CHATTANOOGA ENGINEERS CLUB

Volume L
Number 18
May 17, 1999

12:00 NOON
The Loft, 328 Cherokee Blvd.

THIS WEEK____________________________________________________________
Louis Lee, New Product Development Manager from Intermedia Cable of Cleveland will speak on cable modem. Cable modem is a new service being offered by Intemedia. Subscribers to this new service will be able to access and download internet information via cable connections. The files transfer speed will be faster than what is possible with the ISDN phone lines. The upload capability does not exist at this time. Mr. Lee will describe how these modems work and what you can expect in the way of performance and price. He will also discuss other coming technologies involving the broadband capabilities of cable, the changing landscape in the midst of a flurry of buyouts and takeovers between technologies, such as cable and phone companies, and what all this could mean to communications in the short and long run.
The meeting location will be at The Loft. A free bus service has been arranged. The bus will leave from Broad Street between the TVA buildings, by the side entrance to Missionary Ridge Place at 11:30. The bus will probably be there for boarding around 11:15. The buses will leave the Loft to return to the TVA Complex at about 1:00 p.m.
This meeting is a joint meeting of CEC and IEEE Computer Society.

LAST WEEK___________________________________________________________
Ed Buice, communication director of the Chattanooga Police was our host for the Police Department tour. May 10 -13 is Law Enforcement Week. We were amongst school buses and elementary and middle school visitors. The tour consist of Communication, Mounted Patrols, Bike Patrols, SWAT, Bomb Squad, K-9, Emergency Medical Services, etc. 911 is part of the Communication. 911 center consist of City, County, and Emergency Medical dispatch units. The system used by the City will display origin of call, with the exceptions of cellular phones. Calls dispatched by the City are prioritized from 1 to 10, with 1 being the highest priority. All 911 dispatchers attended a four week initial training program, then are rotated through the different stations in the center. The probation period for a dispatcher is one year. The busiest time for the center is the evening shift. City of Chattanooga has recently upgraded their communication equipment, but the Hamilton County system has not been upgraded, various surrounding county have a mixed combination of equipment. Non-compatibility of equipment prevents direct transfer of information, which delays responses to emergency calls.

COMING PROGRAMS___________________________________________________
May 24 - Speaker will be Patrick March, TVA. Topic will be "Command and Control of the
Tennessee River System Using Waterview". Waterview is a TVA software used in the management of TVA river system.
May 31- No Meeting.
June 7 - Brian Turner, Hamilton County's Data Processing, will present a case history of his
department's efforts to ensure that the county's data systems will continue to function smoothly through the year 2000 date change. He commented that this is the first deadline he has faced in his information technology career that cannot slip.
June - Program Chair, Richard Smith, Y2K case studies from local businesses. Other programs will include Blue Cross Blue Shield, Parkridge Hospital, and possibly Dupont.

ITEMS OF INTEREST______________________________________________________
June Executive Meeting is scheduled for June 28, Monday, 5:30 p.m. at Chattanooga State Downtown, 535 Chestnut Street, in room 31.
Please look for a survey on our new meeting arrangements with the Loft. CEC Executive Committee will need feedback from participants of May meetings. Those wish to express any concern, please contact Ed Chapin.


BULLETIN
CHATTANOOGA ENGINEERS CLUB
P. O. Box 4031
Chattanooga, Tennessee 37405

1999 Officers
President Greg Sedrick
697-4456 (fax 697-3131)

1st VP Ed Chapin
Program Chairman 266-9720 (fax 266-9737)

2nd VP Lulu Copeland
Membership Chairman 697-3212 (fax 697-3325)

Treasurer Uwe Zitzow
756-4321

Secretary Phil Kazemersky
755-5311 (fax 755-5229)

Bulletin Editor Lulu Copeland