Electrical Power Provider

Comments and impressions by participants of technical training

Recently we took an excursion to “Energie Burgenland AG”. There were a lot of quite interesting things for us to see like the Main Control Center for the entire province of Burgenland.

Here you can see various displays showing the power grid of the area. With software you can simulate all kinds of situations like power cuts and the like.

An official of the company gave us an update on the wind power situation in Burgenland, as to how much KWH the existing wind power parks of Burgenland currently produce. See also: Windpark Parndorf

At first we visited the power provider’s headquarters. The guides showed us their workstations and explained the technical systems.

We were informed about wind and hydro turbines and a lot of other means to produce electricity. See this post on wind turbines! We visited “Parndorf Windpark” last year.

Then we went to see the power transformer station or electrical substation. I found it very boring. My colleague Elvis asked a lot of technical questions, but nobody cared to listen. I didn’t understand a word.

What is Current?

Current is a flow of electrical charge carriers, usually electrons or electron-deficient atoms. The common symbol for current is the uppercase letter I. The standard unit is the ampere, symbolized by A. Physicists consider current to flow from relatively positive points to relatively negative points; this is called conventional current or Franklin current. Electrons, the most common charge carriers, are negatively charged. They flow from relatively negative points to relatively positive points.

Electric current can be either direct or alternating. Direct current (DC) flows in the same direction at all points in time, although the instantaneous magnitude of the current might vary. In an alternating current (AC), the flow of charge carriers reverses direction periodically. The number of complete AC cycles per second is the frequency, which is measured in hertz. An example of pure DC is the current produced by an electrochemical cell. The output of a power-supply rectifier, prior to filtering, is an example of pulsating DC. The output of common utility outlets is AC.

An electric current always produces a magnetic field. The stronger the current, the more intense the magnetic field. A pulsating DC, or an AC, characteristically produces an electromagnetic field. This is the principle by which wireless signal propagation occurs.

Energy from Biomass

The treatment of organic materials such as manure, energy crops or remains from food production help generating electricity, heat or gas for combustion. Fed into the local grids biogas provides power for homes or businesses. Biogas is an important renewable energy source. This viable alternative to fossil fuels brings enormous savings to communities and is completely carbon neutral.

Contributors: WIFI Eisenstadt Communications Technology Vocational Training 4: Markus, Felix, Robert, Christopher, Sandro, Josef and Michael

November 13, 2012
by en4fun 1 Comment

Local TV Station

ORF BURGENLAND October 2012: impressions and comments by students of vocational training center

Recently we got a tour of the ORF Burgenland studio in Eisenstadt. It was great. We got to present a broadcast ourselves: the current “Burgenland Today” show, which is aired weekday evenings at 7 pm.

Sandro was a great director. Christopher was the audio technician. We all got to present a story. Our trainer participated as well.

Here we are in the heating room of the studio after we had completed our tour and recording sessions.

We got to see some of the technical installations. The most important thing in a broadcasting studio is the

Editing Desk: the image master works at the editing desk and edits the playlists for the live news broadcast “Burgenland Heute”. He uses video editing software and streams the video clips to the broadcast. The image master/producer is in charge of the appearance of the show. He ontrols the cameras and the zooms.

From here the director controls all parts of the broadcasting. On this video wall we can see several screens. One of them shows the text, the presenter reads. Then there are different views of the studio of program that is airing at the moment on ORF2. With a PC the image master controls the editing and streaming software.

On the right you can see the computer for texts and logos to be inserted into a broadcast.

Then we met the sound editor. His tasks include: switching the microphone on and off, fading the sounds in an out, controlling the volumes and giving alerts and instructions to the staff.

There are four cameras. One of them is movable. There is one camera man operating the movable one. The cameras are adjusted by the image master.

This is how it works (at least at ORF 2)

In principle the main program is broadcasted by ORF headquarters in Vienna. Especially the news clips from “Bundesland Heute” are shown in the different studios of the provinces. This is why “ORF Central Office” sets strict rules about the length of the entire broadcast. Based on these rules the regional ORF centers edit their clips to be aired.

Some of the tasks and jobs

The image master has the playlist on the screen and edits the playlist for broadcasting

Technical Director of Processing has to perform administrative tasks. The most important function of the technical director of processing is that the image master calls him, when he has a problem.

The Copy Room here videos are transferred to media.

Play-Out Board server client designed to play content
Recording Board server client designed to record content

In the studio anchoring the show

This is is what the moderator sees when he is in front of the camera. The left camera shows the anchorman or woman. The right monitor shows the video clips.

The only other person present in the studio is the camera man. The instructions for the presenter are given by the director from the editing desk outside.

This is the view into the ORF Broadcasting Vehicle. It is basically a mobile recording studio. This truck is used for any special live musical events. This vehicle is only used for radio shows, like Sunday morning music events.The electricity supply comes either from a cable plugged in from a nearby building, a UPS (uninterruptable power supply) unit or a diesel power generator. The UPS however can only supply juice for about half an hour.

Contributors: WIFI Eisenstadt Communications Technology Vocational Training 4: Markus, Felix, Robert, Christopher, Sandro, Josef and Michael

October 15, 2012
by en4fun 4 Comments

Haydn Explosive!

See a German summary of this video at the bottom of this post

Extended (9 Minute) Version Here

Excursion to “Haydn Explosive” Exhibition

at Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt, the capital of the Austrian province of Burgenland

We visited the exhibition “Haydn Explosive” today. This exhibition is about Joseph Haydn, one of the most famous composers of Austria. Haydn was the court composer of the Esterhazy dynasty in the second half of the 18^th century.

This exhibition was produced with the latest state of the art presentation technology, using projectors, mirrors and flat screen displays.

On the ceiling of one room there was a video installation. They used four projectors to create the images. The technology behind this is called: “Edge Blending” (See definition at bottom of post). The images shown were: musical instruments used in the court orchestra of the time, the Esterhazy ornamental gardens and the ceiling frescoes of “Haydn Hall“ bursting into flames in an explosion.

The last room we checked out was a small cinema. The video was shown as a background projection. The screen was a glass wall covering the entire wall in an arched shape. They showed an opera by Haydn in a contemporary choreography. Musical instruments, sheet music, paintings of Haydn and his contemporaries were displayed in many vitrines throughout the exhibition. The carpets for this show were designed by Roy Lichtenstein. The electronic devices were controlled by a computer network.

We think the technical realization of the topic was quite creative. The musically interested visitor should be very impressed by the show. In spite of the modern technologies used, we missed 3D effects. Holographic displays would have been terrific also.

All in all it was an accomplished exhibition about Joseph Haydn and his time.

Haydn BBC Documentary

Rest of the BBC Haydn Documentary on YouTube

Summary of the 1st video at the beginning of this post in German:

Wenn Sie in den Innenhof des Schlosses fällt Ihnen der Neon-Schriftzug „Haydn Explosive“ auf.

Es hängt über dem Eingang zur Austellung „Haydn Explosive“ und zeigt auf die extravagante Ausstellung. Eine europäische Karriere am fürstlichen Hof zu Esterhazy.

Man steht in der neoklassizistischen Säulenhalle und wird überrascht von den Teppichen des Popkünstlers Roy Lichtenstein. Die Farben stehen als Symbol für die knalligen, überladenen Farben der Kleider, die die Damen und Herren am Hof trugen.

Sie stehen in einem Kontrast zu der strikten Architektur des Neuklassizismus, charakterisiert durch die fortlaufende Symmetrie und der männlichen Dominanz der Säulen.

Aber genau diese Symmetrie wird durch den schief gelegten Teppichmuster gebrochen.

In der Säulengallerie zieht ein mächtiger Donnerschlag Ihre Aufmerksamkeit alle 7 Minuten auf sich.

Jetzt wird die Verbindung deutlich: die Deckenmalereien des Ballsaales der National-Akademie von Wien unter denen Haydn die letzte Vorstellung seines Oratoriums „Die Schöpfung“ einst hörte, steht in Flammen als eine grosse Projektion, die die ganze Decke ausfüllt.

Edge Blending

is used when the desired image format cannot be realized with a single projector

Example: you have a 6 meters wide and 1.5 meters high image. For this purpose 3 or 4 “4:3 projectors” are needed. First you need to solve the problem of the controls (graphics card), then there is the problem that the projectors do not match at the edges. You always have either a white line or double bright pixels, also the color matching of the individual projectors drops (depending on age / scattering of light) to negative.

One solution is edge blending software, ranging from relatively inexpensive to high priced. There are many products on the market, even ones for curved surfaces.

The alternative solution is to use projectors with an already integrated edge blending function. For example, the Panasonic PT-Dxxxx series. As you connect the devices, set the menu to “Edge Blending” and the they will synchronize.

At the edges the light level is reduced by 50% percent, the total is 100% again. You can get good results using an in-depth manual but otherwise very little effort.

Contributors: WIFI Eisenstadt Communications Technology Vocational Training 4: Markus, Felix, Robert, Christopher, Sandro, Josef and Michael

October 7, 2012
by elleher 1 Comment

Vocational Training Center Eisenstadt

For ENGLISH SUBTITLES

Press “YouTube” – you are taken directly to YouTube
Press “CC”

Transcript

Narrator: “Wifi Burgenland” in Eisenstadt invited to the exhibition:

“Analogue – Dialogue – Digital” of the “Apprenticeship Workshop for Video and Audio Technology” The young course participants presented modern entertainment and communications technologies.”

Student 1: “Well, I chose this training. I visited an information event and found it very interesting. Other apprentices were already there and I had a chat with them about the training. I actually decided to go for it because I’m very interested in technology and I like consumer electronics very much.”

Student 2: “… because I’m interested in technology. The diversity of the separate professions is packed into one. I like that because I now can do security systems technology and audio-video technology in one career. That is actually a lot of fun for me.”

Director 1: “This apprenticeship workshop was started in 2007, is financed by the Burgenland government, the unemployment agency – ams – and the EU. This programme is run in four groups. We have had about 32 youths in training, respectively some of them are still in training. 18 trainees have passed their final exams by now. Two thirds of them are already working in the industry”.

Interviewer: “What does this training consist of?”

Sign: “Information about the profession of “Communications Technician.”

Director 2: “This training mainly includes the repair of electronic devices. In the past it focused on the repair of radios and video recorders. Now it has moved on to medical technology, medical devices, also the installation of satellite systems and the repair of cell phones and so forth. It is a very broad training. We even repair washing machines and coffee makers.”

Sign: “System Installation – Installation of Modules and DC to AC Converter”

Student 3: “The faculties have a very broad range. We are in the Metal Workshop, in the Telecommunications Workshop, we are in the IT Room, where we study CAD (computer aided design) as in “AutoCAD” and the like. The scope is quite varied”

Narrator: “For the participants of this program good job opportunities are waiting.”

Instructor: “The way we showed it in this presentation: it depends on the training. When the instruction is as broad as here then the prospects for the future are very good. The typical communications technician, like the outmoded TV-repairman for example, will cease to exist. The future technician, as already discussed downstairs, will of course install sound systems and multimedia systems in halls and so on, all of that in connection with latest computer technology. Because of that this profession has great, great possibilities.”

Contributors: WIFI Eisenstadt Communications Technology Vocational Training 4: Markus, Felix, Robert, Christopher, Sandro, Josef and Michael

October 7, 2012
by elleher Leave a comment

Windpark Parndorf, Burgenland

Parndorf Plain (German: Parndorfer Platte, also called Parndorf Heath (German: Parndorfer Heide) in northern part of Burgenland, alt. 160–180 m, area approx. 200 km², terrace gravel deposited by the River Danube during the Ice Age, situated between Lake Neusiedl and the Leitha Mountains in the southwest and Lower Leitha in the northeast. An almost treeless plain, it is about 30 m higher than its surroundings, without any rivers or streams. Partly heath land with Pannonian flora and partly arable land. Wine growing on the steep loess slopes facing Lake Neusiedl. All towns are situated at the foot of the scarps. Large-scale dairy farming.

The East railway line and the A4 autobahn (opened in Autumn 1994) run through the Parndorf plain. Draw-wells give the landscape a puszta character; Roman roads.

Parndorf Plain is among the windiest areas in inland Europe. The almost continuous reign of the north-easterly wind is occasionally interrupted by a gusty south-easterly. On the plain of the Parndorfer Platte the biggest modern wind farms in Austria have been set up.

September 10, 2012
by atsyn Leave a comment

Lightning Strikes!

Recently we visited the Technical Museum in Vienna. We got a demonstration of high voltage phenomena. There was a Van-de-Graaff-Generator and two Tesla-Transformers, also known as Tesla Coils. These were really something else. They generated not only lightning but they also made music. Using special equipment and software the thunder caused by the lightning is turned into music. So we got to hear “Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones and other pop songs. Check this out:

“Tesla Orchestra” at “Ars Electronica 2011 in Linz, Austria:

In the presentation we also learned about Nikola Tesla (who was technically an Austrian), Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse. Tesla was the real genius, Edison was more of a business person and Westinghouse seemed a ruthless capitalist. Tesla was responsible for Alternate Current being used. Edison banked on Direct Current and violently opposed Tesla. Edison tried to discredit Tesla by publicly electrocuting animals in New York City. He ultimately lost the War of the Currents, since AC was the better technology to deliver electricity over long distances.

Tesla Trivia

Born in Croatia in 1856 – died in NYC 1943
Immigrated to the USA in 1884
He was a famous inventor and electrical engineer
He was a dreamer and visionary
He worked for Thomas Edison
The unit for “magnetic flux density” or magnetic inductivity is called “Tesla” (T)
1 Tesla describes a huge amount of magnetic energy. Example: 31 µT = strength of Earth’s magnetic field on the equator
There is an opera called “Tesla – the Lightning in His Hands”

War of the Currents:

Edison was highly invested in DC (Direct Current) and fought hard to uphold it as the standard.
Tesla favored AC (Alternate Current), which is in fact the better technology to deliver electricity over long distances.

Tesla developed the first large scale hydro-power plant in Niagara Falls. The electricity generated by the Niagara power plant was delivered to New York City via AC power lines.
AC requires a smaller diameter of copper wire. DC needs power stations in close proximity to the consumer and very thick wires to transport it.
To prove that AC was dangerous Edison electrocuted animals throughout New York City in public shows.
Tesla’s research lab was sabotaged and burnt to the ground. Tesla rebuilt it. He also recreated his inventions from memory.
Tesla discovered the rotating magnetic field and invented the induction motor.
Tesla’s AC induction motor is widely used throughout the world in industry
and household appliances.
The Tesla coil, which he invented in 1891, is widely used today in radio and television sets and other electronic equipment.

He registered over 700 patents worldwide. Some of his discoveries and inventions:

fluorescent light
laser beam
wireless communications
wireless transmission of electrical energy
remote control and robotics
Tesla’s turbines and vertical take off aircraft.
radio and the modern electrical transmissions systems (plagiarized by Marconi)
He foresaw interplanetary communications and satellites.
X-ray tubes of his own design at the same time as Röntgen
the power of electrical resonance
light emitting vacuum tube for photography.
bladeless steam turbine based on a spiral flow principle

Particle Beam Weapons

A particle beam weapon uses an ultra high energy beam of atoms or electrons to damage a material target by hitting it, and thus disrupting its atomic and molecular structure. Particle beam weapons are still in the early stages of development. Nikola Tesla published the first technical description of a charged particle beam in 1937.

Based on Tesla Discoveries: HAARP High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program

the apparatus for HAARP is a reversal of a radio telescope; antennas send out signals instead of receiving.
HAARP is the test run for a super-powerful radiowave-beaming technology that lifts areas of the ionosphere by focusing a beam and heating those areas.
Electromagnetic waves then bounce back onto earth and penetrate everything – living and dead.
HAARP publicity claims that the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program is an academic project with the goal of changing the ionosphere to improve communications.
However, according to U.S. military documents HAARP aims to to “exploit the ionosphere for Department of Defense purposes”.