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$25,000 of Communications Gear In a $500 Car
In perhaps one of the finest displays of technological excess in automotive communications gear, one "enthusiast" has managed to cram over $25,000 worth of gear into a $500 car. The car is rigged for just about every conceivable communications band including FM, UHF, VHF, HF, and WTF. What other amazing displays of technological excess have others seen? "The equipment seems to cover an amazing array of technologies, many of which seem to be redundant. For instance, just how many handheld 144 MHz radios do you need? It seems like the owner of the Ham Car is capable of listening to every police/fire/ems/military channel in the world. Simultaneously. There's a laptop and we assume there's some form of cellular or satellite communication setup for that, too."
Every time he drives in front of my house, my TV goes wild, I sometimes can hear alien like sounding voices coming from the TV, my wireless connection drops and my clothes dryer even starts to spin backward !
I sometimes worry about the effects on the driver's health in the long run... ;-)
Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
The car is rigged for just about every conceivable communications band including FM, UHF, VHF, HF, and WTF.
Unfortunately the car can only travel in a 50 meter radius around the second tin can the string tethers it to.
.
Trolling is a art,
Just think. With a quarter of that money he could have gotten a car that wasn't an oil burning beater.
Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
WTF is WTF?
But can it crush cars?
I hope his mother let's him park it in the garage at least.
Sheldon
Good propagation on the WTF band tonight.
There is no leg room in the drivers side.
There is windshield obstruction illegal in most states.
The power requirements would probably exceed engine capacity.
So, question: Can it actually be driven, or is it a joke, sort of a flea-market grave yard for broken gear?
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Lots of that kind of amusement at http://www.hamsexy.com/
What the fuck is WTF?
sudo eat my shorts
See him cruising low and slow through the barrio, with Weird Al Yankovich's White and Nerdy blaring through the open windows...
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
...he's single.
It seems worth noting that this uber car also has hydraulics.
"Just waking up in the morning gotta thank marconi
I don't know but today seems kinda lonely
Got chatter from the police radio only
And momma got static on the HF
I got my eavesdrop on, but my signal left
Finally got a call on the cell phone in my vest
Hooked up a bigger antenna as I shut the do'
Thinking will i live, for another set of radios
I gotta go cause I got me a chevy colt
And if I hit the switch, I can make the ass drop"
Seriously, how does this kind of redneck garbage get into slashdot? Some buffoon got hisself a 1985 Dodge Colt (trailer trash car if I've ever seen one) and proceeds to put a shit-ton of radios in it. Big deal! There's no technology or inventiveness here, it's the same as some ignoramus who built a vehicle out of his La-Z-Boy. Let's get a closer look - license plates trimmed with neon (barf); misuse of the "radiation" symbol (car is not radioactive); Florida plates (redneck central); a laser light drawing spirograph designs on the rear window (what is this, a nightclub circa 1992?); ground-effect lighting (waaaaay overdone); a scrolling LED sign, and much more totally stupid crap. Most of the gear is just ordinary handheld radios. I mean, come on, a "Sear's Platinum" battery powers the whole thing? What kind of self-respecting geek shops at "Sear's" (sic)? And a "Hydrallic" system? *cough* redneck *cough*
I'm all for rewarding creative use of technology, but this isn't creative, it's merely excessive. Not news for nerds, stuff that doesn't matter.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
So? I had a friend with a Bose system in his Pacer.
Thieves stole the car and left the stereo on the curb.
One of the "finest displays of technological excess" my arse.
It's just a bunch of gear stuffed into a shitbox car in a manner not conducive to usability.
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
25K?
You can get an ICOM R9500 which will give you everything between 5khz and 3.5GHZ with filtering and processing and a 40 channel per second scann rate for 12.5k http://www.icomamerica.com/en/products/receivers/tabletop/r9500/default.aspx
Add in another 2-4k for a really nice multiband Ham rig, and your done..
plenty of room and money left
with a Mr. Microphone? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqZQmS8KeLM
pretty sweet dubs on that ride. btw, this is a stupid point, but isn't it impractical to have more than 1 or 2 on at a time to listen too?
Yes, but can it receive video from military drones?
Moderate drunk! It's more fun that way!
Really....
What does he expect he's going to do with that? Not drive it. I'm pretty sure he's exceeded the carrying capacity of it. He doesn't have room to get his legs in to work the pedals. There's too much equipment too close to the steering wheel to be able to drive safely.
and.....
There's no way he's running that much gear simultaneously on the available power in that vehicle. I counted at least 50 distinct pieces of equipment. I'm pretty sure that's a 1988 Dodge Colt, so it should have something like a 75A 12V alternator on it. That'd give 1.5A per unit average, not including incidentals like running the engine and lights.
I'm fairly confident that a lot of that stuff could be reduced down to one handheld transceiver. I'm pretty sure there are two or three regular CB radios in there too.
It looks like he went to every junk sale he could, and strapped anything resembling a radio into his car. For example, the VOM and LCD TV on the drivers door, and the gold-like plated PA microphone on the passenger door.
If he did run it all, *and* he didn't kill off his battery and alternator, he still wouldn't be able to figure out what any of the noise coming in was. It would be so much chatter, that it would be white noise. ... and I thought I had a lot of gear, with a roll cage, fire extinguisher, stereo equalizer, CB, and radar detector. :) At least I could sit in my car without damaging myself.
Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
Protip: Don't join emergency medical services because you like the shiny gadgets, or the ability to run lights and sirens, either in an emergency vehicle or a private one. I don't want you responding when I call 911.
I know a lot of guys that joined volunteer fire departments for that reason. Sure, they weren't the best at putting the fires out, but if you needed someone to share a beer with watching your life burn, they'd get there quick.
Learn to love Alaska
I know I slip behind in my tech sometimes but since when is "FM" a "band" and not a modulation method?
I know that everybody needs a hobby, the key is in knowing that not every hobby needs a body.
All I want to do is imagine a Beowulf cluster of these.
SSC
When you're house is burning down to the ground and Fire Control is sending out its 2nd or 3rd activation because Engine 17 needs a driver, you'll be quite happy to know there's a whacker out there with an over-priced blue LED light bar burning rubber to the station. It takes all kinds. Of course, we ridicule them anyway. but terms like whacker and volley aren't entirely derogatory.
I find what you quoted particularly interesting. You would think if you call 911, you'd need immediate help and would be grateful for whoever shows up to come to your aid. Never would have thought Niners could be found even on Slashdot.
p.s. I am an EMT and do this for a living.
No sig now
People like this are why ham radio should be banned and all ham radio owners forbidden from owning electronics. Please tell me what benefit this man provides to anyone in public. There's so much distraction there. This is a pileup waiting to happen.
People like this are why Anonymous Coward posts should be banned and all Anonymous Cowards should be banned from owning computers. Please tell me what benefit this Anonymous Coward provides to anyone in public. There's so much distraction there. This is a Troll that has already happened.