IVCA VISION NEWS
LETTER
No.14 March 9 -
2002
THE INTERNATIONAL VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS
ASSOCIATION
Keeping Amateurs informed on Developments in Visual Communication
around the world
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Corrections (Oooops)
The previous VISION News Letter was sent
as No.12 in the title But was actually No.13 as it was shown in the e-mail
subject.
The request for a MC or chairman at Dayton
IVCA meeting should have shown the Date as May and not April!
New High
Resolution Digital and Movie Cams (or as the
Red Riding Hood wolf said "all the better to see you with my
dear")
As we reported earlier we now have a new
revolutionary high resolution 3 layer X3 capture device that can provide
resolutions that exceeds or matches the normal quality of film photography. The
inventor Carver Mead of the Foveon Co. is producing a commercial version that is
comparable to a 7 meg pixel but has a cost of around $3000 The new sensor is not
only high resolution but is fast and will work equally well in fixed or movie
frame rate applications. It is also said this item is economical to
produce it will likely soon be available in consumer models and compete with the
single layer CCD and CMOS usually supplied by Sony and STM companies.
This new X3 sensor with only 3.53 million pixels not only improves resolution
and color fidelity.and has twice the quality or resolution of the
present typical CCD devices. Click the following link for
more details!
SSTV Picture
Storage (then and now)
Thirty years ago we used audio recorders to store
SSTV pictures that we could play back and view using an SSTV systems
monitor or perhaps take a Polaroid Blk&Wht time exposure picture of those
old P7 CRT screens. Today we have a large number of ways to save and
view or replay pictures using the computers hard or floppy drives or use a
variety of external storage devices like ZIP and Super Disk and USB or Fire Wire
connected hard drives etc.we can even burn pictures to a CD for
storage. We also have a large number of computer printers that are now
available at very low prices. As most wish to print in
color the Ink Jet types are very popular and can be purchased for as
little as $30 or $49 with a resolution as high as 1200X1200 .
The main problem at present is the high cost of the Ink Jet replacement
cartridges. I personally have tried and usually unsuccessfully to refill my
black and especially my 3 color cartridges and it is also very difficult
not to spill the Ink. Note: we also have toner cartridge printers and even
color laser jet printers but the color laser jet cost is currently at
around $1300 to $2300. The Ink Jet inexpensive type printers produce
a very good color picture especially on a high quality glossy paper at
around $1.00 a page, that is difficult to tell from a 8 1/2X 11 In. color
photographic enlargement and they can
also print transparencies for overhead projector use
and even do printing for T- Shirts and clothing with special
Iron on transfer material. (That's if you feel the need to wear your SSTV
pictures)
Cool New Video Cell
Phone
As we indicated in past VISION News any one
can soon be able to get in to the act with video communications. One of the
winners of the past Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was a most innovative new
product by the Sanyo Co. the Model IMT 2000 using 3G technology that
has a OLED (organic light- emitting diode) color screen with a
resolution of 176X220 that is said to have a vibrant color and stellar
image quality. With it's two cameras it takes 360-degree pictures and also 10 to
15 second video clips. This product will be available in Japan by the end of the
year and later in the USA and will work with the CDMA (code division multiple
access) 1900-MHz Sprint PCS network. Note: Availability depends on when
wireless data speeds become fast enough to take advantage of the IMT 2000's
3G capabilities. (price is not available yet)
Dayton News
& Up Dates
I have just learned that the Rigblaster people have
kindly agreed to give a presentation at the IVCA Dayton Meeting and I believe it
should prove interesting to the IVCA members. So far we have not received a
volunteer to be the MC or meeting chairman at the up coming
Dayton Hamvention in May. Don't forget to send in any names or
suggestions for a new IVCA Director and also a VISION News editor.
(Contact me Ray W5NOO at ray@junct.com ) . (Don Miller W9NTP Dayton Coordinator just
returned from Haiti where he operated as HH2RN and informs me to obtain a
reserved room at the Best Western Executive Hotel. You can call 1-937-278-5711
or 1-937-275-5039 and ask for one of the block of IVCA- 20 rooms. (they
will be held until May 1 2002. The cost is $100 double occupancy. We also have a
40 chair meeting room at the same hotel 6:30 PM till 10:00 PM meeting to start
at 7:30 PM The Saturday SSTV Forum will be held in room 1
at the Convention Cinter at 2:45 PM till 5:00 PM.
Graphic Program Down
Load (No camera or scanner required just create a new world View
)
If you would like to try your hand at computer
generated pictures if you down load the free "Terragen"
program you can make impressive Bit mapped graphics of all types of
landscapes and seascapes. This program let's you change almost any thing
like the suns direction or angle and color and the water depth
or lands roughness using various types of surfaces like snow or grass
or sand and cloud types etc.and do a quick preview of your picture or
render it to a BMP in a few minutes that then can be converted to a JPG with
several programs like Paint Shop Pro, etc. Do a Google search for
"Terragen" or click the following URL. http://www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/
Note: with a little paint program using cut-out and paste you can even put
yourself in these remarkable pictures of landscapes that you dream up to show
the world on SSTV..
. .Computer Tips (is your computer forgetful or slow
and lacks memory?)
One of the most effective and economical ways to improve you computers
speed and performance is usually to increase the amount of available memory
(RAM).The new operating systems like WinXP and some of the various new
programs may require as much as 128 MB or more of memory for satisfactory
operation. Installing more memory is a simple operation and
more memory can be obtained from some USA catalog Companies for
as little as $24.99 for 128MB of SDRAM PC-100/133 with 168 or 72 pin
plug-in units,as an example. Note: memory and system resources is not the
same thing! Some programs designate or assign some of your installed memory but
do not give it back when the program is closed. If you run low on
resources the only way to recover this memory is to shut down and do
a reboot. It is also even possible to have a problem with a computer due to
a"Memory Leak" condition. When a computer runs out of memory to perform
its required functions it is forced to write to the hard drive and
this results in very slow performance.If you want to know the amount of memory
installed in your system just get into DOS and at the C:> prompt type "MEM"
and press the enter key. Several free programs can also provide information on
your total physical and system memory like the
"Belarc Advisor" at
http://www.belarc.com/download.html or
the "Sandra" program at
http://www.sisoftware.demon.co.uk/sandra/
(two useful free programs to download and check your systems status
and performance) Note: belarc even works off line and lists all the
hardware and software you have installed. Memory can be damaged by
static electricity so if you live in a dry climate and run across the rug,
ground your self before handling the memory chips!. (When using a windows system
a frequent reboot is as the American TV Star Martha Stewart likes to say "It's a
good thing")
IVCA & VISION NEWS (general
information)
The Vision Group mailing news is free to all that send their
name
and
call sign and
e-mail
address to the editor. As the IVCA members are in over 25
countries and unlike a typical local radio club have little opportunity to
exchange information and ideas with each other.over the popular slow scan
frequencies and as the IVCA Saturday net is usually engaged in
exchanging only pictures as well. We have no regularly scheduled meetings
other than the annual Dayton meeting It is therefore desirable
that the members submit any ideas or suggestions and news to the
Vision for publication or also use the IVCA Yahoo group mail reflector to
ask questions and exchange information as well. As the VISION has no reporters
to provide news or input that is needed to produce output we request
you send any thing you feel will be of interest to the VISION, to Ray W5NOO
Editor IVCA VISION News at
ray@junct.com Let's send them thar
letter's to the editor, remember he is only one you are many and know so
much!!
.
Happy
Viewing .......................... 73 Ray W5NOO
Editor/Director
