NightDriving
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NightDriving - 4/4/2007 7:54:31 PM
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dilo2001gt
Posts: 4300
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Raytheon was the biggest company in Waltham ma, Then they shut down and spead to other cities.
Infrared light at the end of tunnel?
Raytheon targets owners of Hummers for system
Raytheon Co. says its NightDriver infrared system can spot a pedestrian on a darkened road up to a quarter-mile ahead, more than four times the distance of standard auto headlights. The question is, can it pick out a willing buyer? Sales are dwindling from a four-year-old arrangement Raytheon struck with General Motors Corp. to install infrared sensors on Cadillacs, and the carmaker may drop the system from future models.
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Now Raytheon believes it has a better customer base in its sights: owners of Hummers, the hulking SUVs derived from the military Humvee. These people tend to be younger than Cadillac owners, wealthier, and drawn to gizmos -- "early adopters," in marketing-speak.
Early signs suggest the infrared is locking on.
"It was one of those things that I wanted so badly," said Steve Chan, 42, a Santa Clara, Calif., engineering manager active in Hummer clubs. He says he pestered Raytheon managers to be the first to buy NightDriver after he saw it demonstrated at the South Bend, Ind., headquarters of AM General LLC, which manufactures some Hummers for GM. Chan succeeded: In January he received the system, now mounted in front of the windshield of his Hummer H1, which has a list price of more than $100,000.
"It's really cool to have, like a DVD player inside the vehicle, or a GPS, whether you use it or not," said Chan, referring to the vehicle's global positioning system. Like many other Hummer owners he calls himself "a gadget person." He has set up a wireless network in his home to link the family's three laptops and he owns several low-light scopes, one of which he uses to hunt with a $30,000 sniper rifle.
Another owner of a NightDriver-equipped Hummer, Dave Reed of Austin, Texas, chats by ham radio with people in Jordan and other faraway lands. He also has astronomy gear: solar-observation binoculars to track sun storms and an 18-inch reflecting telescope that he built himself to get a closer look at stars and galaxies. Others in the Hummer community have outfitted their trucks with satellite dishes to maintain high-speed Internet connections, or installed snorkels for water-crossings.
"A lot of the appeal is thinking about what's the latest gadget you can add," said Reed, a computer researcher at the University of Texas. Said Stuart Klapper, executive director of transportation products at Raytheon's commercial infrared unit in Dallas, "There's a tendency that people who drive the H1 or H2 like all the cool new hardware."
At least they've got the resources to buy NightDriver, sold through Hummer dealers at prices starting under $4,000. The new Hummer H2, the smaller of the brand's two models, has a $49,190 list price, weighs 6,400 pounds, and gets about 12 miles per gallon. GM says the average Hummer owner makes more than $200,000 a year and often spends tens of thousands of dollars on extras.
"With accessories on Hummers, it's unlike any other car. People want everything" said Michael P. Gaughran, sales manager at Hummer Village of Norwood.
NightDriver hasn't reached Gaughran's dealership or others in New England yet, but in Durham, N.H., Manny MacMillan, director of the New England Hummer Owners Group, said he expects his members will be interested. "Some of our people really enjoy technology," he said.
NightDriver originated in the gear Raytheon sells for tasks like such as aiming tank cannons, but the Waltham-based company makes little of the military origins. Enthusiasts say few veterans can affor
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RE: NightDriving - 4/4/2007 9:42:15 PM
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ZYNE
Posts: 2453
Joined: 10/9/2006
From: Cincinnati, OH
Status: offline
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Dilo, for what it's worth I work for Rayth's biggest competitor, L-3 Communications. The division I work for is actually the supplier for L-3's night vision systems available as an aftermarket part. Take it from someone who does it on a daily basis, our stuff is at least a decade ahead of Raytheon's ..
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-03 HUMMER H2, Birch White. 35" BAJA MTZ, AVS Window Vent shades, Sirius, rear DVD, billet gas door, tail light guards, IPCW smoked cab lights, Sylvania SilverStar Ultra's, SMA Brushguard, etc.
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RE: NightDriving - 4/5/2007 7:44:05 AM
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ZYNE
Posts: 2453
Joined: 10/9/2006
From: Cincinnati, OH
Status: offline
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Den, I'd have to look in to it. Do you know where they are based? We have around 60K employees now so gawd only knows what companies they suck up before us ...LOL
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-03 HUMMER H2, Birch White. 35" BAJA MTZ, AVS Window Vent shades, Sirius, rear DVD, billet gas door, tail light guards, IPCW smoked cab lights, Sylvania SilverStar Ultra's, SMA Brushguard, etc.
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RE: NightDriving - 4/5/2007 1:55:59 PM
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ZYNE
Posts: 2453
Joined: 10/9/2006
From: Cincinnati, OH
Status: offline
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That's the one Den, just looked them up in our internal stuff. L-3 does own them too now. I guess that makes you damn near a co-worker then lol
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-03 HUMMER H2, Birch White. 35" BAJA MTZ, AVS Window Vent shades, Sirius, rear DVD, billet gas door, tail light guards, IPCW smoked cab lights, Sylvania SilverStar Ultra's, SMA Brushguard, etc.
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RE: NightDriving - 1/2/2008 9:07:12 PM
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Leicajh
Posts: 80
Joined: 12/28/2007
Status: offline
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Any luck? I searched and just found your post. I teach NVGs for the USAF.
< Message edited by Leicajh -- 1/2/2008 9:10:18 PM >
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Driving out back by my pistol range!
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