Veteran’s Welcome Back

All of us here at Hamilton Tech thank you for your service to our country!  We have been serving Veteran’s like yourself  since 1970.  Combine your military experience with a great education to start a rewarding career.  We’d encourage you to visit our campus and take a closer look at the Programs we offer.  Check us out at www.hamiltontechcollege.edu , and visit our blog, Facebook and our Youtube channel.  Over the years many Veterans have chosen Hamilton Tech; come in and see how we can help you prepare for a new career.  Welcome back!  MC

The Illowa Council Boy Scouts began work on the new Robotics Merit Badge at Hamilton Tech on Saturday.  About 20 Scouts and 10 faculty, leaders and parents worked most of the day on Saturday in the first day of a 3 day Merit Badge class.  This Merit Badge is the latest added to the Boy Scouts.  Hamilton Tech is proud to have been selected as the first Robotics Training Center in the Illowa District. MC

KWQC Field Trip – Studio Tour

On Tuesday, January 24^th, the third and fourth semester AM Electronics students from Hamilton Tech were treated to a field trip hosted by Meteorologist Kevin Phelps, from KWQC TV in Davenport Ia.

Our first stop on the tour was at an equipment room where the portable cameras are stored and charged. Kevin explained that these portable cameras are used out in the field for live broadcasts. It was pointed out that today’s digital news cameras are much better quality while being smaller, lighter and much less expensive than their predecessors.

 Our next stop on the tour was at the weather desk where Meteorologist, Greg Dutra, was working on the days forecast. Greg explained how he uses the various computers to generate the weather forecast. He also showed us how he uses a computer to control the live Skycam.

We continued our tour and arrived at the master control and editing room which was loaded with racks of impressive looking electronic equipment. We were even allowed access to the rear of the equipment cabinets to see an incredible maze of complex wiring.

The last room we entered was the main studio which included the Paula Sands Live set where guest interviews are conducted. We also saw the kitchen set where Paula and her guests demonstrate cooking.  Another area of the studio was the weather desk. This area included a green screen backdrop which allows a weather map to be superimposed behind the meteorologist. We were all allowed creative freedom to pretend to be news reporters and weather forecasters. We found out that it isn’t as easy as it looks.

All of the employees that we encountered at KWQC studios were very friendly and helpful.  A special thank-you to Kevin Phelps for hosting the field trip, and allowing us to “play” in the studio.  Thanks Craig W for reporting!

Do you know anyone who wants to make a better line for themselves and/or their family?  Hamilton Tech has many great opportunities in 2012 for people who want to make a positive change in their lives!Technology classes are available in Electronics Engineering Technology, Medical Assisting and Medical/Insurance Coding throughout the entire year!  See Scott, Connie, or Lori in Admissions, or contact one of them at 563-386-3570.  (Thanks Margaret and The Leak)

Go here http://www.qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=574811 for a great article on the Festival of Trees Electronics Tree.  Thank You to Marlene Gantt, who writes for the Moline Dispatch, for the great story about the “Dancing Tree”.  The article appeared in the December 24th edition.  We are so glad you are enjoying the tree.  Thanks to all the Electronics students and faculty for creating this fun tree.  Scroll down for an entire blog article and pictures of both of the trees Hamilton Tech entered in the Festival of Trees this year.  MC

Just down in the Advanced Electronics building and saw this Christmas Tree in the main entry.  The sign beside it said “Resurrection Tree”.  I did some checking and found out Tim’s class was going to start learning about the “Propeller Chip” which is a computer on a chip.  He thought it might be a great project for his class to bring the old tree back to life using the “Propeller Chip”.  They dug into the project and the “Resurrection Tree” is the result.  The sign says special thanks to Mark Seivers and Dustin Shaw.  The tree looks great!  Thanks to everyone who helped bring the old tree back to life. MC

Like the Smartboard in the electronics classroom? Have an extra remote for your Wii gaming system laying around? Why not make your own multi touch smart board that can be projected anywhere: on a wall, on a table. Maybe you could even make one for your favorite teacher. The setup also works to turn a LCD screen into a touch screen.  Watch this video and see how:

What you need to get started:

• Projector
• Wii Remote Controller ($25)
• LED Pen ($10+ pre-assembled / build custom)
• Bluetooth Adapter (~$10, various vendors)
• Presentation Software – Smoothboard ($29 for registered copy, demo free)
• Other considerations: mount for Wii Remote

For more information, check out the source

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.

Happy Birthday George Boole!

On this day, November 2nd,  in 1815, George Boole, inventor of Boolean Logic was born. Boolean Logic is said to be the basis of modern computer logic.

Fun Facts about George Boole:

• There is a crater on the moon (Boole) named after him
• Taught himself Greek, French, and German
• Started teaching at age 15
• Was self taught in both classics and mathematics