SBE 56 Chapter Vice-President Roger Herring called the meeting to order due to Chapter President George Chambers’ absence.

Everyone introduced himself or herself.

Reports:
Minutes:
Meeting Minutes for the March 26, 2002 meeting as posted on the Website were moved for approval, seconded, and approved by voice vote.

Treasurers Report:
Chapter Treasurer Larry Miller the Chapter balance as of our last meeting, March 26, 2002, was $4,375.69.  We had a debit of $466.23 for the OAB/SBE Technical Seminar lunch.  The balance today, April 23, 2002, is $3,909.46

Frequency Coordination Report:
     Above 1 GHz:

Larry Miller reported KWBT (TV) requested the 7GHz database for northeast Oklahoma.  They are planning on creating a link from Bartlesville to Independence, KS.

     Below 1 GHz:

Richard Hardy reported that Clear Channel Communications will be utilizing 948.5 MHz on a temporary basis during its studio moves, on a week to week basis.

Certification Report:

No report is available this month 

Internet Report:

Gerald Weaver reported that the e-mail list server is working well. Work is still in progress to put frequency coordination data on the web.

EAS Report:

Roger Herring reported that the new EAS Rule and code changes take effect May 16, 2002.  As a result the Oklahoma State EAS plan will need to be revised accordingly.  Station Assignments is web-based to allow for quicker changes.  Eventually, a email list server will be established for LP-1's and LP-2's for notification of upcoming tests.  New codes being implemented will require software modifications in the decoders, but the FCC is not requiring them.  Roger hopes to set a deadline of  Dec. 31, 2002 for upgrading endecs with new codes.

TFT has a update EPROM available for $100.00 to implement the new codes. Sage cost for implementation; as well as two others is unknown at this time. 

Oklahoma is the first state to implement a statewide Amber Alert Plan.

This is also discussion in a Homeland Defense Plan to be integrated into the State EAS Plan. It would be voluntary for stations, not however for LP 1 and LP 2 stations.

Old Business:   

The ENG Mast Safety Seminar was a success.  Forty-Eight people attended the seminar. In addition to the charges to Stations for the Seminar, there was a $900.00 shortfall.  Roger Herring has spoken with Carl Smith of the OAB about paying for a joint seminar for next year with the OKC Stations participating.

New Business:

Roger Herring asked for suggestions on the OAB Winter Conference in February (in Tulsa) as we will need ideas for seminars.  Tentatively the conference is scheduled to be in the Southern Hills Marriott.

 Due to a scheduling issue, a House Committee was formed with Gerald Weaver in charge to assure that the Restaurant is set for the meeting.

 Also discussed was membership dues are due in April and a e-mail will be sent to all members. Gerald Weaver and Richard Hardy will work on updating the membership list.  For members joining after April the $15.00 dues will be pro-rated.

 

April 23, 2002 Program:

Was scheduled to be a presentation by Acrodyne AI on the Quantum IOT Transmitter line.  Due to a miscommunication no sales person was available.

 Chapter Program Coordinator Don Dobbs suggested instead that the members discuss what they saw at NAB 2002.

The meeting was adjourned by Vice President Roger Herring.

    

Truck Height/Clearance....
Small problem....BIG consequences...
Most frequent cause of mast damage

From the Editor, Mark Bell.

Boston Massachusetts has a river road called Storrow Drive. This road has a series of under- passes which have a ten-foot clearance. For proba- bly the same amount of time that Storrow Drive has existed, there are frequent accidents with larger than ten-foot high vehicles trying to get under these ten- foot passageways.

The cause is a very simple error which is a result of a few factors. One is failure to observe and comply with signage indicating not to go down a particular access road which leads out to the parkway-styled road.

Signs in strategically placed areas didn’t work, so larger signs were constructed. They didn’t stop it either. Signs were placed directly on top of the entranceways to the road indicating LOW CLEARANCE, NO TRUCKS OVER 10 FEET, and hung at 10 feet. They helped but did not stop the problem, because again, there were accidents.

Trooper Ed Stanley of the Massachusetts State Police stated six reasons he feels contribute to clearance accidents. Please appreciate some of the humor in our exchange. 

1) Students in moving vans/trucks; The brain surgeons, chemists and artists from universities such as Harvard, MIT, BU, frequently have accidents or drive onto the street and stop before the underpass, facilitating traffic stop- page so the truck can be backed up.
2) A professional driver who enters the low clearance area after a sign has been knocked down and not replaced.
3) The time it takes for municipal agencies to replace downed signs. The Trooper mentioned it has taken 1-2 YEARS for this to take place in some of his experience.
4) Out-of-town truck drivers get directions from car drivers.
5) New computerized navigational and GPS devices do not indicate height restrictions and are more widely used. 
6) Distraction. An accident involving a young person in a moving van with his girlfriend resulted in both of them hitting the windshield after they hit a low overpass. When asked about it, the habitual car driver said they were talking, listening to the radio and didn’t take note of signs.

Perhaps that’s a key. Most drivers are car-trained, and their second nature is not to look for signs which truckers almost habitually search out.  It’s not just a matter of getting in a vehicle and turning on a higher level of habits, it’s a matter of making them second nature. While CDL’s, Commercial Drivers Licenses, are not required for most companies with trucks, CDL education SHOULD be required which would encourage typical car drivers to “tune” into the higher level of perception of sign-dependent truckers.

Steven Pinkley of Will-Burt, manufacturers of over 95% of masts on ENG vehicles, estimates that there are clearance accidents, for which Will-Burt sells replacement parts, at a rate of 4-6 per month, at a cost of about $1000.00, not including equipment at the top of the mast from other manufacturers.

One problem Pinkley sees, or doesn’t see, is lack of clearance height signs in visible locations in vehicles. Where are yours? Are they clean and visible?  “In all of the trucks which come in here for service,” Pinkley said, “about 50% do not have signs indicating height of the vehicle in a place which would be visible to the operator, or just not at all.”

Signage is the most popular way of communicating warnings. Whether electrical or operational warnings, clearance, or just beware of dog, opera- tors have to be trained that they must read signs. If they are not read, the result will be a broken mast and an ENG truck out of service, an operational injury, or the pain from the “teeth” from the avoidable hazard of the dog that bites.

Contact information,
ENG Safety Memo:
Toll-free: 1-87-SAFE-6090
Phone: 781-383-6090
Fax: 781-394-0762
e-mail: safety@engsafety.com
www.engsafety.com

click here

Education Committee
Ray Klotz

 CERTIFICATION EXAM DATES FOR 2002
The SBE Certification Committee has established exam dates for 2002. Check the list below for the exam period that is best for you. For more information about SBE Certification, contact SBE 56 Certification Chair Ray Klotz or contact Linda Godby, Certification Director at the SBE National Office at (317) 846-9000 or lgodby@sbe.org.

Humor
Below is our best attempt at humor. 
  If you enjoy it, our boss says not to encourage us by telling us so!