Although the Rumbler, conceived and sold by Federal Signal, has been helping cops grab the attention of citizens for a few months, its shock waves are just now getting the publicity they demand. The setup is being installed on patrol cars in locales such as Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and New York, and it serves the purpose of moving crowds / vehicles out of the way when an officer is headed to an emergency. More specifically, Rumbler-equipped rides take advantage of the powerful woofers and amplifier to shake the ground beneath them and get people a-lookin' some 200-feet away. Reportedly, the gizmo is meant to be used "judiciously, in situations where motorists should pull over to make way for the police," and it can also be helpful in grabbing the eyes of deaf drivers who cannot hear the traditional siren. 'Course, you could just load up your ride with a few subs and pop in a low-frequency CD to achieve the
same goal, but don't be shocked if your copycatting ways net you an unwanted
disturbing the peace citation.
posted Nov 21st 2007 12:50AM
"Is the police here, or is this a vibrator?"
"I think I'm getting a buzz"
Hopefully somebody will find a way to hack the amplifier & fix the frequency so it ruptures the pig mobile's gas tank.
First off, Police risk their lives everday to protect us.
Secondly, that has to be the stupidest thing I've heard. Hack the amplifier? It doesn't have any programming, it's an electro-magnet. Even if you hit the resonance frequency, everyone else tank would also rupture. Good job on thinking this out to the end.
Well, it is stupid to think resonance would make the gas tank explode, however it's even more obtuse to think everyone's would explode simultaneously. The natural frequency of a mechanical system is a function of the geometry and masses of the elements within the system. So unless everyone had the same gas tank with the same amount of fuel within the tank, driving at the same speed, then no, not everyone's would rupture at the same time.
@MonkeyHood:
Actually, the on-job fatality rate for police is much lower than many other occupations. It's lower risk than gardening, pizza delivery, construction, garbage collection, taxi driving, and so on. I think I'll salute the brave heroes who keep our lawns green and our hungry citizens fed and housed, while congratulating police for finding a relatively safe job that pays well. Granted, police are more likely to be killed on *purpose*, but the end result is the same. And police aren't really able to protect anyone, they are pretty good at cleaning up the mess after you're dead, and occasionally finding out whodunnit.
Is it just me or does the cop look a little bit stoned?
Did I forget to mention how I hope this thing sends the pig cruiser flying in a fireball 30 feet in the air like those video game commercials?
@cbm5: Police knowingly patrol go to a job each day where they could be shot. I never said they had a high fatality rate, just that their job can be very dangerous. It's easy to goto a job where you give people food, but how about signing up for a job where you may have to respond to situations involving guns?
@Clark: I thought the resonance frequency made atoms oscillate at their maximum speed. Unless the tanks were an alloy, or a different element, wouldn't the weight of the gas just punch through the tanks?
No, it's not the molecular level that the magic starts to happen. It's why wine glasses with different amounts of water resonate at different notes. That's also why wine glasses explode at certain frequencies whilest your highball glass doesn't.
Ha! And they give out tickets for disturbing the peace. Hypocrites I say!
They've taken the hypocritic oath.
It's humorous to hear the words "police" and "judiciously" in the same sentence.
The real question is:
Does it hook up to a sound system?
How many can you fit in the club?
>:-)
So the police are planning on taking over the world by threatening to point their rumblers at faults around the earth and trigger huge earthquakes?
No?
Oh.
That's what I would do.
I love how displeased the cop looks for having his picture taken. Donut anyone? Sheesh, like they didn't have enough ways to bring attention to you when you are getting your ass pulled over!
http://www.tekbite.com
I love how on your really boring blog where you do a poorly written mash up of Engadget, ArsTech., and various other tech blogs, you manage to look like those ivy league douche bags from the revenge of the nerd movies. Seriously, love the sport-coat! It's so Regan administration!
Two quick talking points:
1.) Your blog is boring and out of date. Yes thank you oh grandmaster of information gathering, for showing me a Will it Blend youtube video of the iPhone that has been around since the launch of the iPhone. That's so much more useful than just looking up iPhone or Will it Blend on youtube itself. Seriously what would YouTube users do without you digging up cool videos for them? I know I would be lost.
2.) Posting a plug for your site on every comment you make ensure that people will mistake you for an actual douche bag (see reference above).
No one cares about your crappy site and no one comes here to see you slap ads erroneously on every comment you make to get that $3.45 worth of ad revenue this month. Try taking your college education and putting it to use instead of wasting everyone's time with garbage.
Nathan
Although I agree with you regarding his blog plug on every comment, I don't see where you find it necessary to attack his site, or even his physical appearance.
1. The iPhone blending video is a bit out of date, yes, but not everybody has seen it or knows to look for it. I've never seen it. Granted, I have no interest in blenders, iPhones, or any combination of the two, and if I had, I'm sure I'd have seen it by now, but I don't speak for everyone. Also, try looking at some of his other blog entries, there are current articles to be found.
2. No matter your opinion on his site, it's obvious he's put time and effort into creating and maintaining it. That, in itself, deserves much more respect than your random spewage. A lot of the site's content is blocked due to my work's network security policies, so I may be wrong, but it looks like the site is only a month or so old. Be patient, you can't expect the site to jump right out of your screen and just kick the ass of every reader. It looks like it's off to a good start.
People from all over run their own blog sites, with select few from each genre really becomming popular (Engadget, joystiq). It's what these people choose to do with their spare time, sharing their interests and topics they feel readers might be interested in learning about. It's something you can choose to read or not read.
You mention that if people are interested in iPhone blending videos they'll search for it themselves. You read this blog. If you're so interested in police rumblers, then why aren't you out there reading the story directly from the source instead of hearing it being recycled here at Engadget?
Lower your nose a bit, hmmm? You don't have to like him, his site, or anything in between, but try having a little respect for people and their work. Perhaps you should focus your energy on your own blog, since you're obviously the superior author and knowledge database. Good for you.
I like the way the cop in the picture looks like he's going to tazer the cameraman....
Don't tase me bro!!
funny til it happens to you bro!!
please take away our freedom of speech. so people cant say stupid shiet.
At first I assumed this was going to link to your sister-site autoblog since they mentioned the Rumbler in a post that had Popular Mechanics' top five upcoming technologies for police vehicles... Instead I was treated to a WaPo article from October. For the record, I'm not complaining. I just found it strange since normally when the sites have even bits of crossover they are either identical posts or mention other references. As far as the Rumbler in use, you notice it. Trust me.
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/17/top-five-upcoming-tech-gadgets-for-cops/
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military_law/4231942.html
I love how all these people complain about police officers until they need them for some reason.
Just remember next time you see a cop or firetruck or ambulance running down the road trying to get through traffic while no one moves and then think how you would feel if it was you they were coming to help.
Get off the phone, pay attention, and get the heck out of the way!
Thank you, it really pisses me off to see how people talk about cops.
So a few of them may have gotten out of hand, or maybe even not, you weren't there. Even if those few were completely abusive and corrupt, THAT'S A FEW. Way to be stereotypical, I hope you're not the same type of person to call others out as bigots. The majority of cops do their job way better than if they weren't there at all, so don't complain.
See how much you don't need the cops when you get thrown out of your car and your child is still in the back when they drive off with it. I'm sure you would be totally for the cops holding back then.
No, 50% of cops are assholes. plain and simple. the other 50% are hard working individuals who deserve more respect than they get. But a job like that is sure to attract mostly power hungry jerks. I do IT work for a few stations in the chicago area, I know. It's a necessary, horrible job and unfortunately the department will hire absolutely anyone that walks off the street.
Now the guy said theres at least 40% of power hungry abusing pigs, and the other 60% are hard working, very helpfull cops who put their life on the line. End of story.
So cops are like humans then is what you are saying?
Is this useful for arresting members of the Blue Man Group? Must not be Intel technology...
brown note FTW!
Crap, you took it first!
gay.
as if the roads up there aren't bad enough already from all the salt and snow plows, now they're gonna shake them and "get people a-lookin' some 200-feet away".
Decepticons have now deployed Rumble with Barricade :]
After his acting career finally ended, John Goodman lost weight and became a police officer.
Actually looks more like the T1000 gained weight.
Unreal.
They need to spend money on better things. I think sirens & lights do the job just fine.
For the purchasing/install costs these things will be, they could probably get 2-3 more officers to patrol the streets. Philadelphia does not need a rumbler system in cop cars, they need better patrols to curb the HIGHEST murder rate in the country.
Again, wasteful spending.
- Mark
Mark, I'm no expert on this system, and it's safe to say you are not either.
They would not have bought this system without some sort of demonstrated improvement in response times. Do you think that cops showing up 20-30 seconds earlier to an emergency call might result in more criminals being caught? Probably more so than a two-officer increase.
I'm not saying I know this system works, but if it does what it says, then it sounds like a good investment to me.
Pun above not intended.
I can see this being the next big thing on "Pimp My Ride" ;)
I dunno about this. What is going to happen when the cop turns this on on a bridge? The last thing I want to see in the news is "Cop triggers bridge collapse"
The cop in the photo looks drunk... or at least very tired.
By the look on that beast face, it safe to say his brains has been scrambled already
Cops be bumpin' now?