What type of gear are you using in "The Chase"?
Mobile internet?
GR Level X?
Ham radio?
Mobile weather station?

Tell us what you have and how you use it.

In reply to my own question this is what I use:

Mobile internet running GR Level 3, Spotter Network and APRS.
GR Level X is the cat's meow in mobile radar but when coupled with GPS, Spotter Network and amateur radio's Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS) you can see the storm relative to YOU and not to the RADAR site. With all the other overlays you can see where everyone else is as well. You would be surprised to see who is out there on the chase!

Radios: dual band HAM radio Yaesu FT-8800, Alinco DR-135 with TNC, Motorola HT-1250, and PSR-600 Scanner.
8800 to stay in touch with severe weather nets, DR-135 relays my position and information via APRS. Motorola for EMS / EMA and the scanner to monitor other public safety agencies. Most of this is turned off during a chase but needed when spotting.

Garmin GPS to run the APRS and help get me lost!

Curious about APRS? Click link to see where I am:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?call=kg4leo-9

Response gear:
Advanced Life Support medical kit and cardiac monitor - defibrillator. Emergency lights and siren.

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Is the laptop stand something you bought or made yourself?...I need to make one up for next season and I'd like to see some images of how yours is mounted...

Actually it is a little of both. The support is a Jotto Desk system that is bolted to the passenger seat floor rails.

The platform is a highly modified Jotto. 12 volt power is supplied to the platform where it is fuse protected then fed to switches that control:
1. an LED light for the computer keyboard,
2. an aux cooling fan for the computer,
3. a homebrewed power converter to change 12 volts to 19.5 volts for the computer.
4. finally a 12 volt cigarette lighter plug for charging cell phone etc.

Support and platform courtesy of e-Bay about $50 and then a lengthy rummage through my junk box and a trip to Radio Shack. Total cost well under $75.

FWIW Get a good quality support system! Just watch Storm Chasers Season 2 the episode where Danny and Aaron run off the road. Not a lot of force involved with the mishap but the laptop stand broke free. Had there been just a little more force involved the laptop could have became a missile and potentially injured the chase crew. In my personal experiences as a street Paramedic there have been many cases where "junk" in the car caused more injuries than the wreck itself.

Safety FIRST!

Indeed...I'm pretty mindful of the hazards of projectiles in the car! I would probably use quick release nylon web type straps to secure the laptop also to it's base stand. Thanks for the info, it has come in handy. Once I start 'framing' I'll post a pic for comparison.

I once took a 6X9 speaker in the back of the head in a car accident. 8 stiches! Painful lesson. Now I secure everything!

My list is fourth coming. I plan to get every thing installed this next week and take some some pictures of my MCA. Mobile Communications Array!

JW - KJ4JAJ

Hey Jim! Welcome to the new site!!

Did the APRS info help?

Hello!

This will be a fun year. Last year, I chased with no radar, and just a little walkie-talkie with NOAA on it, lol.

This year, I have a yaesu 420, and currently a 5/8 wave antenna, but that will soon be upgraded to a 2 meter hamstick. Still no radar, or laptop. I intend to get some sort of radar on my phone, as that seems to be the cheapest, most convenient, reliable, and portable method for myself. I also intend to get some sort of camera. My fiance has a digital camera, but he intends to run skywarn nets and not chase as much with me this season.

When I am rich and famous, I would like to get a setup like KG4LEO has, but that will be a long time out from now, lol.

Don't be thinking I'm rich cuz I'm not, at least not with money the people in my life are my wealth. All the gear came one piece at a time over many years of collecting.

Start somewhere and follow your dream!

Im currently running GRLEVEL 3 off my Dell Latitude. Big computer, hope to down-grade in size eventually. I also have a Yaseu FT-60, which is just a handheld. I too am hoping to upgrade that. The Garmin Nuvi seems to be a great tool for me as well and I never leave w/ out it. I have two digital cameras, one FUJI that takes great pictures during the day, and I have a Kodak that seems to work better in the evening or when it's darker out. I've currently been chasing in my 97 Ford Mustang, by far the worst thing I've ever chased in, but you got to do what you got to do. I am getting a Ford Ranger this next weekend, which will be my new baby. Things to come soon, (hopefully by May) 1. video recorder. If you have any suggestions on what I should get, let me know! 2. Better Mobile internet. 3. Laptop stand. 4. Scanner of some sort.