Archive for the ‘CB Radios’ Category
Tractors need communication too…
I know I usually blog about marine radios and communication available for boats and pontoons, but lets consider for a minute all those farmers out there that are spending a lot of time in the fields right about this time of the year. My brother-in-law farms in Kansas and I know he has spent some really long days in the fields lately…after all, when the crops are ripe for picking, they’re ripe for picking…no ifs, ands, or buts, about it. While they’re out in the fields, it sure would be nice to have communication with the home base, wouldn’t it? Now, I’m not sure he even has a radio in his tractor, but I intend to ask him. Of course, some of his fields are up to 5 miles away from his home base, so a CB radio wouldn’t work without a tall antenna, but a VHF Radio certainly would work – as long as there are no hills or tall buildings between the 2 points of broadcast. That’s because the beams travel in a straight line and don’t easily “sneak” around hills or buildings. That’s also why they work better on the water than on land. With them you can achieve a broadcast distance of over 20 miles. Whichever you choose – a CB Radio, or a VHF Radio – you can be sure of one thing…they will be more on time for supper!! …..and happy wives make for happy lives. Happy Boater.
CB’s are well rounded in their applications…
It sure seems like as long as there have been trucks, there have been CB radios. At least, that’s where I think they got their start. I’m sure glad they got their start somewhere, otherwise there would be a lot of folks coming up on the short end of the stick for communication needs today. Think about it…a lot of farmers use them in the fields to communicate with home, boats use them to communicate between other boats in their fishing group, construction workers use them on the job site, factories use them to contact someone in the warehouse, and it goes right down the line to commercial boats, trucks, motorcyclists, snowmobilers, vacationers, truckers, and many, many more folks just like you. CB’s aren’t dead – they didn’t die off in the 60′s like a lot of folks think…they’re out there and I believe they’re more popular today than they were 20 years ago. The best thing is that they are very affordable. Granted, the broadcast distance isn’t as great as a VHF Radio, but you can sure have fun with them in a 1 -2 mile radius. Get on board and enjoy. Happy Boater.
CB’s help pass the time when stuck in a construction zone…
Summertime in Minnesota (and I’m sure a lot of your locations as well) is a time widely focused on road construction. We often say in Minnesota that we have 2 seasons – Winter and Road Construction. Those of you that live here know what I mean. Sometime you get stuck in a traffic jam due to construction for 15 – 20 minutes at a time. During those times I have found that it’s really quite entertaining to talk to others on the CB. It helps pass the time of day and let’s face it – if the other person is also stuck in the traffic – misery loves company!! Sometime you are able to talk to someone ahead of you and can be advised to take a certain exit to save a lot of time and other times you may be the one in front “breaking trail” for the others listening in and you can become the hero for the day. Nothing wrong with that!! Good speakers are a must or it takes the fun out of talking to someone else because they would be too hard to understand – especially if they speak with a bit of an accent. Enjoy your summer – turn on your CB Radio and make the most out of your inconvenient times stuck in traffic. Have fun. Happy Boater.
Add a new dimension to your ATV…
Lately I’m sure you’ve noticed – as I have – all the really neat ATV’s that have flooded the marketplace. The latest one that has caught my eye is the Razor that has been put out by Polaris. They are really sporty and is a cross between and ATV and an ATV sports car (in my words). Some of them even come with heaters and radios built in. The only thing missing is a communication device. With more and more of them on the market, you mark my words – in the very near future you will seed folks mounting CB Radios and antennas on their Razor dashboards so as to have communication with all those they are out on the trail with. What fun!! After all, there’s fun in numbers and what good is it to have the numbers of units if you can’t talk to them while you’re on the trails – right?? The good news is that CB’s are so affordable that there’s really no reason not to install one!! Have fun and enjoy your summer! Happy Boater.
Sometimes having communication is priceless…
We just passed my brother’s birthday and couldn’t help but think back to some of the funny things that happened to us when we were younger. I recall when I was about 12 years old and my brother was 10, we were out at the “cabin” our family owned. Now, back then, the roads we took to get there were just 2 ruts for the tires to drive in and sometimes we had to steer way to one side of the road or the other to keep the bottom of the car from hitting bottom on a big rock in the middle of the road (which was usually about 2 feet high with grass). This also made it very difficult to see the obstacles in the middle section! To make a long story short, we were out in the woods playing when we saw a big black shape coming at us through the brush. Our hearts skipped a beat, we looked at each other and without speaking another word, turned and ran faster than we’ve ever run before! As we entered into the cabin clearing, we were hollering a bear was after us and Dad looked at the look of horror on our faces and gently smiled. What he saw from his angle, was a logger coming out of the woods with a black coat on and laughing like crazy, knowing he’d scared us out of some of our life! Well, I guess it turned out not be an emergency, but I can assure you that in our young minds I’d have given a million dollars for a radio (possible a hand held CB Radio) that could have put us in touch with someone to help us out of our “imaginary” dilemma. Enjoy the summer. Happy Boater.
When you loose communication contact, you loose a lot…
Have you ever found yourself in a position where you really didn’t know where someone that you were looking for was? Maybe the area you were in didn’t have any cell phone service and you knew that if they were out driving, they didn’t have a 2 way radio or anything in the vehicle they were driving. If you have ever experienced this, you know just how helpless or unnerving this can be. Just this weekend, while out at our lake home, we had a part fail on the well and I had to run to town to find a part. My wife and her sister were out on the golf cart driving down 4-wheeler paths in the woods and they had been gone for about an hour. No telling where they could have been because there are so many paths they could have gone down. To make a long story short, I had to resort to writing a note, taping it on the door, and maybe take a brief drive down some of the main arteries to see if they were anywhere in sight before taking off to town. Sure would have been nice if they would have had a portable radio with them because more than likely they would not have been outside “broadcast” distance of about a mile with even a hand held CB Radio. Sure makes life much simpler if the right communication equipment is in place! Note: We even had a set of 2-way radios all charged up, but they had failed to take one with them. Sure doesn’t do much good if they aren’t used!! Happy Boater.
CB Radios, in some ways, bring you back to basics…
There was a time – not all that long ago – that the CB Radio was used widely for communication lines for a lot of rescue personnel. These radios have seemingly gone full circle and are coming back into the limelight. From the early 60′s to now we’ve seen quite a swing in the use of CB Radios…from being a “fad” in the early 60′s to very little use during the 70′s and 80′s (except for truckers) and now, since the 90′s we are seeing quite a recovery in popularity of these radios. Many, many “snowbirds” (as we call them) use CB Radios to communicate with their traveling partners as they pull their rigs south every fall. If you are one of those and maybe you don’t have a CB in your rig, let me tell you that Father’s Day is coming and what a great gift for him – something that all can use!! (best kind of gift!) This year as you travel south, you may be able to talk to others on the road and be able to zero in on where the best places to stop and eat are, or maybe where the best deal on fuel may be. We all need that!! It’s good to see so many CB’s coming back into use. The nice thing about them is that they are both fun and functional!! Enjoy. Happy Boater.
Rising fuel prices can justify a VHF Marine radio for your boat!
With the rising cost of fuel prices across this wide land of ours, it just costs too much to keep running back to shore to pick up various things you forgot when you went out the first time. Why not radio in your needs on your VHF marine radio and have them compiled for you so that you can pick them up all at once when you do get to shore? Sound unrealistic? Not really. I know how much fuel you can burn up – especially if you are throttling up to a higher speed to get to shore. You can just about see the fuel gauge drop as you speed across the lake! …and you know I’m not exaggerating on this item!! Even having a CB Radio on board will work for this if you don’t plan to be further than about a mile out in the lake. (This would be because of the shorter broadcast distance of a CB Radio) In either case, surely you can see the advantage of these radios from purely a money saving viewpoint. Plan more efficiently this boating season – prepare for those unexpected needs. …radio them in this year!!! Happy Boater.
A stranger is just a friend that you haven’t met yet…
Yep – that was my mother’s motto. …and she actually lived by it! She passed away back in 1999, and granted, things were a bit different then – you didn’t have to be quite so careful of who you embraced as a friend, however, she never saw that bad in anyone. She really did meet some very incredible folks and more often than not, they were delighted to make her acquaintance also. Sadly, things have changed and I’m not so sure it’s for the better. We still can take pride in believing the best in everyone and to help us out with that idea we have things like CB Radios! What better way to meet folks and chat with them than through a CB Radio when traveling. It keeps you alert as well as maybe being able to avoid some really slow traffic up ahead by simply hearing what is being said on the radio! Truckers can be invaluable with the knowledge they share about the roads ahead if you just take time to listen. Who knows – they may lead you to great restaurant with great food – they definitely can zero in on those!! CB’s are becoming more popular so why not add one to your car or truck before the summertime travel time arrives in full swing. Who knows – maybe it can save you money by being able to ask where the best gas prices are when you find you need a fill! Happy Boater.
Call ahead to put the coffee pot on…
I’m reminded of the movie “ET” where the slogan “phone home” became an icon a few years back. Well, I know this weekend there were a lot of frozen, dripping wet, miserable fishermen out on the lake who were probably looking forward to a nice warm cup of coffee when they hit the shore. But, what if there wasn’t anyone in the cabin who knew they were coming?? Easy solution!! Simply make sure to bring a couple of hand held CB Radios with you on the fishing trip – leaving one in the cabin and take one out of the boat with you. What a nice convenience (that is if you have at least one in your party that maybe was a “fair weather fisherman” and just didn’t relish the thought of purposely putting himself through that torture of wind , rain, and cold). I guess I’m one of those that wait until the second or third weekend of fishing season to wet a line because I find the fishing is better and the weather is much more conducive to a pleasant day on the water. My hat is off those devoted few who wouldn’t miss a fishing opener without having their pole in the water – no matter what the weather! Happy Boater.