Communicating and tracking while mobile isn't so bad with the right mindset It's really unsafe. Trying to push those tiny buttons on a cell handset while driving. The velocity of a car at 60 miles per hour is 88 feet per second. Looking at that tiny screen and trying to push the correct sequence of buttons - while the car goes on without visual attention - is not safe. I've been talking on Ham (and military) radios while mobile (in a vehicle) for more than 50 years. I don't recall ever having a situation where talking (to a microphone) has caused a traffic situation. In many states, calls to legislators to "do something" is getting legislation saying it is distracting and therefore unlawful to talk on a handset while driving. I wonder what the difference is between that and singing along to the radio. Or dictating to a microphone that goes to a tape recorder - or my Ham transmitter. Heads up That's why I am so happy with my windshield display of buttons. The display of the keyboard is a reflection in the windshield similar to heads up displays found in multi-million dollar military fighter aircraft. Now I press buttons on a 4-inch by 5-inch touch pad laying down by my right hand or fastened to the armrest. A display unit is laid on the dashboard on whatever vehicle I'm driving. The display is backwards and upside down but its reflection on the windshield of the car is clear and simple to see. No more do I have to take my eyes away from the important aspect of driving. Now I press buttons on a touch pad lying down by my hand. The keyboard is big enough that I can feel to push the buttons without having to look. And, the "dialed" digits are displayed on the windshield. At night, there is a timed backlight that still enables a reflection of digits in my line of sight. The wires just lie there, but are not more difficult than a charge cord to keep the handset battery happy. And, I still hold the phone to talk. But anybody can "talk." Talking is not the problem. Dialing is. The heads up display is neat. Trucking by tracking On June 28 Vladimir, (UY5DJ/7) my SLC-based engineer, ordered a part from Minnesota. UPS has this swell computer system that logs a parcel's bar code every time it is handled. That day the 7 oz. box was swiped three times as it went to Fargo, N.D. June 29 it was handled 5 times as it passed from Fargo to Sioux Falls, then back to Fargo and on to Omaha. By July 3 it was swiped passing through Omaha and Denver and that afternoon it reached Salt Lake City. July 6 it was swiped through Cerritos, Calif. in the morning; and by noon in Las Vegas, Nev.; and that evening it again arrived in Salt Lake City. And on Monday July 9 it got delivered. Real remote Eagle-Pitcher (epi-tech.com) had this little device sitting on the table. Five 2-inch circular devices stacked in a row with wires from each device attached to spade lugs. The whole thing just more than a foot square and slightly longer. They said it would put out 16 amps at 12 volts - guaranteed - for 10 years - with no more fuel required. Hydroxide regenerative power cell system. 30 grand. That's $250 per month or one heavy lift chopper flight per year. Airplanes Remember the Caymans? Oshkosh said they believe about 750,000 folks attended. 5,000 of us camped next to 10,000 planes that flew in. They had to pay Ameritech to install pay phones for public use. It took six weeks to set up communications including spread spectrum microwave for every group of cash registers. RF city. Great fun. For details see: http://www.airventure.org/2001/about/fast_facts.html. And the Cayman Island fly-in had one Cessna ditch off Florida. Broke crankshaft. No injuries.   Copyright 2001 by A. W. Brothers and Americas Network magazine. All rights reserved.   © Beehive Telephone Co.