No.22 - 17th November 2008

Webmaster letters previously published on DTELS.Org
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Steven Cole
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Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2004 5:41 pm
Location: Exmouth, Devon, UK
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No.22 - 17th November 2008

Post by Steven Cole »

Hello and welcome to the site

Back for Another Season!
With a seemingly blink of the eye six months has elapsed since my last rambling and only five weeks to go before Christmas! During the intervening period, I came out of retirement for five of those months to support a communications based company. Now back in retirement mode, it?s ?catch-up? on outstanding jobs and to restart monthly DTELS.Org updates. For those of you who have been regular visitors to the site, you will be aware this is the start of the fifth season. During this time there has been enormous growth in available information since the site was launched back in October 2004.

I continue to be encouraged by the number of new visitors to the site, many of whom worked for the Directorate at some time in the past. You continue to express the sentiments that the site provides a good platform for past and generally fond memories of your time in the Organisation. I do hope you will continue to support me where you can with articles during the coming months.

DTELS Reunion
In discussion with the organiser, Bob Siu, earlier today, it is pleasing to hear that so many people are making the trek to London, some as far afield as Cumbria. To my knowledge, the event and this web site provide the only link to a once proud Organisation, may it continue.

November Update
My thanks this month go to Peter Bridgeman for his personal recollections and copy of a publication devoted to the subject of sub surface communication. For my part, this was a tentative association only by the fact I worked at Weyhill in the 80?s when I recall some FIGARO units being sent back for repair or under test.

Firelink
For those of us involved in the last WARC changeout, it perhaps is no surprise that over twenty years on, Fire Brigade?s in England and Wales are still utilising VHF Radio and VHF/UHF/Microwave Schemes that were installed during the 80?s. Soon, they will be consigned to history and the waste tip as they are phased out during the migration to the Airwave Digital TETRA network. Inevitably, this is progress as time expired equipment is replenished, but with it comes a reminder of times gone by when systems were generally analogue, using well understood technology and, certainly in my time in the field, often maintained on-site to component level. No software, computers or IT, just good old fashioned RF!

For those of you who are still involved with these legacy systems and are in the process of decommissioning early systems in the coming months, I would welcome appropriate pictures of equipment prior to the racks being dismantled.

and finally...
Please continue to e-mail or contact me by telephone during the coming months and do keep spreading the word about the existence of DTELS.Org so that more of our former colleagues can enjoy the memories held on this site.

Until my next update in Mid-December.

Regards

Steven....
17th November 2008
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