Seems to me that it could be done in code. Use "Smart Beaconing" such as that used to detect cornering, and which changes the beaconing rate based on speed. But also with the setting that it never transmits more often than, say, 60 or 120 second intervals. My Kenwood D-710A does that.

I'd love to see pictures! A Baja Bug loaded with more radio equipment than the car itself is worth! (Hmmm. Wait a minute. That describes MY car!)

Dave AD7DB.

I think the one that W5YI sells is the Gordon West package. Years ago it was on cassette tape. His theory tapes are pretty good; he reads each question, then tells you the answer, and in many cases explains briefly WHY that's the right answer. I feel that some book study, with diagrams when needed, is also highly beneficial, but for dyslexic people maybe some one-on-one with a tutor (excuse me, "Elmer") would be good, too. The tapes are not the be-all, end-all. Now the problem with studying and upgrading that way is that you will learn just what you need to know to pass the exam, but you won't have much real-world practical experience. Anyway, good luck to you.

I recently saw the original Rat Pack version of "Oceans 11."  Back in the days when making a long distance call usually meant having an operator make the call and call you back when the party is reached, Duke (Cesar Romero) was practically chained to his phone for a while with all the calls he was making or expecting. The robbers also made use of convenient payphones at times. I was thinking that if they all had modern-day cellphones, things would have gone a lot smoother than they did!

No need to buy it on CDROM every year. I always do mine with TurboTax Online, at a discount courtesy of the Vanguard folks whom I have an IRA with. Fed and State including Sched D and lots of complicated stuff, always comes out cheaper than if I'd bought TurboTax or TaxCut on CDROM. All filed electronically, start to finish takes about 90 minutes. I won't do it by hand again.

Right on about clueless complainers... I remember reading about a ham club in Hawaii that tried to run a demo station outside at a university. They strung wire antennas into palm trees and used a jumper-cable clamped to a fire hydrant for a good ground.

Needless to say the campus cops got a ton of calls about these weirdos trying to pull down the palm trees and blow up the fire hydrant.

I think the basic solution is to just go to a less crowded park somewhere else. And have fun.

And then there's the overuse of saying "hi hi" on voice.  One guy on the air was relating a story, concluded with a slight chuckle at the end, then he stopped and said "Hi Hi."  As if giving a quick LAUGH on the air is unacceptable.  Whenever I hear someone tack on a "Hi Hi" it sounds so CONTRIVED.  C'mon guys!  Just say it, like you would to a non-ham in person!

WA8MEA said:
But I have had the OPPOSITE experience of what you've claimed. HRO seemed to treat me as bothersome situation that just interrupted their day. That was my first....and last experience with HRO.
 

AGREED.  The HRO in Burbank was just that way. They'd glare at everyone coming through the door. I also got hostility from them when I came in to buy an accessory for my V7A. I knew the part number and everything, all they had to do was go get it and ring it up for me. Instead they gave me trouble because I didn't buy the original RADIO from them!  So about 10 years ago I vowed never to do business with their store again, and I have not.

AES Las Vegas, and Juns in Culver City, are both friendly places and glad to see customers. (The only reason I can't visit Juns anymore is because I can't climb stairs anymore and they have no elevator.)

Dave AD7DB

Why not try this.  Ask your idiot lawyer neighbor to check and see if he has any problem for the next couple of days, and tell him you will run some tests during that time.

You don't get on the air at all.

Later you check with him and see when he reported interference. Then let him know it couldn't have been you. That should shut him up.

This is like the old trick of putting up a tower and having nothing connected to the coax for a month. When people complain that your antenna is interfering, show them the empty coax line.

If I mailed a real QSL card and an SASE and the other guy sends an eQSL, he did NOT QSL me back. "Oh but it's there, all you have to do is get it, I did MY part."  No, you didn't. I sent you a real card and I expect one back.

Somewhere in eHam there's a story posted by some guy about how he had a bunch of ham gear on the floor of his car. His girlfriend said, "Does this HAVE to be in here?"

He said, "Do YOU have to be in here?"

Here's another VISTA acronym "Virus infected, stay totally away!"

No new Windows system is ever good the first rollout. Savvy people are waiting until SP1 is released and has been out long enough for those problems to be identified and maybe fixed.  Never be first in line to buy the new Windows, you're what Microsoft calls an unpaid beta tester.

I can say all this with confidence because I work in the tech support field and have seen it happen when '95, '98, 2000, ME, and XP all came out.

I love Mac users, so cocky. They are living under a delusion that Macs are totally immune to viruses and spyware.  The meanest thing I do to some of the more arrogant Mac users is simply let them think they are right!

AVG Free from Grysoft. You'll have to really dig around their site to find the free version but it's there and works fine. No need to buy their commercial version if it's just for home use.

Avast is also well regarded and is also completely free.

For spam control in programs like Outlook Express, etc, try SpamFighter. It is free.

For spyware, I use Spybot S&D, also Ad Aware SE Personal, and SpywareBlaster. All are free, and they each protect/detect in different ways, so one will find things the others don't and vice versa.

You do NOT need a total system hog package like Norton or McAfee, folks.

Any of the common router brands will work well: Dlink, Netgear, Linksys.

V.I.S.T.A. Viruses, Intruders, Spyware, Trojans, Adware.

"The French Atlantic Affair"

This was a 1979 TV miniseries from Aaron Spelling (executive producer). It must have been pretty forgettable because I can hardly find anything on the Internet concerning it. Telly Savalas was in it, and that's just about all there is. Based on the novel by Ernest Lehman.

The ham radio aspect of it came to my attention when I found an article in QST, August 1977, "The French Atlantic Affair", by Lenore Jensen W6NAZ. The plot called for a ham operator aboard a cruise ship making contact with other hams. In the development of the screenplay they were being careful to use proper amateur radio procedures. One sticking point was the use of authentic callsigns. They decided to use some real ones with the consent of those licensees.