From: "Rich Peet" <>
> Now I want to look at the Prius hybred
> so that I can slowly drive on quiet electric power for recording and
> still have the gas engine for power. It will be impossible to sleep
> in that vehicle if I go that direction though.
>
I have looked at a Prius. Awful machine for a field vehicle. Would not
last a day in the field down here. Delicate, poor ground clearance. I'd
be lucky to get it in and out of some of the nicer areas, no chance for
a lot of the places. It would not even like our driveway.
Holds very little, for me it would be more than just a problem with
sleeping in it. I'd be lucky to fit my recording and camera gear in if
two of us were going. And my body does not like being folded up and
stuffed down into such cars. It lets me know for days afterwards.
I think you would find you could not drive entirely on electric with it.
That engine would be coming on a lot.
Speaking of which, it gets no better gas mileage than our 1984 Escort
wagon got. Before we gave up holding it together with nearly 400,000
miles on it. This is supposed to be a new, more economic vehicle, but
it's not. It's a sham.
I'll give them a point for trying, but they need to go back to the
drawing board. Do some real engineering.
Now if you want a quiet electric field vehicle, take a look at the
electric Ford Ranger. There was one was auctioned on ebay last week,
17,000 miles on it, went for a little over $12,000. Only problem would
be finding that 220volt plugin every 100 miles for it's charger. And
that a new one is something like $55,000. And it's only available in 2WD
regular cab. If it just got 250 miles per charge we would have been tempted.
In any case, the engine noise is only one aspect of vehicle noise. Tire
noise is frequently louder. If you really want to hear the details you
have to stop and listen.
Walt
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>From Tue Mar 8 18:27:07 2005
Message: 4
Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 13:52:00 -0000
From: "qukza" <>
Subject: Re: random equipment news
> My hope for the format is a new HHb Portadisc. Pro equipment for field
> recording of original material. It's clear that consumer portables of
> the future will be oriented mostly toward the individual song sales
> market. Driven by copyright worries.
I think that's the big problem with MD that won't go away. It's tied
to Sony, a company with conflicting and unresolved commitments.
>
> HHb's premium 80 minute minidiscs are $2.39 in bulk. The cards have a
> long, long way to go. If I was following my usual practice of archiving
> the original recording on it's original medium, and using a PMD670, I'd
> already have well more than the cost of another PMD670 tied up in this
> years media, even at the new prices. Not well less than the cost of a
> tank of gas as is the case in minidiscs.
No kidding. It won't be long before a 1GB CF card is below $50. They
were selling on Amazon for $130 the other day and the price is halving
every year. There is going to come a time in the not too distant
future when the cost difference between a 1GB CF card and a $7 1GB
Hi-MD disc will be insignificant for most users. Agreed, it is not an
archive medium, but there are lots of good options for that.
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>From Tue Mar 8 18:27:07 2005
Message: 5
Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 10:15:56 -0400
From: "Eric V. Schmidt" <>
Subject: Re: after workshop question
Walt;
I am driving a 1973 Ford Granada - so it is really on its last legs.
What is weird about the brake lights is they are staying on. Even if the
car is shut off.
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