emergency communications vehicle

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kb1oar

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I am a ham operator and was thinking about buying a crown vic. for my personal car and wanted to make it in to a emergency communications vehicle. i want to put radios,gps,computer,amber lights,ect. do you think police would give me a hard time ?
 

zz0468

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kb1oar said:
I am a ham operator and was thinking about buying a crown vic. for my personal car and wanted to make it in to a emergency communications vehicle. i want to put radios,gps,computer,amber lights,ect. do you think police would give me a hard time ?

Yep. I do.
 

n9zek

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It depends on where you are, the relationship you have with local emergency services and whether or not you are professional and responsible. I have had all the above in my vehicles (at one time or another, scanners always) for over 20 years and have never had a problem. I have been a firefighter, volunteer with the Red Cross as a Board Member and DAT Team Member, work closely with the EMA and know our local law emforcement and I am an Amateur Radio operator also. I have also had scanners before I was an Amateur Radio operator. I was responsible and never had a problem.
 

KB8UYC

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radio10-8 said:
go for it and be sure to post pictures!

I would highly recommend that you NOT post your pictures. There are too many children here that just want to name call. Most of it is because they cannot do that to their vehicle and are not responsible enough.

I am a Ham Radio operator also. Yes we have to be prepared for the unknown. You choose a very good vehicle to get that accomplished. If you do use amber lights, I would go with low profile hideaways. As far as you getting tagged by the Police, as long as you are doing nothing illegal, then they cannot do anything to you.

Good luck with your project, and when you are done I would not mind seeing the pictures maybe in an email or PM. Again though, I would not post here. I will be doing the same thing to my 2004 tahoe, but I will not post pictures here because of the immaturity of a lot of people here.
 

ryangassxx

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Well if the police won't plenty of people here probably will...

Just for the record,.. What practical purpose would such a vehicle serve? Would you plan to be out and about "responding to emergencies"? And in what way would you be able to assist in such an emergency merely by having a crown vic with a bunch of radios in it?

Now, here's the deal... Surely some of you believe that by asking these questions, I've just lit the fuse to a flame fest.. But on the other hand, if for the first time someone could merely provide an adequate answer for these questions that'd be the end of it... But until that happens, popular opinion of such behavior will be that of a whacker..
 

n2mdk

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ryangassxx said:
Well if the police won't plenty of people here probably will...

Just for the record,.. What practical purpose would such a vehicle serve? Would you plan to be out and about "responding to emergencies"? And in what way would you be able to assist in such an emergency merely by having a crown vic with a bunch of radios in it?

Now, here's the deal... Surely some of you believe that by asking these questions, I've just lit the fuse to a flame fest.. But on the other hand, if for the first time someone could merely provide an adequate answer for these questions that'd be the end of it... But until that happens, popular opinion of such behavior will be that of a whacker..

I don't know about a Crown Vic being essential, but go back in time to 9-12-01 and ask what good vehicles like that did in the weeks and months following the attack.
 

trace1

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Simple answer to simple question without all the other rhetoric...

kb1oar said:
I am a ham operator and was thinking about buying a crown vic. for my personal car and wanted to make it in to a emergency communications vehicle. i want to put radios,gps,computer,amber lights,ect. do you think police would give me a hard time ?

Maybe, possibly, but not necessarily.
 

SLWilson

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Why?

kb1oar said:
I am a ham operator and was thinking about buying a crown vic. for my personal car and wanted to make it in to a emergency communications vehicle. i want to put radios,gps,computer,amber lights,ect. do you think police would give me a hard time ?

I too an am Amateur radio operator. I have a Chevy Tahoe. I have my radioequipment mounted in the truck. In an "Emergency Communications" type situation, (I'm assuming you mean a tornado, stantard communications failure, or some other disaster) our local club ONLY gets involved in ANY COMMUNICATIONS upon the request of the local Emergency Management Agency (i.e. LOCAL GOVERNMENT)...

Even at that point, WHY on earth would you need any "extra lights" installed on your car? What purpose would they serve?

Are you new to Amateur radio? I know that there some out there that get their license and then think they are the police or other emergency service worker. They aren't! They are someone thet took the time to get an Amateur radio license, learn about radio and ASSISTS when ASKED to...

Steve/KB8FAR
 

zz0468

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I just don't understand this desire to create a vehicle that looks like an unmarked police vehicle. It strikes me as immature, asking for trouble, and doesn't serve any useful purpose other than to massage the ego of it's owner. I have no problem with radios in vehicles, I myself have several in my vehicle. But it's a pathfinder, not a crown vic, and maybe it makes me look like some radio nut, not a cop wannabe nut. I'm ok with that.

What are the lights for? What sort of situations do you intend to get into where you would actually NEED them? What do those situations have to do with being a ham operator?
 

zz0468

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n2mdk said:
I don't know about a Crown Vic being essential, but go back in time to 9-12-01 and ask what good vehicles like that did in the weeks and months following the attack.

Ok. I give up. What DID good vehicles like that do in the weeks and months following the attack?
 

n2mdk

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A lot more than the bad ones did.
They were used for lots of purposes, including transporting out of state first responders andrescue teams around. Help with communication in the emergency shelters that were set up. Drove members of the Red Cross and even city OEM personnel around.
 

mjthomas59

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I think it sounds like a pretty cool idea aside from the fact that it is most likely never going to be used. Unless you plan on attempting to get into New York City when another 9/11 happens(or some other city when another major terrorist attack occurs) then i personally don't ever see it getting used for its "intended" purpose.

Aside from that, what radios do you plan on putting in it? You would need the capability to talk on any frequency including fed bands, 800mhz, 700mhz, UHF, VHF, Loband, maybe CB, plus you would need digital capability. I'm tired just typing all that out. So even if you put aside the logistical aspect of having the "capability" to transmit you are still left with several other issues.

1st off looking like a patrol car is bad news. Not because the police are looking at you, but because the criminals out there are. Having a vehicle which looks like you are LE is a good way to get it keyed or windows broken out of it. Not to mention some pissed off criminal looking to ruin a cops day may just assualt you if he sees you getting out of it. No gun or badge but looking like a cop(or driving a copcar w/ lights nonetheless) is the perfect opportunity for the owner to get assaulted.

2nd off theft would have to be on the top of my concern list. You have 10k atleast (ATLEAST) in gps, laptop, radios, antennas etc, that thing will stick out like a sore thumb anytime you drive it and more importantly anytime you park it.

If you really want to do something like this pick a vehicle that isn't so copcar looking. It will be way safer for you, it will eliminate any LE harrassing you for being a whacker, eliminate any criminals eyeing you as possibly being a detective or some other form of LE, and quite frankly i don't give a s*** what the vehicle looks like, if it is a time of serious emergency i don't care whether you hand me 2 cans on a string or pull up in a fully marked patrol car, if i need to communicate then i'll do it however i can.

That being said i can think of a million other things i would rather spend the 20k on aside from a "just in case but i don't think it will ever get used" vehicle.

I would also note that in times of emergency a gasoline operated vehicle is your worst enemy. The gov't brings in their own diesel which they will share assuming you were doing "official" activities. This may not be everywhere or all the time, but when i went to New Orleans to help with Katrina cleanup diesel was the only thing i could find.
 
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ryangassxx

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n2mdk said:
A lot more than the bad ones did.
They were used for lots of purposes, including transporting out of state first responders andrescue teams around. Help with communication in the emergency shelters that were set up. Drove members of the Red Cross and even city OEM personnel around.

I'd like to see anything to support that anything like that ever happened on 9/11...

You're telling me that first responders and red cross personnel depended on whackermobiles to get from place to place on 9/11? Why,....? What happened to THEIR cars? Were the whackermobiles somehow able to circumnavigate the terrain better than the official vehicles? And the obvious question,.. How did ham radio aid in this whole ordeal?
 

n2mdk

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ryangassxx said:
I'd like to see anything to support that anything like that ever happened on 9/11...

You're telling me that first responders and red cross personnel depended on whackermobiles to get from place to place on 9/11? Why,....? What happened to THEIR cars? Were the whackermobiles somehow able to circumnavigate the terrain better than the official vehicles? And the obvious question,.. How did ham radio aid in this whole ordeal?

You don't have to believe it I was there I know what we did. In an event like happened on 9-11 communications was a key to running everything. Did you know there was almost no cell phone service for a very long time after the Trade Center went down, the key switching circuits were under there. Here is just a sample of the info out there if you really want to find out what some whackers and there equipment are capable of, No go eat your berries and cream and dream about your ultralife batteries.
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/WTC.pdf
http://hometown.aol.com/realhamradio/
 
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iMONITOR

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kb1oar said:
I am a ham operator and was thinking about buying a crown vic. for my personal car and wanted to make it in to a emergency communications vehicle. i want to put radios,gps,computer,amber lights,ect. do you think police would give me a hard time ?

Although CV's are frequently used for police cars, I don't think they perform well for some emergency situations. To begin with, they're rear wheel drive, with low ground clearance and don't do well in the snow, deep water, or off road. In spite of their size, there is not a lot of room in the interior, and they can't carry a lot of weight. I think a van, or some SUV's would be a better choice.
 

Bentley

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GreatLakes said:
Although CV's are frequently used for police cars, I don't think they perform well for some emergency situations. To begin with, they're rear wheel drive, with low ground clearance and don't do well in the snow, deep water, or off road. In spite of their size, there is not a lot of room in the interior, and they can't carry a lot of weight. I think a van, or some SUV's would be a better choice.

I agree...I could see a tahoe, suburban, expedition, excursion type vehicle being much better in an emergency situation. Much more room for equipment, higher clearance for going thru water or whatever, 4 wheel drive for snow...stuff like that.

Most emergency management vehicles around here in Jersey are full size suv's.

You just have to weigh out the difference between having more room, and going thru much more fuel!

Good Luck!
 
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