Author Archives: Michael Wyres

Some Common Sense in Telco Tower Debate

With rural areas around the Victorian city of Ballarat being included in the trials of the wireless component of the National Broadband Network, there has been much said about the erection of telecommunications towers around the region. There’s even been uneven responses from within the same local governments. Well, at least there has been some […]

When Your Music Really Blows!

I was wandering around Bunnings this afternoon, after finding a price on a new mixer tap to replace a seriously stuffed tap in our kitchen, when I happened upon this little gem of tackiness: A tower fan. With an “MP3 Input” – more likely, just a 3.5mm audio input jack. And speakers. And a clock. […]

So, Julia’s Shoe To Go On eBay?

So Julia Gillard’s now famous lost shoe is apparently to be put on eBay to raise money for the Aboriginal Tent Embassy? Protesters Put The Boot Into Prime Minister They should think twice. eBay – as one would presume – has a quite clear policy on the listing of stolen goods on their auction site: […]

Accelerometers: Ribbed or Studded?

Some accelerometers arrived on my desk this morning for the project I’m currently working on – and I had to laugh at the packaging: Ribbed or studded for your accelerometering pleasure?

National News Program Spreading Racist Jokes?

The Project, the lighter news program broadcast six nights a week on Network Ten in Australia has gone through a number of changes of format and timeslot since its inception. It has defied this instability – (usually a recipe for alienating fans) – and continues to improve its ratings position. But it isn’t all improvement, […]

NBN: Want A Clue As To When Your Area Comes Online?

While we patiently await the first three-year rollout plan for the National Broadband Network (NBN) to be released in coming weeks, I have stumbled across a document on the NBN website that has apparently been around since October, but which I haven’t seen before. Maybe I wasn’t looking hard enough? Doesn’t matter. It is an […]

Moorabool Council Double Standard on NBN Towers

With construction of the wireless component of the National Broadband Network (NBN) getting underway in some regional areas of Australia, the inevitable squabbles over where transmission towers should and should not be built are in full swing. The process calls for calm, consultation with councils and residents, and transparent information flow. Rural councils need to […]

Tough Button Dilemma?

The lifts in the building I work in are currently under refurbishment. Take a look at the sign that was in the lift lobby on my floor on Friday afternoon: The button on the other side? Really? Which button was I going to use on THIS side?

NBN Wireless Towers Will Not Kill You

With areas around the Ballarat region to become some of the first areas in Australia to receive NBN Co’s wireless solution, there has been a lot of hullabaloo about the erection of the towers to actually deliver the service. I respect that people have the right to choose whether they have the towers on their […]

RF Interference From HFC

I’ll start off by saying I am by no means an RF engineer, so I may be completely wrong about what I am about to write about. I am however, quite confident in my empirical observations over time. I got into an interesting conversation about RF interference generated by HFC systems – (often touted as […]