Darren Stephens
Alan,
That is a great idea! I would be interested in this is well. Maybe we can work together on some ideas that will work for both stations (KWTV / KOTV)
_______________
KOTV- News 6 WARN Unit
Alan,
That is a great idea! I would be interested in this is well. Maybe we can work together on some ideas that will work for both stations (KWTV / KOTV)
_______________
KOTV- News 6 WARN Unit
Darin Brunin
EF5
I have a quick question for you Rob that I am curious about. If you have a new vehicle(Honda CRV that retails new for 20-24k)...how does one not have full coverage on it at all times?
Dustin Wilcox
EF5
even if one paid cash and has the thing paid off I can't imagine not carrying full coverage, esp. in IA, not only for the nasty winters but the Deer, I figure living in NE/IA area one must count on at least one deer collision every 5 years, I have smoked 2 deer in just the last year...
Rob Wadsworth
EF5
When it is parked in California during the Fall and Winter.
This allows me to save some bucks. I just call up USAA insurance and take off the full coverage and drive my 89' Toyota P/U with basic insurance. Ya gotta pinch ebery penny you can these days - and it's only getting more difficult to do it all of the time...
BTW - Did you keep the deer?
LOL!
John Erwin
EF5
Alan.. just curious what you mean by "modulator". If you already have a TV/monitor in your car couldn't you just use one of those DTV converters they are flogging to the public? You just need a way to power it (i.e. an inverter or replace the adaptor with a DC-DC model). I guess there might be mobile versions of this for media folks.. perhaps that's what you are referring to?
You could also use an ATSC tuner for a laptop too with a decent antenna.
Mobile reception of Digital signals has been somewhat crappy though in my experiments and from other reports I've read.. depends on where you are I guess.
Jerry Prsha
EF4
SSD Drives
I found this on YouTube regarding testing of SSD Samsung drives. I think it's worth a watch if you can remotely afford this. I don't care how well you mount a laptop, it's going to get bounced. The heat and cold will destroy a standard hard drive...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqiQIxL7BPg
I found this on YouTube regarding testing of SSD Samsung drives. I think it's worth a watch if you can remotely afford this. I don't care how well you mount a laptop, it's going to get bounced. The heat and cold will destroy a standard hard drive...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqiQIxL7BPg
Dan Robinson
Laptop drives are built to handle a little bit more roughing around compared to standard drives. Although it's true a mobile-used laptop drive will probably go out a little earlier than one that is used normally, the replacement costs of a drive are not much compared to the expenses of an SSD drive (or any other heavy-duty shock-resistant setup). I have replaced the hard drive twice in my mobile laptop (Dell Inspiron 5100) over the past four years, at a total expense of around $250. And I have put some serious mileage on that thing, I am surprised it still runs after what it has been through all these years. When the hdd dies, it's just a matter of stopping at Best Buy, picking up a new one, then spending a few hours reinstalling Windows and all of the neccessary software (Threat Net, Street Atlas, etc) and it's back up and running in an afternoon. (I keep all of my install CDs in the car).
Darren Stephens
Has anyone considered using a MAC mini and a flat panel display with remote mouse for a in car puter in lieu of a laptop? I believe that this would be a cheaper option.
Jerry Prsha
EF4
Mac mini
This is the setup that I have. Intel Mac mini mounted under the seat with a EarthLCD Touch Screen mounted on the center of the dash... Wireless keyboard and a Cirque touchpad mounted on my console. A Carnetix CNX-P1900 powers it all and it's working great.
Having the screen between the seat reduces the danger in a head on collision because there's no laptop stand to get knifed into the passenger's stomach.
I am in the process of purchasing a SSD drive for the setup since the Mac mini is installed year 'round. The vibration and temperature extremes necessitate the drive.
The cool thing is that I just hop in the vehicle and within a minute the machine boots up on it's own and there's nothing to pull in and out each night. (the SSD should make the bootup even faster!) ... No wires to plug in, no mount to install... I like it much better than my original laptop mount scenario.
This is the setup that I have. Intel Mac mini mounted under the seat with a EarthLCD Touch Screen mounted on the center of the dash... Wireless keyboard and a Cirque touchpad mounted on my console. A Carnetix CNX-P1900 powers it all and it's working great.
Having the screen between the seat reduces the danger in a head on collision because there's no laptop stand to get knifed into the passenger's stomach.
I am in the process of purchasing a SSD drive for the setup since the Mac mini is installed year 'round. The vibration and temperature extremes necessitate the drive.
The cool thing is that I just hop in the vehicle and within a minute the machine boots up on it's own and there's nothing to pull in and out each night. (the SSD should make the bootup even faster!) ... No wires to plug in, no mount to install... I like it much better than my original laptop mount scenario.
Phil Moyer
Jerry,
Do you have instrumentation on your vehicle? If so, do you use the Mac for data acquisition and recording? I'm curious because I'm contemplating this approach....
Cheers,
Phil
Do you have instrumentation on your vehicle? If so, do you use the Mac for data acquisition and recording? I'm curious because I'm contemplating this approach....
Cheers,
Phil
Jerry Prsha
EF4
Sorry Phil, I do not. It's on my list of things to do. Please contact me on here or in a private message if I can answer anything for you...
Paul Harrop
EF0
I am switching vehicles - twice. I currently am in a 05 Trailblazer, with my own equipment, but the TV station I work work for (which owns the vehicles) is putting me into a 06 Explorer that was being driven by another colleague until he left a few weeks ago. It has several other peices of equipment, including microwave transmission gear. I will be loading into it this week. My conundrum is that the station has a Durango on order for me, and it could get here at any time. Do I integrate all my stuff into the explorer, then have to do it all over again when the Durango gets here? Or do I save myself the work, but stay vulnerable (bare bones) until it comes? Keep in mind, I drive this vehicle daily to cover news. I love having ham radio / internet on board to pass time. Thoughts?
Jason Boggs
Paul, it just depends on how much you need the equipment right now. I know it would be a hassle to change it to the Explorer and then the Durango. I'd go with the bare bone essentials until the Durango gets there. Changing out equipment is never a fun chore, especially if you have a lot of it.
