Archive for the ‘CB Radios’ Category
Traveling with another party? CB’s the way to go.
As I watch all the folks traveling up and down the shore of Lake Superior viewing the vibrant leaves, I have to wonder just how many of them are traveling together – even though they are in different vehicles. I’m quite sure there are a lot of them. I know I’ve done that – just because sometimes you just plain don’t all fit into one vehicle. Sure is nice to be able to communicate to the other vehicle of their needs – say, where they want to stop for lunch – and when. Maybe you want to take a short “bunny trail” to show them something special. How are you going to do that unless you stop the car and with all the traffic, it’s hard to get into the mix again. It’s better to start off being “road smart” and have your hand held cb radios all charged up and ready to go – then the rest of the day things will definitely go your way. Have a great trip and a pleasant leaf-watching experience. Happy Boater.
Sometimes a good old fashioned CB Radio is just the ticket!
We all know that when we’re out hunting, we don’t want a CB Radio calling us when we’re just about to get the hairs of the scope perfectly positioned on Ol’ Mossy and you trigger finger is just in motion. But, let’s suppose for a minute that you DID just bag the prize of your life and now you have to drag it out by yourself. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone were in calling distance to come and help?? …or better yet – maybe bring out an ATV to load it on and drive it out of the woods? I know that would be my preference! Why not make it easier on yourself and tuck a hand held CB Radio into your vest this year! Besides that, it’s sure a lot safer for everyone concerned. You always have a communication line to you buddies and that way, everyone stays safe and doesn’t get turned around in the woods. If you did, you could call someone and they could come to your assistance. …you’d not be so alone out there. Something to consider…. Happy Boater.
CB’s help keep you awake when traveling long hours on the road…
I have some relatives coming this week from Montana. They left Montana on Friday mid day and expected to arrive around the middle of the night on Sunday for their initial run. Obviously, this would require some real long hours on the road. Now, I don’t expect that they have a CB radio in their vehicle, but it sure would help keep alert when driving across the miles of “nothingness” if they had one. That is, assuming that some trucker was heading the same way they were and could carry on a conversation with one of them. Alas, they made it – CB or no CB, but why not make your next trip more enjoyable with a CB installed. RVr’s use them all the time as well as truckers as they criss-cross this country of ours and they’ve used them for years!! Is it possible they know something we don’t know??? Imagine that…. Happy Boater.
Thinking up a handle for your CB radio is half the fun…
It’s sometimes a challenge to find just that right term which will perfectly describe you (or not) to use as a handle on your CB Radio. Years ago, I owned a restaurant/ice cream parlor. Sometime during that time I recall that I had a cb radio and used it quite frequently. My handle was “Sodajerk” as that is what you called the person behind the counter that mixed up your favorite shakes, malts, or carbonated drinks of various flavors – right up to and including “swamp water” which was just a little squirt of every flavor available on the fountain, then you add charged water to it. I was never very fond of it, but some said they liked it (I personally think it was more of a fad). Well, those days are gone for me, but CB’s are still around and the fun of picking out your personal handle to operate one is still front and center. The cost of these now are really reasonable and certainly not out of reach for just about anyone and it is certainly a cheap form of entertainment!! Get yours and start having fun today. Happy Boater.
CB’s are far from forgotten…
You may think that CB’s are all but forgotten. You have another guess coming because there are many, many boats out there that choose to have CB’s mounted in the wheel house because often they are out in a party with other boats and this allows them to have conversations with the other boaters while still monitoring channel 16 with the VHF radio on board so they don’t miss any important information from the USCG. Just this past weekend I saw a base unit CB Radio as well as a remote CB Radio for sale at an estate sale. I was really tempted, but didn’t end up making the purchase. Some of the newer CB Radios also have digital capability so the sound quality is light years ahead of what we used to listen to in the 60′s and 70′s!! The good news is that they are really inexpensive for the amount of fun and communication you can have with them.
Hand held CB’s you see in use every day…
Along with the fall season comes the normal crazy rush of construction crews trying to squeeze in the final touches on their road projects before bad weather closes in on them. We’ve all seen them – and it usually happens when you’re in a rush to get somewhere – those wonderful signs that say “flagman ahead”. Sure enough – just a few hundred feet ahead you come across a young man or lady holding that dreaded stop sign. Isn’t it a wonder why it never says “slow” when you come up to it? You sit there – probably put your car in “park”, and wait. Then there’s that glimmer of hope! He/she picks up their CB Radio and presses that button on the side of it and begins talking to someone out of your sight. Then she turns the sign around to expose the “slow” side of the sign and all is well. You can get on your way. I’ve seen the use of hand held CB Radios a lot in just the couple of weeks. Everyone from construction folks to surveyors use them – and why not!! They’re an incredibly handy thing to have at your fingertips. …and they are very affordable… Happy Boater.
Communication and be essential in desolate areas…
Even though our country is primarily heavily populated, those populated areas are only a small physical part of our great country. Sure, there are cities and metropolitan areas where you can go crazy just driving home at night from work, but if you get away, those areas are pretty easy to forget. What you do remember is the clear view of the millions of stars in the night sky – something that you never see in the city because of the all the lights. Generally when you are out in those remote areas where the stars are the brightest, you are also in an area where there is minimal (if any) communication available. I know that a CB Radio, or a VHF Marine radio will not fill all your communication needs when you find yourself in one of these remote areas, but generally speaking, having one of these is a HUGE step in the right direction. That way, you have a chance at communicating with someone in a search party that may be looking for you if you became turned around in your directions and couldn’t find your way out. I’ve lived in remote areas most of my life and have also had my turn at becoming momentarily turned around in my directions to a point that I was sure that my compass was wrong (BAD decision). Rule #ONE – You have to believe your compass! CB Radios will generally have a range of about 2 miles whereas a hand held VHF Radio will project signal approximately 5 miles and a fixed mount VHF Marine Radio will allow a 20 mile radius. Treat yourself – get away and take a look at that great sky full of stars – but be safe and bring a communication device. Happy Boater.
How about a CB Radio for that special guy!
You know, there are a lot of folks out there that really believe that CB Radios are a thing that went by the wayside sometime in the late 60′s or early 70′s. These little radios are actually increasing in popularity with the RV’ers as well as those lone travelers that simply want to have someone to talk to when driving. I have to admit that I currently don’t have one installed in my car, but I have had several of them and did enjoy talking to different folks as I drove along. With all the road construction out there, you can really save yourself a lot of time if you hook up with someone who just traveled through the area you are about to enter. They can advise you of construction delays and possible better routes to take to make your road trip more enjoyable. Then, there’s that teenager with that 2-seater go kart…why not put a CB on that rig?? Just the other day, I had to go out an find a couple of kids on one of those. Their parents were worried because they had been out there for such a long time. I went looking and found them – walking way back in the forest. Their kart had run out of gas and they were hoofing it back to their home. I gave them a ride and all turned out well, but wouldn’t it have been simpler if they had had a CB Radio on the cart and parents had a matching one at home base? All they would have had to do is to radio their problem to their folks and it would have saved a lot of fretting. Oh well, all turned out well in the end. Happy Boater.
Easy to get tongue-tied when learning to talk on your CB Radio…
If you think about it, it’s really kind of funny how a person can get tongue tied when talking to someone on the other end of a CB Radio connection. As far as that goes —-on ANY radio. I can remember getting on line for the first time. I was doing ok until I actually connected to someone out there. I didn’t know this guy from Adam, and naturally the only thing that I knew I had in common with him was that he was talking on his CB and I was talking on my CB Radio. I do believe that I set a new land speed record for going blank on what to say. Over time, it did get easier and I did get pretty good at picking up right away who was new on line and who was an old hat at it. Besides meeting new people on a CB Radio, it can really come in handy for listening to truckers talk as they weave their way in and around traffic and construction zones. It’s like they are breaking trail for you as you go. Just fall in line and enjoy the ride. Who knows – they may even know where the best fuel prices are along the way! Happy Boater.
CB’s are great for keeping your fishing group coordinated.
I’ve been on enough fishing trips to know that when you have a few boats in the group, everyone has his own idea as to where the best fishing will be. The trouble with that is that those spots are rarely within sight of one another. The handiest thing you could have in this situation is hand held CB Radio to just keep in your vest pocket. You can keep in touch with your fishing buddies to coordinate when the “shore lunch” is going to be and where to meet – after all – fishing trips are all about shore lunches, right?? I don’t know why the food tastes soooo good when cooked outside over a fire, but it does. CB Radios are available as fixed units or as hand held units. I’ve found that there is really very little difference on the water for range between the 2 units. The fixed unit is supposed to have a range of a couple of miles and I believe you can hear clearly for about a mile with the hand held unit. Either way – nobody likes to be late for supper!! Happy Boater.