Roadtrip essentials

[1995hoo]

Surprised that nobody has mentioned jumper cables yet.  I've always carried a set since I bought my first car in 1987.

....

I keep jumper cables in my RX-7 but I don't use that car on roadtrips. My wife keeps a set in her car but, again, we don't normally use that car either. Kind of funny that I've never kept a set in my primary car. Just never needed them in there, though of course you never know. Your post is making me wonder why I've never gotten another set.

[hbelkins]

I was unaware that Kentucky had a provision that allows for immediate confiscation. However, there is an exception for journalists. The kicker, though, is that most public agencies in Kentucky have gone from analog to digital radios, and the scanners that are capable of receiving those frequencies are very expensive.

In my hometown, we have a bunch of nosy busybodies who get their thrills listening to police activity on the scanner. When the local agencies switched from analog to digital (apparently under suggestion/requirement of the FCC), people complained that they couldn't listen anymore. They just didn't want to shell out the bucks for the newly required radio.

[Rothman]

Heh.  I forgot about my jumper cables since they're a given.

[roadman]

I was unaware that Kentucky had a provision that allows for immediate confiscation. However, there is an exception for journalists. The kicker, though, is that most public agencies in Kentucky have gone from analog to digital radios, and the scanners that are capable of receiving those frequencies are very expensive.

In my hometown, we have a bunch of nosy busybodies who get their thrills listening to police activity on the scanner. When the local agencies switched from analog to digital (apparently under suggestion/requirement of the FCC), people complained that they couldn't listen anymore. They just didn't want to shell out the bucks for the newly required radio.

Agree that digital radios are expensive as compared to other units (I finally was forced to buy one myself when our local transit agency converted their comms to digital).  However, the transition to digital radio has nothing to do with FCC requirements for 'narrowbanding' (squeezing more distinct frequencies into a given section of bandwith), as those radio services that have remained analog (like the majority of local agencies I monitor) dealt with narrowbanding perfectly fine.

Conversion to digital radio as a "condition" of narrowbanding was pitched to public service agencies and others not by the FCC, but by the radio manufacturers as a "you must have this" feature.

With respect to your views about radio hobbyists, I do acknowledge the need for certain police communications to be "secret", especially in larger cities.  However, I do not agree that the general public should be intentionally restricted (either by technology or regulation) from monitoring most public sector communications, the exception being when they are doing so in order to plan, commit, or aid a criminal act (nearly every state and the Federal Government already acknowledges this exception in their monitoring laws).

Lastly, and again with respect to your views, I view the vast majority of people who spend their time monitoring such communications not as nosy busybodies, but rather as no different than us roadgeeks.  Whatever their specific interests in monitoring, they do it as a hobby for enjoyment and are causing no harm to anyone.

Disclaimer - I've been a radio hobbyist since the late 1960s when I bought an old multi-band analog radio at a yard sale, I've been an active CB operator since 1978 (still have a copy of my FCC CB license), and I've been a licensed ham radio operator since 1993.  If my bias in discussing this subject shows, I  apologize to all the friendly folk listening out there.

(bonus points to those who get the reference)

[hbelkins]

Local officials said the FCC mandated their change. Were they lying?

[KG909]

Big bottle of lotion, tissues, and extra undies.

HTC Desire 510

[roadman]

Local officials said the FCC mandated their change. Were they lying?

Either lying, or misquoted in the press (who consistently seem to demonstrate a lack of understanding and communicating issues that can't be explained in one sentence or less).  From the FCC web site:

https://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/narrowbanding-overview

Note that the FCC does not indicate any requirement to convert from analog to digital emissions as a condition of narrowbanding.  Two local examples - our commuter rail system and most local police departments - who have completed narrowbanding but are still running analog systems.

[bandit957]

I have a scanner, but I haven't listened to the ol' scanny in ages, because all the police frequencies are jammed by commercial stations now.

The funniest scanner call I can remember was on the very first day I got my scanner. Some guy went into a McDonald's, claimed to be Jimi Hendrix, demanded a job application, then peed all over the floor in front of everyone.

[US 41]

I also carry a tool box in the trunk of my car.

[Henry]

I have a few essentials of my own:

-CDs/tapes
-GPS
-Atlas
-Suitcase with week's worth of clothes
-Money/credit cards
-Cell phones
-Snacks
-First-aid kit
-Sleeping bags
-Camera/camcorder

[D-Dey65]

Surprised that nobody has mentioned jumper cables yet.  I've always carried a set since I bought my first car in 1987.

I've had them in the past. Unfortunately, the only ones I've got right now have to be scrapped for copper, which requires stripping all the plastic, or vinyl, or whatever is covering it up, which is a tedious task. Hence my desire for the massive air pump/generator.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-Electric-6-in-1-Jump-Starter/25955544?action=product_interest&action_type=title&item_id=25955544&placement_id=irs-2-m3&strategy=PWVUB&visitor_id&category=&client_guid=34630061-b87e-4f78-85f3-848e62756f3d&customer_id_enc&config_id=2&parent_item_id=13005748&parent_anchor_item_id=13005748&guid=918bcfa1-94f3-4146-b099-7a84ae58d575&bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&beacon_version=1.0.1&findingMethod=p13n

[noelbotevera]

Surprised that nobody has mentioned jumper cables yet.  I've always carried a set since I bought my first car in 1987.

I've had them in the past. Unfortunately, the only ones I've got right now have to be scrapped for copper, which requires stripping all the plastic, or vinyl, or whatever is covering it up, which is a tedious task. Hence my desire for the massive air pump/generator.

You could bite at the covering to expose the wire. Make sure it isn't plugged into anything and make sure you have no static at all.

[signalman]

Surprised that nobody has mentioned jumper cables yet.  I've always carried a set since I bought my first car in 1987.

I've had them in the past. Unfortunately, the only ones I've got right now have to be scrapped for copper, which requires stripping all the plastic, or vinyl, or whatever is covering it up, which is a tedious task. Hence my desire for the massive air pump/generator.

You could bite at the covering to expose the wire. Make sure it isn't plugged into anything and make sure you have no static at all.

I don't know why you'd bother going through all the work to strip perfectly serviceable jumper cables.  Scrap isn't much these days, and the weight of the copper isn't very much.  That being said, if you insist on stripping them, a sharp razor knife will slice through it with ease.  Simply slice lengthwise along the wires and the plastic will pull right off.

[oscar]

In my day, we always brang along a canister of Wet Ones, for some reason. Anyone remember Wet Ones?

I usually bring single-use foil-wrapped Wet Ones (or equivalent) in my car, and also my beach bag. The canister version seems to dry out quickly once you've opened the canister, so the foil-wrapped version has a longer shelf life as well as saving space.

[Pete from Boston]

In my day, we always brang along a canister of Wet Ones, for some reason. Anyone remember Wet Ones?

I usually bring single-use foil-wrapped Wet Ones (or equivalent) in my car, and also my beach bag. The canister version seems to dry out quickly once you've opened the canister, so the foil-wrapped version has a longer shelf life as well as saving space.

My canisters seem to last if ensure they are closed tightly.  I go through them in a matter of months, and they seem to stay wet.  The foil packets will probably last much longer–I have some in camping gear and a travel kit that are years old and still wet–but it is very rarely a concern to me that they last this long.


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[leroys73]

1.  One more change of clothes than I expect to need.
2.  Some sort of rain jacket plus hat many times even rain pants
3.  Toiletries
4.  First Aid Kit
5.  Tools and some spare parts
6.  Jumper cables
7.  A Hand Gun with replacement ammo
8.  Water and food, including snacks and canned food.
9.  Matches
10.  Knives for different usage
11.  I used to carry spare oil but Usually I don't with my vehicles I have now since they are newer and in good repair plus I have towing.  But if I were traveling into areas of limited cell coverage I'd expand my spare supplies to include Oil, SPOT, extra parts that are easily replaced, "miracle tape", duct tape, super glue, wire, more tools, floor jack, emergency radio, and much more.
12.  Sometimes spare fuel and siphon hose/pump.
13.  Back up battery for cell phone
14.  GPS sometimes
15.  Satellite phone if in the real boondocks such as Alaska or off roading.