Archive for the ‘Hand Held CB Radios’ Category
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pick your way with a CB!
If you’ve never tried it, you are really in for a surprise as to just how well it works to get advice and even meet new friends on a CB Radio while traveling. Some stretches of road get really pretty boring. You know what I’m talking about! If you’ve driven across Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, you know there are a lot of long stretches of road with really nothing at all to see. Even heading south on 35W from Minnesota to Oklahoma or Texas. Miles and miles of nothingness. This is the time you whip out your CB Radio. It doesn’t have to be a fixed mount unit – it can be a hand held CB Radio. They work fine for a mile or 2 – at least it will put you in touch with someone you probably have never met. Maybe you will be lucky and be able to avoid a bad stretch of road if they are ahead of you and they come upon a road block or something like that. Truckers are always chattering and if nothing else, it’s a refreshing thing to listen to instead of the radio or the 10th time through on a CD. Try it – you might just like it!! Happy Boater.
You can meet all kinds of nice folks on a CB when traveling!
Your CB radio doesn’t have to be used only for your annual fishing trip like some folks use them for! This year I suspect a lot of folks will (because of the high gas prices) stay close to home and take some shorter trips to discover their “own back yard” so to speak. The good part about that is that you won’t use so much gas and you stand a chance of running into friends and acquaintances while on your trip. A CB Radio comes in real handy when traveling locally OR half way across the country. You can keep abreast of changing road conditions by monitoring truckers who may be ahead of you and you can certainly find great restaurants that way! Sometimes it’s just fun to send out a general invitation for someone to talk to. My mother used to say that a stranger is just a friend she hadn’t met yet – and while she was alive, she really did live by that theory. It sure worked for her – she had more friends than I could believe. A hand held CB Radio would be a great addition to your vacation vehicle as it doesn’t have to be “installed” per say and you can use it on the boat or wherever you need to. Enjoy!! Happy Boater.
No muss, no fuss, just fun with a hand held CB Radio…
Why not cash in on fun for the summer with a set of hand held CB Radios. Nothing like having a radio with when out on the lake with more than one boat on a fishing trip so you can communicate with each other! Or, more importantly, so those on shore can communicate with you! After all, what’s more important than figuring out when the next “feeding time” is! CB Radios have become more and more popular lately and even a lot of boats that are equipped with a VHF marine radio are finding that a CB Radio comes in handy as they can leave their VHF marine radio on channel 16 for any emergency broadcasts from the US Coast Guard or weather updates while using the CB Radios for inter-boat communication. Join those who have already figured out this winning combination. Happy Boater.
Start preparing for your spring fishing trip now…
Yep – that sun is getting higher in the sky and the fishing pole is calling your name! This year why not include a communication device when putting together your “must have” list for this year’s fishing trip! Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to talk between boats and coordinate your shore lunch or maybe let the other boat(s) know that you’ve decided to go to a different part of the lake or maybe (hopefully not) you have mechanical problems and need to call for assistance from one of the other boats in your party. Wouldn’t a CB Radio (even a little hand held CB radio) be the clear ticket in this case? It may not be a big item, but it could be considered priceless as far as its value if needed. Be prepared this year and good luck. Happy Boater.
CB Radios are great on a cruise ship!
Who would ever think to take a hand held CB Radio on board a cruise ship? Not me, but after our cruise and seeing just how many folks kept track of those other family members or those in their “travel group”, I’m a believer. If you’ve never taken a cruise, I’d highly recommend it – a REAL vacation for the gals – no meal planning, no cleaning, no anything except enjoyment and being pampered all day long! But – they are really big – about the size of a small town of about 5,000 people – so you could get lost. Sure – you’d eventually find each other, but maybe you want to ask a question or make plans for the activities you want to take in at the next port. Sure would be nice to have a small hand held CB radio with you! They’d be especially nice when you are on shore – maybe turned around in a shopping area or simply wanting to get together for lunch or a beverage at a local restaurant. A real lot of folks have already figured this out and are using them on every cruise. Don’t depart without yours! Happy Boater.