question: static protected boolean highBit ( int val ) { if ( ( val & ( ~ 0xFF ) ) != 0 ) { log . error ( "highBit called with too large value: 0x" + Integer . toHexString ( val ) ) ; } return ( 0 != ( val & 0x80 ) ) ; }
target:  Check if a high bit is set, usually used to store it in some other location (LocoNet does not allow the high bit to be set in data bytes)