Hamilton Tech’s evening Electronics Engineering Technologies students hosted Andy Andresen from Cumulus Broadcasting last Monday night. Andy is the Regional Coordinator for Cumulus in Iowa as well as being one of 2 full time engineers in the state and sitting on the development committee for new products.

Cumulus Broadcasting is the 2nd largest broadcast company in America (Clear Channel is number one). They currently operate 24 stations in Iowa, 5 of which are in the Quad Cities. Andy is in charge of those five stations as well as five more in Dubuque. The five local stations include: Rock 104.9, Star 93.5, 97X,  B100, and True Oldies 1170.

Andy’s presentation included a breakdown of how music and DJ banter makes its way from the mic to your radio. In order for you to hear your favorite song on the radio, it must go through processors, compressors, the studio to transmitter link and finally be transmitted through the transmitter. It is this signal that your radio picks up and you hear. He was able to illustrate his points with pictures of the actual radio stations and transmitter stations he works with, offering the students a virtual tour of Dwyer and Michaels’ studio.

After a thorough explanation of how radio works, Andresen then went on to explain the changes in technology that have emerged and how they are affecting his job and the user’s radio listening experience. The first major change was in how information is  transmitted through the station. Where bulky cables with only 24 channels once ran through the building, the same result can be achieved with ethernet cable and a node device connected to a computer.  Antenna lights that once only lasted a year, requiring a treacherous climb up the tower to replace have been usurped by high intensity LEDs that can last up to 8 years. The final technological advance was one that Andy had a personal hand in developing.  Previously, when radio stations did remote broadcasting, there was a lot of equipment that had to be brought and setup– microphones, mixers, cd players, antennas, etc. Cumulus has developed an ipad application that can tap into the station’s computer system and broadcast remotely with nothing more than an ipod, microphone and an internet connection. The end audio result is clearer than the previous system and is super portable and user friendly. Currently the Quad Cities is the only market using the remote broadcast ipad app, but they are looking to expand to other markets.

Thank you Andy and Cumulus Broadcasting for coming in and sharing with our students.

Coding Students and Alumni!

The next AAPC meeting will be held December 13th at 6pm. The meeting will be held at Trinity in Moline on the third floor in the board room this month.  Current and past students are invited to attend.

Sharpen those pencils, it’s time for a new class! Welcome to Hamilton Tech’s newest class of EET students who will begin class on December 7th.

Hamilton Tech is once again participating in the Quad City Arts’ Festival of Trees. Two trees were designed by students in the Medical Assisting and Electronics Engineering Technologies programs.

The tree designed by the EET program is called “Dancing Lights” and is located at Designer Tree spot #123. The design team was: Steve Hamer, Dave Spittler, Davie Hinkle, and Tim Edens.

The tree designed by the MA program is called “Give Peace a Chance” and is located at Designer Tree spot #126. The design team was Heather Jenkins, Linsey Lyons, Cindy Hickman, Setiva Kasal, Chris Boehne, Carmen Moreno, Kenshanna Henderson, Nolan Ragston, Melissa Franzen, Stephanie Sims, Melody Reed, Erica Johnson, Brie Robacker, Rebecca Chesling,  and Kyla Hamilton.

The Festival of Trees will be held November 18th-27th at the River Center, 136 E Third St; Davenport, IA

For more information on the Festival of Trees click here.

For more information on the programs at Hamilton Technical College click here

Medical Assisting Students and their tree

Electronics Engineering Technology Students' Tree

Medical Assistant Students' Tree

Are you a veteran? Here is a list of Veteran’s Day freebies that might be of interest, be sure to call ahead and make sure individual franchises honor their parent company’s special. Many business offering specials are located near Hamilton Tech and since there is no class on Fridays, there is plenty of time to take advantage of these deals.

FREE FOOD

Applebees — All veterans and active-duty military eat free from a limited menu on Veterans Day.

Chili’s — Veterans and service members can dine for free from a special six-item menu on Veterans Day.

Golden Corral — Military Appreciation Monday includes a free dinner, Nov. 14, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. for military retirees, veterans, and current service members.

Famous Dave’s — Offers for free or discounted meals on Veterans Day vary by location.

Hooters — All veterans and service members get 10 free wings with the purchase of a drink.

Krispy Kreme — A free donut is available for all service members, retirees and veterans.

McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants — This Sunday, participating McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants are offering a complimentary entree to vets from a special menu on a space-available basis. Online reservations are highly recommended.

Outback Steakhouse — Nov. 7-15, Outback will offer veterans and military a free Bloomin’ Onion and beverage

Subway Restaurants — Free six-inch sub or flatbread available to military vets on Veterans Day.

Texas Roadhouse — Free meals available to veterans from opening until 4 p.m. on Veterans Day.

T.G.I. Friday’s — Veterans and service members can buy one meal and get another free, Nov. 11-13.

UNO Chicago Grill — Nov. 7-15, UNO is offering a 19.43 percent discount on food and non-alcoholic beverage beverages to vets and military. The chain explains that 1943 was the year UNO invented the deep dish pizza.

Abuelo’s Mexican Food — Offers vary by region.

Buca di Beppo Italian Restaurants — Special offers for vets on Veterans Day.

RETAIL DEALS

Amazon.com — A free downloadable MP3 album includes 12 songs performed by military bands and ensembles from now through Veterans Day.

The Dollar General — Veterans, service members and their immediate families can receive a 10-percent discount with a Veterans Day coupon.

Home Depot — Offers a 10 percent discount to all veterans on Veterans Day. Home Depot offers a 10 percent discount year-round to active duty military and retirees.

Lowe’s — All veterans receive the 10 percent discount for purchases of up to $5,000. A 10 percent discount is available year-round to active-duty military and retirees.

Sam’s Club — Nov. 9-11, Sam’s Club will give away collapsible Hugo Canes on Veterans Day to military veterans who need them.

Seven-Eleven — On Nov. 11 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., veterans can get a free small Slurpee.

Cabela’s Outdoor Store — Employee discounts are being offered to all veterans, active-duty military and reserve-component troops, along with law-enforcement, fire and emergency-management personnel Nov.11-12. Discounts vary from 5 percent to 50 percent, depending on item.

Build-a-Bear Workshop — Members of the armed services, including the Coast Guard and ROTC, receive a 20 percent discount Nov. 11-15 on any one transaction at the workshop.

Fashion Bug — Offering 20 percent off all plus-size and misses clothing purchases with a copy of military ID or spouse’s military ID.

Sports Clips Haircuts — Offering free haircuts to active-military and veterans on Nov. 11.

Source: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-701015

Tonight, our evening EET 4th semester students had a resume workshop with our new Career Services Director Laura Kilmer.

Career Services Director Laura Kilmer

Some tips from the presentation:

• Remember that most recruiters will scan a resume in about 20 seconds. Make your resume clear and easy to read.
• Don’t rely solely on templates– make it your own and make it unique.
• Use a size 10 font or larger.
• Always send a cover letter!
• Proofread your resume and have someone else proofread it as well before sending it out. Mistakes show a lack of attention to detail.

Laura’s final piece of advice was to start job search preparation early and prepare to work hard. She mentioned many local employers that have been calling her, looking for employees. There are jobs out there, but it is up to you as a job seeker to put out the hard work and take charge of your education.

Student Nathan Pulse looks over resume examples

A group of electronics students toured KLJB Fox 18 studio this week.  They spend most of there time in the control room that houses all the electronic equipment that powers Fox 18.  As you can see in the photos, they also learned about the antennas and dishes that are a part of keeping the station on the air.  Thanks Fox 18 for giving us some insight into the operation of a  local TV station.  For more information about Hamilton Tech visit www.hamiltontechcollege.com .

Robins Industrial classes toured Vizient Manufacturing Solutions  in Bettendorf on August 15th.  Vizient Robotics manufactures robotic work cells for major manufacturing companies around the world.  It is a very modern facility that does all phases of the work cell creation from design to fabrication to programming and installation.  They also provide maintenance and repair services to their customers.  This is a great example of an amazing high tech company right here is the Quad Cities.  Hamilton Tech is proud to partner with them on locating employees with a high level of technical training.  To see examples of the work cells they create go to http://www.vizient.com .  Thank you Vizient, for the fantastic tour opportunity.

On September 7, 2011 a group of students from Tim Edens morning electronics class along with Larry Bradley, visited the VLBA radio telescope near North Liberty.  The students were able to see the control systems that capture the information received by the radio telescope.  As you can see in several of the photos taken on that day, they were able to climb up on the dish itself for an impressive view of the sheer size of the dish (82 feet in diameter) and the surrounding Coralville reservoir and country side.

The Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) comprises ten radio telescopes spanning 5,351 miles. It’s the world’s largest, sharpest dedicated telescope array. With an eye this sharp, you could be in Los Angeles and clearly read a street sign in New York City!

Astronomers use the continent-sized VLBA to zoom in on objects that shine brightly in radio waves, long-wavelength light that’s well below infrared on the spectrum. They observe blazars, quasars, black holes, and dying stars. They plot pulsars, exoplanets, and masers, and track spacecraft, asteroids, and planets.  More information is available at http://www.nrao.edu.

Interactive Open House – July 21, 2011

We want to thank everyone for attending Discover Hamilton Tech, our interactive Open House. There were many words of appreciation for the information and interactive displays that were available for our guests. We also want to thank all of our “Student Ambassadors” for their help with information about the displays and College. For more information about Hamilton Tech visit us at www.hamiltontechcollege.edu.