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February 1962 Radio-Electronics
 [Table of Contents]
Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics.
See articles from Radio-Electronics,
published 1930-1988. All copyrights hereby acknowledged.
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A few notable events
were reported in the February 1962 "News Briefs" column of Radio-Electronics
magazine. Oddly, there were no photos or drawings accompanying them. The biggest
news, at least to Ham radio enthusiasts, was the launching (December 12, 1961)
and operational status of the first
OSCAR (Orbital Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio) radio relay satellite. The first reported reception of the ham satellite signals,
broadcasting the Morse code symbols for HI (equivalent to today's LOL in
texting) at 145.0 MHz, came from a Navy amateur operator
stationed at Marie Byrd Land in Antarctica. In other news, a proposed
"Lighthouses in Sky" seems to be the early workings for what is now known the
Global Positioning System (GPS). Also described is an early concept for
e-mail.
New Briefs:
11/57 |
8/58 |
11/59 |
2/60 |
4/60 |
8/60 |
9/60 |
10/60 |
12/60 |
1/61 |
3/61 |
5/61 |
6/61 |
7/61 |
8/61 |
9/61 |
10/61 |
11/61 |
12/61 |
1/62 |
2/62 |
3/62 |
4/62 |
5/62 |
7/62 |
8/62 |
9/62 |
3/63 |
4/63 |
8/63 |
9/63 |
3/64 |
8/64 |
12/64 |
1/67 |
3/67 |
4/67 |
5/67 |
6/67 |
9/67 |
4/68 |
9/68
News Briefs
Hams Have a Satellite
The efforts of the amateurs in extending the frontiers of radio, both on the
earth and in space, are being recognized by the Air Force, which launched a 1/10-watt
amateur short-wave radio transmitter into a polar orbit last December.
Oscar (Orbital Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio) is a "serious civilian noncommercial
effort to obtain information from outer space, and to introduce to amateur radio
operators throughout the world new techniques in the field of space communication,"
says the Amateur Radio Relay League, official amateur organization.
The miniature transmitter is programmed to key automatically the letters HI -
four dots followed by two dots of Morse code. This is the universal amateur symbol
for laughter, or the recognition of something important or startling. The transmitting
frequency is 145.0 mc.
The first reported reception of the ham satellite signals came from a Navy amateur
stationed at Marie Byrd Land in Antarctica.
With the large number of amateurs (200,000 in the United States alone) as compared
to military and other official stations for observing satellites, it is hoped that
new information of value will be obtained. Many hams have had experience in tracking
satellites, and have experimented with reflected signals from the Echo passive satellites.
Recently, hams have even used the moon as a reflector for coast-to-coast communication.
This was, of course, done earlier by the military and Bell Laboratories, but the
hams did it with a very small fraction of the power used by the bigger stations.
"Lighthouses in Sky" Coming
A complete, global, all-weather navigational system using Transit satellites
as guides may be in operation by the end of 1962. This prediction was made by Rear
Admiral Jack P. Monroe, director of the Astronautics Div. of the Navy, as a result
of successes in launching recent Transit satellites.
A ship could fix its position to within 1/10 mile in any kind of weather by tuning
in on one of the lighthouse satellites. At present, Admiral Monroe said, a navigator
is lucky to come within 2 miles by using celestial navigation.
The latest Transit satellites carry a small oval-shaped atomic generator, weighing
4 1/2 pounds and measuring about 5 x 5 1/2 inches, to two of the four radio transmitters,
the other two by solar cells and nickel-cadmium batteries.
Communications with Computers
A new communications system, using computer techniques, has been unveiled by
the ITT Information Systems Div. It blends communication and computer technologies
to process and switch telegraphic messages and data at speeds running up to at least
1,000,000 bits per second. The computer's memory contains such information as lists
of all possible addresses or messages received and sent, instructions as to steps
to be taken with regard to messages bearing any of these addresses, instructions
as to priority, etc. Thus, the president of an international company, for example,
could dictate a duplicate message to each of the branches of a certain division
of his company throughout the world, and have them delivered at 9 o'clock the same
morning, which might be several days later, with correction for the International
Date Line.
The device is expected to have great value in processing and reporting
internal information for companies or other organizations.
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