[Milsurplus] FM

[w8au at sssnet.com]

At 11:25 PM 7/31/2009, Floyd Petri wrote:
>Did someone make a comment that the Texas Tower shoot out was not true or
>that it did not happen?  It certainly was not hilarious.  I don't know about
>Google, but the Texas Tower shoot out did happen and took place in Austin,
>Texas at the University of Texas Tower.  A young man got a rifle with lots
>of ammunition and went up on top of the tower and started shooting everyone
>that he saw out in the open.

Floyd:  This is definitely NOT the story we are talking about.  Sorry you
thought that this was it.

Fred's story was "The Great Texas Tower Antenna shootout."  Had 
nothing negative
about it.  (I think my not including the word "antenna" may have confused
some.)

Mike, W5EGO, asked more about it and I will try to recall what it was
about.

Fred was tasked with overseeing the removal of a 2-way antenna from a tower
because it was installed too high. The customer was a Texas oil company.

In surveying the task and the expense required, he decided to hold an "antenna
shootout." Don't remember how many participated, but a number of 
folks with some
high powered weapons set up and proceeded to fire away at the antenna 
and mounting
hardware.  It worked....

Others that I had heard about were the "Lyndon Johnson Waiver." When 
LBJ was the Senate majority leader he called the FCC and got a waiver 
for Fred to install 3,000-watt VHF lowband base stations to 
communicate with mobiles all across the U.S. (During high sunspot 
period, obviously)

And the "The Radio Equipped Horse-drawn Wagon" that used to pick up 
supplies for Link Radio
at the NYC docks.

Also the "Electric Windows That Sold Radios," where some foreign 
buyers, fascinated by the electric windows on his Cadillac, agreed to 
a purchase while spending most of their time operating the windows 
instead of paying attention to Fred demonstrating mobile radio 
equipment in the car.

Some crazy stuff.  And I understand there were a lot more stories....

Hope this helps...

Perry