Archive for the ‘CB Radios’ Category
Christmas season is upon us once again…
I spend all year writing about marine radios
, CB Radios, and marine speakers but once a year I take a small break to wish you the very merriest of Christmas’s this year. This year has been a rough one for a lot of folks due to the economy, but hopefully the worst is behind us. My grandmother used to tell me that you’re rich if you have your health. Of course – I used to think she really didn’t understand the whole picture, but the older I get, the more I realize how wise a statement that was. If we have family, friends, AND our health – that’s an almost unbeatable combination. There are lots of things out there we can’t control so let’s take a time out to be thankful for what we DO have and pray for an opportunity to share that with someone else who maybe has less than you do. Bad turns in the economy tends to bring out the best in people in many ways. It also causes us to step back and re-evaluate just what is important. Let’s remember that as we go through this season and may I take this opportunity once again to wish you and your’s a very Merry Christmas. Happy Boater.
CB Radios don’t have to be a bulky box…
True – most CB Radios are attachable with the use of a bracket and are about the size of a car radio. You know the size – I’m sure you’ve seen as many of them as I have. What you may not know, is that there is a hand held CB Radio that is really no bigger than a hand held microphone. That’s right. It is capable of handling all 40 channels just like the full size units, but is all contained inside this microphone. You can hang it on the wall of your boat control house or on the dash board of your vehicle for easy access. Wherever you put it, you are sure to served very well with it. What a handy thing to have – and just think – Christmas is right around the corner! Start dropping hints and ….who knows??? …You may hit the jackpot for a great gift this year!! Happy Boater.
It’s good to have communication with home base when out and about…
With winter upon us and “snowplowing season” just about front and center, I’m thinking that even I need to add a new CB Radio to my plow truck since I plow out several of my neighbors and that usually happens at the wee hours of the morning and many times the big plows haven’t even gotten through yet. It’s not unusual for me to have to literally PLOW my way to their houses (several miles) in order to complete the task. …and some of those mornings are not very nice!! What if something happened – there’s no cell phone service out there – sure would be nice to let someone know that I have a problem! Last year once I got hung up with the truck on some hard packed snow and was unable to back out no matter what I did. I just got plain lucky last year as one of my neighbors happened by and gave me a tug to get me free. Otherwise, it would have been a very long, cold walk home. A CB Radio would solve this dilemma! After all, the previous owner of my plow truck put an antenna right through the hood of the truck and it’s been unused all these years. Why not make use of it!! Happy Boater.
Snowbirds are heading south…
This past weekend, my wife and I took a drive (a long one) to Oklahoma City to visit my daughter and her family for Thanksgiving. We enjoyed great roads as well as terrific food!! (way too much of it, I’m afraid). One thing I noted on the way back is that the caravan of 5th wheeler RV’s was beginning…and beginning with gusto!! I counted as many as 10 RVers in the time span of about 5 minutes. Now, it wasn’t like that for the entire way, but many times it was that thick. …and then there were several heading north – for what reason, I can’t even imagine…maybe those folks lost their compass and sense of direction. There aren’t too may folks that would consider going north to camp in the wintertime…
Anyway, I thought that this would be a good time to bring up the fun you could have talking to some of the other folks traveling south if you had a CB Radio on board. I know a lot of these vehicles have them installed right on the dash of their vehicles so your chances of reaching someone while you’re traveling is quite good. This year, why not install a CB radio into your RV! They are very inexpensive and can save you a lot of frustration if you tap into road conditions from other travelers – or maybe traffic jams you could avoid if you knew about them. Have fun. Happy Boater.
Think CB…
With the winter season upon us, there will be a lot of ”snowbirds” heading south. Every year they pack up their belongings and head south to avoid shoveling that white stuff. There are thousands of them…all with one thing in mind – to get there before the snow flies. What you may not know is that a lot of them get to know each other over the years and many of them actually travel together and are able to communicate with each other via their CB Radios they have installed on their trucks or RV motor homes. This is definitely a security blanket for a lot of these folks. They can avoid heavy traffic by communicating with someone ahead of them, or maybe find cheaper fuel as they talk back and forth. Either way they have a lot of fun and it extends their vacation to include their travel time because they can talk to friends. These radios are vary affordable and easy to install so why not take the bull by the horns and get one on board today? Happy Boater.
Those riding 4-wheelers need to talk too…
I’ve recently become aware of how many folks I know get together with their friends and take a ride on their 4-wheelers – and I really mean a RIDE! They don’t think anything of covering 75 to 100 miles in an afternoon just riding through trails in the woods. I have to admit, that sounds like fun. The only problem is that I don’t own one so I can’t join in on the fun. What I can’t imagine is that sometime during that trip, wouldn’t it be nice to have some kind of communication with the others in the group? What if one had trouble?? How would the “leader of the pack” know to stop? A small hand held CB Radio would be just the clear ticket item for solving this dilemma. We have the same kind of problem when out on a snowmobile trip. If you have a dozen or so sleds in your group, the amount of trail you get spread out on is immense! Granted, you DO stop occasionally and let everyone catch up and then we usually count and make sure that everyone is still with us. Several times, we’ve had to back track to find a missing sledder. How much easier would it have been if they had been able to radio the lead sled and advise of his/her situation. Always be safe, but have fun! Happy Boater.
Hunting season’s here – got your CB or VHF Radio yet?
We all hope we never have to call for help sometime – even if it’s not for ourselves, but for someone else. Fact is, every year during hunting season someone needs help and wouldn’t you feel bad if you came upon someone in need and you needed to contact someone fast in an area where there is no cell service and you couldn’t help? If even for your own peace of mind and comfort (that warm fuzzy feeling), every hunter should either have a hand held CB Radio or a hand held VHF marine radio in his pocket. That is really not far fetched – these little radios (the VHF radios) will send signal up to 5 nautical miles. Ideally, someone else in your hunting party should be carrying a radio so you could relay for help and assistance if needed. These little radios (the VHF radios) are even weather proof – that is, even if they were to drop into a river or lake, they will float and they will remain waterproof for up to a meter under the water for about a half hour. So, if you’re planning to be out in the woods hunting, don’t forget to cover the basic bases of safety before you leave. Happy Boater.
Can’t think of a gift idea???
Sometimes we all get stumped as to what we should be getting that special someone for a gift – be it a birthday, Christmas, or whatever! What better gift could you give than one that can improve safety when on the water as well as provide entertainment! I’d like to suggest that it’s real easy to wrap up a hand held VHF marine radio and you’ll surely see a great big smile when it is opened up! It comes packaged in a box and what could be easier to wrap? If not a hand held VHF Radio, how about a set of marine speakers or a hand held CB Radio? All of these are sure to get a smile from that special person! Start thinking today of gifts for those on your list that are just plain hard to buy for. I can assure you, that any of these items will always be received with a smile!! Enjoy. Happy Boater.
It seems like spring just got here and now fall and winter are closing in…
Boating season is just too short in the northland! Why, it seems like you just get your boat into the water and its time to pay storage fees to someone to store the boat for the winter! I guess we just have to “suck it in, take a deep breath” and get on with winter sports, hey? Does the change of seasons mean that your communication needs are all over until next summer? Not on your life! I guess I mean that literally, because hunting season is coming up as well as snowmobiling. Both sports have an element of “unknown” in them where it would be a great “comfort, warm fuzzy feeling” to be able to communicate with someone in your group to get assistance if you needed it. Hunters sometimes get “turned around” in the woods while hunting and can’t remember their way out – and it doesn’t always happen to “the other guy”. Slipping a little CB Radio or a hand held VHF marine radio into your pocket would surely be a great comfort if needed. Maybe you will just stumble upon another hunter who needs medical assistance. Wouldn’t you feel good if you were able to help him/her? Nothing wrong with being prepared. Happy Boater.
CB’s don’t do you any good if you forget them at home!
Just a couple of weeks ago, we enjoyed a great day of leaf watching as we traveled up the north shore of Lake Superior with some friends of ours. Naturally, we had too many people to actually fit into one car (also had a dog with), so we piled into 2 vehicles and I led the way – in search of that one perfect spot to view the leaves. Now, as it turned out, we were successful on that point, but it sure would have been nice if I had been able to point out some of the highlights along the way. Guess who left the hand held cb radios at home? Yep – it was me. Oh well, the day was a smashing success and all went well – even without them, but I really couldn’t believe that I actually left them home – all charged up and everything. Don’t be like me – when you have an outing with more than one vehicle, remember to pack your hand held cb radios (one for each vehicle) and add some extra fun to your day!! Happy Boater.