Mannerisms

These lists are amongst my favourite entries in your blog - but this one raises a lot of questions for me.

Aren't there quite a few on this list whose place in history has yet to be proven? Is it in fact too early to write this list? Some of these standards could yet fall into oblivion (though CT2 continues to enjoy a life of sorts as DECT) - some will become as ubiquitous as WiFi and GSM, and spawn an industry by themselves, but it is still very hard to tell which.

BTW is this a list of the top ten DIGITAL wireless standards: doesn't any of the original analog cellular standards merit an honourable mention?

You're absolutely right, Peter, I was carried away by all this new digital stuff I get exposed to every day.
We need a 10 best analogue wirless standards. I'll try and get our editor, Richard Wilson, (an ex Plessey telecoms guy) to assist.
It was his idea in the first place

Now, analogue wireless. That's my bag. It's a bit arguable what is pure analogue - I know some of the below are really digital, but...

1. GE/Zenith FM stereo system. Just about the only true worldwide wireless standard.

2. PAL. Nicer than NTSC and even more importantly not French, PAL is the best analogue TV standard. High quality, robust and flexible.

3. PSK31 - Extremely efficient, easy to implement and beautifully narrow band

4. Morse Code modulated continuous wave. You can set up a world-spanning link with about five quids' worth of components, and that's if you buy them new. Also the only communications standard that I can guarantee to implement after a nuclear attack.

5. CCSDS. The one that introduced Viterbi - and the one that's keeping the link alive with the Voyagers as they scoot into interstellar space

6. AMPS. Audacious. World-changing. Damn clever.

7. FSK RTTY. Before the Internet, HF RTTY held the world together.

8. Hellschreiber. Come on, a wireless fax system invented in 1929 and still in use today (albeit by weirdos), this may be the only system which is primarily decoded by eye - which confers its unique ability to cope with various fading and interference modes.

9. SSB. Cheap, effective and still very important for long distance voice comms. Your transatlantic flight depends on it (although nobody's quite sure why any more. Shanwick, Shanwick...).

10. FM. If you don't know the story of Edwin Armstrong and FM - a story of genius, struggle, big business, death and ultimate triumph - then you're missing out on a whole heap of how politics, business and technology interact.

Then there's stuff like NICAM, D-MAC, Piccolo, and whatever they call the rather entrancing rhythmic signals from radiosondes (if they called it anything) before they went UHF and digital.

Rupert

That's a brilliant list. If you don't object I'll put it up for next Wednesday's 'Ten Best. . .' credited to you. Thanks

Honoured! Re-reading the list, I'd probably add AM as the standard that made wireless mass-market in the first place, but you know what it's like when you're in the grip of info-dump...

R

Thanks very much Rupert, it will posted October 17.
Cheers, David