tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post318639949540538653..comments2024-03-29T09:08:47.702-04:00Comments on The Silicon Graybeard: A Little Techie HistorySiGraybeardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-50506739221788288052012-01-28T02:41:20.735-05:002012-01-28T02:41:20.735-05:00We used the Motorola Handie-Talkies at San Diego P...We used the Motorola Handie-Talkies at San Diego PD when I worked there, late 70's, early 80's. One of our young parking monitors was ticketing a car in an alley off the Boardwalk in Pacific Beach when the owner took offense. He had been drinking, and since the Mace the kid was issued didn't work when he was attacked, he used his Handie-Talkie on the guy until the battery popped off the bottom (they use to twist on, back then). Worked pretty well, from the results I saw when I arrived at the scene.RegTnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-47829328246892923942012-01-27T21:11:34.640-05:002012-01-27T21:11:34.640-05:00I could believe both stories. I've seen one fa...I could believe both stories. I've seen one fall off the bumper of an ambulance and land right in front of the tire as the truck was leaving for a call. Even after a ~3 foot drop onto concrete and getting run over by an ambulance, it still worked. I don't think the case was even cracked!Jake (formerly Riposte3)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02976718318892210404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-1773036736484330402012-01-27T19:51:47.773-05:002012-01-27T19:51:47.773-05:00Jake - I don't know it's true, but an ex-r...Jake - I don't know it's true, but an ex-radio salesman told me they would sell the Motorola HTs by throwing them at a wall, and demonstrating they still worked. <br /><br />He also told me police representatives resisted Motorola making the HTs smaller and lightweight, preferring to have it as a back up weapon.SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-59053144798815997312012-01-27T19:45:04.042-05:002012-01-27T19:45:04.042-05:00Cool story - I did not know that.
On a side note,...Cool story - I did not know that.<br /><br />On a side note, most people don't realize it, but Motorola's handheld two-way radios (at least the professional grade ones used by police, fire, and rescue) are <i>still</i> called the Handie-Talkie series - they're just usually referred to as "HT" plus the model number. I used an HT-1000 until we changed our radio systems a couple of years ago (the 1000 model couldn't do digital squelch so it wouldn't work with the new system), and we still have some HT-1250's in service. The voice pager I use for EMS <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_MINITOR_pager" rel="nofollow">is a Motorola, too</a>.Jake (formerly Riposte3)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02976718318892210404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-43474990296900236492012-01-27T19:18:24.262-05:002012-01-27T19:18:24.262-05:00Cool idea - I never thought of that, and I was a r...Cool idea - I never thought of that, and I was a radio geek when I was 13! <br /><br />I should do a followup on Major Armstrong, a guy who insiders know, but not enough non-engineers.SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-70874649363882303572012-01-26T23:36:25.942-05:002012-01-26T23:36:25.942-05:00Great story, SG. Thanks for filing us in on that. ...Great story, SG. Thanks for filing us in on that. <br /><br />Reminds me of when I got my first transistor radio (a GE in a small, black bakelite box). Reception where I lived wasn't very good, so I took two HO train trestles up onto the roof and strung bare copper wire back and forth and then dropped it down to my bedroom window, where I pushed it into the wax covering the ferrite antenna inside the radio. Improved reception quite a bit. I think that was in '61.RegTnoreply@blogger.com