2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES)

I will be attending the 2010 CES later this week in Las Vegas. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to cover the show from both a professional perspective as well as check out things from a hobbyist, enthusiast and personal perspective. While not being occupied by topics related to my day job, I plan to check out a variety of exhibitors and other interesting sessions. I'll also be sure to slide by the GRE booth, I suspect that there won't be much more for display than what they had at the Dayton Hamvention. But maybe they'll have an future iScan digital prototype or other GRE branded models.

The following are my primary objectives during my CES/Las Vegas trip:

1) Digital Health Summit (ces info) (website) - Cover the Digital Health Summit, in relation to my day job as a Business Analyst in a health care information company. We are simplifying the business of health care and connecting and empowering consumers to manage their health in a ever more consumer-based health care space. Looking for disruptive technologies and tracking the emerging markets of the rapidly evolving digital health care industry.
2) Tech Policy Summit (ces info) - Attend the Tech Policy Summit with interesting sessions like "Making Nationwide Deployment and Adoption of Broadband a Reality", "The Spectrum Grab and Innovation", and "Inside the FCC's Communications Agenda". These sessions will likely offer interesting discussions regarding our ever growing and connected wireless communications world and may have ramifications for Amateur Radio and other spectrum uses.
3) GRE America (ces booth) (website) - Represent the Radio Reference community, answer questions and provide general coverage related to the GRE scanner product line.
4) General Interest - Explore other exhibitors and sessions of general consumer electronics interest.
5) "#20casinos" Challenge - Travel the Las Vegas strip, hitting a total of 20 of the largest Casinos in the world in 10 Hours (or less) and gambling a total of $200 bucks at said casinos. Part of my Wednesday free day and a special project that will likely have heavy Twitter and TwitPic coverage. Look here and on Twitter this Wednesday for more information.

I've primarily be covering objectives number 2 through 5 both here and via Twitter.

Stay tuned to this blog for a preview of my daily CES agenda and nightly summary and recap information. Follow me on Twitter @jpryor223 for real time updates and TwitPic images through out each day. And keep track of my position on APRS.fi via my KC8NNO-12 APRS-enabled location tracking Smart Phone.

Jeff KC8NNO

About NW Ohio Live Services: "Live Mapping (APRS)"

This is the fourth entry of a series of seven blog entries that will provide additional details surrounding all the elements at NW Ohio Live Services (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/).

Today's topic is the "Live Mapping (APRS)" component (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/livemappingaprs.html).

The Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) is an amateur radio based system for real time tactical digital communications of information of immediate value in the local area. In addition, all such data is ingested into the APRS Internet system (APRS-IS) and distributed globally for instant access. In addition to messages, alerts, announcements and bulletins, the most visible aspect of APRS is its map display. Anyone may place any object or information on their map and it is distributed to all maps of all users in the local RF network or monitoring the area via the Internet. Any station, radio or object that has an attached GPS is automatically tracked. Other prominent map features are weather stations, alerts and objects and other map related amateur radio volunteer activities including Search and Rescue and signal direction finding.

The Live Mapping APRS (Amateur Automatic Packet Reporting System) feature on NW Ohio Live Services is made possible by the APRS-IS network and APRS.fi (Google Maps APRS) as well as all of the stations that provide RF APRS digipeaters and gate RF APRS traffic to the Internet. Find me on APRS via APRS.fi at http://aprs.fi/?call=KC8NNO*

This concludes the in depth look at the details surrounding the Live Mapping (APRS) element. Stay tuned for the next topic which will cover the Live Mapping (AIS) component in more detail.

(About NW Ohio Live Services - Blog Entry 4-A of 7)

2009 NW Ohio Live Services

Heading down to Dayton Hamvention on Saturday

Hello all,

I'm heading on down to Dayton Ohio for Hamvention 2009 tomorrow. I'll be going via the Toledo Mobile Radio Association (TMRA) charter bus with about 50 other local ham radio operators. Follow our progress while enroute and returning via the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) at http://aprs.fi/?call=KC8NNO-13 and watch for me walking around Hamvention at http://aprs.fi/?call=KC8NNO-7 also via APRS. You may also see my relative location via Google Latitude. Also feel free to follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jpryor223 for some mobile updates during the day.

Jeff KC8NNO

Algosteel makes Mid-January arrival at Port of Toledo

The Algoma Central Corporation's cargo vessel Algosteel has made a mid-January arrival at the Port of Toledo (01/16/2009 @ 6:00 PM Local Time) in Toledo, Ohio. Based on AIS mapping data, it appears that the USCGC Neah Bay is helping to clear ice. The CCGS Griffon may have also been assisting with ice operations in the western basin of Lake Erie. The Algosteel is currently reporting as being moored in the Maumee Channel, just off the at the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority Facility No. 1 (Midwest Terminals of Toledo International) docks. Discussions on VHF Marine Channel 81 are indicating a failure at the CSX Railroad Swing Bridge, and a maintainer has been called to get the bridge back in motion. The vessel also discussed at least two additional scheduled loads of salt from Goderich, Ontario are planned (one to Detroit and one to Chicago).

This might be the last Live Mapping AIS activity in a while for here in Toledo.