Mobileer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A mobileer is one who uses mobile communications devices.
Mobile communications devices are a class of device midway between a base station (building borne) and a portable rig (body borne, e.g. a hand-held "handie talkie" or a wearable rig). Mobile devices usually run off 12 volts DC, and are intended to be installed in an automobile, a truck, van, or boat.
Over the past 40 years, the large growing community of mobileers has grown from ham radio operators to now include mobile computing, with a host of new products available for trunk-mounted computers, and dashboard displays, such as the Xenarc line of computer screens that run off a cigarette lighter plug.
Motorola created a line of mobile radios in the 1930s and 1940s for use in police cruisers and later, for use in taxicabs. More recently a wide variety of mobile ham radios gave rise to the mobileers, taking the technology from the domain of centralized authorities into the widespread use by hobbyists.
Mobileers are often known by their callsigns. For example, a famous mobileer by the name of Steve Roberts is perhaps more widely known as N4RVE, under which callsign he operates the behemoth vehicle, as well as the microship boat, both equipped with a wide assortment of mobile communications and computational equipment.