MightyOhm

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and are interested in getting your amateur radio license, there are a couple testing sessions coming up in 2010 that may be of interest:

The Bay Area Educational Amateur Radio Society (BAERS) is hosting a Ham Cram on Saturday, January 9th from 8AM-5PM at St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco.  The cost is $30 including the VEC fee.

A “Ham Cram” is a one day workshop where you can get your ham radio license (usually the Technician level) without studying in advance.  I’m not sure I completely agree with their methods of blind memorization over actually understanding the rules, but apparently this method works and most people pass on their first attempt.  If you’re short on time and want to get your license in a hurry, this is one option.

Thanks to Robert for the heads-up on the January session.

AERO is another SF-based group that regularly posts flyers advertising their own ham cram sessions.  Their most recent poster is outdated, but the site mentions there will likely be an upcoming session in February 2010.  I just took the General license exam at their November session and was really impressed by how many people were there and how professionally run the event was.

Update: Their next session is on February 7th, 2010 at 8:45AM.  Details here.

Studying the old fashioned way:

If you don’t like the “cram” method, you can always pick up a study guide (Technician, General, Extra Class) and spend a few weeks studying for the test like I did for both my Technician and General license exams.  There are even a couple online practice tests to help you study.  When you feel comfortable with the material, you can take the exam at the sessions above for a $14 VEC fee without doing the cram.  I know AERO allows this, but it would probably be a good idea to check and make sure BAERS permits this as well.  In either case, I recommend that you RSVP to ensure you get a seat and get notification about changes to the venue, etc.  Contact info for each group is on their respective websites.

Good luck and 73 from KF6PBP!

Tonight from 6-10PM, The Exploratorium keeps their doors open late for Exploratorium After Dark, an adult-oriented evening at my favorite science museum. EAD takes place on the first Thursday of every month.

I went last month and enjoyed being able to spend time at my favorite exhibits without being pushed aside by hoards of small children on their school field trips.

More information about tonight’s event is below. Every month has special guests, and in addition to the special features you are free to hang out at the cash bar or roam the museum.

Admission is $14.  Members get in free!

when:    nov 18 2009 wed 7:30pm
where:     noisebridge
2169 mission, SF, 3rd floor

speakers:

anselm hook – augmentia: scratching the surface of augmented reality
http://hook.org

shelly farnham – steve the robot h.e.ai.d.: a large scale generative
music and laser play space
http://shellyfarnham.com

david gessel – stalking slanderizing trolls
http://blackrosetech.com

gian pablo villamil – 360 degree panoramic video without the megabucks
http://villamil.org/?p=621

I’m planning to head over around 7pm and will hopefully see some mightyohm.com readers and dorkbot regulars there tonight!

Dorkbot-SF is meeting tonight at 7:30PM at TCHO on Pier 17.

Speakers include Mark Pauline of SRL, Timothy Childs of TCHO, and ITP graduate Michael Ang.

Sutro Tower DTV Conversion in Progress

Back in February, I first posted about the DTV conversion project that was beginning to make waves¹ at San Francisco’s iconic Sutro Tower wireless broadcast facility.

Since then, there have been some big changes at the tower: the end of analog television broadcasts in June, the complete removal and replacement of one (two?) of the tower’s huge antenna masts, and the addition of several new bright red digital TV antennas near the top of the tower.  On a clear day (which is not often this time of year), workers can often be seen climbing around the tower, like tiny ants on a large, red and white striped giant.

For anyone who is interested in getting a closer look at the heavy construction on the tower, San Francisco resident Larry Kenny recently posted a link to his Sutro Tower webpages, which feature a detailed photo journal of the DTV conversion thus far.  There are lots of great shots of the tower itself as well as the mangled remains of the original analog TV antennas, which, when seen on the ground, help give some idea of the scale of things atop the tower.  When assembled, these things must be the size of tractor trailers!

I also recently revisited sutrotower.org, the website of David July, a Florida resident who has been fascinated by the tower since his first visit to San Francisco in 1989.  (Sutro is also one of the things I remember most about visiting SF as a child.)  David’s site is the most comprehensive source of information about the tower I have ever seen. Included are many fascinating photos of the tower spanning it’s 37-year lifetime, such as these photos of the tower’s construction in 1971-72:

Photo credit: San Francisco Public Library (source: sutrotower.org)

Sutrotower.org also includes photos of the original Sutro Mansion and the first broadcast tower to be installed, a far cry from the tower that sits atop Mount Sutro today!  If that’s not enough for the real “tower junkies” out there, there are also links to several tours of the tower, with lots of photos.  (Sutro Tower Staff: Where do I sign up?)

That’s all I have for today, but I’ll keep my eyes on the progress at the tower.  San Francisco landmark, controversial neighbor, and engineering marvel, Sutro Tower never ceases to amaze me.

(And to those who don’t live in San Francisco and have no idea what I’m talking about: Well, now you have one more reason to visit.  )

¹ Pun intended.