Tuesday 19 April 2016

The Sepura Group to Provide Communications for the Olympic Games

It’s a brave move by the olympic organisers, the London Olympic communications was run by Riedel and they did an excellent job, they have experience in this field, but the Brazilians are obviously set on using Teltronic and we all hope that they do just as good as a job.

Teltronic, part of the Sepura Group, has been chosen by the public security secretary of Río de Janeiro State in Brazil to supply communications for the Summer Olympics and Paralympics, informally known as Rio 2016.

The €10m contract will cover four venues (Barra da Tijuca, Copacabana, Deodoro and Maracanã), two airports (Rio de Janeiro/Galeão - Antônio Carlos Jobim International and Santos Dumont) and several key transport routes in the Olympic area.

The agreement with Teltronic will see an extension to the traffic capabilities of the existing Teltronic network currently used by the Rio police, as well as the installation of further Nebula base stations to provide additional coverage for the state police and emergency services, and the Olympics organisation workforce.

The existing network was originally provided by Teltronic for the Pan American Games in 2007 and, after some upgrades, is now supporting over 100 dispatch operators and more than 18,000 radios. This new upgrade for the Olympics will feature two extra TETRA carriers for each site, to update the capacity of the existing network; base stations with up to 12 TETRA transceivers to support high traffic loads throughout the event; a CeCoCo Control Centre, to accommodate a further 50 dispatch operators; an additional 6,000 terminals featuring Teltronic's Synchronous Data Manager application to pare down the GPS refresh time in AVL applications; and 24/7 maintenance and operational support during the Games.

"This win builds on our long-term relationship with the Brazilian authorities and public safety agencies," said Paulo Ferrao, the Sepura Group's sales director for Brazil.

"We have a strong background in events of this scale, having supported communications for the FIFA World Cup 2014 and the Pan-American Games, both huge events in the sporting calendar of Brazil and, indeed, the world. We are delighted that Rio de Janeiro's public safety agencies have, once again, placed their trust in us."

Superintendent of critical communications at the Security Secretariat of the State, Colonel Alexandre Corval, commented: "We are extremely happy to have chosen Teltronic.

"The company has been a trustworthy partner to our public safety agencies for over ten years. Once again, they have exceeded our expectations in terms of technical development, quality of the deployment and, above all, their dedication to customer service: throughout the project, they have paid close attention to our technical and operational requirements.

"We are confident that this extension to the existing Teltronic TETRA system will optimise our mission-critical communications, enhancing the security of both visitors and employees throughout Rio 2016."



Source- http://www.railway-technology.com/contractors/signal/sepura/pressolympic-sepura-brazil.html

Scientists Astounded as Four Legged Fossil Snake Turns up In Museum

A unique species of early cretaceous snake â€" unique in that it apparently had four functioning limbs â€" has been discovered in the Bürgermeister Müller Museum in Solnhofen, Germany this month.

The discovery was made by Dr. David Martill of the University of Portsmouth, who was showing a group of students through the museum’s collection when he noticed the specimen’s remarkable attributes.

The snake, which measured about 15 centimetres from nose to tail, is thought to have been a carnivore (a fact borne out by the bones of smaller animals preserved in its stomach) and probably hunted via constriction, like many of today’s snakes. Experts believe that it may even have used its limbs to aid in the process.

Built for burrowing (an activity which likely would not have included its limbs in any significant way), this new discovery lends credence to the scientists who argue for snake evolution occurring on land, as opposed to in the sea.

Fossil snakes with stunted hind limbs are known to palaeontologists â€" and even today’s boas and pythons have a small pair of spurs where their hind limbs are thought to have once been. However, no snake, extinct or extant, has ever been discovered with four limbs.

Appropriately enough, Dr. Martill named the creature Tetrapodophis, meaning ‘four-legged snake’.



However, some experts are not convinced. In our vibrant, ecologically diverse world, there are a great many species of legless lizards that are not true snakes. European slow worms, for example, are snake-like in aspect, but they are lizards, not snakes. Another example would be the Mexican Bipedidae family, which are serpentine in appearance, but which retain a pair of fully functioning forelimbs.

“Is it even a snake? I honestly don’t think so,” said the University of Alberta’s Dr. Michael Caldwell, an expert in snake evolution, to National Geographic.com’s Ed Yong. According to Caldwell and a growing number of other critics, Tetrapodophis lacks certain distinctive features in the spine and the skull that would label it a snake. The fact that this is the only known specimen in the world and that the skull is only partially preserved will probably see the debate continue until such time as a complete specimen is unearthed.

But Dr. Martill is insistent that his discovery is a snake. Speaking to National Geographic, he pointed out the specimen’s backwards-pointing teeth, single row of belly scales, the connections between the vertebrae and the shortness of the animal’s tail after the hip â€" all of which suggest snake to the educated observer. Of course, many legless lizards also feature these traits, but none has all of them. This means that even if the animal has been mis-identified, it is still totally unique to science.

Even more mysterious are the origins of the fossil itself, which contains the rather distinctive characteristics indicative of the Crato formation in Brazil. Discounting for a second that this is quite possibly the earliest fossil snake known to have emerged from South America, question marks have been raised regarding how the specimen could have made it to Germany when the trade of such artefacts is illegal under Brazilian law.

Since 1942, it has been illegal for any unlicensed person to dig for fossils in Brazil without first gaining permission from the Brazilian National Department of Mineral Production (DNPM). Last year, a number of people were prosecuted (where they faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison) for the illegal export of Brazilian fossils to museums in Germany and Great Britain. Odds are that Brazilian authorities, as well as the scientific community in general, will be looking into the origins of such an important find with great interest.

Saturday 16 April 2016

Can Radio Headset Make Me Go Deaf?

According to MRC Institute of Hearing and Research, one in every 6 grownups has sufficient hearing loss to cause problem in social situations. According to the World Health Organization, loud music is the single biggest cause of preventable hearing problems. So you have to assume that the pounding bass delivered right in the sensitive part of your inner year is not a wise idea. Can it. Keep on reading to answer the question “can headphones make you deaf?”

Dr. Foy a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine says that listening to music through headphones at a very high volume for a long period of time may lead to lifelong loss of hearing for kids and teens. He adds that even mild hearing loss as a result to loud noise may lead to developmental delays language and speech.

The DOs or Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine, look beyond just symptoms to understand perfectly well how environmental and lifestyle factors can affect your well being. They will listen and partner with you to assist you to prevent injury and encourage the natural tendency of your body toward self â€"learning.

So, how loud is too loud?

Today, majority of MP3 players are able to produce up to 120 decibels of sound, equal to the sound level at a rock concert. At this level, you can lose hearing after only about one and quarter hours.

Dr. Foy stresses to parents and patients that if you are unable to hear anything going on around you while listening to music on headphones, the decibel level is very high. He advises that headphones users should not go beyond 60% of maximum volume while listening to music through headphones.

Lay it loud

It is obviously not damaging to listen to music through your headphones at half the volume of your player . It all depends on how loud the volume is and how long your headphones are on your ears. The world health organization has laid down guidelines as to what decibels are acceptable. Majority of companies manufacturing music players adhere to these guidelines. However constant exposure is still a major problem. It is very dangerous to crank up the volume for a long period of time and may lead to partial deafness. The higher your volume gets the lesser amount of time your ear can take it.

Uncomfortably numb

Unlike individuals who lose hearing during a bomb blast or hearing that sonic boom of an airplane, loss of hearing caused by headphones creeps on your ear and if not contained, its effects can be dangerous. There are people who do not show any signs of deafness during their childhood and hardly hear anything when they are in their sixties. Studies have shown that this is very common for individuals who listen to loud music through the headphones or attend a lot of clubs or live concerts. Deafness brought about as a result of listening to loud music through headphones doesn’t happen overnight. Your ear will warn you before things get really bad with tinnitus.



Conclusion

The question “can headphones make you deaf?” depends on several factors. Duration and level of volume plays a key role. If you limit the duration of time you listen to music through the headphones and also keep the volume low and soft, you will not experience problems with hearing. On the contrary, listening to loud music for a very long time through the ear phones will no doubt impair your hearing ability or worse still make you deaf. The best thing is to adhere to the guidelines laid down by the World Health Organization.

Thursday 14 April 2016

They said that waterproof Two way radios would never exist, well they had better read this

Icom two way radios are well known in the marine and coastal industries. Why are these so well known in these industries? That is because the F1000 and F2000, along with the F1000D and the F2000D are all waterproof, being able to be submersed to a depth of 1 meter for a maximum of 30 minutes, that means that these radios can be used confidently on a boat, ship or other water fairing vessel and be splashed around before it starts smoking and sparking everywhere! The IP67 waterproof casing means that it is made for total protection against dust and dirt and can withstand immersion between 15cm and 1m.

When we talk about sound, we expect the highest quality of two way radios to have the best speakers producing the best output possible, but the icom website explains it like this “The large 36mm speaker of the transceiver provides clear commanded 800 mW audio. The built-in BTL amplifier doubles the audio output power and delivers loud and intelligible voice to a radio operator working in noisy environments” which basically means it produces some of the best sound out one of the smallest speakers on the market.

So let’s go over the radios themselves, something that isn’t so obvious is that they have split the frequency bands of the radios, the F1000’s is VHF only and the F2000’s is UHF. This is a brilliant idea from the guys at Icom, users often find it difficult to wade through a lot of the jargon of two way radios, so separating out the radio types into their respective bands goes a long way to remove the confusion.

You may have noticed that there are 2 choices for each F radio, the F1000 and the F1000 D the D relates to the radios being digital compatible, meaning it can be programmed to be used on current digital systems as well used as a normal two-way radio. Analogue and Digital capable so that it can do both jobs or be ready for when you expand and move to a digital system.

Over the years Icom have been consistent with their accessory connectors, a large range of their radios use the 2 pin connector , the only exception was the small multi connector that they introduced a few years ago. But these new F1000 & F2000 radios have been given their very own connector, very similar to the first generation but will not work with those radios, the new connector includes 2 holding screws. The range of F1000 radio earpieces is huge, with plenty to choose from, you will find any type of radio earpiece for these F1000 and F2000 radios.



If you are looking for a waterproof radio used by many in the marine industry then the F1000 or F2000, depending on your frequency allocation, would be a great choice. It can be dropped to a depth of 1 meter for 30 minutes, so if you worry about splashes on your radio or it sitting in a pool of water on your boat, then you can be assured that it won’t damage this radio. With the latest technology and digital capabilities these are as modern as many counter-parts in the digital two way radio market.

Wednesday 13 April 2016

Sepura Releases New SC20 Portable Radios

Sepura are masters of the tetra market, they have produced radios for many years for the emergency services. police and airport security, a forward runner for the digital systems we now see all around the UK. The SC20 is the new generation of Sepura radios ready for the modern day work force. We found this article on this website and thought that our readers would find it useful.

First orders of Sepura's new flagship hand-portable radios, the SC20 series, will be shipped in February.

Shaped by user feedback, SC20 series hand-portable radios are resilient, intelligent and durable, providing intuitive operation and outstanding performance, even in the toughest conditions.

Broadband-ready, the SC2020 (380MHz-430MHz) and the SC2040 (403MHz-470MHz) combine the mission-critical security and advanced performance of TETRA with an optional second high-speed data bearer capability.

A new, powerful Class 3 TETRA engine is paired with a new receiver that surpasses the ETSI specification, a unique combination, extending operational range and stretching coverage into areas where it was not possible before.

The radios' powerful 2W audio capability, enhanced by unique water-porting technology, allows for uncompromised audio clarity, even in continuous heavy rain. Uniquely, the SC20 series boasts IP66, 67 and 68 environmental protection rating, meaning that it is completely dustproof, submersible to a depth of two metres for one hour and impervious to jets of water. Its design also enables it to be easily cleaned by simply rinsing dust and dirt off under the tap.

Additionally, the radios' high-resolution screen, the largest on the market today, is specifically designed to provide a richer user experience. The larger screen enables the display of more comprehensive data, suitable for future applications via high-speed data; it is also viewable in all light conditions, including direct sunlight.

"The SC20 has been designed to deliver the highest levels of robustness, endurance, audio clarity and power. It is designed to place and receive calls where it simply was not possible before," commented Mark Barnby, Sepura's head of product management - devices.

"This is the first product on our brand new technology platform. It is designed to meet the needs of mission-critical users today, whilst allowing high-speed data to be added in the future."



Steve Barber, VP group strategy for Sepura, commented: "The SC20 confirms our vision for the future and demonstrates our ability to adapt to the fast-moving markets in which we operate.

"We continue to provide our global customer base with products that address their ever-evolving communication needs and the operational challenges they face every day. The SC20 provides undisputable proof that Sepura is going further in critical communications."

Monday 11 April 2016

His Grave Will Be Kept Clean: Ambassador of the Blues, B.B King Passes Away Aged 89

Internationally beloved singer, songwriter and guitar hero Riley B. B.B King passed away last year. He was 89 years old.

King was a celebrated figure in Blues music from the 1950’s onwards and remained popular both in concert and on record until the time of his death.

The future Blues Boy King was born on a cotton plantation in Itta Bene, Mississippi - not far from the Delta, in 1925. He began his musical career by busking on street corners for loose change, usually performing in as many as four neighbouring towns on any given Saturday night. Seeking his fortune, the young man hitchhiked to Memphis, Tennessee, with just his guitar, the clothes on his back and $2.50 to his name.

Whilst in Memphis, Riley stayed with his cousin Bukka (pronounced Booker) White, an established Blues performer who sharpened King’s already formidable musical instincts.

In 1948, B.B performed on Sonny Boy Williamson’s KWEM radio show, which opened the door for him to perform at the Sixteenth Avenue Grill in West Memphis and later to appear on all-black radio station WDIA. This led to King being given a regular slot on the station, beginning with Kings Spot and later evolving to The Sepia Swing Club. It was during this time that Riley’s stage name of Beale Street Blues Boy became shortened to the initials B.B.

During the 1950’s, a fight broke out between two men at one of B.B’s gigs. In the resulting fracas, a kerosene stove was knocked over, which set the place ablaze. B.B, dashed into the inferno to save his favourite guitar â€" an act that very nearly cost him his life. When he learned that the fight had been over the affections of a woman named Lucille, B.B named his guitar after the woman and, from that day on, all of his guitars bore the name Lucille.

King, now a local radio star as well as a very popular musician in his own right, soon had a number one hit on his hands with Three O’clock Blues, this set the boy from Beale Street touring the United States of America, something he would continue to do for the rest of his life.

Towards the end of the 1960’s, B.B found that his music was transitioning to a young, white audience that were eager to embrace his electric Blues sound. B.B, who had spent his professional life playing almost exclusively to black audiences, suddenly found himself receiving standing ovations and an unprecedented level of respect and appreciation from white audiences, as well.

When he recalled the times changing around him in the 2003 documentary film The Road To Memphis, produced by Martin Scorsese, he was legitimately moved to tears. His music had broken down racial barriers and ultimately won the hearts of people from all races, all walks of life.

When he opened for The Rolling Stones on their 1969 US tour, King’s international stardom was assured. From this point on, B.B King held a new ambition close to his heart; he wanted to be known, nationally and internationally, as the ambassador of the Blues.



In the 1970’s, B.B King was a big enough name to tour internationally, visiting Africa for a series of concerts that were filmed for commercial release as B.B King: Live in Africa. Throughout the next four decades, B.B toured the world, recording live albums in places as far afield as Japan, Great Britain and San Quentin State Prison.

King toured Europe, Australia, New Zealand and even visited the UK from time to time, where this writer was lucky enough to watch the late, great man ply his trade in front of an awestruck and mesmerized audience.

The list of guitarists influenced by B.B’s incendiary sound is a long and impressive one. Names include Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Freddie King, Albert King (neither are related to B.B) and Johnny Winter amongst many, many others. B.B King won at least 9 Grammy awards (among numerous other accolades), was honoured and admired by several American Presidents and touched a great deal of hearts into the bargain.

B.B King recorded 42 studio albums and many more live albums, including critically acclaimed masterpieces like 1965’s Live at the Regal, 1969’s Live & Well, 1970’s Indianola Mississippi Seeds and 2005’s birthday celebration album, simply titled 80.

Earlier this week, a procession of fans, musicians and well-wishers paid tribute to King’s memory. Walking through the streets of Memphis, a Dixieland Jazz band followed a black hearse down Beale Street, as local act The Mighty Souls Brass Band played, When the Saints Go Marching In in honour of a musical legend.

Later in the day, a tribute concert, featuring artists Bobby Rush, The Ghost Town Blues Band and Ruby Taylor amongst others, was held in B.B’s honour.

Upon hearing the news of B.B’s passing, US President Barack Obama sadly said, “the Blues has lost its king and America has lost a legend”.

King’s final studio album, 2008’s One Kind Favor, paid tribute not only to his own illustrious career, but also to an early influence of his, Texas Bluesman Blind Lemon Jefferson. On the title track, B.B covered one of Lemon’s best-known songs, See That My Grave is Kept Clean. There really isn’t much else to say about the staggeringly significant life and career of Riley B. King, perhaps better known as The King of the Blues except that his grave will most certainly be kept clean and that his legacy will live on until time immemorial.

Saturday 2 April 2016

Can Radio Headphones Cause Me To Go Deaf?

According to MRC Institute of Hearing and Research, one in every 6 grownups has sufficient hearing loss to cause problem in social situations. According to the World Health Organization, loud music is the single biggest cause of preventable hearing problems. So you have to assume that the pounding bass delivered right in the sensitive part of your inner year is not a wise idea. Can it. Keep on reading to answer the question “can headphones make you deaf?”

Dr. Foy a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine says that listening to music through headphones at a very high volume for a long period of time may lead to lifelong loss of hearing for kids and teens. He adds that even mild hearing loss as a result to loud noise may lead to developmental delays language and speech.

The DOs or Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine, look beyond just symptoms to understand perfectly well how environmental and lifestyle factors can affect your well being. They will listen and partner with you to assist you to prevent injury and encourage the natural tendency of your body toward self â€"learning.

So, how loud is too loud?

Today, majority of MP3 players are able to produce up to 120 decibels of sound, equal to the sound level at a rock concert. At this level, you can lose hearing after only about one and quarter hours.



Dr. Foy stresses to parents and patients that if you are unable to hear anything going on around you while listening to music on headphones, the decibel level is very high. He advises that headphones users should not go beyond 60% of maximum volume while listening to music through headphones.

Lay it loud

It is obviously not damaging to listen to music through your headphones at half the volume of your player. It all depends on how loud the volume is and how long your headphones are on your ears. The world health organization has laid down guidelines as to what decibels are acceptable. Majority of companies manufacturing music players adhere to these guidelines. However constant exposure is still a major problem. It is very dangerous to crank up the volume for a long period of time and may lead to partial deafness. The higher your volume gets the lesser amount of time your ear can take it.

Uncomfortably numb

Unlike individuals who lose hearing during a bomb blast or hearing that sonic boom of an airplane, loss of hearing caused by headphones creeps on your ear and if not contained, its effects can be dangerous. There are people who do not show any signs of deafness during their childhood and hardly hear anything when they are in their sixties. Studies have shown that this is very common for individuals who listen to loud music through the headphones or attend a lot of clubs or live concerts. Deafness brought about as a result of listening to loud music through headphones doesn’t happen overnight. Your ear will warn you before things get really bad with tinnitus.

Conclusion

The question “can headphones make you deaf?” depends on several factors. Duration and level of volume plays a key role. If you limit the duration of time you listen to music through the headphones and also keep the volume low and soft , you will not experience problems with hearing. On the contrary, listening to loud music for a very long time through the ear phones will no doubt impair your hearing ability or worse still make you deaf. The best thing is to adhere to the guidelines laid down by the World Health Organization.

Friday 1 April 2016

Depicting as a method of communication

This is an interesting review of a paid article, depicting which is represent by a drawing, painting, or other art form can be used as a form of communications, the type of depicting is described here in many different forms and that is where we will allow the article to take up the story.

When we think of language, we usually think of words, phrases, and sentences--strings of abstract symbols. In research over the past 50 years, cognitive and social scientists have developed extensive accounts of how people communicate with these symbols. But when people are face to face, they also communicate with actions that depict people, objects, and events. They create these depictions with their hands, arms, head, face, voice, and entire body, sometimes with other props but often without.

In an article recently published Online First in Psychological Review, Herbert Clark argues that spontaneous depictions like these are missing from general accounts of how people communicate, and that is a major failing. Why? Because depicting is common in everyday conversation and depicting things is fundamentally different from describing things. Also, a great many utterances are "composites" of depicting and describing.

Clark's point is nicely illustrated in a report, from the New Yorker, of Hollywood director WG telling correspondent TF about having to stop filming in New York because of some falcons nesting on the ledge of a building:

"In L.A., they would have--" He leveled a finger at some imaginary nestlings and made a gun-cocking sound.

As Clark notes, WG could easily have described the scene with the phrase "shot those falcons." What he did instead was depict the scene with his finger, hand, head, eyes, and voice. The result included a depiction (leveling a finger and making a gun-cocking sound) in place of the phrase "shot those falcons." Traditional accounts are unable to handle composites like this.

What is depicting? In the theory developed in this paper, to depict something is to stage a scene. When WG leveled his finger at the imaginary falcons, he enacted a shooter in L.A. aiming a rifle at some falcons. And he did that so that his listener could imagine the scene vividly. Depicting is much the same as putting on a play in the theater or engaging in make-believe play.



Depicting, according to Clark, is largely complementary to describing. To begin with, many ideas that are impossible to put into words are easy to depict. Tennis coaches don't describe how to hold a racket or do a backhand return. They demonstrate it, and in living detail. Music teachers often correct their students by playing or singing what the students should have played or sung. And although it takes years for children to tell coherent stories, they have little trouble depicting stories in make-believe play. They readily enact Cookie Monster, Mother, cops and robbers--and play out what they do.

Depicting is also effective for emotion, excitement, and empathy. In telling stories and passing on gossip, people not only describe, but dramatize what the protagonists said and did, often with passion and attitude. And in apologizing, people not only say "Sorry" but add facial gestures that depict their regret.

The idea, then, is that depicting is a method of communication. Without depictions, talk would be flat, lifeless, and sometimes even impossible.

original source of the article can be found here