A Look at Antenna Tower Field Repair

If you think working in an office or a lab is tough, imagine repairing equipment on top of an antenna tower at over 1,700 feet. This video is making its way around facebook and is certainly not for people who are afraid of heights. As impressive as the hardware is, operating outdoors under extreme environmental conditions, I must express equal respect for the linemen who service these towers.

Test and measurement vendors have been producing a number of handheld instruments designed to make their jobs easier and safer. I just can't imagine operating a VNA or spectrum analyzer from that height when all I'd want to do is hang on for dear life.

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Google on Pace to Top $1 billon in Mobile Revenue

Google’s increasing focus on mobile was addressed in its financial results announcement last night. Google said it is seeing very strong growth in emerging businesses like mobile, with Jonathan Rosenberg, senior VP of product management, noting that Google is on pace to generate more than $1 billion in annual mobile search and display revenue. Rosenburg cited an interesting example of mobile ads that are working well, telling analysts on a conference call to do a search for ‘car rental’ on their phones. There's a "very good chance you'll see enterprise rental car ad," with a phone number and map to the nearest location, he commented.

CEO Eric Schmidt outlined Google’s objectives with Android. In response to Wall Street analysts asking about whether Google is making money as it just gives away the operating systems to handsets makers, Schmidt said that this strategy is Google's preferred model. Handset makers and operators are going to make money from selling the phones, while Google will generate cash from having its services on that platform. Rosenburg said that mobile search queries have increased 500 percent over the past two years, Schmidt added that the money in mobile search is eventually going to surpass that on PCs, creating a huge revenue stream.

Wow, we are really going mobile these days and Google will be where ever we are! Microsoft is trying but do you think any company can give Google a run for their money in search?

Addressing Smartphone Interference with your Alarm Clock

It happens in my house late and night or early in the morning, when I forget to turn off my Blackberry and the stream of incoming e-mail spams lead to pick-up with the audio portion of my clock radio, setting off an annoying buzz. It is highly likely that most of us have been in meetings, on conference calls or even watching television and have been victims of “the buzz” - that awful annoying feedback emitted from mobile devices when they are in close proximity to audio devices.


That annoying buzz occurs when an electrical audio device amplifies a cell phone radio signal. The buzzing problem is so common because 80 percent of the world's cell phones rely on GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) technology. GSM phones transmit at a pulse rate that, when picked up and converted by a speaker in an audio device, is transmitted as audio noise – that annoying buzz.

The Buzz Killer Card, a new, easy-to-use cell phone accessory that eliminates buzzing interference that audio devices – such as conference call speakerphones, desktop lines, desktop speakers, baby monitors, and clock radios – pick up (and buzz!) when a mobile device is nearby.The Card, which is slightly larger than a standard cell phone, is designed with a proprietary, patent-pending alloy technology that neutralizes cell phone radio interference.

"Driven absolutely crazy alongside millions of other cell phone owners, we were determined to find a solution – once and for all – to the buzz problem," said Stephen Mellert, Chief Executive Officer of The Buzz Killers. "We conducted months and months of in-depth research on cell phone transmission frequencies and a range of trials, and errors, on various materials until we arrived at the perfect solution."

The Buzz Killer Card users simply need to place their cell phone on the Card to eliminate the interference. Like a mouse-pad for your phone, the Buzz Killer Card can be used virtually anywhere including meeting rooms with conference phones, offices and cubicles, trading desks, home offices, cars, audio studios, baby nurseries, etc.

The Buzz Killer Card manufacturers claim that businesses have found that the Buzz Killer Card's customizable design provides a perfect platform for customer-directed corporate marketing and branding, making it an ideal corporate give-away for conference events and exhibitions. Businesses using the Buzz Killer Card, have described it as an ideal marketing tool that provides a great "ice breaker" moment that creates a bond between presenter and recipient.