Archive for the ‘VHF Radios’ Category
The further away you are, the more critical the need for communication…
Hello – It’s Monday again and I’m reminded of a conversation I had this weekend while attending a wedding. The wedding was in farming country and I discovered that what I used to consider a farm isn’t even a drop in the bucket. I used to consider a farm about 400 acres or so. Upon sitting around after the wedding and talking to a few of the “kids” that were children of the folks I know were now farming around 5,000 – 6,000 acres each. Even the thought of farming that many acres blew my mind. Imagine how important the communication would be on a farm that big. Now with the technology available in today’s world, I would consider a VHF Marine Radio for a farm this size. True – these require that there be no obstacles in the way of the broadcast as the broadcasts always require a straight line between the two points (i.e. there can’t be a building between you and the receiver of the transmission). But, on an area that large, I can’t imagine that it wouldn’t be a real nice fit for using a VHF radio. Now, if you have some obstacles, a CB Radio may be your best option, but for the most part, you will receive clearer radio signal with a VHF Radio. After all – it’s always nice to know when dinner is…………….right!! Happy Boater.
You’re only 1 storm away from needing your VHF Radio…
Did you ever notice that things seem to just go along fine for the longest time, then one day, when you least expect it, you find yourself in a world of hurt because of your lack of readiness for every situation. After all, when you’re in the midst of a nasty squall, it’s a bit too late to run to install the one radio that can save your life. These little radios have the capability of spanning up to 20+ nautical miles and the USCG is monitoring channel 16 on a 24/7 basis. What a deal for you – and you don’t even pay for that service!! I’m sure you know a good deal when you see one, but timing is everything. You have to install a VHF Marine Radio on your boat (or use a hand held VHF Radio) BEFORE you need it. Then it will be there for you when you need it! Happy Boater.
Is your VHF Radio on board?
So many times the simplest things are the most important things…and those very things are the items that get overlooked continually. I’m just as guilty as the rest of you, so I’m not pointing any fingers. Fact is, these little VHF Marine Radios have saved many lives over the past few years and even though they are not recognized in a positive light in England, it never-the-less gets top billing for bringing the USCG to the aid of boaters in peril and ultimately got them home safely. VHF Radios come in both fixed mount and hand held units and now are broadcasting in digital technology so the clarity of the broadcasts are much clearer than before. Summer is definitely the time for a lot of fun, but lets keep it safe and make sure you get you and those you have on board home to enjoy another day on the water. Happy Boater.
Some things you never need until you wish you had them…
There’s a lot of things that may fall into this category. I shudder when I think of how many Mickey Mantle cards I put on my bicycle as a young lad with a clothes pin and let it flap on the spokes of my wheels to make my simple 2 wheel bicycle sound like a motorcycle (in my own mind). Now those cards would bring in enough money to pay off my mortgage!! ….but we didn’t know that then – after all, they were only worth a penny back then! Oh well, time keeps going forward and we have to swallow those things we did that we can no longer bring back to re-do. Some other things in today’s world that fit that category may include insurance for a certain thing, or maybe a VHF Marine Radio capable of broadcasting NOAA weather updates and warnings/alerts. You buy them, install them, listen to them, and maybe never need them. Hopefully this is true for you. The trouble with that is that we get sluggish in our planning when things are going well – you know – kinda chugging along nice and easy. When, suddenly you find yourself with a broken down outboard motor, a storm coming and things caving in all around you rapidly. Sure would be nice to say to your friends and guests on board that you are in communication with the USCG via your VHF marine radio and they are on the way to help you. These little radios are very inexpensive and could (and have) save your life. Happy Boater.
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.
Another year older…
Man – those years seem to fly by fast! Just yesterday I turned another year older. Friends and family all got together which is always fun! …always plenty of good food!! It does make a guy sit back a bit and just think about the things he wanted to get done this past year and maybe a lot of those things haven’t even been started yet. Hopefully you have had more success getting your list of things done than I have had, but I’m still sure there are a lot of you out there that are in the same boat as I’m in – playing catch-up. The good news is that with every passing year, the technology surrounding the makeup of VHF radios and marine speakers is more advanced than the previous year. Digital formatting is on the front line now and there are still a lot of “old style” new radios out there on the store shelves. Make sure that if you purchase a new marine radio that it is of the new digital type. There will still be a lot of “new”, “still-in-the-box” deals out there on e-bay, but be aware of what you may be buying. Unless you get such a deal you can’t pass it by, the new radios are no more expensive than the old radios and why pay the same price for an old style radio when you can get an up-to-date digital radio for the same price. With these new radios, you will be able to enhance your listening (and hearing/understanding) ability when monitoring or making a radio transmission. Be kind to yourself and upgrade today. Happy Boater.
Someone’s glad they listened to the radio weather warnings!
Just 2 days ago I was driving around and took my wife out for an ice cream cone when we got the idea to go take a look at the lake since the wind had really come up and sometimes you get some really impressive waves coming in. I’ve seen waves up to 30 feet (from valley to the crest) hit the shores of Lake Superior – those are the kind you don’t want to mess with. Anyway, on this particular day, the prevailing winds were from the east and were really pounding the shore. The normal boat landing which is on the harbor side of the break wall is unusable right now as they are making a new marina. In the meantime, the boaters us the “less-than -desirable” temporary boat launch at another bay in town. First, my compliments to whoever put that little dock in because it was still in place with waves pounding into it and rolling over the top of it by over 2 feet. It’s a mystery to me why in the world it wasn’t pounded to pieces. Those winds and systems are the kind of things you want to be forewarned of in enough time to be able to react to them. If you had a VHF marine radio on board, channel 16 would bring you updates of the weather as it unfolds and you will be given ample time to react to the forecast. It’s for sure you don’t want to be caught off guard and try to dock your boat in waves like that – you’d be swamped!! Take heed to warnings like this one and outfit your boat with the proper communication equipment – after all it only has to pay for itself once to be invaluable!! 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.
Take Steps Now So Later you won’t have to say…”If only I had….”
When you’re on the water, you never want to find yourself in a place that requires you to start out a sentence with “If only I had…” when it comes to safety and communication items. With these little VHF Marine Radios so improved and affordable, there is really no reason why you can’t stay in constant radio communication with regular weather updates as well as the comfort feeling of knowing that if an emergency should arise, all you had to do was to dial in channel 16 (normally you should be there anyway) and you’d be able to reach the USCG for assistance. It doesn’t get much better than that! You’ll be able to receive NOAA weather at your fingertips so you will have plenty of time to reach a safe harbor should the need arise. Right now – believe it or not – in northern Minnesota are having hot, muggy weather conditions. Now, when we usually have it somewhat cool, and that cool air collides with the hot, muggy stuff we’ve had for the last couple of days, something has to happen. When that happens, you want the best and latest up-to-date information – especially if you’re on the water. Enjoy you summer on the water, but do it safely with the proper equipment at your fingertips. Happy Boater.
Why sit on the fence when VHF could save your life?
There are so many boat owners that have yet to get on board with the importance of having the proper communication equipment on board. It’s just baffling to me why they continue to ignore something so critical to their safety. I have grown to have a very healthy respect for Lake Superior as I’ve been out on the lake fishing when (within a half hour) the seas changed from calm to coming over the bow of a high sided 18 foot skiff. That is not fun. How could I have avoided a situation like that with a VHF radio? It’s like this. With a VHF Radio you have the benefit of constant 24/7 monitoring on channel 16 from the USCG. Besides that, NOAA weather updates are constantly fed through your radio speakers so you have ample time to get off the water if a storm system is looming and closing in fast on you. I know this happens fast particularly on Lake Superior as the lake sits in a geographical “basin” and you often don’t see the storm system coming early enough to react to it. By the time you see it, you’re practically in it. Don’t let this happen to you – consider installing a VHF marine radio today and put your mind at ease. Even if you don’t want to spend the time installing one into your boat dashboard, hand held VHF marine radios are available and will do a fine job for you. The only difference is the broadcast ability. Hand held units typically will be limited to about 5-6 nautical miles or so while the fixed units (with proper antenna) will buy you approximately 20 nautical miles of broadcast distance. Happy Boater.