3G-THIRD GEN

Current WAP speed in India is nothing great but it has improved. I understand from my friends who are experts in telecom that you cannot improve the speed performance of WAP any further on a GSM network (which is 2G). I am told only 3G can improve things. So what is 3G?

Ex-Telecom Minister Dayanadi Maran was in the verge of releasing the 3G guidelines in India but he was shown the door. After the new Telecom Minister took over there was some talk about India going with 2.5G, which enables high-speed data transfer over upgraded existing 2G networks.

The GSM and CDMA networks are classed as second generation while the defunct analogue network was the first of the mobile network generations.

3G, or third generation, is the generic term used for the next generation of mobile communications systems. The new systems will enhance the services available today and offer multimedia and internet access and the ability to view video footage.

With a 3G phone and access to the 3G network you can send and receive video calls, watch live TV, access the internet, receive emails and download music tracks, as well as the usual voice call and messaging services found on a mobile phone.

Technically, the main difference between 3G and 2G networks is how quickly data can be sent and received. 3G networks can send data up to 40 times the rates of earlier digital networks, which means that in addition to audio, graphics and text, 3G customers can also send and receive video content, in 3G coverage areas. They provide service at 5-10 Mb per second.

3G was introduced in the United States early in 2002. By late 2004, it was finally providing transmission speeds sufficient to handle full-motion video, albeit over short periods of time (15 seconds to three minutes, in most cases). The third generation technology used in the UK is called UMTS. These services operate at 2100 MHz. (2.1GHz).

Upgrading to 3G will be an expensive affair for all telcos. All telco hardware vendors would have another reason to drool in India!

While we are still not sure when India will get 3G, the technology has already moved on to “beyond 3G” or “4G”. A 4G system will be able to provide a comprehensive IP solution where voice, data and streamed multimedia can be given to users on an “Anytime, Anywhere” basis, and at higher data rates than previous generations.

For any telco to offer 3G the government has to allocate the spectrum. Allocation of spectrum is becoming a mess but ultimately it will be solved (after all it cannot be more complex than pleasing the Left in the govt!!).

I personally believe mobile users in India will have a far better experience after 3G becomes a reality.

automatic solar tracking system

Renewable energy is rapidly gaining importance as an energy resource as fossil fuel prices

fluctuate. At the educational level, it is therefore critical for engineering and technology students

to have an understanding and appreciation of the technologies associated with renewable energy.

One of the most popular renewable energy sources is solar energy. This paper describes a

capstone design project where a student in Electrical Engineering Technology designed and built

a microcontroller-based solar panel tracking system. Solar tracking enables more energy to be

generated because the solar panel is able to maintain a perpendicular profile to the suns rays.

This system builds upon a prior senior design project where students built a solar-powered

battery charger, thus making this system ideally self-contained. The student was able to

demonstrate a working system, thus validating the design. Potential improvements to the system

are presented.

Introduction

There are three ways to increase the efficiency of a photovoltaic (PV) system1. The first is to

increase the efficiency of the solar cell. The second is to maximize the energy conversion from

the solar panel. To better explain this, please refer to Figure 1. A solar panel under an open

circuit is able to supply a maximum voltage with no current, while under a short circuit is able to

supply a maximum current with no voltage. In either case, the amount of power supplied by the

solar panel is zero. The key is to develop a method whereby maximum power can be obtained

from the voltage and current multiplied together. This maximum power point is illustrated by

looking at a voltage-current (VI) curve in Figure 1, and finding the knee of the curve. A

number of maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms have been developed and

employed.2

Figure 1. Illustration of a V-I Curve for a Solar Panel

The third method to increase the efficiency of a PV system is to employ a solar panel tracking

system. Development of solar panel tracking systems has been ongoing for several years now.

As the sun moves across the sky during the day, it is advantageous to have the solar panels track

the location of the sun, such that the panels are always perpendicular to the solar energy radiated

by the sun. This will tend to maximize the amount of power radiated by the sun

technology

Global Positioning System

"GPS" redirects here. For other similar systems, see Global Navigation Satellite System. For other uses of "GPS", see GPS (disambiguation).

For a generally accessible and less technical introduction to the topic, see Introduction to the Global Positioning System.

Artist's conception of GPS Block II-F satellite in orbit

Civilian GPS receiver ("GPS navigation device") in a marine application.

Automotive navigation system in a taxicab.

GPS receivers are now integrated in many mobile phones.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) developed by the United States Department of Defense and managed by the United States Air Force 50th Space Wing. It is the only fully functional GNSS in the world, can be used freely by anyone, anywhere, and is often used by civilians for navigation purposes. It uses a constellation of between 24 and 32 medium Earth orbit satellites that transmit precise radiowave signals, which allow GPS receivers to determine their current location, the time, and their velocity. Its official name is NAVSTAR GPS. Although NAVSTAR is not an acronym,^[1] a few backronyms have been created for it.^[2]

Since it became fully operational on April 27, 1995, GPS has become a widely used aid to navigation worldwide, and a useful tool for map-making, land surveying, commerce, scientific uses, tracking and surveillance, and hobbies such as geocaching. Also, the precise time reference is used in many applications including the scientific study of earthquakes and as a required time synchronization method for cellular network protocols such as the IS-95 standard for CDMA.

antennas theory

An antenna (or aerial) is a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic waves. In other words, antennas convert electromagnetic waves into electrical currents and vice versa. Antennas are used in systems such as radio and television broadcasting, point-to-point radio communication, wireless LAN, radar, and space exploration. Antennas usually work in air or outer space, but can also be operated under water or even through soil and rock at certain frequencies for short distances.

Physically, an antenna is an arrangement of conductors that generate a radiating electromagnetic field in response to an applied alternating voltage and the associated alternating electric current, or can be placed in an electromagnetic field so that the field will induce an alternating current in the antenna and a voltage between its terminals. Some antenna devices (parabolic antenna, Horn Antenna) just adapt the free space to another type of antenna.

Thomas Edison used antennas by 1885.

technology

Technology is a broad concept that deals with an animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects an animal species' ability to control and adapt to its environment. Technology is a term with origins in the Greek "technologia", "τεχνολογία" — "techne", "τέχνη" ("craft") and "logia", "λογία" ("saying"). ^[1] However, a strict definition is elusive; "technology" can refer to material objects of use to humanity, such as machines, hardware or utensils, but can also encompass broader themes, including systems, methods of organization, and techniques. The term can either be applied generally or to specific areas: examples include "construction technology", "medical technology", or "state-of-the-art technology".

The human race's use of technology began with the conversion of natural resources into simple tools. The prehistorical discovery of the ability to control fire increased the available sources of food and the invention of the wheel helped humans in travelling in and controlling their environment. Recent technological developments, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowed humans to interact freely on a global scale. However, not all technology has been used for peaceful purposes; the development of weapons of ever-increasing destructive power has progressed throughout history, from clubs to nuclear weapons.

Technology has affected society and its surroundings in a number of ways. In many societies, technology has helped develop more advanced economies (including today's global economy) and has allowed the rise of a leisure class. Many technological processes produce unwanted by-products, known as pollution, and deplete natural resources, to the detriment of the Earth and its environment. Various implementations of technology influence the values of a society and new technology often raises new ethical questions. Examples include the rise of the notion of efficiency in terms of human productivity, a term originally applied only to machines, and the challenge of traditional norms.

Philosophical debates have arisen over the present and future use of technology in society, with disagreements over whether technology improves the human condition or worsens it. Neo-Luddism, anarcho-primitivism, and similar movements criticise the pervasiveness of technology in the modern world, claiming that it harms the environment and alienates people; proponents of ideologies such as transhumanism and techno-progressivism view continued technological progress as beneficial to society and the human condition. Indeed, until recently, it was believed that the development of technology was restricted only to human beings, but recent scientific studies indicate that other primates and certain dolphin communities have developed simple tools and learned to pass their knowledge to other generations.