| FRIDAY - FEBRUARY 18, 2005 - ISSUE NO. 152 | ||||
Dear friends of Wireless Messaging and Paging, I have built two web pages about Mountain Communications in Mountain Home, Arkansas—a regional paging company that the owner wants to sell. The first page has several photos and some links to background information on the company. Please click here for that page. If you like what you see and want to read all the financial details, please send me an e-mail and I will send you the unpublished address of the second page. This is an outstanding opportunity for someone to acquire a paging company in a beautiful resort area of the Arkansas mountains where there are several large lakes and rivers. They tell me the fishing and boating are great in that area. By the way, this business also includes some wireless broadband, a trunking radio system, and a two-way radio dealership. The news headlines this week:
Now on to the News and Views. Be sure to go all the way to the end or you might miss something good. |
Promoting Wireless Messaging, Telemetry, and Paging.
A new issue of The Wireless Messaging Newsletter gets posted on the web each week. A notification goes out by e-mail to subscribers on most Fridays around noon Eastern US time. The notification message has a link to the actual newsletter on the Internet. That way it doesn't fill up your incoming e-mail account. There is no charge for subscription and there are no membership restrictions. Readers are a very select group of wireless industry professionals, and include the senior managers of many of the world's major paging and wireless data companies. There is an even mix of operations managers, marketing people, and engineers, so I try to include items of interest to all three groups. It's all about staying up-to-date with business trends and technology. I regularly get reader's comments, so this newsletter has become a community forum for the paging, and wireless data communities. You are welcome to contribute your ideas and opinions. Unless otherwise requested, all correspondence addressed to me is subject to publication in the newsletter and on my website. NOTE: This newsletter is best viewed at screen resolutions of 800x600 (good) or 1024x768 (better). Any current revision of web browser should work fine. Please notify me of any problems with viewing. This site is compliant with XHTML 1.0 transitional coding for easy access from wireless devices. (XML 1.0/ISO 8859-1.) | |||
MyDoom Worm Spreads Via Search Engines Latest variant finds e-mail address on your hard drive and on search engines. Thursday, February 17, 2005 Internet users are being threatened by yet another variant of the MyDoom mass mailing worm, which is spreading in part by using e-mail addresses found through popular search engines, security experts warn. The new variant was first spotted late Wednesday and reports from computer users suggest the worm is already circling the globe, according to Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. The worm proliferates by e-mailing itself through its own SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) engine, according to Sophos. When it infects a computer it scans the hard disk for e-mail addresses and then takes the domains of the addresses it finds and queries search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Lycos looking for similar addresses, Cluley says. If it finds the address JohnDoe@yahoo.com, for instance, it will use a search engine to look for other addresses at the yahoo.com domain to send itself to, Cluley explains. Similar Spread Cluley says he doubts the new variant will have the same effect since this outbreak is not as severe. Additionally, search engines have taken measures to prevent being crippled by the worm again, Cluley says. The latest worm was created by repackaging an older MyDoom variant in an encrypted "wrapper" so that antivirus software could not recognize it, Cluley says. The method is just one of the clever ways hackers use to hide their attacks and antivirus firms should be aware of the ruse, he adds. Internet users should make sure their antivirus software is up to date to avoid infection. Source: PC World |
| WIRELESS NEWS | ||||
Grant Defrays Pager Pricetag Hamptons Independents, NY—Feb 15, 2005 “This will cut out a lot of expense the fire districts would have had,” East Hampton Town Councilwoman Pat Mansir opined this week. With the town in the midst of a $4 million upgrade to its emergency communications system, the news last week that Congressman Tim Bishop secured federal grant money for some local fire districts was glad tidings indeed. The funding will be used to purchase new pagers for first responders. The Springs fire district has been awarded a grant of $18,810. “The upgraded communication system will make our communications better, but it will render our current paging system obsolete. The town is spending a lot of money on infrastructure, so the grant is certainly welcomed by the community of Springs as it will improve our response at no cost to the taxpayer,” Springs Fire Chief Tom Baker said this week. Pagers cost about $400 each and Springs is looking at buying as many as 85 of them. While the grant award won’t cover the entire cost of pager replacement, Baker said it will “put quite a substantial dent in the cost.” The townwide refurbishment will mean the district will also have to put a new communications system at the firehouse and new systems in its emergency vehicles. According to Bishop’s office, the grant was given as part of the Assistance to Firefighters grant program. The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Domestic Preparedness administers the program in cooperation with the US Fire Administration. Fire districts in Montauk, Sag Harbor, and East Hampton Village have also received the awards. Officials were uncertain why Amagansett didn't achieve the award, but an application will be filed for next year. East Hampton Town Fire Marshall Michael Johnson wrote the grant applications, a task Baker said he picked up a few years ago. This week Mansir lauded his efforts on behalf of the volunteers. The grants are awarded on a competitive basis. Applicants that most closely address the program’s priorities and demonstrate financial need win the awards. Besides equipment and facility upgrades, funding is available for hiring firefighting personnel, specialized emergency training for situations like terrorist attacks, the creation of wellness and fitness programs for firefighters, and fire prevention programs. A supporter of the grant program and assisting local first responders, Bishop said last week, “Our first responders are on the frontline of our Homeland Security efforts, and we need to give them the resources to protect our communities. I will continue to fight so that we properly support our first responders.” “This funding will help Springs’ volunteer firefighters save lives, while saving money for the taxpayers,” he summarized. Mansir reported that the upgrade project is so far coming in under budget. “It’s moving along, we’re in pretty good shape,” she informed. Source: The Independent Bill proposes a flat tax on phone, TV, pager services By MELISSA SCOTT SINCLAIR, The Virginian-Pilot It happens every month. You clearly remember signing up for a $40 cell phone plan, but each bill includes a litany of fees and taxes that tacks on an additional nine or 10 dollars. What is that 15-cent “Virginia Special Revenue Assessment Recovery” charge for, anyway? Sen. Jay O’Brien, R-Fairfax, would like to see those line items replaced by one flat tax—not only on cell-phone bills, but also on land lines and cable TV. Virginia has the highest telecommunications tax rate in the United States, O’Brien said, averaging about 30 percent when you add up the “baffling array” of charges. His bill, SB1335, would place a 5 percent tax on cell-phone lines, land lines, pager service and cable TV, as well as satellite TV and VoIP (Voice over the Internet Protocol) service, which aren't currently taxed. Internet access would not be taxed. At the same time, the bill would remove a jumble of state and local fees. A 75-cent fee to pay for 911 operations also would be added to the month’s bill for each phone line, land and cell. The state would collect these fees and the 5 percent tax and then redistribute part of the money to city and county governments. Although satellite and VoIP customers would see their bills go up, O’Brien says his bill will save the average consumer money. If it ’s enacted, O’Brien said, statewide revenues collected from telecommunications would drop from the current $391 million per year to $390 million. “It seems to me that the bill makes a lot of sense,” said Irene Leech, president of the Virginia Citizens Consumers Council, but she wondered if the bill would give cities and counties enough money to finance local 911 services. “It would be a matter of making sure that we spread them in a way that’s equitable,” she said. Virginia Beach fears the state will take the money designated for local 911 services. That’s exactly what happened in 2003, when the state used more than $29 million of cell phone 911 fees to balance its budget, according to the city’s legislative agenda. But no one is too worried, said Beach lobbyist Bob Matthias; he expects the bill to die in committee. A similar bill, HB2880, is waiting for a vote in the House. A Senate panel voted to kill O’Brien’s bill last week but then decided to reconsider its vote this Monday. Although satellite TV companies are pushing hard against it, O’Brien said, “this bill has merit and everybody knows it.” He called the proposal “tax reform in microcosm,” which would treat all telecommunications industries equally. “From a Republican perspective, we’re trying to achieve simplicity, uniformity, level playing field,” he said. No, the bill “would un-level the playing field,” asserted Mark C. Pratt, a lobbyist for satellite company DirecTV. Why should a company that operates via a satellite orbiting high above the equator have to pay the same taxes as cable, which uses local infrastructure? Pratt asked. “We feel like we’ve been drafted into it to make sure it’s revenue-neutral,” he said of the bill. Cell phones don’t depend on government infrastructure either, O’Brien said. However, representatives of several cell-phone companies, including Verizon, Sprint and Nextel, said last week they favored the bill because it would simplify their billing and would take away the tax advantage of VoIP phone companies such as Vonage. All these telecommunications businesses naturally are seeking a market edge over their rivals, O’Brien said, and “in this case, government has given one—to satellite TV.” Their exemption from taxes needs to end now, he said. A panel will decide Monday afternoon whether to pass SB1335 to the Senate. Source: PilotOnline.com Web Site Launches Mobile 'Amber' Alerts by Shankar Gupta, Thursday, Feb 17, 2005 7:00 AM EST EMERGENCY "AMBER" ALERTS, CURRENTLY BROADCAST to law enforcement authorities when a child is kidnapped, will soon be available to any citizen with a cell phone, pager, or mobile device, thanks to a new initiative by the AmberAlert 911, a program designed to broaden the scope of the alarms. The new system's Web site, amberalert911.org, sends Amber alerts to mobile phones and other wireless devices, pagers, and e-mail addresses of anyone who registers for the free service. The site also sends the notices to state agencies and other law enforcement personal, getting the information out faster than the original alert system, which relied on the older Emergency Broadcast System. AmberAlert911 founder and CEO Chris Warner also is launching a campaign designed to encourage people to sign up for Amber alerts, which relay information about child abductions, such as descriptions of the victim and suspect. The Amber Alert program began in 1997 following the abduction and murder of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman. AmberAlert911, which was launched in July 2004, is operated by the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based nonprofit Engaging and Empowering Citizenship. To promote the service, the National Alliance of State Broadcaster Associations will run public service announcements on their radio and television systems soliciting people to sign up for the alerts. Those spots will be customized to direct interested parties to the individual broadcaster's Web sites, said Warner. The ads feature celebrities calling for people to sign up to receive the alerts, and warning abductors that if they kidnap a child, "we'll be looking for you." The aim, Warner says, is to have so many people signed up to receive the Amber alerts via mobile devices that abducting a child becomes unthinkable. "Success in our mind is not having any Amber alerts at all," said Warner. In addition to the deal with radio and television affiliates, the Amber Web portal has also amassed a collection of corporate sponsors, including Symantec, Chevy, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Wirehound, and Limelight Networks. The logos of top corporate partners will appear in the ads, and most are also on the Amber alert Web site. In addition to getting exposure on those spots, sponsors like Chevy have been holding events at their offices and dealerships to promote the Amber Web portal, and to bring customers to their locations. At one Arizona Chevy dealership, Warner said, local law enforcement officials met with concerned parents, who had their child's data—a picture, fingerprints, and a DNA sample—recorded on a special USB hard drive, and then erased from law enforcement records, to protect privacy. That data could then be given to officers in the event of a kidnapping, to speed the process of issuing an Amber alert. "The Amber alert program allows corporations to really reach down into a neighborhood," said Warner. "Twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, that company is working to save kids." At this time, the Amber Web portal system is only live in five states—Washington, Arizona, Montana, Idaho, and Missouri. According to Warner, Rhode Island is next to come on board, within the next week, but the Amber Web portal hopes to get the system active in all 50 states within six months. Source: Online Media Daily New technology helps hearing impaired By JODI DEAL, Staff Writer
Jim Brady, a representative of the Connie Reasor Deaf Resources Center, demonstrated the CapTel phone for a reporter and photographer on Tuesday. Brady works at the Junction Center for Independent Living located in the Wise County shopping plaza. The telephone works just like a traditional phone, he said, with callers dialing standard phone numbers. The telephone connects simultaneously to the person being called and a special CapTel relay center. Employees at the CapTel relay center use keyboards like those used by stenographers or those used to create closed captioning for television programs. They can type in common phrases and shorthand to keep the conversation flowing. CapTel phones can also caption voice mail messages, Brady says, as long as the caption feature is turned on when receiving messages. The telephones have extreme volume amplification for those who have some hearing ability. Also, on the right side of the text screen, a meter displays the loudness of the user's voice. A small covered keyboard on the CapTel phone is used not for communications, Brady explained, but for updating the phone's technology. Captioned telephone technology is growing and changing quickly, Brady said, so telephones will need frequent updates. The phone's display screen notifies users of available updates, most of which can be performed automatically by calling a customer service number, he said. For more complicated updates, CapTel users may be asked to type commands into their phones. CapTel service is free, excluding the cost of the telephone, according to the UltraTec Web site, www.captionedtelephone.com. Long distance charges will still apply. Brady says the telephones take some getting used to, especially for hearing impaired people who are used to communicating by TTY. CapTel technology allows conversation to flow more naturally, with callers able to speak at the same time or interrupt one another, while TTY conversations only allow one person to communicate at a time. Sue Graham, who also works at The Junction Center, said that about 15 CapTel phones are in use or on their way to Wise, Lee and Scott counties. Graham managed the relay center in Norton before coming to work at the Junction Center. The Junction Center will assist individuals in obtaining a CapTel phone, teach them how to use it, and provide follow-up support service if needed, Graham said. For more information, call the Junction Center at 679-5988 or visit the CapTel Web site. Relay text messaging Wireless text messaging has become a popular form of communication for people who are deaf, Craven explained. However, people without access to e-mail or text messaging devices cannot receive messages from them. This service helps bridge the gap, she said. To use the service, a text pager user sends a text message to an address Virginia Relay has set up—rm-vrtm@ems.att.com. In the message, they include the name of the person they need to reach and a phone number, Craven said. A text messaging representative in the Norton Relay Center will then call the provided telephone number and deliver the message. While the service is not meant to replace traditional relay conversations, it can be very valuable when, for example, a text pager user is running late, Craven says. A text message saying "Hey kids, running late, be home at five," can easily be sent through the service when making a traditional relay call could be time-consuming or impossible. Virginia Relay Text Messaging works both ways, Craven noted. A hearing person without e-mail or text pager access can access VRTM by dialing 7-1-1 and speaking to a representative, who will e-mail the message to the text page user. The service is currently available Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The relay center has 15 text messaging representatives available during those hours, Craven said, and may expand the availability of VRTM if it catches on. It is important to remember that text messages can only be received in an area that has wireless service, Craven cautioned. If a pager user is in one of many local dead zones, without wireless service, they cannot be reached. For more information about VRTM, contact Virginia Relay Customer Service at 1-866-246-9300 (TTY) or 1-866-894-4116 (voice). Source: Coalfield.com | ||||
| READER'S COMMENTS | ||||
On Jan 22, 2005, at 9:09 AM, Tobias J. Kiuntke wrote: Mr. Dye, I will understand if you elect not to help but I have two problems with Micor paging transmitters and I was wondering if you could at least point me in the right direction. One is a unit that seems to cause problems with the channel element. The exciter will start out providing 400 to 500 mW out but after time will be knocked down to about 150 mW. Changing the channel element only restarts this cycle. Problem number two is a Micor VHF 100W PA that seems to self oscillate. It begins to put out about 4 watts at 49 MHz after the initial transmit cycle of the unit and continues until you unplug the base. We are paging on 152.480 with modified Micor bases and repeaters with Zetron Model 66 controllers. My apologies if this is rude of me to ask you these questions but these problems are getting frustrating. Toby Kiuntke From: Brad Dye Hi Toby, Sorry it has taken me so long to answer, but I have just completed a move to Southern Illinois. I haven't worked on a Micor for about thirty years, but fortunately you mention one issue that I was very familiar with. That is self-oscillation on a VHF Micor. I am the one who first discovered this problem in about 1974 on a mountain top in Colombia South America. I was a Motorola International FTR (troubleshooter for the factory) at the time. My department had a big fight with the factory engineers about this. They didn't want to admit that their "perfect product" had a problem. In the old Micor PAs there was a neutralization circuit installed on top of the PA transistors. It was a substrate of ceramic, or some such material, with a series resistor-capacitor combination etched on its surface. Then the whole thing was covered with some black tar. The problem was that when it got hot it would crack—thus destroying the naturalization feed-back circuit (output back to input) and turning the PA into one big self-exiting oscillator that soon went into thermal run away. Of course any good ham, in those days, who learned [his theory] on vacuum tubes knew about how to neutralize a final amplifier. Since the substrate was covered with this black tar, you couldn't see that it was cracked and therefore not functioning. I had to submit lots of reports to the factory and even bought a fancy Tektronix oscilloscope with a thermal probe on it and did some accurate heat/time measurements and sent them graphs of the results. So after I finally convinced them of the problem all the radios from then on were modified. The ceramic thing was replaced with a resistor-to-capacitor-to-resistor "U" shaped series of components that were soldered over the PA transistors and left sticking up in mid-air. I am not sure if the Micors that you are working with have either one of these types of components but I can wager a guess that you have a neutralization problem. I think the amateur handbook probably still has a section on this topic. I am not sure about the "channel element" problem but I would recommend that you check out the whole power cut-back circuit. It can be triggered by high temperature or by high SWR depending on the model. There used to be Micors that were rated "continuous duty capable." This was a bit of marketing hype thrown in to compensate for radios that would get too hot under continuous key-down operation. They were just supposed to reduce the power output when the radio got too hot. It didn't always work right. Hope this helps. Best regards, Brad Dye From: tkiuntke@neb.rr.com Thanks for replying Brad. Likewise, my apologies for taking so long replying. I think that is the problem, but now I'm having fun trying to find some of these parts. Any ideas? I have already posted about it on Batlabs but it will take time to find something. Thanks again, Toby Kiuntke | ||||
| THE PAYMENT GUARDIAN |
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Wireless Overview System Operation Payment Guardian requires absolutely no customer interaction and integrated seamlessly into the vehicles electrical system and is not visible to the customer, decreasing the possibility of tampering. Unlike other similar products on the market, Payment Guardian™ requires no keypads or input devices, eliminating the hassle of having to generate codes and giving those codes to the customer each and every payment cycle. With Payment Guardian?, lenders no longer have to rely on customers to enter codes into a keypad correctly. With Payment Guardian, only non paying customers require use of the system. Once the system has been activated in the customer’s vehicle—each time the ignition is turned to the OFF position, Payment Guardian reminds the customer that payment has not yet been received or insurance is not current and provides them with specific instructions to contact the leinholder immediately. If the reminder is ignored, you can simply activate Payment Guardian’s Starter Interrupt feature allowing no one to start the vehicle until the system is reset. Payment Guardian’s system control center has been designed to meet the different need of individual lenders and dealers that want a total customized solution to manage their systems, providing you with 3 different ways to use the systems features. This enables you to instantly activate system features, schedule activations to occur at a preset time or completely automate the systems features, allow you to just manage your systems with just a click of the mouse. System Features Audible Voice Reminder Starter Interrupt Emergency Override Vehicle Finder Door Unlock
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Equipment Needed—Want to Buy the following:
Please contact Brad Dye if you have any of this equipment to sell. Equipment located outside of the USA is OK. |
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|  Building on its long success story in 1-way paging, Advantra International has become the expert in designing and manufacturing the most advanced and lowest cost ReFLEX™ radio modems for 2-way data-communication. The company also focuses on offering total telemetry solutions. Advantra’s current product mix of own products includes the ReFLEX™ radio modules Barran, Karli and Wirlki and the new, highly successful and very low cost location device, the Kepler. Advantra thanks its solid reputation to its world-renowned development team, state-of-the-art manufacturing, excellent customer service and its proven track-record. Sales and Marketing Contacts
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Newsletter repair prices—starting at:
**Special pricing on cellular and pager refurbishment**
Ask for Special Newsletter Pricing. Please call: (800) 222-6075 ext. 306 for pricing.
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TAPS—Texas Association of Paging Services is looking for partners on 152.480 MHz. Our association currently uses Echostar, formerly Spacecom, for distribution of our data and a large percentage of our members use the satellite to key their TXs. We have a CommOneSystems Gateway at the uplink in Chicago with a back-up running 24/7. Our data is live on two different satellites at all times in case of a failure of one of them and covers the North American Continent. Our paging coverage area on 152.480 MHz currently encompasses Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Kansas. The TAPS paging coverage is available to members of our Network on 152.480 MHz for $.005 a transmitter (per capcode, per month) broken down by state or regions of states and members receive a credit towards their bill for each transmitter which they provide to our coverage. Members are able to use the satellite for their own use, for their own frequencies, by paying only for the data which they transmit, we track the data on a per bit basis and what ever percentage of the total data sent by each user is billed back to them as a percentage of the total satellite bill, (ex: if 6% of the data is the members', the member is billed for 6% of the cost of the sat plus 10% for overhead.) If you are on 152.480 MHz or just need a satellite for keying your own TXs on your frequency we have the solution for you. TAPS will provide the gateways in Chicago, with Internet backbone and bandwidth on our satellite channel for $500.00 to $1,500.00 a month (depending on the amount of traffic). Contact Ted Gaetjen @ 1-800-460-7243 or tedasap@asapchoice.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Daviscomms—Product Examples For information about our Contract Manufacturing services or our Pager or Telemetry line, please call Bob Popow at 480-515-2344, bob@daviscommsusa.com or visit our website www.daviscommsusa.com
|  Prism Message Gateway Systems Your Choice of Options
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Intelligent Paging & Mobile Data Products
Selective is a developer and manufacturer of highly innovative paging receiver/decoders and mobile data equipment including the PDT2000 Paging Data Terminal, THE MOST INTELLIGENT PAGING RECEIVER IN THE MARKET. The PDT2000 is a large display pager designed for desktop or in-vehicle mounting and is widely used by emergency services and in onsite paging systems for forklift dispatch etc. All of the following capabilities are standard features of the PDT2000 and of our other paging data receivers:
Our mobile data equipment includes a range of intelligent Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs) which may be interfaced to a variety of wireless networks including GPRS & CDMA cellular. Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) and GPS solutions, Dispatch & Messaging software. We offer mobile communications dealers and systems integrators a “fast to market” job dispatch and job management capability with the inbuilt job processing system which may be interfaced to a variety of CAD & JMS platforms. Specialised local area paging systems, paging interception and message reprocessing software, field force automation and mobile dispatch solutions. We do custom product development and export worldwide.
I am an authorized Manufacturer Representative for Selective Communications. Please contact me directly for any additional information. | TGA Technologies 
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CUSTOM APPLICATIONS
Please call me so we can discuss your need or your idea. Or contact me by e-mail for additional information. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Remember that old word “Residuals”? The EE Group is actively seeking Dealers with sales/ service/installation capabilities to promote the latest wireless AVL, SCADA and data products from Telegauge Systems, Inc. This innovative program requires NO inventory and NO billing by your facility; you just sell it and sign up the end user to collect the commissions. Now the real reason to choose the EE Group and Telegauge over the host of others; we pay you permanent residual income every month on your airtime sales forever. Airtime commissions range up to 12% per month based on prior sales and you buy all equipment direct from the factory at 2-tiered wholesale prices as well for great margins. Telegauge builds fully 2-way overt and covert (hidden) GPS based Automatic Vehicle Location, SCADA, remote management, telemetry and data systems routed via cellular and satellite that are delivered to the end user via the Internet or direct to the desktop. Applications are both ‘canned’ and custom depending upon the customers needs. We even have full dispatch systems including credit card swipe and billing if needed. Finally, the prices on the product are guaranteed to be the LOWEST in the industry at under $600 retail for the equipment and from $6 to $30 on the monthly airtime with most customers in the $15 range. Note too that the price is the same for cellular OR satellite world wide coverage and no one else has this exclusive capability. Telegauge provides the product, software, airtime, billing and final information from a single source and you can be a BIG part of it. You stock NOTHING, just collect the checks. We are paid by the manufacturer to support YOU and unlike other factories; we never bid against you, restrict you or take your deal. We help you with demo equipment, brochures, information, sales assistance, web advertising and user name/passwords for the website so that you don’t even need to buy anything to start up fast. Contact us for a no-obligation CD of all the presentation and training material, price spreadsheets and information at: EEGroup@EEonTheWeb.com or for fast action call for a link to the Dealers Only page: 310-534-4456 and mention that you found out about it via Brad Dye’s Newsletter. You have nothing to lose and some great residual income to gain. Call or e-mail NOW. | Signal Pro Test Equipment For Sale
The unit is in excellent condition. It does not have a built-in synthesized receiver. It comes with a specially modified (constant volume output at earphone) RS Pro-2037 200-channel, triple conversion scanner with hyperscan. Owner guarantees the units to work perfectly. Comes with the soft case, cords, scanner, software, and mag-mount GPS antenna if you don't want to use the built-in 10MHz reference. It uses AC, 12V ext. DC, or the built-in rechargeable battery (which could probably use a replacement since is has started to not hold a very good charge). This equipment is used for monitoring, optimizing, and capturing paging data which includes full messages, capcodes, times, frame information, and other technical data. Please contact the owner, Carlo Savaglio directly. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| High-speed simulcast paging with protocols such as POCSAG and FLEX™ requires microsecond accuracy to synchronize the transmission of digital paging signals.  Zetron's Simulcast System uses GPS timing information to ensure that the broadcasted transmissions between the nodes of the Simulcast System and associated transmitters are synchronized to very tight tolerances. This system is ideal for public or private paging system operators that use multiple transmitters and wish to create new paging systems or to build out existing systems into new regions. For more information about Zetron's High Speed Simulcast Paging System, the Model 600 and Model 620, go to: www.zetron.com/paging.
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www.gtesinc.com GTES is the only Glenayre authorized software support provider in the paging industry. With over 200 years of combined experience in Glenayre hardware and software support, GTES offers the industry the most professional support and engineering development staff available. New Product Development New Hardware Platform
Continued Support Programs GTES Partner Program CALL US TODAY FOR YOUR SUPPORT NEEDS |  Wireless Communication Solutions The Hark ISI-400LX is a hardware device that encapsulates serial data into TCP/IP for transmission over the Internet. It can also be configured to convert incoming TAP messages from the serial port and send them over the Internet to paging providers in email (SMTP) or Simple Network Paging Protocol (SNPP) format. The ISI-400LX with the optional external modem can connect to a secondary dial-up ISP when a failure on the ethernet port is detected.
This device is the perfect companion for the Hark Gateway products. An ISI can be located at a remote location for receiving TAP, TNPP, or Billing traffic using a local ISP eliminating long distance phone charges.
System Features & Benefits:
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| VOIP NEWS |
Vonage Confirms 'Blocking' Complaint February 15, 2005 Company says it is seeking FCC's counsel on how to deal with service obstruction. By Paul Kapustka Vonage Holdings confirmed Monday that it has complained to the Federal Communications Commission about "an instance of port blocking of our service," according to a company spokesperson. After initially saying Monday morning that it would not comment on the report of its complaint, Vonage vice president for corporate communications Brooke Schulz sent an email Monday evening with the following response: "We met with the FCC to discuss an instance of port blocking of our service by a high-speed Internet provider. We sought the FCC's counsel on how to proceed with this issue. There has been no formal complaint filed, nor have we had any subsequent discussions with the FCC regarding the details as we understand they plan to look into the matter." The incident, Schulz said, involved multiple Vonage customers whose service was being affected by a single provider. Schulz said Vonage would not comment on what type of broadband provider the company was complaining about. In an interview Monday, FCC chairman Michael Powell said he was under the impression that the incident involved a rural LEC. Schulz went on to say that Vonage is still "waiting for direction" from the FCC regarding the incident, but that Vonage CEO Jeffrey Citron was not available to comment further. Source: ADVANCEDIPPIPELINE.COM Motorola and Skype Form Broad Seamless Mobility Alliance February 14, 2005 CANNES, France—3GSM World Congress, February 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/—Motorola, Inc. , a global leader in seamless mobility, and Skype Technologies S.A., the Global Internet Telephony Company™, today announced their intention to work together on a co-marketing collaboration that will provide greater connectivity options and access for Skype's more than 25 million registered worldwide users. The alliance will explore opportunities broadly across both companies, leveraging Motorola's strength in seamless mobility, advanced technologies, mobile devices and accessories and Skype's rapidly-growing global user base and rich voice and messaging communication tools. The initial focus of the collaboration will be on co-marketing of new optimized Motorola 'Skype Ready' companion products, such as Bluetooth® headsets, dongles, and speakerphones, as well as delivery of the Skype Internet Telephony experience on select Motorola mobile devices. "By making Voice over IP truly mobile and easily accessible, we can make communications seamless for consumers as they travel throughout the environments of their day—at work, at home, in the car, or out in the world," said Liz Altman, vice president of business development, Motorola Mobile Devices. "With over 68 million downloads of their client in the last 18 months, we believe Skype is a natural fit with our vision of simple and seamless connectivity for our consumer customers around the globe." "Our alliance with Motorola is a major step forward in delivering the Skype experience to a whole new base of mobile device and accessory users," said Niklas Zennstrom, Skype CEO and co-founder. "Motorola is recognized worldwide for delivering innovative products and this collaboration advances our mission to offer expanded choice and mobility for Skype users worldwide." Skype takes communications to a new and global era with its free, multi-faceted and rich communication tools, enabling users to make free voice calls and rich messaging connections via the Internet. Skype is the leading VoIP-category product worldwide, with more than 25 million registered users. Motorola 'Skype Ready' companion products are expected to be available in the first half of 2005. About Motorola About Skype Technologies, S.A. MOTOROLA and the stylised M Logo are registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. © Motorola, Inc. 2005. Motorola, Inc. CONTACT: Media contacts: Sharen Santoski, Motorola, Tel:+1-847-312-0806, sharen.santoski@motorola.com. Kat James, Skype Technologies, S.A., GSM: +44-790-069-3764, kat.james@skype.net, Skype ID: katjames Source: TMCnet.com |
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| Paging Training Course Specially designed course for sales, marketing, and administration personnel. Engineers will only be admitted with a note signed by their mothers, promising that they will just listen and not disrupt the class. (This is supposed to be funny!) This is a one-day training course on paging that can be conducted at your place of business. Please take a look at the course outline to see if you think this might be beneficial in your employees: Paging training course outline. I would be happy to customize the content to meet your specific requirements. Although it touches on several "technical" topics, it is definitely not a technical course. I used to teach the sales and marketing people at Motorola Paging and they appreciated an atmosphere where they could ask technical questions without being made to feel like a dummy and without getting a long convoluted overly-technical answer that left them more confused than before. A good learning environment is one that is non-threatening. Let me know if you would like to receive a quotation, or if you would like to have any additional information. |
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The well-known sales manager at CalAmp (formerly Vytek/Sonik) is looking for a new position. You may download his resumé here. And you can send him an e-mail here. | With 30 years experience, a seasoned wireless industry executive that has the unique blend of strategic planning skills, balanced with operational management experience. You may download his resumé here. And you can send him an e-mail here. |
Paging Field Engineer Needed Paging Field Engineer Needed in Boston Area for growing Paging Company. Must be experienced with maintenance & installation of paging system infrastructure; transmitters, antenna, terminals, servers, routers & interconnecting circuits. Must be willing to provide excellent customer service, be on call and work independently for extended periods of time. Send resume in confidence to acarle@ucom.com | |
| Wi-Fi and WiMax News | |
U.S. Wireless Online and AIR2LAN to Combine TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2005 8:30 AM LOUISVILLE, Ky. and JACKSON, Miss., Feb 15, 2005 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/—U.S. Wireless Online, Inc. (UWRL) (website: www.uswirelessonline.com), and AIR2LAN, Inc. (www.air2lan.com) today announced that they have entered into a formal agreement to unite their businesses. The transaction represents a merger of two of the nation's premier wireless broadband Internet solutions providers, creating one of the largest Wireless Internet Broadband companies in the United States. Under terms of the transaction, AIR2LAN will receive restricted shares of US Wireless Online Preferred Stock in exchange for its' assets, liabilities, and customer base. The companies expect to close the transaction on or before February 28, 2005. When combined, AIR2LAN and US Wireless (which recently acquired MJS Holdings, United Broadband Networks and YYireless1.net), will serve thousands of corporate, municipal, government, and institutional customers and will generate approximately $5 million in annualized revenue. The new Company will leverage increased economies of scale and be positioned to accelerate growth organically in its existing markets and by expanding its wireless broadband Internet footprint. The Company also intends to leverage its prominence in the broadband wireless industry to pursue additional strategic acquisitions. AIR2LAN, headquartered in Jackson MS, operates in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas. AIR2LAN also brings a proven management team with vast experience in wireless technology to the combined Company. US Wireless Online, headquartered in Louisville KY, operates in Kentucky, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. Both companies have established themselves as leading providers in the fixed wireless broadband sector, including high speed broadband Internet access, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), wireless mobility services including Wi-Fi local and campus area networks, and a broadband wireless security system aimed at homeland security, transportation, and video surveillance applications. Upon completion of the transaction, Jai Bhagat, co-founder and former Vice Chairman and CEO of SkyTel Communications, Inc. and Chairman and Founder of AIR2LAN, will become Executive Chairman of the Board of US Wireless Online. Rick E. Hughes, current CEO of US Wireless Online, will remain as a director and CEO of the Company, and Mark E. Rodgers, current CEO of AIR2LAN, will become President and join the US Wireless Online Board of Directors. Thomas J. Busic, current COO of US Wireless Online, will remain as a director and COO, and Michael D. Marlowe, current CDO (Chief Development Officer) of US Wireless Online, will remain as a director and CDO. David Latham, Current AIR2LAN Board member and a Partner at Delta Capital Management, LLC (www.deltacapital.com), will join the US Wireless Online board of directors. Biographical information on the new members of senior management and additions to the Board of Directors follows: Jai P. Bhagat, Executive Chairman, US Wireless Online. Mr. Bhagat is the founder and Executive Chairman of Air2Lan. Previously, he was a co-founder of SkyTel Communications, Inc., where he served as Vice Chairman and CEO prior to SkyTel's merger with MCI. Mr. Bhagat also served as Chairman of the "License Exempt" sector of the Wireless Communications Association International (WCA) trade association, which represents the broadband wireless industry. He has served as Chairman and a board member of both the Personal Communications Industry Association (PCIA) and American Mobile Satellite Corporate (now Motient), and he currently serves on the boards of several wireless communications based companies. In addition, Mr. Bhagat served as Chairman of the Board of SmartSynch, Inc., a wireless data solutions company that enables two-way communications among corporate assets, people, devices and systems. In March 2002, he was included on Rutberg & Company's "Wireless Influencers: 2002" list. Mr. Bhagat was inducted into the RCR Wireless Hall of Fame for his significant contributions to the wireless industry, and he is a fellow member of the Radio Club of America. Past industry awards include the PCIA Chairman's Award, the Radio Club Sarnoff Citation, and RCR's Personality of the Year—all for his outstanding contributions to the development of the wireless industry. He also received Mobile Insights, Inc.'s Mobility Award for outstanding personal achievement, and the Mobility Award for the development of the SkyTel 2-Way Network. Mark E. Rodgers, Director and President, US Wireless Online. Before joining Air2Lan, Mr. Rodgers was CEO of SmartSynch, Inc., a wireless data solutions company that enables two-way communications among corporate assets, people, devices, and systems. Mr. Rodgers is a veteran in the wireless data services industry, having previously served as Vice President of Fixed Wireless, a business unit of SkyTel Communications. He founded the Fixed Wireless division in 1995 and was responsible for sales, marketing, strategic alliances, technology development, customer service and operations. Earlier, Mr. Rodgers served as Vice President of Business Development for SkyTel and was part of the company's two-way paging launch team, the first of its kind in the world. At SkyTel International, he served as Director of Business Development, with responsibility for joint venture paging companies in Europe and Asia. The company built and operated twenty-six national paging companies throughout the world, all of which were integrated into a global messaging network. Prior to joining SkyTel, Mr. Rodgers was a manager in Arthur Andersen's Management Information Consulting Division, during which time he was responsible for the design, development, installation, testing and conversion of large-scale information systems. He has served as Chairman of the Personal Communications Industry Association's Marketing Committee and the Research Advisory Board for Mississippi State University, where he earned a degree in Chemical Engineering. David B. Latham, Director, US Wireless Online; Partner, Delta Capital Management, LLC. Mr. Latham, who joined Delta Capital in 1997, focuses on all phases of the investment process, from the initial analysis to participating as a director. His responsibilities include the identification and evaluation of opportunities, the development of investment term sheets, and the monitoring and advisement of portfolio companies. Before joining Delta, he held strategic planning and business development positions with Chevron Pipeline Company, where his responsibilities included strategic planning and business development for Chevron's Natural Gas and LPG pipelines. Prior to Chevron Pipeline, Mr. Latham worked in the finance and strategic planning group for Chevron's Gulf of Mexico operations, which generated annual revenue of more than $1 billion and had a capital budget in excess of $500 million. He managed the strategic planning process and was responsible for reviewing the economic viability of all capital projects. Prior to his strategic planning roles, Mr. Latham spent five years in production operations at Chevron. He received his MBA with honors from Tulane University in New Orleans and his BS in Engineering cum laude from Mississippi State University. Mr. Latham currently serves on the boards of a number of Delta's portfolio companies, including Comprehensive Pharmacy Services, Inc.; Air2Lan, Inc.; Xtreme Energy, Inc.; ContourMed, Inc.; and Geobot, Inc. He is also responsible for investments in Emageon, Inc. and cMore Medical Solutions, Inc. About AIR2LAN, Inc. About US Wireless Online, Inc. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Expressions of future goals and similar expressions reflecting something other than historical fact are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, market acceptance of products and technologies, competitive factors, the Company's ability to continue to secure sources of financing and other factors described in the Company's filings with Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligations to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this press release. Media Contact: AIR2LAN, Inc. US Wireless Online, Inc. Study: Net phones key to WiMax success Published: February 16, 2005, 12:42 PM PST The wireless broadband standard called WiMax won't be ready for prime time for a couple of years, but when it does come out, Internet phone service could be the cash cow for providers, according to a study. WiMax, a technology standard that will provide broadband Internet access over many miles of coverage, is expected to make a big splash when services emerge in 2006 or 2007. That's because WiMax could become a third option for broadband access, challenging cable companies and DSL providers. While high-speed data access is considered a driving force behind WiMax's consumer appeal, service providers must bundle features such as VoIP—voice over Internet Protocol—to make enough money for survival, according to a study conducted by market researcher In-Stat/MDR. "The industry is focused on WiMax from a data standpoint, but the reality of the industry today is that you need to have voice to be financially viable," said Keith Nissen, an analyst at In-Stat/MDR. WiMax's promise lies in its ability to deliver broadband to large areas without wires stretched into homes by local phone and cable companies. Proponents of the technology add that WiMax will bring broadband to rural areas that phone and cable companies do not reach. While there are currently many "fixed" wireless providers dotting the globe, WiMax efforts have resulted in a standard, known as 802.16-2004, that allows equipment makers to operate in a common language. New versions of WiMax in the works are expected to allow mobility, letting users travel freely between locations and service providers. WiMax is not expected to enter the mainstream until 2007, since testing among equipment makers is still six months off. But by 2009, WiMax services will have amassed 8.5 million subscribers, or 3 percent of the total broadband market, and more than half of them will subscribe to VoIP services bundled into their WiMax plans, according to In-Stat/MDR. "When you get full mobility under WiMax, you will be able to drive around town and do VoIP the same as you would over a cell phone," said In-Stat MDR's Nissen. Source: c|net News.com |
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