A Modulated Signal

To work at the NEM (National Electronics Museum) you must understand the basics of radio communications. Radios communicate through R.F. (radio frequency), which is an invisible wave that travels through the air from transmitter to receiver. The R.F. can be modulated with A.M. (amplitude modulation) or F.M. (frequency modulation) by the transmitter to attach a message onto the R.F. that is decoded by the receiver. Squelch is a receive function that eliminates unwanted noise.

Modulation is essentially a hidden message created by a transmitter that is attached to an R.F. signal, transmitted into the air, and then received and decoded by a receiver. A.M. adjusts the signal strength (height of the sine wave) to attach information that can be transmitted by an A.M transmitter, and received by an A.M. receiver. F.M. adjusts the instantaneous frequency (width of the sine wave) to attach information that can be transmitted by an F.M. transmitter and received by an F.M. receiver. Think of A.M. and F.M. in terms of human speech. A.M. would be analogous to the tone and volume of a voice. You can tell if someone is enthusiastic, flirty, confused, angry, or lonely, by the tone of their voice. If someone says, “I can't wait,” you can perceive if they are genuine or sarcastic by the tone of their voice. F.M. is analogous to a secondary meaning in human speech. If someone says, “my spouse is OCONUS,” you can perceive that a secondary meaning, the fridge is empty, exists. Without modulation, R.F. would be received as noise, and voice communication could not exist through radios. There are other types of modulation other than A.M. and F.M., but these are the two most common.

F.M. and A.M. radios are not always compatible. You should not attempt to establish a link between an F.M. and A.M. radio, unless both of the radios are AM/FM. Your car radio is almost definitely AM/FM, but don't take that for granted, as not all radios are AM/FM. Imagine a large room full of people and two languages are spoken. 90% of the people in the room speak both languages, but 5% of the people speak one language, and 5% the other. If you are among the 5% that only speaks the first language, you cannot speak to the other 5%. In the same way, F.M. and A.M. modulation are incompatible. If you are trying to communicate with an F.M. radio, make sure that you use an F.M. radio, without taking for granted that most radios are AM/FM. 

Squelch is a receive function that eliminates unwanted noise from a transmitted signal. This function is usually only used when a weak signal is being received or when no one is transmitting. Squelch can be adjusted to eliminate unwanted noise from a transmitted signal as well, if the transmitted signal is sending unwanted noise. Be sure not to adjust squelch too high, as you may block out all audio. Receiver sensitivity is another important aspect of squelch. Sometimes receivers are too sensitive, and can blow a speaker from a normal transmitted signal. Receiver sensitivity must be set to an appropriate level so that this does not happen. If the receiver sensitivity is set to an appropriate level, and a receiver receives an excessively strong signal, the fault lies with the transmitter's power output. 

The NEM is not all about radios; there are also fun community events. Tours come through the museum almost every day, and we frequently host field trips. I hope that we have an Easter Egg Hunt this year.

Priddy Library Internship - Spring 2016

         I began my internship at the Priddy Library in early February and in the time since, I have had the chance to assist on exhibits and take in aspects of a work environment that I will find in any future jobs. On my first day, I immediately learned how influential politics are in developing an exhibit. There are some topics that cannot be directly addressed or addressed at all because of their relevance to local, state, or federal politics. If, for example, a subject like immigration was chosen, it would have to be presented indirectly through another topic that can still provide information on the migration of groups of people from one place to another without explicitly being an exhibit on immigration. Then, like all exhibits, the topic must be presented without any bias. With that in mind, I got to work on the first exhibit scheduled for the semester. The exhibit profiled ten women in science to highlight their contributions to science in celebration of Women’s History month. I gathered research on the ten women and then synthesized that research so it can be presented to the public in a concise and accurate way.

While I did research for the Women’s History Month exhibit, I also helped display two past exhibits in the library. The process of displaying an exhibit requires you to take many elements into consideration. These two exhibits were collections of long posters on the Armenian Genocide and on Evolution. There are three walls in the library on which exhibits are hung. From these three walls, you need to identify which will be seen first when someone walks in the door and which exhibit will be placed there. Once that has been decided, the posters are hung at equal distances from the ceiling and equal distances from each other, keeping in mind what eye-level would be comfortable for the viewer. I have also been able to experience something I know I will find no matter where I work in the future - meetings. In the first month or so of my internship, I have only been to a handful of meetings. Generally, the meetings discussed the work in progress or prepared for the work in the future. To be able to sit in on these meetings has been helpful in that it helps prepare me for future work experiences. One month in and this internship has allowed me to gain valuable experience in tasks that may be specific to careers related to my major but also to general aspects of work life that I am bound to come across.

Special Collections Post 1

As college students, we are taught to always seek out the best internship opportunities that are out there, no matter where they are, but who knew that there is an exceptional opportunity for students to gain archival experience right on UMBC's campus? Throughout winter break and the spring semester, I have been interning at the Special Collections Department, which is a small, hands-on section within the larger library. The collections in the department span from the Jule Eisenbud collection on Ted Serios and thoughtographic photography, to photos of the Little Rock Nine, and a variety of comic books. Needless to say there is something for people of all interests within the department. Over winter break, I helped measure and describe the Hughes Company Cirkut Negatives Collection of over 400 Cirkut negatives, which are produced by cameras specifically designed to create panoramic pictures. The Cirkut negatives range in length from 20 inches to 100 inches, with some of the longer negatives being full 360 degree panoramic views. The collection features everything from company picnics, to industrial plants, to construction at Fort Meade, between 1916 and the mid-1940s. With these panoramics, it became unnecessary to piece together multiple photos to get a continuous view, when in 1904 William J. Johnston patented the Cirkut camera. Cirkut cameras are able to take panoramic shots as the camera moves clockwise and the film inside moves counter-clockwise. While Cirkut cameras are no longer used regularly, the pictures created using them give us detailed windows into the past. By working directly with the negatives, I learned how to properly make a detailed container list describing the negatives and any flaws they have sustained. I was also taught how to properly handle the negatives and pack them in their boxes to better preserve them for future researchers. 

Blog #1

At first it seemed that my internship at the Maryland Historical Society would never start!  There were two snow days within the first four weeks.  Now that I am a few sessions in I feel that it is safe to say that my time there is nothing like I expected it would be.  I was expecting to show up each week and my supervisor, Mr. Rubenson, and I would be hidden away in the bowels of the museum repairing and updating the art storage.  However, we have only worked on the initial project once in all weeks I have been there – and then only for a few hours – as there has been so much going on to really focus on just one project. 

Instead of working on rectifying the art storage as originally planned, Mr. Rubenson and I have been working on a variety of different tasks.  Everything from moving artifacts to temporary storage, due to a breakdown of the particle board shelving in their permanent storage facility, to closing out an exhibit.  However, one of the most interesting things I have observed at my time at the Historical Society was the presentation Mr. Rubenson and the Facilities Manager, G.T., gave to the Upper Bay Museum on upgrading their lighting.

That afternoon was particularly note-worthy, for me, since that all of my past experience has been in more medium-sized museums with decent budgets and the Upper Bay Museum was the exact opposite.  The group that arrived from the Upper Bay Museum were the President, Treasurer, and Curator and unlike the men and women at the Maryland Historical Society, their positions were all voluntary.  So to watch them get excited at the prospect of improving their lighting systems to attract more people to their museum was very cool to witness.

All-in-all, my internship has so far been an eye-opening experience of what goes on in the background of a museum.  I originally thought we would work on one project and one project only and be relegated to the basement for months, but I feel that I have had a greater experience to truly understand what goes into running a museum.  Here is hoping that the next few weeks are just as exciting and, of course, educational.

Grow & Fortify Post 1

As historians, we learn many skills that can be utilized in a variety of ways. While our writing and research abilities provide us with the tools to be successful academically and professionally as historians, they are also valuable assets that can be utilized in other career opportunities. My internship is not necessarily a history internship but is one that incorporates interests from my thesis and is where I can use my skills to fulfill a significant role. My position is with a consulting/lobbying organization that supports the craft beer, winery, and distillery industry, representing small business clients throughout Maryland. Specifically, my title with the organization is legislative intern as I work to understand and analyze state and county legislation that impacts our clients. I have had to sign a non-disclosure agreement to protect the business interests of clients so some detail on my project is limited, but I can provide information throughout the semester on what I have learned and how I have been able to utilize my skills as a historian. My project is reviewing, drafting, and amending several laws at various levels of government throughout the semester, in an effort to get them passed and to best meet the needs of our clients. Small businesses face many hurdles trying to get started and often require help representing their interests while navigating and understanding the confusing legislative network. My project of drafting laws utilizes the skills I have developed as a historian along with several from my thesis’ focus. My thesis involves a policy history analyzing restrictive legislation and gives me research experience reviewing such laws, understanding their language, development, and impact. Currently, I have taken part in amending an existing law that under new regulations will negatively impact several of our clients. I have had to research and familiarize myself with previous legislation to understand their intent in order to affectively assist in drafting language that removes restriction for our clients while being open to opinion from opposition. Unfortunately the amendments and their drafts are still going through hearings and have been changed further, but we are optimistic we will be able to get the language through that will help the small businesses we represent. I have also begun reading articles on franchise law that I have been assigned to read as per the internship requirements. We anticipate it is inevitable future bills will involve this issue so I have been researching to understand it and how it may impact the craft industry. Franchise law is complicated, designed in such a way to protect the rights and interests of a franchisee who enters into a business relationship with the often larger and more powerful franchisor. However, this relationship in the alcohol industry is somewhat different and becomes further complicated with the craft industry. This is because in the alcohol industry the one that makes the product is considered the franchisor and with the craft industry, this makes them a small business, while the franchisee are distribution buisnesses. This means that the franchise laws designed to protect the franchisee from large corporations sway the other way and now actually negatively impact the franchisor because of their small business status. I will continue to research the issue further and potentially begin working on drafting or amending upcoming legislation on the issue. I have learned a lot and been able to put my research skills and thesis topics to great use understanding  legislation at my internship and look forward to continuing my project.