Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Jan 17, 2008 8:48:49 GMT -5
A dedicated group of classic CB radio enthusiasts from the Southeastern Pennsylvania area have set aside Wednesday nights from 8:00 to 10:00 Eastern Time, on Channel 13 for "Classic Radio Roundup", where we take the various pieces of our vintage 60's and 70's radio collections out for a spin. We've done this for a few weeks now, and so far we've gotten 4 or 5 regular check-ins with various classic rigs. Our own Paul 2IR473, is a regular check-in. So far, we've had a Cobra Cam 88, a Cobra 98, Lafayette Comstat 25, Robyn T-123, Courier Centurion, Midland 13-885, and a Regency Imperial all strutting their stuff.
So if you're in earshot of Pottstown Pa, (which can be as far away as Wilmington Delaware, South Jersey, Allentown and Reading Pa.), fire up that old rig and give us a shout.......
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Post by Tombstone (R.I.P.) on Jan 17, 2008 15:34:20 GMT -5
I'd like to participate in the roundup but the Pottstown area is too long of a shot from where I am in Beaver County, Western, Pa.
Tombstone
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Jan 17, 2008 17:32:47 GMT -5
I'd like to participate in the roundup but the Pottstown area is too long of a shot from where I am in Beaver County, Western, Pa. Tombstone You're in a really bad place. Too far away for a direct shot, and too close for skip. We'll have to come up with a CB version of echolink so that everyone can get in on the fun.......
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Post by Sniper..Unit 305 on Jan 18, 2008 1:00:27 GMT -5
I sure would like to jump in on this as well with my D201 but I'm in the same predicament as Tombstone. I'm a bit closer near Greensburg PA., but could never be able to make the shot your way. Sniper
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Post by 2IR473 on Jan 18, 2008 10:34:42 GMT -5
The Classic Radio Roundup is some classic CB radio fun, and I am working on getting a few other locals involved. I have a couple of friends who are forum members, that are in the process of getting set up to join in. That should add another Tram D-201A (Spends2much) and Browning Mk IV (Ronin) to the mix, and Bioman is interested in my Cam 88. A few antenna upgrades are in progress, so that these stations can get into the roundup with ease, so the group may grow in the very near future ;D
Locally (S.E. Pennsylvania-Chester-Berks-Montgomery counties), a few of us are running CH. 35 AM and CH. 36 upper sideband, for local ragchew. Listen for us there. You may hear some of these classics running on SSB.
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Jan 18, 2008 13:24:08 GMT -5
The Classic Radio Roundup is some classic CB radio fun, and I am working on getting a few other locals involved. I have a couple of friends who are forum members, that are in the process of getting set up to join in. That should add another Tram D-201A (Spends2much) and Browning Mk IV (Ronin) to the mix, and Bioman is interested in my Cam 88. A few antenna upgrades are in progress, so that these stations can get into the roundup with ease, so the group may grow in the very near future ;D Locally (S.E. Pennsylvania-Chester-Berks-Montgomery counties), a few of us are running CH. 35 AM and CH. 36 upper sideband, for local ragchew. Listen for us there. You may hear some of these classics running on SSB. Cool! The more classics the better (that goes for radios AND people). But most of my vintage rigs are 23 channel, so getting to channels 35 and 36 would be a problem.
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Jan 22, 2008 15:45:35 GMT -5
A dedicated group of classic CB radio enthusiasts from the Southeastern Pennsylvania area have set aside Wednesday nights from 8:00 to 10:00 on Channel 13 for "Classic Radio Roundup", where we take the various pieces of our vintage 60's and 70's radio collections out for a spin. We've done this for a few weeks now, and so far we've gotten 4 or 5 regular check-ins with various classic rigs. Our own Paul 2IR473, is a regular check-in. So far, we've had a Cobra Cam 88, a Cobra 98, Lafayette Comstat 25, Robyn T-123, Courier Centurion, Midland 13-885, and a Regency Imperial all strutting their stuff. So if you're in earshot of Pottstown Pa, (which can be as far away as Wilmington Delaware, South Jersey, Allentown and Reading Pa.), fire up that old rig and give us a shout....... For those who expressed interest in joining but live too far away, you can tune into my streaming audio server to hear what's going on. I have no idea who may pop in there or what thay may be running, so you never know what you might hear.... Streaming Audio Server
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Post by Sniper..Unit 305 on Jan 23, 2008 0:13:36 GMT -5
The streaming audio server is great ! Listened to it this morning around 12:15 am, and there were a couple on there...amazing how that works. Will be listening in on Wed. night . Sniper OT2194
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Jan 23, 2008 10:05:26 GMT -5
The streaming audio server is great ! Listened to it this morning around 12:15 am, and there were a couple on there...amazing how that works. Will be listening in on Wed. night . Sniper OT2194 Normally I have the receiver parked on our local channel 21. But on Wednesday nights, it'll shift to 13 for classic radio roundup. Use caution when listening to 21. You never know what may happen there and arguments can errupt at the drop of a hat.
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Post by Sniper..Unit 305 on Jan 23, 2008 16:24:49 GMT -5
I heard that last night while listening in. I heard a fella on there with an echo mic or echo toy of some sort, and he was sooooo over modulated it was hard to understand him.Wish he could actually hear how lousy he sounded.Then, a young friend of his came on frequency and told him he needed his help arguing with another fella on a lower channel, as he changed channels and I suspect was arguing...he was splashing all over the stream..lol..gotta laugh at the way some folks feel they must their rigs. I will be listening in tonight...this is such a nice way to be there when you cant physicaly be there. Sniper OT2194
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Jan 23, 2008 19:10:44 GMT -5
I heard that last night while listening in. I heard a fella on there with an echo mic or echo toy of some sort, and he was sooooo over modulated it was hard to understand him.Wish he could actually hear how lousy he sounded.Then, a young friend of his came on frequency and told him he needed his help arguing with another fella on a lower channel, as he changed channels and I suspect was arguing...he was splashing all over the stream..lol..gotta laugh at the way some folks feel they must their rigs. I will be listening in tonight...this is such a nice way to be there when you cant physicaly be there. Sniper OT2194 That's what I figured, if you can't participate, it might be almost as good to just listen to some old vintage rigs that still want to play. I'm hoping for a good turn out. We'll see at 8:00 PM.....
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Post by Night Ranger on Jan 23, 2008 20:28:13 GMT -5
I'm listening to you guys talking now. Perhaps when the sporadic E skip season kicks in this summer I can log in from South Carolina.
Night Ranger
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Post by Sniper..Unit 305 on Jan 24, 2008 4:19:08 GMT -5
Heard you all on the live stream and enjoyed it. Now if there was only a way to key in on the conversation..! Will listen again next week as its the closest thing to being there. Sniper OT2194
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Post by 2IR473 on Jan 24, 2008 7:23:35 GMT -5
Last night's Roundup was pretty typical with the exception of one thing...having some the forum members listen in via the streaming audio. Grumpy was PM'ing me during the evening, and that made it that much better. Thanks to Grumpy for putting the link up at the top of the forum.
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Jan 24, 2008 7:54:21 GMT -5
Last night's Roundup was pretty typical with the exception of one thing...having some the forum members listen in via the streaming audio. Grumpy was PM'ing me during the evening, and that made it that much better. Thanks to Grumpy for putting the link up at the top of the forum. That banner is really classy (unlike us, unless we're wearing sweatpants ;D). Hopefully, if this Wednesday evening gathering continues, I'll have the streaming audio server running, so anyone who wants to can at least listen in. I'll have to remember next time to have the computer handy in case someone wants to PM a comment or two. My computer in the radio room decided to develop a problem. My track ball is only moving up and down. No side-side motion. It's pretty tough to navigate a GUI without a pointer, so I gave up for the night. I'll bring home another trackball and try that.... Last night's roundup was pretty good. I counted 2 Tram D201's, a Browning Eagle MK III, A Lafayette HA-410, a Robyn T123..... and one lone Icom 729. All, except the Icom, were tube rigs..... Next week promises at least a CPI-2000 and a Regency Imperial II and whatever else pops up (Hopefully an SBE Sidebander II).
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Jan 24, 2008 8:06:15 GMT -5
I'm listening to you guys talking now. Perhaps when the sporadic E skip season kicks in this summer I can log in from South Carolina. Night Ranger That's part of the reason why we chose channel 13. I knew you guys had a classic radio group down there, and I figured that if/when the DX rolls that way, it'll bring in an interesting element to the roundup.
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Post by Night Ranger on Jan 24, 2008 9:09:14 GMT -5
I'm listening to you guys talking now. Perhaps when the sporadic E skip season kicks in this summer I can log in from South Carolina. Night Ranger That's part of the reason why we chose channel 13. I knew you guys had a classic radio group down there, and I figured that if/when the DX rolls that way, it'll bring in an interesting element to the roundup. I'll set up a dipole (or maybe a beam by then) aimed in your direction. I would imagine the best angle of radiation between South Carolina and Pennsylvania is fairly high, so I'll put it about 1 wave length above the ground. Pennsylvania skip does roll in from time to time to South Carolina, but it is not one of the more common skip states I hear. -Night Ranger
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Jan 24, 2008 10:23:22 GMT -5
That's part of the reason why we chose channel 13. I knew you guys had a classic radio group down there, and I figured that if/when the DX rolls that way, it'll bring in an interesting element to the roundup. I'll set up a dipole (or maybe a beam by then) aimed in your direction. I would imagine the best angle of radiation between South Carolina and Pennsylvania is fairly high, so I'll put it about 1 wave length above the ground. Pennsylvania skip does roll in from time to time to South Carolina, but it is not one of the more common skip states I hear. -Night Ranger When the E-skip rolls, I usually hear Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Miss., the Carolinas, and pretty much the whole southeast. It's pretty much the same story on 6 meters too.....
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Post by spitfire441 on Jan 29, 2008 7:21:16 GMT -5
Hello all. Just my 2 cent worth. Its classic radio round up every day. All of my CB radios are more than 25 years old. I am so having a blast with Classic Round-Up. I really hope this takes off and I get to talk to all you fine folks out there. Nice to hear all the fine old classics stutting thier stuff. It can only get better as more rigs come on line. knew our small group couldn't possibly be the only fools nostalgic enough to play with these old rigs with thier associated restoration problems involved with rigs up to and over 40 years old.
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Jan 29, 2008 8:16:12 GMT -5
Hello all. Just my 2 cent worth. Its classic radio round up every day. All of my CB radios are more than 25 years old. I am so having a blast with Classic Round-Up. I really hope this takes off and I get to talk to all you fine folks out there. Nice to hear all the fine old classics stutting thier stuff. It can only get better as more rigs come on line. knew our small group couldn't possibly be the only fools nostalgic enough to play with these old rigs with thier associated restoration problems involved with rigs up to and over 40 years old. I think we've played around in that sandbox enough to know that any 30-40 year old tube rig that you might find, WILL need some work to get it working properly again. Whether it's a few or more caps, tubes, crystals, out-of-tolerance resistors or a combination of all of those. As for Classic Radio Roundup, I'm still planning on running the CPI-2000 for this go around. I still have to come up with a good workaround for the streaming audio receiver, so I can be more flexible with which radios I use and still have a good quality receiver for the folks tuning in. I'm also looking into finding some cheap and dirty audio processing plans. Achieving that "broadcast quality" sound won't come without some work, and doing it on a shoestring budget will make it even tougher. But it'll be more fun, and a better learning experience, to kludge stuff together rather than just buying off-the-shelf plug and play stuff.
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Post by Night Ranger on Jan 29, 2008 9:24:35 GMT -5
...This is for Sandbagger/Dave...
So what are you using to stream the audio for the Classic Radio Roundup? I know you said the radio was a TRC-451, but what computer hardware/software set-up are you using?
If I were to set up the same thing in Rock Hill, SC then we could talk to each other. You could point your web browser at my streaming server to hear me transmitting in Rock Hill, S.C, and I could point my web browser at your streaming server and hear you transmitting in Eastern Pa.
I also plan on seeing if I can hear myself over your streaming server when the skip rolls in from PA. I'm only in Rock Hill on the weekends, so I don't know that I can run my server 24/7. Night Ranger
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Jan 29, 2008 10:20:07 GMT -5
...This is for Sandbagger/Dave... So what are you using to stream the audio for the Classic Radio Roundup? I know you said the radio was a TRC-451, but what computer hardware/software set-up are you using? If I were to set up the same thing in Rock Hill, SC then we could talk to each other. You could point your web browser at my streaming server to hear me transmitting in Rock Hill, S.C, and I could point my web browser at your streaming server and hear you transmitting in Eastern Pa. I also plan on seeing if I can hear myself over your streaming server when the skip rolls in from PA. I'm only in Rock Hill on the weekends, so I don't know that I can run my server 24/7. Night Ranger That's an interesting idea, however there would be a couple of little "gotchas". I am using Microsoft media encoder version 9 running on a Toshiba laptop, which streams out through an opened port in my firewall/router. The left channel audio from the line in on the computer, connects to the external speaker jack on the TRC-451. The right channel audio connects to the output of my Rat shack Watt/SWR/Mod meter's monitor jack, so my transmit audio can be heard as well. That rig is idea for this application because you can turn off the internal speaker, or run them both at the same time from a switch on the front panel, depending on whether I'm locally listening or not. The "Gotchas" come into play if you try to do what you are proposing. The problem is that there is a delay between the time the audio is captured and the time it is heard over the streamer. Initially it runs about 8 seconds, but as time goes on and you stay connected longer, the delay increases. I've seen it go up to nearly 2 minutes of delay. This may be a function of memory capacity and speed of the connecting computer, and/or the number of people connected. There is a buffer setting in the windows media player, which is defaulted to 5 seconds. I've tried lowering this setting, but I'm not quite sure if it really does anything. Obviously if there is an 8 (or more) second delay each way, it makes a 2-way conversation a bit awkward. But it's great as a "watergate" to test how well someone's rig sounds. A lot of the locals use it for that and, unfortunately, also to see who can climb over who. We set up a second streaming audio server at a friend's house who lives 20 miles due east of me, because one of the local dirtbags thought it was funny to lock the channel down just to block my receiver. We have quite a few "characters" out this way. We stopped feeding them a long time a go, but they still hang around. There are some more interactive VoIP style programs out there that might make remote participation possible, although I don't know if they could handle more than one connection at a time. I've also got to build a little relay switch box so I can share my main antenna with both the streamer's receiver and whichever radio I want to use. It worked ok last week, because the Browning, being seperate pieces, does that switching, and I just "T"ed the receive line. My secondary antenna is only a 102" whip on my rain gutter. It actually works ok, but it also picks up a ton of noise from my computers and network stuff, which makes people sound noisy, so I want a better solution.
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Post by Night Ranger on Jan 29, 2008 11:00:51 GMT -5
. We set up a second streaming audio server at a friend's house who lives 20 miles due east of me, because one of the local dirtbags thought it was funny to lock the channel down just to block my receiver. There is another on-line CB live feed that has the same problem with one of the local retards. The only solutions I can think of for that problem are; 1) Use phased verticals or a beam to null out the offender. 2) Have the regulars switch to horizontal polarization, but do not advertise it on the air. Put the bozo off the end of the dipole. 3) Use two receivers as you have done, and point a DNS domain name at the current best receiver. 4) Transmit slightly off frequency and null the idiot out with a ham receiver that has an IF notch filter. If the offender's radio is already off frequency then that is all that you need. The Drake R4B has a nice AM receive and a great IF notch filter. 5) Pay the loser an in person visit. People will do all types of things as long as they don't have to deal with you in person. 6) Play a taped conversation of the classic radio roundup over the live feed from time to time and confuse the hell out of the local troublemaker while he frantically searches the band trying to find you. That ought to drive him nuts. He he >: ) I'm sure I can think of a few more given the time. -Night Ranger
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Post by 2IR473 on Jan 29, 2008 12:04:53 GMT -5
I guess this explains why 'bagger's audio comes out of the right side of my computer speakers, when I listen to the streaming audio. It is convenient to have this streaming audio for me, since I tend to talk on Ch. 36 USB, Ch.37 LSB, or on 10m. It allows me to stay on top of the issues in my local CB community, while working other friends on, or near, the band. Thanks Sandbagger, for that valuable community service that you provide. Now, if only you would use your genious for good, instead of evil ;D
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Jan 29, 2008 12:51:36 GMT -5
. We set up a second streaming audio server at a friend's house who lives 20 miles due east of me, because one of the local dirtbags thought it was funny to lock the channel down just to block my receiver. There is another on-line CB live feed that has the same problem with one of the local retards. The only solutions I can think of for that problem are; 1) Used phased verticals or a beam to null out the offender. 2) Have the regulars switch to horizontal polarization, but do not advertise it on the air. Put the bozo off the end of the dipole. 3) Use two receivers as you have done, and point a DNS domain name at the current best receiver. 4) Transmit slightly off frequency and null the idiot out with a ham receiver that is capable of IF shift notch filter. If the offender's radio is already off frequency then that is all that you need. 5) Pay the loser an in person visit. People will do all types of things as long as they don't have to deal with you in person. 6) Play a taped conversation of the classic radio roundup over the live feed from time to time and confuse the hell out of the local troublemaker while he frantically searches the band trying to find you. That ought to drive him nuts. He he >: ) I'm sure I can think of a few more given the time. -Night Ranger I like the way you think and I have employed some of those countermeasures. I currently run a Maco 3 element beam, so it's not all that hard to null out the idiot's base (which was a heck of a blow to his ego). But then he went to the extreme of actually hiking up to a local hill that rises to about 900' ASL and placed a radio and antenna up there, at least that's the way it looks based on triangulation and Google earth searches of the terrain. This jammer was a bit stronger and took out most of the people farther than 3 or 4 miles away. I've also blocked his IP address so he can't listen to his own nonsense. And we set up the remote receiver as a separate link. That seemed to work as he hasn't jammed it up for over a week now. The trick using a narrow SSB receiver to listen through carriers is one I use quite often. You have to have a few tricks like that up your sleeve to survive the jungle that can sometimes break out. People ask me why I subject myself to that, but the alternative is nearly dead quiet on most of the rest of the channels. And to be fair, it's not always a zoo, but 21 can become one at the drop of a hat. That's why we do C.R.R. on Channel 13. If we get enough regular participants, we may stay there full time.
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Jan 29, 2008 13:02:50 GMT -5
I guess this explains why 'bagger's audio comes out of the right side of my computer speakers, when I listen to the streaming audio. It is convenient to have this streaming audio for me, since I tend to talk on Ch. 36 USB, Ch.37 LSB, or on 10m. It allows me to stay on top of the issues in my local CB community, while working other friends on, or near, the band. Thanks Sandbagger, for that valuable community service that you provide. Now, if only you would use your genious for good, instead of evil ;D Evil? Me? You've must have me confused with Gene.......... I find it funny that there are a few people who seem to have a problem having their antics broadcasted all over the internet. Could it be that they're actually so ashamed of their conduct that they don't want others to hear it? Stranger things have happened..
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Jan 31, 2008 8:37:26 GMT -5
Last night's Roundup was pretty typical with the exception of one thing...having some the forum members listen in via the streaming audio. Grumpy was PM'ing me during the evening, and that made it that much better. Thanks to Grumpy for putting the link up at the top of the forum. Next week promises at least a CPI-2000 and a Regency Imperial II and whatever else pops up (Hopefully an SBE Sidebander II). The Roundup took place again, with a few new check-ins. We had a Pierce Simpson Simba, Regency Imperial, CPI-2000, Robyn T123, DAK Mk X, Cobra 98, Tram D201 and Tram Titan (although the receiver had problems). A few more distant stations were heard with one in Quakertown, 25 miles out, and another with fine audio reports from Wilmington Delaware 40-some miles to the south. I noticed that the activity on the streaming audio server didn't start to get active until close to the end of the session. I didn't get a chance to see where they were coming from, but for those who are on the west coast or midwest etc, please remember that CRR is from 8:00 - 10:00 PM EST Everyone pretty much drops off like rocks after that. See you next week!
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Post by 2IR473 on Jan 31, 2008 10:11:49 GMT -5
Thats because we are really becoming a bunch of old farts
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Jan 31, 2008 15:04:08 GMT -5
Thats because we are really becoming a bunch of old farts Becoming? ?
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Post by spitfire441 on Jan 31, 2008 15:45:34 GMT -5
Thats because we are really becoming a bunch of old farts Becoming? ? Yea, I think we are there already. ....Better watch out for that Regency Imperial though....
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