Daytona IEEE Section
March 2013
Technical/Dinner Meeting

On Thursday, April 25th, 2013 the Daytona IEEE Section will hold a Technical/Dinner meeting at the Halifax River Yacht Club on 331 South Beach Street, Daytona Beach Florida.

Each year the April meeting is usually dedicated to the activities of the young engineers studying Engineering in our local Colleges and Universities.  This year students from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Bethune-Cookman University will be the presenters.  They will report on their recent robotic competition as well as senior projects.

In addition the student winners of the IEEE Daytona Section Special Awards at the 2013 Tomoka Region Science and Engineering Fair will be introduced and recognized.

More details on the program and the dinner arrangements can be found on the Calendar of Events segment of this website.

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On Thursday, March 27, 2013 the Daytona IEEE Section held a Technical/Dinner meeting at the Halifax River Yacht Club on 331 South Beach Street, Daytona Beach Florida.

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After a review of expenditures, in November 2011, we found the cost of mailing the Daytona Sections Sparks Newsletter was a major Section expense. Looking at Post Office regulations for bulk mail and the high cost of mailing the hard copy version,  it was determined, that the primary distribution of SPARKS in the future will be by email and on our web site.
As a reminder, it's important to update your email address with the IEEE to make sure you continue to receive your Sparks Newsletter. Please go to www.ieee.org and update your profile. 

Proposed IEEE Control  Systems Society Chapter

Proposed Daytona State College (DSC) Student Branch

Daytona Section is currently working towards establishing a new student branch at Daytona State College (DSC).  Dr. Bob Mertens is leading the effort to recruit student members and promote IEEE's visibility among DSC  faculty/students. On Oct. 1st and Nov. 6th, promotional meetings were held at the Advanced Technology Center at DSC, where presentations were made describing the benefits of IEEE membership for students and facility. At the November 6th meeting James Gregoire, the ERAU Student Chapter Chairman spoken on the organization and activities of ERAU's IEEE Student Branch.   

On Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013 at 10:00 AM, the Life Members of the Daytona Section had a wonderful tour of American Aero Services.  American Aero Services occupy a 10,00 square foot hanger at the New Smyrna Beach Airport, 333 South Street in New Smyrna Beach.

American Aero Services repairs and restores World War II Aircraft and military vehicles.  They have also build replicas of aircraft, space vehicles etc.  Their customers are usually private individuals, but may also be private or federal museums.  The company started in its current premises in 1981.  Gary Norville has been the sole owner since 1998.  They have an FAA certified technician on staff, so they are able to certify their work.

They have recently built a new 20,000 square foot hanger space at the South end of the New Smyrna Airport and will be moving all of their Warplanes and equipment over the next several months.

A more comprehensive idea of the type of work that is done in their facility can be seen  here.

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Daytona Section Expansion
Activities

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IEEE Section Polo Shirts
and Coffee Mugs

Small Radio Telescope Project

The objective of the Small Radio Telescope Program was to acquire and operate a small radio telescope in support of a comprehensive educational and research program.  This program was directed at increasing the understanding of science and electrical engineering in the local schools and universities of the greater Daytona Area.

In early 2007 a grant application was submitted by the Daytona IEEE Section to the IEEE Life Member Committee (LMC) to provide funding for a Small Radio Telescope (SRT) Program.   The purpose of the SRT Program was to acquire, assemble and calibrate a small radio telescope to be used for teaching radio astronomy, electronics, communications, antenna theory, and data processing. The device will be used to support the teaching of these technologies at the University Level, High School and Middle School Level, and provide workshops to home schooled students.

In February the Small Radio Telescope (SRT) Program, funded by the IEEE Life Member Committee, placed the initial purchase orders necessary to obtain a commercial small radio telescope instrument.

In November 2008 the components for the Small Radio Telescope were delivered to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where the mechanical portion of the system was assembled and tested.   In early January of 2009 the SRT was moved from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to a private aircraft hanger in Spruce Creek Fly-In.  At the hanger the microwave portion of the system was tested and initial tracking and calibration tests were performed.

In late February 2009 the completed SRT system was delivered to the Daytona Museum of Arts and Sciences (MOAS).  On 21 February 2009 the system was demonstrated to the Life Members Committee (LMC)  as part of their Orlando Florida meeting agenda.  After the Life Members meeting the 7.5 foot parabolic dish was replaced with a 10 foot dish to dramatically improve the systems sensitivity.

In early April 2009 the antenna system was mounted on a 20 foot mast at the Museum of Arts and Sciences and integrated into the planetarium's  control console position. With the antenna installed in the museum's planetarium a series of detailed tests were run prior to integrating it into the planetarium program.

Detailed photos and a description of the development and testing of the SRT can be found on the SRT Program section of this website

On March 19, 2011 a conference  paper "Development of a Small Radio Telescope for Engineering Education" was presented at SoutheastCon.  The  paper was authored by Charles Husbands, Dr. William Barott, and Jeanette Barott.  Copies of this paper can be obtained for personal use by contacting the authors.  The authors all appear on the Section Officers Page of this website.