Hamfessional meets professional

Posted on September 19, 2005 by VE3HBD

I was at the launch of our new season at the TV station I work at (including DAYTIME, a new show I direct daily (plugplugplug)). We had our (relativley) new microwave live truck set-up in front of the station as part of our red carpet gala. Upon hanging out around the truck talking to the truck’s tech, I noticed a familiar sight in one of the side bins – the microwave transmitter at the top of the mast was controlled by none other than a YAESU G-800 antenna rotator. It was worth taking a photo of and posting on Hamsexy, at least in my opinion. The truck tech (who isn’t a ham) kinda looked at me strange – until I explained to him that his new million dollar live truck is running with a ham radio antenna rotator at it’s very core. We both shared a laugh – every truck in the fleet (including many other stations) are outfitted with simlar units.

Who says that ham gear is shit? (grin)


The truck with the mast up


The side bulkhead… wow, that looks familiar……


Ooof! A hamshack on wheels!!


The transmitter & UHF antenna

Posted in Hamsexyness! | 4 Comments

Hilarious REACT PSA

Posted on September 17, 2005 by Purple Zero

One of our friends pointed out this gem, found on a local REACT website. It seems that REACT international had a little money to burn, and spent some dough on this rather professional looking PSA. I’ve never seen it run on any TV stations – only on the web.

While the spot boasts some good production values, the message it gives certainly isn’t a positive one. In it we see a rather frail old man, an overweight guy in his 20’s and a rosy-cheeked beast of a woman all espouse how they “save lives via two way radio communications”. Instead of showing REACT as some sort of important live-saving service, they come off as a “join us and talk on a walkie-talkie” nerd group (which… surprise surprise!! They are!!). The whole right-from-the-mouth-of-a-layman “two-way radio communications” mantra repeated throughout seems like they’re more interested in attracting whackers than actualy attracting those who might want to help out in their community. It’s not “We assist those who need it” or “We assist law enforcement with vital search and rescue missions”, it’s “I play with two-way radios…. and you can too!”

“Isn’t it time for you to react?”…. I did… it’s called laughter.

And the old man looks like he should be tending to a plantation in Georgia, sipping a mint julep, hold the honorary rank of “Colonel”, worry about the Kudzu vine on his magnolias and start off every sentence with “ah say, ah say…” and “Ah reckon”.

Click here to watch the video. It’s .mpg format and is 5 megs.

Posted in Hamsexy WTF???? | 18 Comments

Call list from Sept 14th Hamsexy Net

Posted on September 16, 2005 by VE3HBD

A good net! 29 checkins from a variety of locations, including two ‘early morning’ check-ins from Australia. The Wisconsin/Illinois crew was well represented – it looks like they might take the title of “most area check-ins” away from the Las Vegas Superstation crew!! (of which there was only one Check-in this week). As well, this is the first net where the number of American calls vastly outnumbered the Canadian ones. The word about the net is spreading – let’s keep it going!

Here’s the call-list, more or less complete and accurate.

VE3HBD – Bryan from Brampton, Ontario (Net Control)
K8TEK -Tim from Ottawa, Ohio
VE4UO – Shaun from Winnipeg, Manitoba
VE3LT – Tom from Niagara Falls, Ontario
VK2QQ -Brad from Sydney, Australia
KC9HYR – Josh from Sussex Wisconsin
VE3NSV – Terry from Kitchener, Ontairo
KB9YCO – Brett from Antioch, Illinois
KA9VZD – Rick from Antioch, Illinois
KA0KMJ – John from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
K0SIX – Ron from Oakdale, Minnestoa
KC9HJX– Ray from Waukegan, Illinois
KB9CFV– John from Zion, Illinois
KB9JXZ – Michael from Twin Lakes, Wisconsin
AB9JV – Lenny from Orland Park, Illinois
N5ZUA – Steve from Houston, Texas
WA7VGM– ??? from ???
WA2LKV – Sean from somewhere in Illinois
KB9STB – Myron from Weston, Wisconsin
N0YNT – Matt from St. Paul, Minnesota
K9JAC – Jonny boy from Hubertis, Wisconsin
KB1LOO – Chris from Plymouth, Massatwoshits
W9ORN – Barbie from Hubertis, Wisconsin
VE3GLU – Paul from Guelph, Ontario
WV9MJS – Mitchell from Des Plaines, Ilinois
N9FSE – Steve from Milwauke, Wisconsin
KD7LVX – Steve from Las Vegas, Nevada
VK2DVH – Jack from somewhere in New South Wales, Australia
WA3RDM – Bob from Laporte, Pennsylvania

Posted in Hamsexyness! | 2 Comments

Hamsexy Net Tonght

Posted on September 14, 2005 by admin

The Hamsexy Net is back this week. Again. Despite YOUR protests!

There are two ways you can get involved:

IRLP: Node 9008
Echolink: *VAN-IRLP* (remember the asterisks!!)

If you wish, you can listen to the net on VE3NSV’s live stream:http://ve3nsv.no-ip.org:8000/hamsexy.m3u

The net goes live at 0100 GMT (6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern) tonight!!

Net Control tonight will be Bryan VE3HBD. The theme for tonight is TBA.

See you tonight!

Posted in Hamsexyness! | 6 Comments

ReactSexy

Posted on September 11, 2005 by Purple Zero

Of all of the mail that we get, one of the most requested subjects we get is this to do an article on this guy: Col. Paul Broussard. We got this e-mail from “Anonymous”:

I included 2 photos of this Whacker’s POV decorated with Beau Coup decals. The third photo is of 2 of his “REACT Units” parked in front of his house trailer which displays a REACT sign in the window.

Here’s the background. This guy, Paul Broussard, who uses the title Colonel, is a complete Whacker. He lives down around Lafayette, Louisiana. He couldn’t get on the police department
and the firefighters don’t want anything to do with him. So he began impersonating a Security Guard. The local cops busted him a couple times sitting around in his whacked out car wearing a uniform he bought out of a catalog and even carrying pistols and shotguns. The State got involved when the local cops found that he wasn’t registered with the State as a Security Guard and he was served with a restraining order to stop passing himself off as a Rent-A-Cop.

He removed all the stickers from his car which said SECURITY but left the Search & Rescue and K-9 decals. Look close and you may see the prisoner cage in the back of one of his cars. Of course he left all the strobe lights and hide-a-ways installed.

Looking for some other way to live the Walter Mitty lifestyle he had grown accustomed to he found REACT. What a great racket. He could wear a police style uniform with REACT patches, have a reason for the antennas on his cars and more.

Soon he chartered a REACT Team in his area and started decorating his vehicles with REACT decals. Now he has the title of President and CEO of Lafayette REACT.

Not happy that REACT stands for Radio Emergency Associated Communications Teams, he changed the “A” in his REACT to “ACTION”, because Whackers love plenty of ACTION. It even says so on his Yahell Profile and his crappy website
.

He then contacted other REACT Teams looking for equipment, GMRS Radios and repeaters, info on how to get a Ham Radio license and tower sections. REACT Teams neighboring his new group complained to the REACT International Board that this Colonels Whacker actions were disrupting established relationships they had cultivated with businesses, tower owners and donors who saw the Colonel and assumed he was part of those other Teams and that he represented them all. The REACT Board declined to act on the complaints.

So if you see someone driving a car like the ones in these photos don’t assume that just because they have a REACT ‘uniform’ on they represent all REACTers. This is just an extreme example.


Posted in Hamsexy WTF???? | 12 Comments

It’s Vantastic!!!

Posted on September 10, 2005 by Purple Zero

A reader up in Canada sent us this today… I don’t know, I think he might be onto something here.

“Here is Bill (ve3cru)’s new van. What an eye sore….”


Click to enlarge

Posted in Vehicular Reviews | 8 Comments

Hamsexy Net Tonight

Posted on September 7, 2005 by admin

The Hamsexy Net – bigger, better, badder and bladder. It’s back for another week, and we request your presence.

There are two ways you can get involved:

IRLP: Node 9008
Echolink: *VAN-IRLP* (remember the asterisks!!)

If you wish, you can listen to the net on VE3NSV’s live stream:http://ve3nsv.no-ip.org:8000/hamsexy.m3u

The net goes live at 0100 GMT (6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern) tonight!!

Net Control tonight will be Bryan VE3HBD. Tonight’s theme is “What’s the most annoying thing you’ve heard on Ham Radio”.

See you tonight!!

Posted in Hamsexyness! | 3 Comments

How not to install a repeater

Posted on September 6, 2005 by Purple Zero

This has been on both Batlabs and the Hamsexy Forums. However, someone sent it to the Hamsexy Mail Sack, so we though it was worth repeating for those who might not be on either forum.

This is a commercial installation…. the local county government actually pays someone to “lease a repeater”. The vendor hog tied a msf repeater to the county courthouse roof, ran an extension cord, used a mag mount antenna AND charges them for the dam thing.


Click to see the full picture in all it’s glory!

Posted in Hamsexyness! | 13 Comments