News and Notes of Interest: Information for the transportation industries.
If your experience can help others, please e-mail us at fred@taxicabelectronics.com with your information so we can include it here.

Here's a good idea! Talked with a client whose regulatory agency makes decisions about allocating new taxi billets on a quick "get-it-done-now" basis, making ordering meters and lights an urgent situation. Today you don't know if you'll be able to put on another taxi, tomorrow you have 36 hours to get it on the street! Yikes! We suggested he put a spare meter on the shelf, but his budget would not support that. So we suggested he put a harness on the shelf. That costs him about $54.00 which his wallet could handle, and allows him to pre-wire a car with the mounting and wiring, and order a meter by fast shipping. Then when the meter comes, the car is ready for it! All he needs to do is a quick calibration (the meter comes preprogrammed with his rates if he buys it from us) and he's ready for inspection in about a half hour. Makes life easier when you are dealing with government folks who may not have a clue about the process of making a car a taxi!

 5/7/8: WASHINGTON D.C. AREA CLIENTS:  New regulations for the Nation's Capitol involve taxi meters and meter programming. They are special to the DC area and cannot be sold outside the city by dealers like TaxiCabElectronics.com.  For a list of the dealers and shops in the Washington DC area with certifications for sales and installation, see the webpage listed just below. Click on the code or copy to your browser. Thanks! http://dctaxi.dc.gov/dctaxi/frames.asp?doc=/dctaxi/lib/dctaxi/ApComp.pdf  If you have a cab in Washington D.C. you will need a Washington D.C. Compatible meter. Click the blue link to find your authorized dealer. The other dealers around the country and the world CANNOT sell you this special meter programming. 

UPDATE 5/7/8: LED Lighting is on  hold ! Supply problems. We will let you know here when they are again available. See article below for data and check back here to see the progress being made. Tnx!

Light Emitting Diodes: 2/2008  LED's - light emitting diodes - are a new item on our scene though they have been around for many years. The little red or yellow light on your power supply, your cell phone, your surge protector perhaps, is an LED. But late improvements in technology have made them brighter, tougher, larger and very long in life span. The traffic signals you are seeing replacing the old orange-y red ones and dull greens are the newer LED super bright nearly pure colors. Many auto manufacturers now use Super Bright LED's in tail and brake lights. That technology has caught up with our taxi toplights beginning today -  the beginning of 2008. On our website you will find listings for many LED powered toplights. More are being introduced, and added to our lists as they become available. An LED powered toplight will generally cost forty to fifty dollars more than a comparable incandescent powered version. How can this be justified? Well, the LED light is expected to last over ten years without a replacement light source. An ordinary #89 light bulb found in most taxi toplights today has a life expectancy of 500 to 750 hours. The better variety of the same size and shape - the #67 lamp - has about 5000 hours expectancy. The LED lamps on the other hand are rated at over 88,000 hours. There is something to be said, as well, for not having to change light bulbs in weather that makes the toplight temperature -40 F. in Alaska, or in our southwest deserts over 175 F in the hottest months inside the toplight shell. They tend to be brighter than the old bulbs too, more vibration resistant, and they take much less current to operate. If you are going green with a hybrid vehicle or alternative fuel, why not advertise your highly efficient LED sign - less power = less pollution. Bonus!...  If they are left on by mistake, they stand a good chance of NOT killing your battery. Try that with the old bulbs!

FOR SALE NOW! The new LED lights are gradually becoming available for us to offer. IF the model you are seeking is available in an LED light source variety, you will find new buttons on our TOPLIGHTS pages. If not, check back from time to time - we will be adding buttons for the lights we can actually deliver as they become available. This is an exciting new product and we are having them built by the best manufacturer in the industry. We are confident you will be pleased.  You can check the toplight list for LED buttons HERE. The manufacturing process is slow so allow enough time for the production of your order. We're working to make it a more timely project.

As of February 1, 2008, we have dropped the following items from our product lists: business band two way radios,  taxi shields, taxi cameras. Beginning February 25th, we will be adding LED lighted toplights to our lists!  Beginning March 15th, 2008, we are offering the TMS program which provides you a FREE wireless Credit Card Processing Terminal Nurit 8000 in their mobile service environment. Save up to $1500.00 with this system per car. Click here.

TOUGH TOPLIGHTS!  (10-06) Just spoke with Scott Schroeder in Sioux City Iowa who told me a story about one of the FTC11 toplights he had purchased from www.TaxiCabElectronics.Com . He was driving in the winter and had accumulated about a half an inch of ice on his toplight. Saw a pigeon coming at him but couldn't evade. The bird hit the toplight on the cab and he said "I heard the shattering sound, and knew the toplight was in pieces." He stopped and checked - the ice had shattered and exposed the toplight surface but the toplight was still in tact! No word on the condition of the bird!

SOMETHING NEW IN VEHICLES... an Excedrin Moment  12/04, 2/07
    A new challenge we face in the industry is the advent of Local Area Networks in automobiles. The old days of cable driven taximeters gave way to electronic pulses generated by transducers added to the speedometer cable system. Then the speedo cables went away and electronic devices called Vehicle Speed Sensors were used by the manufacturers of the cars to feed information to the computer and dash instruments. So our industry was forced to adapt with devices that interfaced the car's various types of pulse signals to our taximeters. Then they came up with multiple sensors - front of the transmission and rear of the transmission... some cones had three different sensors on them. We adjusted by learning that the rear sensor is usually the right one. Then front wheel drive cars with transaxles started putting the sensors in places a miniature monkey with double jointed fingers and toes couldn't reach. We countered with other locations in the vehicles to find the information... these ranged from under the ashtray to the kick panels to the ECM or PCM units to hidden boxes under the floor panels and carpet to... it generated lots of database information to be sure. Even tried the ABS sensors which raises some safety and legal concerns, but what's a mother to do? That worked in some cases.
    Well, they've done it again! Local Area Networks now carry computer data throughout the car, and I defy you to get the correct information for decoding it from the manufacturers. They guard the systems and information well enough that the government ought to consider these characters for Homeland Security... of course, then the orange and yellow alert status information would be hidden from the public and the local governments!! Cheeeeese! It seems that there are cars now without ANY usable pulse information. We now have available a magnetic sensor and magnet set that can be attached to the transaxle, to the axle itself, to the drive shaft or other rotating portion of the drive chain which is constant with relationship to the distance traveled. These things sell for $60.00 so they're not cheap, but it allows you to put a meter in a car without a pulse to be found, and make a reliable pulse for the meter. Some of the nightmare LAN candidates, subject to correction and likely numerous additions, are the 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Lincoln Continental (most models), 2005 Lincoln Town Car (some models), 1999-2005 Volvo S80, 2005 Subaru Legacy, 2005 Subaru Outback, 2005 Ford Escape, 2005 Nissan Quest. So far, the Volvo S40 is NOT a networked car as far as we know, and the Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis are still using pulses. If you encounter more entries please e-mail us at fred@taxicabelectronics.com. Thanks!  fhs 12/04   Update - 10/06: More and more late model vehicles are using LAN systems - we are working with developers for a solution: Check back here for an update shortly. Oh, the 06 Audi A4 is a LAN vehicle.  fhs

Update: 2/2007  Many new cars are moving toward the LAN systems we mentioned. Some say they will ALL be that way shortly. We are working with some folks developing interface units that you will be able to connect easily and create a pulse from the LAN bus in the car. This is a bit complex because there is no international standard and several systems exist at this time. That means the computer device must handle several protocols OR there must be a collection of DIFFERENT computer adaptors. A couple are available now, and more are under development. Stay tuned - we'll try to keep you updated. Call is you are considering a brand new vehicle for your taxi project. 760-345-4347 We'll give you the latest we have at that moment. :) fhs.

TELEMARKETERS HAVE YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER.
 TELEMARKETING companies have a list with your cell phone number(s) on it. The Federal Trade Commission and the California Attorney General's office have established a NATIONAL "Do Not Call" hotline. Call  FROM THE CELL PHONE NUMBER YOU WISH TO REGISTER and follow the simple directions ... heck, even I did it !! - the number is 888-382-1222. The registration goes through within a few hours, and will become LAW after three months. After that they can't call you without being in jeopardy of large fines. You can use the same number to lodge complaints.

CHANGING LIGHT BULBS CAN CAUSE NIGHTMARES! 2/3/5
Light bulbs in toplights burn out. They get wet and crack or get old and just quit. Now it's ten thirty at night, in the dark, and we uncover the light bar looking for a bulb out. Ah, there's the one! Twist it out and reach for a new one. Push that one into the socket and PffFFfftt! Now they're ALL out! Now we start looking for a fuse someplace under the dashboard that's even darker than the roof! RULE 1. After determining which lamps are out, TURN OFF THE POWER. Change the light and then power it up to test it. That way you don't momentarily short out the connections when you press the lamp into the hole! Sound like a simple thing? YES, IT IS!.  RULE 2. Use the right light bulb! I cannot tell you how many times I have found blown fuses and burned wiring in toplights because someone used a lamp requiring two or three times the current "to make it brighter!". Add about five of these to the circuit and you blow a fuse! Most toplights we sell take a #89 or #67 light bulb. The #67's last as much as ten times longer than the #89's, though they cost a few cents more. RULE 3. See rule 2. Some toplights have "flying sockets" which require a two wire light connector. This means you have a different lamp, a #90 or #68 is correct. The reason these have two tips instead of one, but only one filament, is simple. There is no metal shell to provide a ground to the bulb. The socket is clipped into the plastic shell at the top of the light. So the manufacturer chose a two wire socket for the upper bulbs. One tip has ground on it, and the other has the power to light the bulb. Now if you press a single tip light bulb into the socket, you short the power and the ground together. As soon as you power up the light, the fuse blows. Look at the bottom of the lamp after you take out the old bulb. If it has 2 tips, then you need a #90 or #68 lamp to replace it. In New York style toplights, a larger lamp is used - a two tip #1142 is common. DON'T use a two filament taillight lamp. They may light up, but they will be a partial brilliance and may blow fuses. Use the same model lamp as was there from the factory. By the way, we sell replacement lamps in sleeves of ten if you can't get it at the auto parts shop nearby. Call if you need more info. 760-345-4347.

CHANGING LIGHT BULBS - CHAPTER TWO!  2/27/5   
Oh. here's another simple tip to keep a few of those valuable hairs in your head instead of your fist; lamp sockets inside toplights have a brass tip crimped in place. The wire CAN BE PULLED OUT OF IT if you exert too much tug. Don't pull those wires from  beneath the socket. If the socket seems to be caked with dirt, or aged and stuck, turn off the power and then remove the bulb, and PRESS DOWN on the lamp connection inside the socket. You will be able to break the rubber pad loose from the oxide and dirt, and you will even be able to squirt a tiny bit of WD40 around the edge to free up the mechanism (then dry it with a soft cloth before you replace the lamp.) BUT DON'T PULL DOWN ON THAT WIRE UNDER THE SOCKET. When you break off the first brass tip and have to jury-rig some kind of connection, or replace the toplight, you'll remember... maybe. Oh, yah... we sell replacement toplights too, in case you forget!

ABOUT MOON ROOFS -  a pox on them! 3/3/5
Using vehicles with Moon-Roof Windows (Sun Roof, etc.) causes a whole new set of problems for you. As a general rule, DON'T! What we generally say about moon-roof cars to be set up as taxicabs is this: %#@@#%$^&*!@$%!! See, the moon roof slides back into the part of the roof behind the glass window. And it does so with about 1/4" space from the metal roof itself... which means that there isn't room for the screws that hold the light in place without chancing scratching the glass as it slides back into its nest. There also isn't a reasonable place to install the cable required to light the toplight. Besides the fact that the toplight looks rather silly more than half way BACK on the roof, behind the window. Ah-HA, you say, just put the light in FRONT of the moon roof. Good idea! That is, it's a good idea until the first time you light the toplight at night. If the light is squeezed between the window and the top of the windshield, the light throws considerable illumination down on the glass windshield itself, and every speck of dust and microscopic pit in the glass now glows like a star, obliterating your view of the road. Ever see a squashed moth glowing like a starburst? Oh, it's delightful!  Now, we are working with a local inventor who has come up with a rack device to mount a toplight upon. It will likely cast about $175.00 for one of these, and will mount the light above the moon-roof glass about two inches. When they are available, I will post them on our site here, but for now, do yourself a favor when anticipating a vehicle purchase. If it has a moon-roof, ask to see a different vehicle.

ABOUT SETTING METER RATES IN YOUR AREA  3/25/5  Just My Opinion:
Gasoline rates are going through the roof. Here in California they are probably the highest in the nation according to the TV newscasters. I know of one place that is charging over $3.00 per gallon right now, as the rest of the country averages about $2.26. It's the same station that was over $2.00 per gallon when the rest of the country was at $1.21a couple of years back, so greed figures into it; the oil people are doing their best to squeeze our industry and anybody else they can. The chart you will find on our rates page, (click this link: www.taxicabelectronics.com/Rates.htm) reflects rates we have been asked to program into meters over a period of perhaps three or four years. Many may have changed. By studying these, we see the industry as it has been in communities small and large. Palm Desert and Palm Springs California have been at $2.16 per mile, then $2.32 for a couple of years, and recently kicked the mile up to a maximum of $2.96 per mile to try to compensate for the price rises at the pumps. Not all companies are going up, and not all operators will collect full fare for their rides, preferring discounts that attract return trips and call-again business. But before setting your rates, consider if you will, the fares elsewhere, the market in which you operate and the fact that you can always change later if you are too high or too low. Reducing rates is always received better than jacking them up, and, depending upon what your competition is doing, your rates may place a different face on your business than you might otherwise have. Something to think about. -Fred Stock

Verif-eye TAXI CAMERA SYSTEMS ARE NOT YOUR POCKET DIGITAL CAM. YOU CAN'T WATCH THE SHOW! ... PERHAPS!   6/6
We have recently had numerous calls and e-mails about the taxi camera system of choice, Verif-eye. Fact is, you can't watch your home movies taken in this system in some cities. Not even the snap shots it really takes. In some city regulatory areas the rules say simply, the operator (you, your drivers, your managers, everybody) cannot have access to the results of the picture taking, because that would spoil the legal aspects of the photos. Now, it is true that many areas have no such laws or regulations, and for about $1400 you can get the camera and the computer software and hardware required to bring the shots down to your serial port. So we don't mean to spook you about the systems, but in some cities, you're out of luck. The systems are set up in those areas so that the installer can take and retrieve ONE shot after he gets the system working so he knows it is right. Your drivers cannot see the pictures. Your boss cannot see the pictures. Your news reporter and TV station can't either. Only a select few detectives in the police department in your city can get at the pictures. It has to do with the "chain-of-custody" required by law. Please don't call and cuss out my wife and I because we can't sell you the software or some gadget to download the images. It won't happen. These systems are legally traceable and CANNOT be sent out to your recording equipment. The systems are meant for your safety, and for apprehension of bad guys. Sorry, that's the way it is. If you want to make home movie type recordings in your cab, call me 760-345-4347 and I'll tell you exactly how, and how much, but don't expect the detective to be able to take your VHS tapes to court. But before you make a decision about a camera for your vehicle, call us and discuss it. We'll check it out and see if you are able to get that for which you are looking.

(This one is not a new article, but we have just happened upon it in a blog we were reading:  Very Interesting... 3/5/6)

Prague declares war on rogues in the taxi ranks

When President Vaclav Havel was asked what the immediate effects of the collapse of communism were on the Czech republic, he said "Expensive hotels and cheap whores". The president might as well have added cheating cabbies to the list. For more than a decade Prague's taxi drivers have been taking advantage of the lack of consumer protection laws and police indifference to overcharge their passengers, sometimes by as much as 2,000%. The rogue drivers have a reputation for threatening or physically attacking those who challenge their fares.

Now in a bold attempt to clean up the corruption in eastern Europe's most visited capital - particularly as membership of the European Union looms - Prague city hall has begun a campaign to stop the deceitful drivers. Students are being hired to impersonate tourists in an attempt to flush out the con artists - an estimated 60% of the 4,500 registered and 2,000 unregistered drivers. Of more than 1,000 drivers inspected at random since the scheme began earlier this summer, almost 600 were found to be overcharging and reported to the police. They are liable to fines of up to 1m crowns (£21,000) and the removal of their licences. The chief executive of the municipal authority, Zdenek Zajicek, described the operation as an "unofficial war on cheats".

Talk of war is no exaggeration. Mr Zajicek has received death threats for his stance and is under 24-hour police protection. "In a strange way I take comfort from this," he said. "The fact they're reacting is proof that our methods are really working." The inspectors too face physical threats. "One taxi driver drove across the leg of a policeman in his attempts to get away," said David Gladis, the public relations officer coordinating the scheme. "Two inspectors were hijacked by their driver, who locked them in the car."

The struggle is an uphill one. The drivers defend their overcharging, saying that the 22 crown (50p) a kilometre charge laid down in law does not allow them to make a living. Many are involved in mafia activities, doubling up as drug dealers. Poorly-paid police officers either take bribes or turn a blind eye. The drivers are a powerful force in Prague. In the late nineties rival groups of drivers fought a fierce turf war to govern the city's most profitable taxi ranks. Several people were murdered.

from a blog entry by Kate Connolly, Prague, Monday September 16, 2002, The Guardian

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