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R U COMMITTED?

  • YES I AM GOING.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • NO I AM NOT GOING.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I WILL GO SHOTGUN AND HELP PAY THE FUEL!

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I WOULD LOVE TO BUT CAN'T AFFORD TO HELP.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0
  • Poll closed .

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I couldn't quite make it to sleep without figuring out a way to put this together... more to come later, enjoy for now!

 
No damage for me other than 2 trailer tires. Yes, I had another blow out on the way home between Ocala and Wildwood. Glad I took 2 spares!
 
My left rear fender flare is loose. Looks like that's going to have to go... Might have to step up my plans to bed liner the bottom part of the truck...
 
Video / Photo chit-chat

I didn't want to junk up other threads with this commentary, but thought I'd start a place for folks to ask about how to do certain things if they're interested.

I just posted a few things from GSMTR. I mostly took the video that Poppi did on his Sony handy-cam. I took that raw video (.MOD files) onto my Mac, then I used another encoder to convert them to a more Mac-friendly format.

You can do all this same stuff for free using Linux, which I do from time to time depending on the situation.

There's a few things to keep in mind:

1) Every time you process video, you're probably going to loose quality. Especially if you don't know what settings do what. There's also a possibility that you can keep the quality the same, but drastically increase the file size, which is a bad thing to do as well (that just makes it harder for the video software to deal with the files).

2) Always work with the highest quality you can. This means longer processing times, and if your computer isn't up to snuff, you could be in for a long wait to see a result.

3) YouTube is your friend - free video storage, and you can privatize it to a certain extent if you want. Keep tagging to a minimum, and I suggest keeping things on a first-name basis for privacy's sake.

For the following video, I used iMovie on the Mac (comes with the Mac). Simply choose a theme, drag the clips in, and put in any comments you might want to. Once you're done, you export it (or even direct upload to YouTube).

 
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Yeah, I have a tendency of making sure there's enough. The definition of enough changes from time to time...
 
Great trip!
Minimal carnage.
Just sheared off all the studs of one front hub. Easily replaced
Inverted a shackle and bent a front leaf spring. Easily straightened.
RF Door and LR quarter hits (how can you tell:D)

I'll go next year again!
 
There were some older pics up, maybe late 90's? Just a WAG.
 
Radio Tech Session(s)

During some conversations at GSMTR, the topic of radios came up, and how limited CB's are. I mentioned that my dad is a big ham radio operator and has done a lot of antenna design. He lives here in Orlando as well.

I talked to him the other day, and he'd be willing to do a tech session to help answer questions, and we could help ourselves by doing some joint study sessions to get our licenses (it's not hard at all - I should have mine now, I've just been lazy).

He's quite experienced in mobile communications as well... I can't tell you the number of times I took long road trips from MD to FL while he chatted away with folks all over the world.

Anyway, if there is interest, speak up and we can figure something out.
 
I am definitely interested and I bet Jesse would be too. That's a heck of an idea , some of the GA guys are running 2 meter radio's . I'm not sure what that means but I going to find out . But as far as I know we have NEVER had a radio tech session . I believe the radio should be at the top of everyone's list , but so many don't even have a radio in their rig . Let's make that happen Carter , I need a refresher course on how to set my SWR's .
 
Two meter is the way to go. We used them in Alaska...the clarity and distance were amazing compared to citizen band not to mention the ability to contact emergency services. This does require a ham radio license and proper radio transmission when used. The test is not that hard for this license if you memorize the answers to the questions by taking the online exams over and over until you get all the answers correct. Then if we use them often it will become second nature. My issue is that we are respectful of the protocol and take it seriously if we are going to communicate over two meter bands.
 
Well if we want to do this, let's pick some topics. I'll start the list:

1) Obtaining a license
2) Best band to use for *our* needs (distance/rough terrain/etc)
3) Equipment cost considerations
4) Viability of handheld devices vs. mounted (we all know how good a hand held CB radio is!)

We should also pick a date and a place, and I'll make sure my dad can make it (although being retired, his schedule is pretty flexible)
 
I am interested as well.
 
We have the luxury of AES Amateur Electronic Supply, 621 Commonwealth Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32803 PH: 800-327-1917. These guys know what they are talking about and have good prices. They also give exams at a nominal cost at their business location above (which is near Fashion Square Mall on HWY 59 Colonial Drive (east of I-4).
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...02a1Qm9zAtx0jOLtQ&sig2=q6zDNrpz8T1UPL6YiCLaKw Is the best place to practice the exam.

FM band is the best for us to use and the lowest level of amateur radio test which makes it more obtainable for the majority. You are assigned an FCC call sign after passing the test. Mine is KJ4VEC even though I only used my radio in Alaska it would be great to have other members on the FM band.

It's as much about the proper antenna as the transceiver so a good hand held works very well when coupled with an external antenna. New hand held models are equipped with EAI Emergency Automatic ID which can be used for searching for persons who are incapacitated in disasters. An EAI equipped searcher sends out a unique command (CTCSS tone pair), and the radio of the incapacitated party, who may not be able to speak or even press the PTT, will automatically be placed in the transmit mode, so others may perform direction finding and effect a rescue. Searchers are not limited to vehicular travel with the hand held.

I decided on the Yaesu dual band handheld FT-60R/E for many reasons which I won't bore you with but I am amazed at how well it performs. Even with the supplied antenna installed I can reach great distances like the incoming airliner communications on approach to OIA and conversations on I-4 which is two miles from my house and many more even longer transmissions. You can reach the space station on FM band at certain times of the day or night.

KJ4VEC over
 
AES Testing
AES conducts amateur radio exams monthly on the second Saturday at Amateur Electronic Supply, 261 Commonwealth Av, Orlando, FL 32806 at 9:00AM (Walk-ins allowed). For more information and registration, contact James Stout, W9QC at 407-346-4235 or w9qc@hotmail.com for details.
 
We can also add a flavor of hands-on to the session... my dad has a TON of equipment and is always happy to demonstrate.

I just took the practice exam and was pleasantly surprised at how much I already knew... probably 90% or so. The rest is probably just rust... just need to move the rocks around in my head and it shouldn't be that big of a deal.
 

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