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Obviously, one of my most important pieces of equipment is my vehicle. Currently, any given
spring season will require anywhere between 5,000 and 15,000 miles of travel. That puts a
lot of wear of the car and equipment, not to mention the drivers. As of the 2003 season, I
started using my 2003 Pontiac Aztek, and have been using it since. It has proven to be a
fairly reliable, with most of the major maintenance being induced only by external projectiles,
be it grapefruit-sized hailstones or woodland creatures that strayed onto a highway...and my
bumper/undercarriage/tires.
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Additional equipment that has been installed in the car has either practical use, or is intended
to enrich the learning experience on most storm chases. Learning experience??? Please check
out the internal link to the left that is entitled "Motivation" for more info on why I choose to
observe storms. The following are lists of equipment that the vehicle contains, either year-round
or just on storm chases.
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Year-Round Equipment:
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4 to 8 Blankets
2 to 10 Gallons of Drinking Water
Basic Life Support Medical Kit
6 Cervical Spine Collars (Sizes Range from Pediatric to Adult)
Fire Extinguisher
Front and Rear Mounted LED Strobes for Accident Scenes or Extreme Low Visibility Situations
2-meter Radio
SG2000 Super Gain HAM Antenna
Wilson Cellular Antenna
Window-Mount Scanner Antenna
Dashboard Camera Mount (Bogen Pistol-Grip)
Center-Console Mounted 14" LCD Screen
Toolbox
Ratchet Set
Brush Gloves
350 Watt DC-to-AC Inverter
GPS Antenna Mounted on Roof
XM Satellite Antenna Mounted on Roof
Slow-Response Thermistor and Relative Humidity Sensor Mounted on Roof Inside an Aspirated Water-Resistant Enclosure
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Additional Equipment Carried on Storm Chases:
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Laptop Computer
Additional USB GPS Antenna
Minolta Maxxum 7 SLR Camera
Panasonic PV-DV600 Camcorder
Several Tripods
300 Channel Scanner
County Maps of Chase Area
XM Weather Data Receiver and Software
GPS Tracking Software
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Although the equipment seems like a lot, it has been built up over the past 5 years, and has
been paid for with a full-time student's budget. (working several jobs of course!) Obviously,
large expenses such as new windshields and mirrors due to massive hailstones crop up ever once
in a while, but the most expensive part of chasing is definitely the fuel.
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Major improvements to the Aztek since purchasing it have been:
Added new tires for better handling of gravel/dirt roads, and better hydroplaning resistance.
Added the XM Satellite data delivery system
Added a plate with attached Temp/RH enclosure, GPS antenna hail shield, and XM antenna hail shield.
Added warning lights for extremely low-visibility situations and accident scenes
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