SUV's with lots of antennae?

[flyingsliverfin]

Today coming home along a fairly large residential road, we saw a line of maybe 8 SUV's driving in the opposite direction. They all had lots of antennae mounted on the rails on their roofs and some odd black box in the middle of the roof and on the back. The only specific thing I remember was a shorter white pole with a bulge on top that looked a bit like a standalone outdoor solar light in shape. It had matted white plastic surrounding the bulge so it really looked like a light. I thought it might be some kind of radar but I have absolutely no idea...
I tried to draw what the white pole thing looked like but it isn't a very good job... Imagine the curved part with a matted glass/plastic patterned look

Any ideas? Seeing them was intriguing and I'm trying to figure out what they were.

[wilee-nilee]

Today coming home along a fairly large residential road, we saw a line of maybe 8 SUV's driving in the opposite direction. They all had lots of antennae mounted on the rails on their roofs and some odd black box in the middle of the roof and on the back. The only specific thing I remember was a shorter white pole with a bulge on top that looked a bit like a standalone outdoor solar light in shape. It had matted white plastic surrounding the bulge so it really looked like a light. I thought it might be some kind of radar but I have absolutely no idea...
I tried to draw what the white pole thing looked like but it isn't a very good job... Imagine the curved part with a matted glass/plastic patterned look

Any ideas? Seeing them was intriguing and I'm trying to figure out what they were.

Sounds like a presidential motorcade or one for someone needing protection, or the money to pay for one.

Anybody in the area meeting these definitions.

A presidential always has fake cars as well.

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

Alien Hunters, Ghost Hunters, Men in Black, or Storm Chasers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_chasing) (see attachments). :lolflag:

[jockyburns]

Could it be Google trying out these self drive cars, on a different vehicle? I know they've been developing this technology, (using Toyota Prius cars) as a test bed. (and they have used them in California)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17989553

[flyingsliverfin]

Yeah I looked up pictures of self driving cars but these had far more stuff on top. I vaguely remember one of the cars having all blacked out windows so I couldn't see if there was a driver or not... thats what made me look it up anyway...


Hehe, actually the antennae number is close to the storm chaser car below in post 3. Definitely didn't look like the thing on top of that prius at all.

[jon zendatta]

Men In Black

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

Definitely didn't look like the thing on top of that prius at all.

Probably not, there are a lot of antennas, cameras, GPS devices, etc. to choose from. Some of them are custom made as well.

I thought that a storm chaser vehicle looked like what you described.

Maybe,
Men In Black
is correct and it is "Men in Black", see post 3.

:lolflag:

[sandyd]

Today coming home along a fairly large residential road, we saw a line of maybe 8 SUV's driving in the opposite direction. They all had lots of antennae mounted on the rails on their roofs and some odd black box in the middle of the roof and on the back. The only specific thing I remember was a shorter white pole with a bulge on top that looked a bit like a standalone outdoor solar light in shape. It had matted white plastic surrounding the bulge so it really looked like a light. I thought it might be some kind of radar but I have absolutely no idea...
I tried to draw what the white pole thing looked like but it isn't a very good job... Imagine the curved part with a matted glass/plastic patterned look

Any ideas? Seeing them was intriguing and I'm trying to figure out what they were.
Could be one of those mobile security firms.
We have something like what you describe here.

[VE6EFR]

If you go to an amateur radio meeting or flea market you'll see a lot of cars decked out like that. Some even have mobile computers installed. However they all wouldn't be the same make/model so not quite sure what you were seeing.

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

If you go to an amateur radio meeting or flea market you'll see a lot of cars decked out like that. Some even have mobile computers installed. However they all wouldn't be the same make/model so not quite sure what you were seeing.

When I was doing amateur radio several decades ago, we did have an assortment of antennas, and some were custom made. I had some strange antennas mounted on my car and my house. We didn't have computers at the time; however, that would have been cool.


-.-. --- --- .-.. ;)

[VE6EFR]

When I was doing amateur radio several decades ago, we did have an assortment of antennas, and some were custom made. I had some strange antennas mounted on my car. We didn't have computers at the time; however, that would have been cool.

;)

Amateur radio has come a long way. I was first licensed back in '88 and at the time I thought it was pretty wild being able to make a phone call from the car (back before cell phones were popular). Now if you check out D-STAR (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-STAR) you can see some of what we are doing now. It has really brought amateur radio into the 21st century. Now we have the ability to do voice and data at the same time as well as worldwide linking capability. Comes in really handy for setting up a communications network into disaster areas. It's not your grandfather's amateur radio lol.

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

It's not your grandfather's amateur radio lol.

I really hope not!

I hope it evolved over the decades.

By the way I am 64 years old. I am probably 20 years older than you are.

:lolflag:

[Face-Ache]

Today coming home along a fairly large residential road, we saw a line of maybe 8 SUV's driving in the opposite direction. They all had lots of antennae mounted on the rails on their roofs and some odd black box in the middle of the roof and on the back.

Were all 8 vehicles exactly the same? Same antennas etc? One would think a group of Storm Chasers and the like would have at least slightly, if not vastly, different antenna configurations.

Sounds very Governmental to me.

+1 for the MiB :D

[3rdalbum]

My vote is for storm chasers or self-driving cars. Either way, pretty cool

[Smilax]

ultra low frequency detection equipment

for detect sferics (lightning).

so storm chasing it is..., or aliens,

[Bandit]

I am thinking its storm chasers, but the 8 same vehicle antennas does sound either as not storm chasers or very very professional ones. My first assumption is that the black box looking array on top could be radar or other detectors. The arrays may look very similar but be tuned in for other jobs.

Second assumption is that they are government and that the vehicles are equipped with radiological detectors to detect TNDs.

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

Were all 8 vehicles exactly the same? Same antennas etc? One would think a group of Storm Chasers and the like would have at least slightly, if not vastly, different antenna configurations.

Sounds very Governmental to me.

+1 for the MiB :D

I'm waiting for the OP to respond to your question; however, post # 5 suggests they weren't exactly the same.

[flyingsliverfin]

I can't exactly remember but my mother says they were all identical.
She also says they were all being driven by old guys with white beards :P so they can't be autonomous cars either...

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

... driven by old guys with white beards ...

Mystery gets deeper.

:lolflag: