Archive for February, 2010
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!
Hand held CB comes in handy!
This weekend I plan to head out for an ice fishing experience on the Lake of the Woods on the US/Canadian border in northern Minnesota. I hope to tell you of the one I “got” rather than the one that “got away” when I return. I would, however, like to take a moment to ponder the “comfort level” you get when you have with you an ability to communicate with those on shore as well as those in other fish houses on the lake. A hand held CB radio can fill that bill nicely! It’s compact, clear, and easy to use. Why not take advantage of the modern day “nice-itys” that we have available today that were only a dream a few years back – and really not that far back. Who knows where this will all end up in the very near future with the digital communication making the strides and achievements they have in recent history! Exciting just to imagine!! Have a good day and wish me luck fishing!! Happy Boater
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!!
Save yourself some headaches and get good speakers!
Have you ever listened to something and wondered what in the world you just heard?? Some of us have some significant hearing loss anyway, so it’s really hard sometimes to make out just what was said in a normal conversation over a meal. Actually – sometimes you can get yourself into very embarrassing situations if you answer the other person according to what you “thought” you heard them say rather than what they REALLY said (which may be a far cry from what they said in the first place). Now – if you’re hearing that conversation over a speaker system on a boat with other noises all around you such as the motor running , how important it is to be able to understand just what you’re hearing. There a lot of great speakers out there in the marketplace nowadays! Get on board and invest in some waterproof, reliable marine speakers for your boat. Then when that message comes over the airwaves, you will find that you will not have to deal with “distortion”, but will actually hear with clarity what the person on the other end of the conversation is trying to communicate! Some of us need all the help we can get!! (and yep, I’m in that boat…)
Happy Boater
Why add a VHF Radio if it isn’t required?
True – VHF radios are not required in many areas of the world – and particularly if your boat happened to be less than 65.6 feet long. Does this meat that you should not put one on board? Certainly not!! Fact is, many boaters find they require 2 on board – one VHF Marine Radio for monitoring communication between them and the coast guard with regard to the weather and another (usually a hand held VHF Marine Radio) to be used in the event of an emergency requiring the evacuation of the ship. Sure is nice to know that there are waterproof hand held marine radios available so even though you may be bobbing around in a raft somewhere, you’ll be safe and you’ll be able to communicate with the Coast Guard to gain assistance.
What’s the tie between Snow and CB’s?
Part of the exciting part of Northern Minnesota is that you really never really know what you’re going to wake up to in terms of the weather – no matter what the weatherman says! The Lake Superior basin puts funny and strange “twists” into the normal patterns of weather and makes it quite unpredictable. That’s what happened last night. I woke up to another 4 inches of snow on the ground so plowing and snow blowing were two of the main items on the agenda for this morning. As I was plowing and saw the county snowplow go by I noticed he was talking on his radio. It occurred to me just how important it would be for each driver to have his own radio (very likely a CB Radio) to report traffic problems as well as road conditions to the county garage. CB Radios and hand held CB radios are becoming more and more popular although they sure went through a dry spell from the early 70’s until the mid 90’s! Finally something affordable that is extremely useful and also something that a person can have a lot of fun with! …time to shovel again!!