Archive for the ‘Marine’ Category
Just a weather “side-note”…
Have any of you ever taken a tour through a National Weather Service operations center? Well, I haven’t. But, I spoke to a person that took his Cub Scout group through one last week. He was extremely taken by the sophisticated equipment that monitors the weather for our safety. A couple of items of interest may be the fact that what we call rain drops, the weather service refers to them as “hydro meteors”. If you think about it, it makes sense. but I’ve sure never called them that! Another bizarre point of interest is how the data is obtained to enable the national weather service to accurately map out all the “Highs and Lows” for pressure centers across our nation. It is my understanding that every 30 miles on a gridwork across the nation, a small weather balloon is released twice a day from each location and the recording device sends data to the service. That never crossed my mind that this was happening! I always thought it was accomplished through the use of radar or satellites or something – I guess I never thought about it. Hopefully you found this just as interesting. None-the-less, we can be the recipients of that valuable information as we monitor and react to the latest weather information on our VHF Marine Radio.
Wouldn’t it be nice if…
Now, maybe I’m somewhat of a dreamer, but wouldn’t it be nice if a person could just dial in his NOAA weather channel on his VHF marine radio and there would be an option to select what weather he or she would like to have for the day? A bit far-fetched perhaps, but a guy can dream, can’t he? Well, since that doesn’t seem likely in the near future, the best we can hope for is to be able to plan our day on the water around the latest broadcasts from the weather service as broadcast through the NOAA weather channel on your marine radio. They’ll keep you posted on any late breaking weather conditions while you’re out on the water and will give you plenty of time to pull in your lines and head for shore within a safe time frame. Don’t push your luck with the weather – somehow, it always seems to win. Over the years I’ve developed a very health respect (not fear) for weather conditions on the lake. I hope you do too.
Will summer ever come???
I sometimes wonder if these short “breaks” in the weather just happen to fool us into thinking that spring is just around the corner. I just received an email from a friend showing a picture of 2 deer walking through someone’s back yard and all you could see was their heads sticking up out of the snow. The caption was something like “yep, I think spring is right around the corner now”. It made me chuckle because that’s not too far from the situation I’m looking at out my kitchen window. Hard to believe that just a few weeks from now we really might get spring! So far, the weatherman has just been toying with our minds up here. This winter in Two Harbors, MN the bay never iced over. That could mean an early start to the shipping season – we all hope so. Of course, along with marine traffic, comes the chatter over the VHF Marine Radios on board the vessels. Once again reminding us of the importance of the communication devices so vital to the safety and well being of our guests on board as well as others.
Tune the tunes in…
Sound too good to be true that you can have your own recorded music play through an MP3 format while on board your favorite boat on a very nice day on the water? It’s really not far fetched at all! Modern technology makes it real easy to accomplish just that. Why not share the music with the others on board instead of being privately “plugged in” to your music machine! Quality of sound? Not a problem. With your music playing through a quality marine radio receiver and assuming that your boat is equipped with a nice pair of marine speakers and marine subwoofer speakers, you can produce a very high quality of sound. Check out what’s available in marine audio systems today!
Bright side to tax time?
I do believe that the only bright side to tax time is that it marks the middle of April and I know that somewhere between the 23rd and the 25th each year, the ice goes out on the lake I have my cabin on. That means that the boats can be put into the water, the docks put in place and anchored, and the preparation begins once again to open up the cabin for the new season! That is MUCH more fun than having to put everything away in the fall of the year -yuck! I know a lot of you folks are doing the same, and hopefully you are allowing yourself time to install the proper communication equipment on your boat before launching it this spring! At least make the effort to check out how reasonable a nice Marine Radio receiver is so you can have incredible music on you pontoon or your boat – played directly from your MP3 pre-recorded format. …or maybe you already have a nice marine radio, but your choice this season would be to add a nice marine speaker system to your boat or pontoon. Whatever your choice, take time to assess the needs and the safety of those on board. Happy Boater
How about those Ice Breakers…
Sure is fun to watch as the Coast Guard as well as local tugboats with reinforced bows attack the ice to open the harbor earlier to allow for early shipping. They hit the ice hard, crawl up on top of it, and then crush through it. Then they back up and hit it all over again. They sure take a beating! Just think of the communication that has to be constantly updated between the vessels when they are ushering a 1000 foot ore boat out of the harbor. I can only guess they all are using VHF Marine Radios almost exclusively. Nothing like having good, clear communication when faced with close encounters while breaking a path through the ice for another vessel!
Busy weekend!
This past weekend found me and a friend of mine on snowmobiles traveling through the woods on well groomed trails for a jaunt of about 160 miles. Trails were beautiful, snow was plentiful, temperature was incredible, and the day was super! There was a time that I thought it might be fun to call home to bring everyone up to speed on our trip and found that for nearly the entire trip we had no cell signal. How similar, I thought, to one being out at sea without any means of communication. Now, it really probably doesn’t matter much if everything is going ok, but what if it wasn’t? That measly little investment made in a hand held VHF marine radio would be prove invaluable. VHF Radios have really come down in price and are still probably the single most important piece of equipment you can have on board. Put it on the top of your “to do” list for this next boating season!
Sure nice to see your comments!
Lately I’ve enjoyed reading all the comments that have been coming in to this blog. Thank you for the time you took to respond – even if only to say you liked it or didn’t agree with something! Hopefully all of us will come out the winner from sharing thoughts. Today is a beautiful day and even thought this afternoon promises to have another couple of inches of snow coming through, I’ll take heart in knowing that spring is right around the corner. I have enjoyed driving school bus part time lately and have come to realize first hand just how irritating it is to not be able to hear clearly when that CB Radio crackles and you’re trying to decipher just what in the world they are trying to say to you! Quality speakers are really the key to being able to hear what is being said. I maintain that purchasing quality marine speakers because of their resistance to weather and weather-related items like humidity would be a wise investment whether you’re driving a bus or enjoying a day on the water with your friends. Even a communication from an inexpensive unit can be heard (and understood) more clearly through a quality speaker system. Do yourself a favor – this year pick up a good pair of marine speakers and enhance that “enjoyment factor”.
Post Transmit instructions where everyone can see!
What a novel idea! What if something happened to you and someone else needed to radio for help? Wouldn’t it be nice if someone had thought ahead to write down what channels you use for specific purposes and just how to use them? For example – Channel and 9 and Channel 16 are only used to call other vessels. Also write on this posting what to say and to whom they should be expecting at the other end – like the USCG. Don’t lose your life because somebody got on the radio to try to get you help and they failed to reach someone simply because they were on the wrong channel! Having a VHF Marine Radio on board is probably the most important piece of equipment you will purchase, but if nobody can use it, you just wasted your money! The summer boating season is just around the corner. Let’s plan for it and make it a safe one!!
No Test! What could be easier…
I
f you’re worrying about having to take a test in order to own and operate a VHF Radio, you can put your mind at ease. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 allows boaters to own and use VHF Marine Radios without having an FCC ship station license. What does that mean??? It simply means that there is no paperwork required, no classes to attend, and no other hassles involved in purchasing and learning to use a VHF Marine Radio. What could be easier! Now – be aware that if your boat happens to be 65.6 feet or longer or if you plan to travel in foreign waters, you will be required to have a Radiotelephone Operator Permit. You will have to fill out the form to get the permit, but there are no tests or exams – only a 1-time fee which is good for life. Happy Boating!!