Technological change finally comes to my basement

So, I do this blog dedicated to rapid technological change and its effect on society, media and my beloved hobby of amateur radio.  Seems I spend an inordinate amount of bandwidth on the "media" part, but that is where there has been the most fodder for blogs lately.  I suspect it shall remain so.  At least from my limited perspective, since that is where I make my living.

But I am pleased to report that technological innovation has finally come to my basement--right here in my office/ham shack.  After years of resisting it, I have finally succumbed to the lure of DIGITAL MODE communication!  My excuse has been a good one.  I spend ten to twelve hours a day on a keyboard...doing advertising and marketing stuff at the office and writing books here in the home office.  When I get ready for some ham radio operating, I don't necessarily want to go back to a keyboard yet again.  The available gear has also been very kludgy with lots of cables running about, tricky interfaces to radio gear, and devices that put a big strain on computers.

But a couple of things shoved me in the direction of such acronyms as PSK31 and RTTY.  One was the urging of some buddies (W9YNF, KW4J, and others) who sing the praises of the fun that is digital.  Another was the claim that I could work much DX with very low power.  And then I keep seeing rare countries pop up on the DX cluster spotting systems that are only working teletype or PSK31.

Then here comes a tiny little box that addresses my cables-everywhere worries.  It is a neat little device called a SignaLink USB, which offers the ability to easily and quickly link a computer to a ham radio receiver/transmitter using minimal cabling, and, obviously the USB port.  It does not get in the way of anything I might want to do on the computer or the radio, and simply plugs into a USB port on the 'puter and the accessory socket on my Kenwood TS-2000 radio.  It even contains its own sound card so it does not muck up anything on the computer while it decodes digital tones being transmitted by other stations and takes my own keyboard input and converts it to a long list of modes.  And hooking it up and getting it adjusted took a whopping fifteen minutes.  Downloading and figuring out one of the shareware software programs was a bit more of a challenge but nothing to really fuss about.

I must admit I am impressed so far.  I played with teletype back in the '70s when we had to use big, noisy, oily teletype machines and fairly frightening voltages to be able to print out stuff on fan-fold paper.  Tuning in a station was a real task and any nearby interfering station ruined any hope of a good chat.  The way it's done now is so far superior to that it is silly. 

When I first tuned down to 14.070 megahertz on the 20-meter ham band, it sounded like a choir of banshees all screeching at once.  Or like punk rock.  But you know what's cool?  You don't have to listen at all.  You can turn down the volume and not hear anything at all when you use the accessory port on the radio.  The SignaLink gets its audio back there.  But how do you pull any intelligence out of all those stations, all basically on the same frequency at the same time, competing with each other?

Amazingly, it's easy.  The software (I'm using a free program called Digital Master) shows what is called a "waterfall."  It is a moving view, with each signal displayed as a little red/yellow trace making its way down the screen.  All I have to do is click on one of those traces and words start appearing in a text window above.  And it is guys chatting.  On Saturday night, there must have been a dozen traces at once, all perfectly readable.  Some are more yellow than red, indicating they are weaker, but I was able to print them even when they were almost invisible on the screen.

OK, so I decide to jump right in and answer a "CQ" (someone putting out a call looking for another station to talk with).  He came right back to my call and we had a nice, short contact.  And he was in Russia.  So were the next three stations I spoke with.  All came back to my initial call and all gave me "599," which is a very strong signal.  Oh, and by the way, I was putting out a mere 20 watts!  I was hooked!  And after 48 years in the hobby, I had "gone digital."

I'm still having trouble getting used to dropping in the pre-set information at the right time without messing up and sending the wrong thing, and I'm still learning which function keys do what with the software, but so far, it seems like a very nice way to chat.  I've talked with guys all over Europe so far on PSK31, and am soon going to play with this new-fangled version of radio teletype that promises to be so much better than that old oil-slinging, sprocket-throwing Kleinschmidt clunker I used back in the '70s.

See, embracing change is no big deal!

Don Keith N4KC
http://www.n4kc.com/
http://www.donkeith.com/
www.facebook.com/donkeith

Broadcast radio and smart phones

It has been a while since I have charged off after the keepers of the keys to America's over-the-air radio broadcasting facilities and their obvious inability to comprehend what consumers want.  Now, in a new demonstration of dunder-headedness, the group's lobbying and membership organization, the National Association of Broadcasters, has launched a really silly campaign to try to convince common folks to lobby Congress to require phone manufacturers to include radio reception "chips" in all phones sold in this country.

Never mind that there is no pent up demand for radio on cell phones.  Those who want it typically already have the ability to access more radio streams than anyone could imagine or ever possibly use.  Nor is there any indication that people even care.  But get ready.  Soon you will be hearing commercials...amid all the other many, many commercials...on your favorite radio station urging you to pick up the phone and call your rep in Washington and lobby for this redundant capability.  In typical fashion, all radio broadcasters understand is "run some commercials" and put up a web site that meets no real perceived need.

Why?  Because radio broadcasters simply don't understand.  If they would put the time, effort, and money into providing compelling content and somethign worth listening for, and if they would provide that content in a variety of ways that people expect to be able to access it, then they just might be able to salvage what was once a powerful, dynamic, ubiquitous medium.

See more at my friend Mark Ramsey's blog HERE.  Or, if you want a laugh and a prime demonstration of self-massage, visit the NAB web site devoted to this really goofy campaign HERE.

When I talk about the inability of some to comprehend technological change and adapt their industries to that change, I can't help but point at radio broadcasters.  How ironic that folks who have those towers pointed high into the sky also have their heads so deeply buried in the sand!

Don Keith
http://www.donkeith.com/
http://www.n4kc.com/
www.facebook.com/donkeith

Change sweeps away ten "solid" business types

As the pace of change--and especially change of the technological variety--increases, there are inevitable winners and losers.  We have to stay informed, adapt, and be ready to accept the inevitable.  That is especially true if we are to be successful in business. 

I have blogged at length here about how I am afraid my beloved medium of over-the-air radio is much too slow to adapt and expect to continue to remain viable.  Thus I am mildly surprised that radio broadcasting did not make the list of top ten industries on life support recently featured in an article in THE STREET.

I was not surprised at any of the ones that did:

• Wired communications carriers
• Record stores
• Photo-finishing
• Video post-production
• Newspapers
• Stores that rent DVDs and video games.
• Stores that rent formal wear and costumes (no technological aspect here...China and other countries are simply making clothing so cheaply that you can buy a tux as cheaply as you can rent one)
• Textile mills...no need to mill cotton when synthetic fabrics can be produced cheaper and better
• Apparel manufacturing...same reasons as the previous two bullets
• Manufactured housing...again not necessarily a technological victim, just another one of the industries that have been hardest hit by the recession.  This seems to me to be one that could innovate and come out of the recession when pent-up housing demand is unleashed, though.

I know it sounds Darwinian, but industry has to innovate or die.  Technological change may be quick and getting quicker, but it is still possible to see it coming and feint and parry.  But it takes insight and a willingness to listen and innovate.

Find out what the customer wants.  Give it to him.  Tell him you are giving it to him.

There it is: a degree in marketing in three sentences.

Don Keith N4KC
http://www.donkeith.com/
http://www.donkeith.com/
www.facebook.com/donkeith
www.twitter.com/don_keith

Self Promotion...and a Treatise on Book Titles

So, the paperback version of my latest book, WAR BENEATH THE WAVES, is due to ship to bookstores in early April.  I got my copies yesterday, and the publisher has done a nice job.



I also note that my next book--publication date of November 11--is now being listed on Amazon.com, and they have the title as UNDERSEA WARRIOR: THE WORLD WAR II STORY OF MUSH MORTON AND THE USS WAHOO.  That was one of the titles we were kicking around, so I suppose it is settled.

Titles are funny things.  I'm not especially good at them and often defer to the publishers, whose job it is to create interest and sell copies.  They do it every day, so I figure they must know what title ideas might help sell them.

My favorite two titles of my books are THE FOREVER SEASON and WIZARD OF THE WIND, both of which I came up with.  I don't dislike any of the others, though.  But there is more that goes into titling a book than you might think.

My title idea for WAR BENEATH THE WAVES was SOMEWHERE SOUTH OF HELL.  I thought it described very well a hellish undersea incident involving depth charges, and was based on a description by a submariner that I had seen somewhere of just such an incident.  But my editor informed me that WalMart--who sells more books than just about anybody nowadays--will not put a book on their racks with "damn," "hell," or other words they deem inappropriate.

OK.  Those are their stores and they are perfectly within their rights to refuse to stock any item for any reason they want.  And, by the way, I am perfectly willing to forego my wonderful title idea if it helps them help me to tell Charlie Rush's amazing story.

One more bit of shameless promotion: the book I co-wrote with radio personalities Rick Burgess and Bill "Bubba" Bussey (who is also ham radio op KJ4JJ) is in stores next week.  WE BE BIG is a very interesting book, and I am proud to have been a part of it.  If it follows most of their previous titles--with which I had no association whatsoever--it will be a New York Times bestseller.



That means I can then add that descriptor to my name!  "New York Times best-selling author Don Keith!"

I like the sound of that!

Don Keith N4KC
http://www.n4kc.com/
http://www.donkeith.com/

Friends in Faraway Places

Even as our planet continues to shrink, we sometimes have difficulty understanding or contemplating disasters that happen on the other side of the globe from where we reside.  It is so remote, so...well...foreign.  However, one of the things about my hobby of amateur radio is that whatever happens and wherever on the planet it occurs, I have probably spoken on the radio with and know someone who lives there. 
I remember a few years ago when the earthquake hit Costa Rica, I was immediately concerned about my friend, Carlos TI8II.  I heard him on the air a few days later and thankfully, he and his family were okay.  He told an amusing story about how his wife was still mad at him.  It seems that as soon as the shaking stopped, his first concern was his 80-foot tower in the backyard.  His wife accused him of checking on his tower before he did her.

Well, the horrible disaster in Japan this weekend was another instance in which I immediately thought of the many Japanese amateur radio friends I have made over the years.  One is Koichi JR1MLT.  I have spoken with Koichi several times and we exchange messages on the reflector group for the hexbeam antenna, which we both use for our shortwave radio work.  He posted this message on the reflector this morning:

It is 11:30AM, Sunday morning here in Yokohama, Japan.  Myself and my family are OK. The antennas and shack are OK as well but many stuffs came fallen down on the floor. Not serious fortunately.
All the trains and public transportations in Tokyo area on Friday were out of operation. It made many people including myself stayed overnight in the offices, etc. I finally returned home Saturday afternoon.
As you heard through the news over one thousand people were killed and/or are missing due to the giant tsunami in mainly JA7 area. It was nothing but unbelievable! But it happened....
Currently the most horrible news is the accident at the atomic power plant in Fukushima (appx. 250 km north of Tokyo) where a very serious conditions at Plant #1 and may be #2 and #3.

The government spokes man is trying to calm down the public but his words smell something wrong....

I sincerely hope things will get well soon but no idea for the time being. Even now some shaking keeps going. I would sincerely appreciate your help and support globally.
Regards,
Koichi
JR1MLT

Not video on CNN or Fox.  Real words from a friend in a faraway place.  A friend made through this magical hobby of ours.

Don Keith N4KC
http://www.n4kc.com/
http://www.donkeith.com/

Future of media gets cloudier and cloudier

Big announcement this week that Clear Channel...which started as a single radio station in San Antonio and is now the largest owner of radio outlets in the world...has purchased Thumbplay, a Pandora-like cloud-based music service.  Why?  Because CC finally understands, unlike most other traditional broadcasters, that listeners will expect to find their media in myriad places, available on a wide range of "devices," so they can consume that media in any way they wish.

I first met Bob Pittman when he was in broadcasting.  He left radio to start a little cable channel called Music Television (MTV).  He later worked with AOL and was unfortunate enough to ascend to the CEO position after the ill-conceived merger with Time-Warner.  Now, he has joined Clear Channel to try to help them understand the rapidly changing nature of media. 

HERE he is interviewed on CNBC's "Power Lunch" about the Thumbplay acquisition and what is happening in media. 

Funny thing is, nobody has it figured out yet.  And when somebody does, it will change the next day.  But somebody has to lead radio into the future.  Pittman is one guy who could do it.  Watch this one.  It could be the harbinger of...not spring, like the first robin...but of the future of mass media.

Are you hungry yet?

Interesting article on Yahoo about how the planet will have to look totally different from space by 2050...a mere 39 years into our future.  See the article HERE.  The premise is that if population growth continues at its current rate, we will either run out of food or have to find radically new ways to produce it. 

Kind of makes me hungry.

The author indicates that capping growth will become more and more a function of government.  People will either be told they cannot have more than 1.7 kids...or whatever the number is to stem growth...or will be rewarded in some way for doing so.

Maybe get an extra slab of meat on their hamburger?