Statistics for alt.os.linux.mandrake

Moe Trin · External Since: Aug 12, 2004 Posts: 1732

On Wed, 04 Jul 2007, in the Usenet newsgroup alt.os.linux.mandrake, in article
<f6eo11$e59$1@lust.ihug.co.nz>, Adam wrote:

>>> and then it hits the perimeter of ihug.
>
>ihug - Recently bought by Vodaphone. Apparently their main server HQ is in
>Perth, western Australia.

I don't see an indication of that - certainly the APNIC data and the Path:
header are showing everything as being in New Zealand.

>A query on a.o.l.mandriva lodged and pending.

That's probably your only solution

>Some quakes here,
>http://www.geonet.org.nz/earthquake/quakes/recent_quakes.html

Blinky already gave you the USGS url

>In a recent big freeze down south

It's around 3 PM here in Phoenix, and the temperature of 113F/45C
and a dew point of 24F/-4C (humidity ~3%). That's about 600 meters
or 1950 feet above sea-level.

>with the loss of mains power, 1st peoples' cellphone batteries ran
>down and couldn't be recharged from the mains, then for those with
>still-working cellphones the batteries in the cellphone towers didn't
>last more than 2 days. Blame was cast on iced-up microwave dishes etc
>etc, when really it was clearly lack of any real backup battery
>capacity. The wired phone lines and old exchanges fared well amongst
>all this.

A recent discussion elsewhere pointed out that regulatory agencies
in some countries are now requiring 2 day minimum backup power for
the cellphone towers, and most providers are meeting this demand
with small gas (natural, or propane) powered generators at each
tower. Our cable TV providers who are also providing phone service
are also caught by the same regulations, and have to add generators
to their neighborhood distribution points.

Old guy

Adam · External Since: Jan 16, 2005 Posts: 99

[ .. ]

>>ihug - Vodaphone - western Australia.
>
> I don't see an indication of that - certainly the APNIC data and the Path:
> header are showing everything as being in New Zealand.

Hmm. Maybe its their engineering office there, (in another country,
a city 5000 kms away!). I'll look into, for my own interest.

>>Some quakes here,
>>http://www.geonet.org.nz/earthquake/quakes/recent_quakes.html
>
> Blinky already gave you the USGS url

A good site too. Seems we're both close to faultlines
and see regular activity. The volcano-watch cams all seem quiet.
No refs.

> A recent discussion elsewhere pointed out that regulatory agencies
> in some countries are now requiring 2 day minimum backup power for
> the cellphone towers, and most providers are meeting this demand
> with small gas (natural, or propane) powered generators at each
> tower. Our cable TV providers who are also providing phone service
> are also caught by the same regulations, and have to add generators
> to their neighborhood distribution points.

Interesting to hear of the gas generators. I would expect some
deep cycle batteries only at our towers here. And I fondly
remember the big diesel generators (tractors up on blocks)
and the open wet battery banks at each of the old exchanges.

I'm yet to find any clear govt guidelines on this here, now.
Indeed it seems they just scraped into the 2-day longevity, if its
that here. Also unclear whether we should expect AM radio services
(or indeed FM, or TV) to function during weather induced (or earthquake,
tsunami etc) long-term power outages. Like, batteries are recommended for
our emergency kits, but what of the (radio station) other end.

The Katrina experience seems a separate case, where the state or
national emergency services were not on the same page re radio
comms., and thus the hams and amateurs helped out big. Of course,
a total failure of the cellular network there, wired exchanges
too probably under water, but the AM stations ? Its an
interesting subject.

Moe Trin · External Since: Aug 12, 2004 Posts: 1732

On Thu, 05 Jul 2007, in the Usenet newsgroup alt.os.linux.mandrake, in article
<f6hajp$1pk$1@lust.ihug.co.nz>, Adam wrote:

>> I don't see an indication of that - certainly the APNIC data and the Path:
>> header are showing everything as being in New Zealand.
>
>Hmm. Maybe its their engineering office there, (in another country,
>a city 5000 kms away!). I'll look into, for my own interest.

Not only in another country, but the other end of the other country!

>> Blinky already gave you the USGS url
>
>A good site too. Seems we're both close to faultlines
>and see regular activity. The volcano-watch cams all seem quiet.

There are a number of "local" sites here as well, generally run by local
universities. I used to live just South of San Francisco, and I worked
about 4 miles from the San Andreas fault, while my wife worked within
a quarter mile of the Hayward fault (basically, either side of the San
Francisco bay). In those days, you could 'finger' two sites (replaced
by websites now - "finger -l quake.RemoveThis@quake.geo.berkeley.edu" and
"finger -l quake.RemoveThis@andreas.wr.usgs.gov") to get near real time readout
of local quakes. The first site was USGS in Menlo Park, while the
second was the University of California. Caltech in LA had a similar
service, as did the national center at Golden, Colorado. My wife got
relocated, and I managed to wangle a transfer to Phoenix (about 600 KM
East of Los Angeles). Here, we don't have earthquake or volcano, and
merely have to content ourselves with possible thunderstorms and flash
flooding for a couple few months per year.

>Interesting to hear of the gas generators. I would expect some
>deep cycle batteries only at our towers here. And I fondly
>remember the big diesel generators (tractors up on blocks)
>and the open wet battery banks at each of the old exchanges.

If the site doesn't have city gas of some kind, the solution has been
bottled gas - a one foot diameter by four foot long cylinder (roughly
a tenth of a cubic meter or pi cubic feet) of bottled gas will run a
6 KVA generator for about three days, and the site usually has two or
three depending on how remote they are.

I haven't seen what they are running in exchanges in a long time, but
the sites I have seen were using diesel, and some are transitioning to
gas turbine. I don't know what they are using for batteries now.

>I'm yet to find any clear govt guidelines on this here, now.
>Indeed it seems they just scraped into the 2-day longevity, if its
>that here. Also unclear whether we should expect AM radio services
>(or indeed FM, or TV) to function during weather induced (or earthquake,
>tsunami etc) long-term power outages.

In my earlier response to Blinky, I mentioned after the Loma Prieta quake
of 1989 (near San Francisco) that in the seconds immediately following
the quake, I tuned an AM/FM radio from stop to stop, and heard nothing.
Within three or four minutes, the dozen (or so) TV stations were all
back on the air using emergency generators at studios and the remote
transmitter sites, as were at least some of the radio stations. All of
the stations seem to have emergency generators, and that's true in
most cities I've looked at.

>Like, batteries are recommended for our emergency kits, but what of the
>(radio station) other end.

It used to be that this was a requirement of the station license - I'm
guessing it might have been a wartime (WW2, or perhaps the Cold War)
requirement that was never rescinded. Several AM stations in every
market were required to be part of the "Emergency Broadcast Service".

>The Katrina experience seems a separate case, where the state or
>national emergency services were not on the same page re radio
>comms.,

Among other things

>and thus the hams and amateurs helped out big.

That's always been the case. When I was a teen and interested in radio,
I was part of the local RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service).
Hams have been providing public service radio support for disasters, or
just ordinary events like parades. About a month ago, there was a
major accident on one of the roads I use to commute, and the police had
closed that road (some claim the closures are so long because the police
have to wait until they get the camera from downtown, take pictures, and
then develop the film before moving the victims and wreckage - I dunno)
but who was there manning the road blocks? Hams - one of which was
probably an auxiliary peace officer of some kind.

>Of course, a total failure of the cellular network there, wired
>exchanges too probably under water

That's my understanding

>but the AM stations ? Its an interesting subject.

My maps aren't very helpful at locating AM stations, but most of the
radio towers that show on the New Orleans aeronautical chart are
close to the river and Lake Ponchartrain (recall AM stations want
good grounds and that means wet soil is desirable). I haven't seen
to many transmitter buildings with watertight hatches - never mind
that most designs use insulated base towers, and the transmitter isn't
going to be happy trying to drive a shorted antenna. Even if they're
using a Gamma or Delta feed which does mean the tower base is grounded,
the feed is also at ground level a few dozen feet from the tower.

Old guy

Adam · External Since: Feb 10, 2005 Posts: 11

Moe Trin wrote:
> I'd understand his not having "inside" knowledge, but I'd hope he
> would be able to follow some of the shinanigings that are being
> mandated.

I think that as soon as my father retired in '94, he immediately stopped
caring about fuels and lubricants. His big interest lately has been
mental health. Sorry!

> Flagstaff is around 7000' MSL, compared to 1100-2200' here, and 2000-
> 2500' in Tucson.

On our big cross-country drive, one short day (early March '94) was
approximately Santa Fe, NM to Phoenix, AZ (actually Glorieta NM to Gila
Bend AZ). On that one day, we went over a mile straight down. That was
the day I took off my winter coat for the year!

>> For a while, gasoline was a good 20 cents per gallon cheaper just
>> across the river, which is a county considered /not/ near NYC and
>> therefore carries more conventional formulations.
>
> Are they making the differentiation on a county basis? I presume you
> are referring to Ulster, not Orange county, and comparing it to
> Dutchess county. What are the commute patterns like? Are there that
> many people living that far North and commuting in to NYC by car?

Yes, I'm in Dutchess County (New York State for those who have lost
track), and Ulster County is just across the bridge from Poughkeepsie.
I don't know about Ulster and Orange Counties, but a lot of people
commute from Dutchess County to NYC. The commuter trains (Metro-North)
from NYC run up to Poughkeepsie on the Hudson Line (they had to build a
new parking garage there recently) and, I think, Dover Plains on the
Harlem Line. The 0.375% sales tax to support those trains includes
Dutchess County, but not Ulster or Orange because the commuter trains
don't go there.

> In this area, a commute of longer than 20 miles is comparatively rare,
> though it was not at all unusual in the San Francisco bay. I've got
> friends working in San Jose who live in Los Banos (about 60 miles ESE),
> and Manteca (about 50 miles NE).

My cousin in Los Gatos used to rent out the extra bedrooms, and one of
them was used by a man who was only able to get home (Redding) on weekends.

Another Adam