Archive for March, 2010
Good things come in small packages…
Remember when the only way you could get great sound was if you had these great big black boxes sitting around? They were probably used mainly by bands for their amplifiers to project sound through. Even as recent as just a few years ago a person would see teens walking down the street or the beach with a “boom box” on their shoulder. Cool, huh? (they are probably showing up for their regular weekly chiropractor appointments today). Now you can walk down the street and greet someone and they don’t even know you said anything because they are plugged into their own music played through an I-pod or Mp3 player. Why not enjoy that music on your boat or wherever you go? You can with a marine radio. Just plug your music in and away you go. Happy Boater.
Speakers can make your system great!
Somehow, when you hook up a sound system, the magic doesn’t appear until the moment you turn on the receiver and hear those low tones clearly coming through your new speakers. Everyone loves that feeling! All too often, though, we spend good money on a quality stereo system and then proceed to leave the existing speakers in place to transmit the music. Now, you may have quality speakers in place – in which case, this will be acceptable. But, more often than not, your receiver unit will have output abilities much higher than your speakers are able to handle. Why not treat yourself to the complete package? After all – the speakers are probably the least expensive part of the whole sound system! For outdoor use, a good marine speaker will do the trick for you – that way weather won’t ruin your speakers. Enjoy every note of summer! Happy Boater.
Demand Creates Apparent Hand Held CB Short Supply
J
ust today I was in contact with a person who was attempting to purchase a hand held CB Radio for personal use. I attempted to get him hooked up with a supplier and was made aware that the item he was trying to buy was out of stock and had been since February of 2010! Supply is supposed to arrive sometime towards the end of the first week in May. That tells me that the CB’rs are alive and well! In a round about sort of way, it’s kinda gratifying to know that there is that much demand for these units – after all, years have gone by us with little or no demand for CB Radios. C’mon you suppliers – let’s get this show on the road and fill the demand! Summer’s on the way and along with that, there will be many more needing these units (i.e. campers, hikers, boaters, and yes – even shoppers!) I know I’ve seen several times in the past few weeks someone talking on a hand held CB Radio (or cell phone) in a department store comparing pricing with another person in another store. Welcome to the shopping world of tomorrow! Happy Boater.
Rivers are high – fish are biting!
Spring is typically the time we all enjoy looking at the high, rushing water in our local streams and rivers as they make their way to their mouths at the lake. Encased in this swirling mass of water is river sediment, natural feed for the fish, and of course – the fish! They are coming up river to spawn and it makes an exciting time for fishermen. When the rivers have been high, you can definitely see the line between the murky river outflow into the lake and the clearness of the lake itself. Normally, there are fish feeding right at that line and if you’re lucky enough to be able to cast your lure beyond that murky line and reel it in through that line, you stand a good chance of tying into a nice steelhead. Many fishing boats are trolling past the mouths of rivers each spring trying to cash in on some of this early spring fishing. Again – make sure if you are amongst the early spring fishermen, be sure you have your VHF Marine Radio and your marine speakers ready for action! You just never know when you may need to have them in working order – even if its only to monitor the weather for a safe day on the water! Happy Boater.
Need more output power?
Occasionally, you may need to boost your output to gain the sound you want from your marine radio. Adding a marine amplifier to your system can give you the results you want. They are really pretty simple to install and the ultimate results can make all the difference in the world. Nothing like being able to hear clearly! I wear a hearing aid in both ears – caused from damage to my ears years ago, but it definitely creates a challenge when listening to some sound frequencies – even if they’re speaking clearly. Normally a person won’t need an amplifier, but it sure is good to know that if needed, by simply adding an amplifier, you can improve the sound quality so much. You will be the best judge if you need one for your boat or not. In the mean time – Happy Boating!
I miss the piles of blue ice…
This year on the shores of Lake Superior something is amiss. Warmer weather this year in the northland has played havoc with our normal sequence of events. Nearly every year the lake is white with ice so the ice breakers have to plow and chew their way through the masses of ice. Usually they are escorting a ship either out or into the Duluth harbor – communicating constantly on their VHF Marine Radios with the loaded vessel to insure safe passage through ice that sometimes reaches 4 feet thick or more. These “chunks” of ice or mini ice flows usually end up on the shore in piles many feet tall following a strong northeast wind which drives the ice against the shoreline and piles it high. When this happens, you experience the beauty of “blue ice”. Why does the ice appear blue? When the light penetrates deeper into the ice, more photons from the red end of the color spectrum are lost. A lack of reflected red wavelengths produces the color blue to the human eye. We have to enjoy each day! Happy Boater
Ice is turning black…
Just this past weekend I took a run up to my cabin in the north woods. It is situated on a small private lake, and we enjoy going up there very much. Every year (with very few exceptions) we can just about count on the ice going out between the 23rd and the 25th of April. I think we are going to beat that tradition this year – but I guess time will tell. The ice is turning black already and there is a small boarder of a few feet of open water around the outside perimeter of the lake. Once the ice is out, it seems like all the other jobs kind of “clump up” at the top of my “to do” list – things like putting the dock in, lawn furniture out, etc. I especially like the time on a warm spring day to be outside scrubbing off the vinyl seats in the boat and on the pontoon boat. A person can really have fun with simple tasks like this if you allow yourself to have fun with it. The result will be a bright, clean vessel ready for launching. Make sure all wiring connections are checked over, the battery charged, and all emergency equipment is properly stored on board. Your Marine Radio receiver will need its connections checked as well as cleaning off the marine speakers it is attached to. Find a nice warm, sunny day and enjoy your cleaning project! Happy Boater
Keep CB transmissions close to be clear…
The other day, as I was filling in for the school district driving school bus, I became aware of just how irritating that constant “squawking” on the CB Radio was when driving. Now, it isn’t irritating when you can understand what is being said, but sure is frustrating when you have to guess if someone is trying to reach you or if there is a message out there that the base station is trying to communicate with all buses. All equipment reaches it limit at some point – that’s why there are different types of antennas as well as different types of communications devices available from CB Radios, to VHF Marine Radios and others. Don’t expect one radio to be the answer to all your needs – take a step back and try to anticipate what distance you will require of your equipment for clear, safe communication. …and above all – be safe! Happy Boater
Remember – sounds travels easily over water!
When you finally hit that boat launch – full of anticipation of a great day on the water – and your boat slips slowly off the trailer and into the cool water, you know the fun has begun. Be sure to be respectful of the other boaters if there are some close around you. Remember – you can almost hear a whisper blocks away on the open water so when you decide to crank up the tunes on your marine radio, you must consider others when setting that volume control. Maybe there’s nobody around and you can crank ‘em up to your heart’s content. Those marine speakers you probably have installed, are capable of a lot of tummy rumbling so find a level that will live happily with your nearest boating neighbor. …and enjoy the day! Happy Boater
Things taken care of seem to work better!!
Why is it that your car, boat, or motorcycle seems to run smoother and better when its clean? I sure don’t know the answer to that, but it sure seems to work out that way. I know there’s no logic in my thought process regarding this, but have any of you experienced the same thing? That’s one reason that I believe a person should get an early jump on the season – readying his/her boat for the new boating season. Clean it up and shine it up – it all comes together to help make your upcoming boating season much more trouble free. Cleaning battery terminals and all ground connections should be a “given” for all of us each spring. It’s unbelievable what problems can be created from simply a bad ground connection! Likewise, check over all cable connections to your communication devices like a marine radio, or a CB Radio. It’s sure a lot easier to fix on land than it is on the water – take time and be proactively safe! Happy Boater.