BudRaymond

And precisely what about our current system gave you an expectation of fairness???

I worked with Jim Chressanthis on Ghost Whisperer. He frequently told people "I have the most important job on the set. $3million per episode rides on these shoulders..." Barf.

Unfortunately the DOT does not distinguish between Lithium, Lithium-ion, and Lithium Polymer (LiPo) batteries. The only documented cases of fire, AFAIK, are for Lithium-ion batteries. These are the rechargeables found in laptops, NP-1's, etc. The single use, Ultralife lithium batteries are extremely stable and are not likely to catch fire on impact during discharge. Similarly, lithium polymer batteries were developed to reduce the inflammability of traditional lithium-ion rechargeables. LiPo batteries have a lower kW/kg ratio as a trade off for lower volatility and reactivity. Don't know if you can make a case with the TSA, but for personal reference one should take the greatest care with the NP-1's and other portable device rechargeables. These are the highest risk batteries.

Maybe they'll hire you as an online correspondent?

Forrest used to put DC plugs on the 01V96. Does anyone know if he still does it?

I had the pleasure of working with him and he was always entertaining. He will be missed.

You can reuse the Maxell caddy. You just take out the used DVD-RAM and put in a new one of these: http://www.tapeandmedia.com/detail.asp?product_id=LM-AF30U Bud Raymond.

I would call McMaster-Carr for a catalog. They carry every small part I've ever wondered about buying, including the Randy MacDonald rubber bands. Bud Raymond.

Shark-fin antennas are log-periodic assemblies, usually covering 450-850 MHZ. The specific frequency you are using within a given block has a specific wavelength and therefore a specific antenna tuning. Higher frequency, shorter wavelength, shorter end of shark-fin. I don't know of any frequency specific log-periodic antennas, because that would be a whip essentially. In my experience, the Sennheiser or PSC shark-fins are preferable because they are made of metal. The Lectrosonics ALP500 is also useful because of the built-in RF amplifier, but it is made of circuitboard. Bud Raymond.

I don't know how the PAL conversion holds up. The player I have is for NTSC. Bud Raymond.

I actually bought one of the Toshiba HD-D3 players from Costco. It also plays standard def. DVD's and upconverts them to very near HD quality. The fact it plays HD-DVD's is an added benefit. Bud Raymond.

I use the Lectrosonics multicoupler. Then I use one of the 8 RF outputs to go into my TV tuner. The multicoupler also has the advantage of Phantom powering the inline RF amps. Bud Raymond.