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s t o eeeeemememmecinl â€" S esnsE E â€" k. _ _ o â€" Radi t downtime loss s es - felheds Lied _ ByJOHN M. MUGGERIDGE Home base Mod(â€"j‘(‘ CX MC’* _ Farm Power Today Every system requires a § j | TT Tâ€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€" â€"â€" .. base for incoming calls, iA Farm rMWQ â€" 5‘ The personal pager that picked up by an antenna. The i Arva volunteer fireman remotes in each building are f xÂ¥ Pete McClary carries |_ hooked up by phone lines to _ with him at all times gets him the base. 2 | to the scene of a fire in five Someone in the farmhouse : , minutes flat. Helikedtheidea |_â€" can take telephone messages _ so much, he installed a twoâ€" for McClary and relay them to | way radio system on his 80â€" him via the remote. * | cow dairyâ€"cash crop farm | _| _ His range from the base is north of London. 40 miles, with a 20â€"mile range \â€"_"It‘s hard to put a dollar | _ from mobile to mobile. | value on it," says McClary of | Under proper radio proceâ€" i ; his twoâ€"way radio. "But once \_ dure, the caller picks up the ' | you get them, you never go |_ handset, presses the button, \ without them." |__gives a call number, and asks | Bel_“ore he installed the raâ€" l for the address of the radio he dios in 1981, there was "too l is trying to reach. f muyh downtime" when | | There is a choice of three equipment broke down someâ€" radio bands, low, high and where on the 3,300 (700 | _ ultraâ€"high. The higher the owned) acres of corn, soy and band, the less the likelihood wheat he and his brother of interference from other | farm. . users. |_ Be also likes the safety facâ€" | _\ _ [fp,, hadn‘tinvested in twoâ€" | tor. A radio in th_e tractor cab | | way radio, McClary says he kept McClary in constant | _ woug give cellular phone seâ€" | contact when his 15â€"yearâ€"old rious consideration because it ‘ son was out working the land | has unlimited range. last year. C y ” Cellular phones can cost ( _ He can radio his dad at | from $400 for the noâ€"frills home base to fetch more | models to $5,000 for pocket : parts, and McClary can call in models: : o to his wife if he‘ll be late for But every call costs money. § dinner 3 A typical cellular call fee is 35 | At harvgst, he calls in when cents per minute. Long disâ€" : the truck is loaded. tance calls are marked up 15 Used model | per cent. _ McClary picked up a used Ci 1P .e * h. \.B system for a good price. i+z â€" 3 1 4 a & E Buta new mobile unit from 1 â€"£4 & > g> a h. : _ CGE, a major manufacturer, P1# _‘ BE * _ e * _ sells for $1,000 installed, inâ€" ] * z. ' & 4 5 3 | | cluding receiver, handset and | T SR j 6 / 6 | aerial. A VHF base sells for _ ’3 e * _ ~.~"* mee / kA * | $2,000. There‘s also a yearly | 'i Lal â€"‘â€" s : 4P \ ‘ ‘ licence fee for each mobile || _ G T > â€"yhll 9 ‘ unit levied by the federal [ \f P 2s * i‘ ~1 ; K & «] _ Department of Communicaâ€" ~~~ se & hk kB oo _ > | | Jjons. | & _ _ __ Sligy,. # *$ e [« " w it | %® : 1 For the first year of using a . _\ $# _ mt\ | . « <~. . _ 48 °t Cees 24 es mobile, an issuance fee is _ [ ¢ es _ > iL A% e iL. ~em e | _ | charged ranging from $15 to | \ M _.s>~~.. {) E #,Â¥" i I l et / â€" ; 2 ‘ $51. The yearly fee for subseâ€" | JÂ¥ 4# >‘ _ JP f s 'L‘a?’ â€" EN B ?â€" | quent years is $39 ayear. _ iX .Â¥ _ P E pâ€" PP3 » A * §e? For the home base, fees can | *A _@ ge>" " e . i5 ( A P | | . range from $42 to $143, deâ€" CS \é{ || C pending on frequency. s £ . e J | Penalties for not having a e £ ~â€" é licentche a.re.u.;l) to $5,000 or 12 | . McClary: twoâ€"way radio saves downtime | months in jail. iâ€"_â€"â€"vâ€"â€"â€" | McClary‘s base is in the o workshop. He has remote sets in every building including both family farmhouses, e 4 where the radio signal might f not reach. McClary has moâ€" bile units for his combines, & 3 tractors and trucks.