to battery. I thought it was
strange as I was certainly drawing less than 20 A. I reset the breakers and
keyed up again. I reset the breakers again and did a [expletive] Google
search.�

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EMCS students capture satellite waves (British Columbia)

Posted: 04 Feb 2017 08:46 PM PST
http://bit.ly/2k95Qhf

One day, Edward Milne Community School student Triston Line sat around with
a friend, spitballing cool ideas for school projects – something to do with
space.

“Why don’t we hack a satellite?� both laughed, coming to the conclusion
something like that would be complex, expensive, and, quite possibly, risky.

Then it clicked. Instead of “hacking� a satellite, why not just pick up
data and radio waves it sends from more than 30,000 kilometres above.

Line teamed up with fellow EMCS Robotics Club member Rowan Hensley and
amateur radio (ham) host and mentor Ross Pratt to devise an experiment.

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Connecticut Radio Amateur Endows ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Initiative

Posted: 04 Feb 2017 08:46 PM PST
http://bit.ly/2laBk78

A generous donation from Dr. Ed Snyder, W1YSM, of Wallingford, Connecticut,
will endow a fund to support the ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Initiative
(CARI). Snyder also has provided an additional contribution of “seed money�
to help get the initiative off the ground. Snyder said that he hopes the
“W1YSM Snyder Family Collegiate Amateur Radio Endowment Fund� will lead to
the development of a national network of college Amateur Radio clubs under
the aegis of ARRL and set up ways for these clubs to stay in close contact
and communicate on the air, in meetings, and through other activities.