OT: Where are the Worst Drivers? (US only) (At least the post involves cars, some of which would be Toyotas)

snip

If you have been driving in right lane for miles and you happen to overcome one of these BDC's, does that constitue "passing". I think not because no lane change was involved. Any experience out there?

PS... BDC : brain dead cager. That's an acronym we, motorcyclists, often use.

Sure, you can learn almost any skill you set your mind to. I'm a very senior Ham Radio buff and I love Morse code...I used to have an HF radio in my car and could cruise down the highway merrily sending and receiving Morse at around 30 or so WPM. Lot's of fun...

Gord VE1EO (look me up, go to qrz.com and type my call into the little window on the upper left side...)

You can look me up, too. Haven't used my license a lot lately. I asked someone in another thread if the hams were helping out with communications, they thought the hams wouldn't be able to function without electricity coming down the wires. I guess they hadn't heard of RACES or ARES or any of those, either. He figured the hams would get out of there. (Has he heard of running HF portable off a car generator or a battery pack?)

Charles of Kankakee

N5HSR/9

"Charles @ Kankakee" wrote: snip

Yes, I answered that post...and I see that you're an extra class, quite impressive. You need to pop your picture onto there...great hobby...not too many have a bunch of their dedicated satellites in orbit I'll wager!...

Yes, but I still find it somewhat odd that the FCC PRB hasn't 'cleared' frequencies for emergency use for this one, as bad as it is. For many years, that has been the normal procedure in the event of big disasters.

There has been no ECD for the Gulf area at all.

I realize you guys report to a different agency, and I have forgotten which one. (I was in Canada once and got the rulebook so I could operate properly in Canada under your rules.)

I have used my extra class priviledges to operate FSK31 so far, and I'm not set up currently. When we moved, 5 people were bringing in stuff and I managed to get the radio and the antenna but not the power supply or the MFJ tuner box. God knows where they are now at . . . . Since I can't lift heavy things, and I'm home by myself most of the day, I can't 'go find it' right now. I'm stuck to listening to the bands on my DX-440. (Does at least have a BFO.)

Charles

Nice pix Gord.

The current FCC bunch would rather like to see hams disappear, forever. We need a overhaul at the FCC. The congress is partly to blame for cutting funding to such agencies during the clinton regime, Gore as vice president was a prime mover in that direction.

MARS has been downgraded to packet. Gone are the days of long range SSB and phone patches such as during the Vietnam conflict. I was going to get back in but I can't stand packet stuff. I might as well be doing emails, more efficient. 73, 45 years licensed.

dbu (dbmyoo) go figure.

That's what I thought. Well, we did it without the FCC in '38, we're going to have to do it ourselves now. They tried to kill us in 1912, didn't work. And this BPL mess (Thank you Michael Powell) isn't helping much. Not only did we have problems with the Clintonistas, but Michael Powell was no friend of Amateur Radio. I presume he sees us as an anachronism, sitting by our old Atwater-Kents with a pair of headphones.

F*** em all F*** em all The long and the short and the tall, It's ice cream and cookies for flat footed rookies So here's to the boys F*** em all.

Time for us hams to dig in and GIT-R-DONE even if no one thinks we can. It looks like FEMA doesn't know how to Git-R-Done. Instead of asking WWJD in this situation, I think we need to start thinking WWPD: What would Patton do? He pulled his troops out of a fight and moved them many miles and plunged them into another fight during the Battle of the Bulge. Why? Because, he said, we can still lose this war. New Orleans should be declared a War Zone. If the snoopy media can get their arses in there, why can't we get emergency supplies in? Blast away debris that stands in the way of getting to where we need to get. Who cares if it's messy? It's already a mess. What's more important, being neat or fighting through to the places help is needed? I think Rudy Gulianni would have done a better job of getting things done.

The problem with blaming our problem on funding, is we've always been sucking the hind tit anyway since 1912. It's always been up to US, not Uncle Handout, to GIT-R-DONE.

So the FCC isn't going to have us set aside frequencies for disaster communications for this? We'll do it by 'gentleman's agreement.' We're all grownups here. We know what's at stake. We've had to do such things before many times, and will have to do such things again many times.

OK, I'm going to break my 'weight restrictions' and go look for the power supply. It might take me a couple hours to find it. I also need to find the tuner box and fix the stand for 2-meters so I can start calling the locals.

73,

Charles N5HSR/9

Snip.

Well for the moment, I've had to admit a momentary setback.

I have found: An Astron Power Supply An MFJ Box (frequency counter) but not The MFJ box (i.e. my MFJ-1621 that goes with my whip antenna.) I think I know where it is, but I can't open it right now. I'm going to have to wait until this evening to get some help to open where it is at. . . .

I've severely bent my weight restrictions getting the stuff I have found. I can get on 2, at least, for the moment, but not the HF bands.

Charles N5HSR/9

"Dbu,'" wrote: snip

I didn't know that...we have an equivalent service in Canada called CFARS (Canadian Forces Affiliate Radio System) and it's also been pretty much retired since recent improvements in comms.

We still run nets twice a week to keep some semblance of use and expertise, but it ain't what it was for sure. I've run many many hundreds of phone patches over the years...mostly between Canada and Egypt for peacekeeper forces and northern outposts.

I think you have me beat by a couple of years :) Licensed in 1962 (lessee now, 43 yrs)

Feb 1960, I just turned 17.

It's been a life long interest for me. I started fooling around with electrons first then women, LOL.

BTW, there is a net on 7285 Kc. passing traffic.

Can hear only powerful SW English station on there just now...Emerg net on 14,265 passing traffic...good sigs here on the East Coast...

I'll take a listen. Tnx d

Woman buys a slightly older Corolla, the last body style before current ('99? '98?) Goes to pull out of the dealership RIGHT INTO THE PATH of an F-250! Guy locks 'em up and misses hitting her. (I had JUST gotten done prepping the damn thing.)

Three weeks later, I see the car outside the service dept. She's in having something checked. I hear her tell the S-Mgr, "This is the second one I bought. I bought one here two months ago, but I was in a head-on collision with it and had to buy another one." Yeah, and I bet I can guess WHO was at fault, too!!!

Shoot, MOST of these morons can't drive in the FIRST place! Add the cell phone and the THUMP-THUMP-THUMP sound system and we're good to go!!!

(um, I have BOTH, BTW...)

Some of us would like to lock up bastards like you in a tin box, with your sound system, for eternity.

The President, VY2FF, called the general meeting to order at 7:50 p.m. with 13 members present: VY2CK, VE1ANZ, Marie, VE1EO, VY2WA, VY2GIB, VY2RU, VY2WRV, VY2CC, VY2RG, VY2CGA, VY2FF, VY2EUV.

----------------------------- Callsign Name Email Town/City/Prov Updated VE1EO Gordon Beaman snipped-for-privacy@islecom.com Summerside PE Jun 26, 2004

LOL! Dude, I rarely turn it up so loud you can hear it outside the car. Even when I DO crank it, you can't hear it more than 5-7 feet away. If even.

I am a musician; I travel long distances to work, practice and gigs. I like good sound; I have since I was 19. I don't need dynamat to keep the sound in my own car; I go more for quality.

BUT, leaving work today, I got to the light down the street and a

19-20-soomething got behind me in an Explorer with the Thump-Box going so hard MY inside rear-view mirror was shaking! I could feel the bass in my arm resting on the door!

The Dynamat isn't there to keep the sound in your car - it's there to keep all the sheetmetal on your car from buzzing in rhythm with the sound system, which sounds crappy on the inside and even crappier on the outside.

And if you apply large amounts of audio energy for long enough, you can shake it enough to start cracking sheetmetal and popping spot welds in the body.

The only time I crank it to 11 is when one of those cars pulls up alongside at a light - I try to find something they would consider some of the most offensive music ever recorded, drop my windows, and fire right back at 'em. You know what that means: something with a real tune and a real melody.

The Erich Kunzel /Telarc "1812 Overture" or something similar is good, or perhaps some Tower Of Power East-bay Funk, the synthesized Don Dorsey "Toccata and Fugue in D minor", or for a change-up PDQ Bach or Weird Al Yankovic. (No Old-style Country please, I have my standards.) ;-)

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I love it when the License Plates rattle (right...)

Ain't got THAT much. Like I said, quality...

He wouldn't even be able to hear it...

I still go for Rock and Roll, I guess. Actually, they called it 'alternative' in the 90's, but it's pretty mainstream now.