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April 2004 MEETING

Roy Trumbull, SF Section chairman and broadcast engineer

In addition: Larry Bloomfield's post-NAB Road Show

• 9:00 - 10:00 AM: breakfast-type refreshments

• 10:00 - 11:30 AM: program

Napa Valley College's SMPTE-SF Student Chapter 11.

Program

Roy's talk at Napa will feature a topic central to broadcasting and to the communications business: literally, "Where Am I?" To set up a transmitter site or a temporary microwave or satellite link, you have to know exactly where you are on the face of the earth. These days, to get your position within a 5-to-10 meter accuracy, all you have to do is whip out an affordable GPS receiver. Or is it really that simple?

Roy will take us through the history of people's attempts to determine their location, as well as look at today's state of the art of global positioning. Consider: finding one's longitude at sea can be a matter of life or death; Antarctica is not really bigger than the former Soviet Union; carrying an injured dog aboard ship was once thought to be a way to find the time in Greenwich, England; did you really buy an atomic clock for your bedroom? USGS topographic maps specify locations in meters as well as in latitude and longitude; compass north and true north aren't the same; does your GPS put out coordinates in NAD27, NAD83, or UTM? Don't ever count on the FCC to convert coordinates from one scheme to another when filing a site application; do you know which science fiction writer "discovered" the geostationary satellite orbit?

At the end of Roy's talk, Larry Bloomfield will discuss the highlights of this year's NAB Convention. Come on up to the beautiful Napa Valley College campus and spend an enjoyable morning with us, and even make a day of it in one of the country's most beautiful wine regions!

Our thanks to our most active SMPTE student chapter, Napa Valley College, for hosting this event.
 

Attendees of past annual SMPTE-SF Napa Valley College events have enjoyed the wonders of the area after the show, including some great nearby restaurants and winery tours. See you there!

Welcome: SMPTEsf welcomes members and friends to attend without charge.

Location:

See the maps & link below. Signs will be posted at the campus and building entrances.

Directions to Napa Valley College

• If you're coming from the East Bay, take I-80 north through Vallejo. Look for the Solano County Fairgrounds and Marine World on your left.

• Take the Marine World Parkway west exit (a right exit) over the freeway toward Marine World. Posted highway signs alternate between calling the road "Marine World Parkway" and "Columbus Parkway".
• Continue past the Marine World turn-off until you reach Sonoma Blvd. (Hwy 29). Turn right heading North. Some signs may identify it as the "Napa-Vallejo Highway".

• If you're coming from Marin via US 101, simply take Hwy 37 to Hwy 29 (Sonoma Blvd.) Turn Left heading North. Don't take any of the shortcuts along the way unless you know them really well; it's easy to get lost. Just stay on Hwy 37 until you get to Sonoma Blvd. (Hwy 29) and make a left (north)..

• Once on Hwy 29, when you pass the American Canyon exit, the road will split; with a branch going to the left, Hwy 12, but you continue straight ahead on the Napa-Vallejo Hwy 221.

• You'll pass a park on your left and beyond; beyond it, also on the left, is Napa Valley College.
• Follow the signs for the college. If you get to Imola Ave., you've gone too far.
• Once on campus, take the first right and head toward the parking lot at the north end of the campus. (There will be SMPTE signs to direct you.) Parking permits aren't enforced on Saturdays.
Near the buildings, you'll find three flag poles close together along the edge of the parking lot. Walk between the flagpoles until you see building 900 on the right. That's the theater building. We'll be just to the left of it. We'll have signs and people out there to direct you.

Maps: AAA maps are the best. Online maps should be taken with a grain of salt. Follow online driving instructions at your own peril; they're usually wrong.

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