Nov 7th 2009 Austin, TX Meet: *UPDATED* W/Pics & Vidz

[TxBmbleBee]

i hope i have luck finding a manual ecu with a key or else i really dont see myself making this...

[SleeperSolara]

Will see if i can make it......

[LEE337]

i hope i have luck finding a manual ecu with a key or else i really dont see myself making this...

OK. Lets find Craig a Manual ECU. Im not gona let you miss this.

Will see if i can make it......

Whoo Hooooo!!! Sure would be great if you could make it.
Ill put you down as a maybe.

[TxBmbleBee]

i have a manual ecu, just not the key that went with it lol. im gonna go junk yard hopping this weekend. ill keep yal posted

[Gibson99]

hey craig worst case we can do the fake solenoids thing with some resistors and see if that works. i figure that would be under $25 worth of parts.

have you gone to autozone to get your codes read and make sure thats teh only codes you have are the shift solenoid ones? usually p0700 series codes if i remember right.

i'm trying to find time to get my egr fixed so that i can get a valid inspection sticker myself. i already got a speeding ticket earlier in september, and thankfully the cop let me slide on the expired inspection sticker... partly because his PDA for writing tickets crashed and he had to start all over, but also because i showed him my ASE certification card and explained some of the troubleshooting steps i've taken, and that i have to drive it to make sure engine light doesn't come back on.... that $107 for court fees still sucks though... plus whatever defensive driving is gonna cost me...

and lee i dunno if you got my suggestion or not, but i think we should all bring our FRS radios rather than trying to use cell phones. that way we can just put one call out and everyone will hear, vs trying to get everyone on the phones. cup holders and that spot in front of the shifter (on g4 cam and g1 sol) work well for radios - just turn em up loud enough that you'll be able to hear it.

[LEE337]

Hope you get it figured out Craig.

The radios sound like a good idea to me. How many have FRS Radios???

I was gona get a call list together for those that wana plan a group drive to Rudy's.
That and to have a way to contact other Texas members.

[Chinky420]

how much are these FRS radios?

pics/brands of decent inexpensive ones?

[Gibson99]

ok seems you can't get em that are just frs anymore (except one hello kitty one i found at target lol)

now it's FRS/GMRS combo radios. frs = 1/2 watt, gmrs = 1 watt. supposedly you're supposed to have an fcc license to operate in the gmrs channels, but nobody really polices it that i'm aware of.

here's a few:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... nSession=1

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... gMethod=rr

http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-SX600R-2 ... 778&sr=8-1 <-- this link is $5 cheaper than walmart and has free shipping.

the reason i am posting only motorola links is because in my role as chief of timing for the solo program, i get to see how radios perform at our events, when corner workers are communicating with timing and scoring, reporting cone penalties and such. we've tried the Midland and Cobra cheapies from radio shack/walmart, and they SUCK. they work ok for a little while but they just fall apart. the motorolas last for years, and even when the plastics start to fall apart from being dropped a thousand times, they still work just fine. we have some really ghetto looking motorolas held together with silicone and duct tape that still work better than the midland or cobra units that are still on their first set of batteries.

[Chinky420]

^^^ gibson, thank you. that insight was exactly what i was fishing for. i'll probably try and pick a pair of these up before the meet (regardless).

so, basically, i'm down to use them.

[Gibson99]

Here's my suggestion for the Houston Caravan. what do you guys think?

Let's all meet up in the old HEB parking lot (is it Steinmart now?) on the corner of SH249 and Louetta. For those who don't know the area, it's the one with KFC and a McDonalds in the parking lot. FYI - this location is not exactly convenient for me... it'll take me almost an hour to get there. it's just a nice starting point on the NW side that isn't in the ghetto, and has a couple somewhat fun roads that we can hit on the way.

Let's be there by about 7:30am so that we can have a quick photoshoot (hopefully there's enough light!) and maybe get some breakfast. There's a little place in this shopping center called "The Egg and I" that my wife loves, but I've never been. I think there's a donut shop across the highway in the new HEB center, and there's a McDonalds and an Exxon on the corner for whatever else...

Leaving before 8am, We'll hit Louetta out to Grant road and turn right, and go up Cypress-Rosehill to FM2920, then head out to 290. There's a few fun curves on that route - a little less boring than simply taking louetta to spring-cypress to 290, and only slightly longer mileage-wise.

Then it's pretty much cruise control on 290 out to austin, then pick up FM2222 out to Rudy's.

Google maps route link

[Gibson99]

^^^ gibson, thank you. that insight was exactly what i was fishing for.

FRS radios use something very close to CB frequencies, which is why they don't need a license. they claim 16 miles range. i doubt you could get that unless you're out in the middle of the bonneville salt flats or something. real world is more like a mile. on a good day. in hills and in cars and stuff, range goes down from there, but it's still better than those cheesy old 27mhz walkie-talkies we had (well, i had) growing up in the 80s that barely worked across the house, nevermind across the street...

[LEE337]

I have a Motorola. Its OK, but like Gibson said its better than most of the crap thats out there. I use to have two, but a friend of mine had a bit of a racing fopa and there was a crunch involved. So Im down to only one. Maybe I can borrow some from friends.

[SleeperSolara]

Whoo Hooooo!!! Sure would be great if you could make it.
Ill put you down as a maybe.

Yeah.
Sweet.

[LEE337]

Whoo Hooooo!!! Sure would be great if you could make it.
Ill put you down as a maybe.

Yeah.
Sweet.

So is that a yes? or still a maybe?

[SleeperSolara]

Whoo Hooooo!!! Sure would be great if you could make it.
Ill put you down as a maybe.

Yeah.
Sweet.

So is that a yes? or still a maybe?

Still a maybe man.
I'm tryin' to find a job right now so i can get some fundin' goin'.....