What did you do to your truck today?

[700 sportsman]

Well drove it, and yesterday it rolled over 58K. Did buy some GMPP goodies off ebay for my dad's truck though. I need to get into napa and get wheel cylinders for my truck.

 

[Bernie]

A few things over the past week...

The comm unit is making great progress Bernie.
Did they all finally arrive with all the parts? Got more to go in there?

Nope... Still waiting on one bracket that never got shipped, and one of the ones that did get shipped turned out to be worthless because I expected it to be a bolt on mount (for the radio head on the dash) and it turned out to be adhesive mount, which wouldn't work on my dash. That was a waste of $54, but I sold it to a buddy for $40 so the net loss was only $14 plus shipping.

Got tired of waiting for the bracket that didn't show up so I went to the local radio shop (local in this case being 60 miles) and buying a different bracket that was half as good and twice the price, along with a different antenna to mount on it.

Since the mount for the dashboard wasn't going to work I opted for the floor mount flex stalk, which I actually like a bit better since it puts the radio controls closer to me.

Finding room for a third microphone was fun, and I have no idea where I'm putting the next two that will have to be mounted, one for a 1.2Ghz digital rig and one for a 140 watt PA system.

Getting the exterior hardpoints for the fiberglass masts installed is turning into fun, since I'm working by myself and my arms aren't 18 feet long. Makes it hard to hold the nut inside the box while turning the bolt on the outside.

Still, it's coming along, and I've been enjoying some nice DX contacts with places like Italy, Belgium, Hawaii, all over South America, etc., all while driving around the area. Almost had a nice contact with Japan last night while driving on I-95, but traffic was heavy and it was raining, so I couldn't spare any attention towards tuning it in properly.

Maybe next time you head out to sea I'll see if I can raise your ship on the maritime frequencies.

 

[Darth Bama]

Put more fuel in it now that I'm confident the fuel pump is working properly.

 

[nubuilder]

Well drove it, and yesterday it rolled over 58K. Did buy some GMPP goodies off ebay for my dad's truck though. I need to get into napa and get wheel cylinders for my truck.

Gettin' up there in mileage. Better sell it to me before you hit 60k! Still an amazingly clean truck you have there Tyler!


Bernie, soon you won't have a passenger seat because of all the radios! How many in total will you have?


Didn't do anything except filled them both up, and make them pose for peaktures together. It was my only night off this week and the sky was clear.

 

[RedRider]

Nothing

 

[Bernie]

Bernie, soon you won't have a passenger seat because of all the radios! How many in total will you have?

That depends... Are we counting HT's (walkie talkies) too? If so... about two dozen. I usually carry a dual band (2m-70cm) HT on my belt, and there's generally 3-4 GMRS and FRS HT's kept in the truck at any one time, but I have about 16-18 different HT's in various configurations, and those are all part of my "go" kit that gets tossed in the truck if the EmComm Team gets activated. That allows us to provide a portable radio, even if only for monitoring, to anyone who needs one at an emergency scene. Comes in real handy when doing SAR (search and rescue) to have a bunch of HT's all pre-programmed with the correct frequencies and codes, charged and ready to go, to help coordinate with all the volunteers who usually show up.

As for permanent mount radios, the truck currently has four (not counting the AM/FM in the dash) and at least one more will be installed before the end of the year, provided we get the funding we need to deploy these units. Since we're all volunteers, and generally provide all of our own equipment, it can be a real burden on some members to be told they need to lay out $1,400 for a radio and antenna that's pretty much only going to be used for emergency work. However, one of the team members is working out a deal that will provide private funding for a dozen of these rigs for the team to install, test, and integrate into our current operations plans.

 

[nubuilder]

Bernie, soon you won't have a passenger seat because of all the radios! How many in total will you have?

That depends... Are we counting HT's (walkie talkies) too? If so... about two dozen. I usually carry a dual band (2m-70cm) HT on my belt, and there's generally 3-4 GMRS and FRS HT's kept in the truck at any one time, but I have about 16-18 different HT's in various configurations, and those are all part of my "go" kit that gets tossed in the truck if the EmComm Team gets activated. That allows us to provide a portable radio, even if only for monitoring, to anyone who needs one at an emergency scene. Comes in real handy when doing SAR (search and rescue) to have a bunch of HT's all pre-programmed with the correct frequencies and codes, charged and ready to go, to help coordinate with all the volunteers who usually show up.

As for permanent mount radios, the truck currently has four (not counting the AM/FM in the dash) and at least one more will be installed before the end of the year, provided we get the funding we need to deploy these units. Since we're all volunteers, and generally provide all of our own equipment, it can be a real burden on some members to be told they need to lay out $1,400 for a radio and antenna that's pretty much only going to be used for emergency work. However, one of the team members is working out a deal that will provide private funding for a dozen of these rigs for the team to install, test, and integrate into our current operations plans.

Wow, you (and the other volunteers) have a pretty big operation going on .

 

[Codeman]

Looking for stock rims and tires for it.

 

[nubuilder]

Looking for stock rims and tires for it.

Stockers?!?!? I thought I was one of a few still rollin' on stockers.

 

[Bernie]

Wow, you (and the other volunteers) have a pretty big operation going on .

There's about 20 of us on the team, out of a county with a population of about 125,000, in an area covering about 277 square miles, about 65% of that is forested, and includes the Marine Corps Base Quantico. Big area, lots of hills and valleys. We do what we can.