Shiny Stealth

I just spotted a stealth janitor's car on the M5 by the roadworks
around Gloucester. BMW 320 I think, X reg., in the one true colour.
But what really stood out about it was it's shinyness (shininess?), it
absolutely gleamed. Made me wonder if JP had been at it [1].

[1] It was JP wasn't it who used to post here and had an obsession
with cleanliness?

 

I seem to remember he was quite good at scraping bits and knocking bits
off them though due to enthusiastic cornering.

 

Malc wibbled...

X reg? I can't see the police using a car that old as an unmarked plod
car.

Can't see them using a small 2.0lt engine either.

Did the body shape match the X plate age of the car?

I suppose it could have been an M3 with a 320 badge, but you can't put
an X plate on a newer car and not make it obvious

 

That's what I saw

Buggered if I know. Cars are not my area of interest.

 

Also agreed.

It's all a bit odd, isn't it.

Oi, Malc - how do you know it was a police car? What was it, or it's
occupants, doing?

 

It was in front of a van on the M5 hard shoulder just past the road
works around Gloucester. There was an array of blue lights flashing
away on the back of the car. I didn't actually see the occupants.

I can't vouch for the model, I assumed it was a 320 as it looked
similar to one I saw the next day. It definitely wasn't a big BMW
though, smaller than a 5 series and a coupe shape although not that
truncated thing that they're flogging nowadays.

 

Nobody would suspect a car with a private plate to be unmarked plod,
would they...?

 

....which is EXACTLY why they do it...

 

I have seen some quite old cars used as unmarked recently, including old
Vectras.

They are getting worse, the Golf Gti used by North Yorkshire has blacked
out rear windows & is just impossible to clock.

Cunts.

 

Aye the RUC have been using a blacked out Subaru or Evo type thing for
years.

Cunts.

 

I understand cars seized as immoral earnings (eg. from drug dealers) are
often recycled as plod cars.

Personally, I think it reeks of entrapment.

 

I was in Bakewell today where I saw a plain silver BMW bike, can't be
specific about the model, close inspection revealed blue led lights,
and a "POLICE" in small letters on the riders helmet. I only noticed
the details because it was stopped on the other side from me on a
pedestrian crossing. Sneaky cuntness I thought.

 

I see a way in which the IRA could win my approval and support.....

 

I got sat next to a dark blue Pan the other day. Only giveaway that
it was a Police bike, was the rider had his cs gas canister strapped
to his boot as all bike coppers do.

I then looked at the dash and saw the radio and light controls.
Nothing else about the bike would have given it away, and the rider
was in all black kit.

 

cunts

--


Nige,

BMW K1200S
Range Rover Vogue

 

[62 lines left unsnipped]

Followed by the majestic product of his wisdom:

FFS Nige - learn to fucking snip a bit, eh?

 

ogden wibbled...

What about the radio aerial(s)?

They could fit the short stubby type but they haven't got very good
range (5 ~ 15 miles if not blocked by buildings or trees), not much use
for a car expected to cover a wide patch.

Something a foot long or more (4 or 5 foot for decent range) would be
needed, and any plod car with data and voice systems in (I think) will
need two of them (operate out of synch with each other so need
frequencies in different bands so need different aerials)

 

A lot of forces use the O2 mobile network for radio communication these
days - so the cars no longer need big aerials.

 

Covert antennas were available over 20 years ago so I'd assume this
technology has moved on and better things are available now; admittedly
you trade antenna efficiency for the ability to hide them.

Plus it's possible to use two bands with a single antenna using resonant
coils etc. (Stubs, Baluns or whatever, it's all a long time ago)... But
given police allocations were around VHF and UHF then this would suggest
something

 

Around the four or so foot length using conventional antenna was what I
meant to say.

However I lost interest half way through typing and thought I'd deleted
the post...