Archive for November, 2010
How long is your Christmas ‘wish list’?
I don’t know about you, but I gave up making lists for Christmas long ago. Why did I do this?? I really can’t think of a lone, single reason, but it seemed not important anymore. My grandchildren were more important, and when the kids were starting out their families, there just never seemed to be very much money to go around. I would be happy with just seeing the grandchildren happy. There does come a time, however, when we all have to admit that there is really something that we should be asking for – something that we know we should be getting – Christmas or no Christmas. I’m talking about essentials such as those things that make our lives safer. Things like fire alarms for your home and radio communication installed on your boat that enable communication with the USCG in the event of an emergency. I would suggest that if you don’t have one already, make the first step this year and purchase (or make a short Christmas list) for a VHF marine radio. Do yourself and those you take on board by showing them the utmost level of caring by having one of these radios on board. These radios are monitored by the USCG on channel 16 all day and all night – seven days a week. And your communications can be received up to about 20 nautical miles from the transmission point. What a great Christmas gift!! Happy Boater.
It’s all about priorities…
What’s your priority? Is it partying, cleanliness, fast car, safety? Whatever your priority is, it will indicate the “focus area” in which you will concentrate your efforts. Now, I know this is a really broad question. Each of the previously mentioned categories bring to the table many choices for our priorities. If we were going to focus on the last one – safety, we could still break up this into countless subcategories such as industrial, manufacturing, auto, boating, etc. For the purpose of my blog, I want to focus on boating safety. Pleasure boating for the most part is over for the season in northern Minnesota, but I’m sure it is very much in season in other parts of our country or the world. Whether or not your find yourself in a boating season or not, it will not change the fact that one should always use his/her time wisely to make sure the boat that is used to spend countless enjoyable hours on the water is, in fact, as safe as it can be for those you invite on board. One thing that would ensure that is to have a VHF marine radio on board capable of receiving updated weather reports from the USCG. It would also be a great idea to have a hand held VHF marine radio tucked away in the “emergency raft” so you are always prepared for the unexpected. The reason that a hand held VHF marine radio is so nice is because most of them are waterproof to about 1 meter of water so it could be used throughout a rescue mission for quality communication transmissions. Happy Boater.
Busiest shopping day of the year!!
I don’t know about you, but there is no way I plan to leave my house and embark on the crazy early morning trek to the retail stores in the next town to fight the crowds and hopefully come away with a “good deal”. I have to admit, about 3 years ago (maybe 2 years ago) my wife and I decided that for the “fun of it” we would be up early (3 a.m.), hop in the car (it was -10 degrees F that morning), drive 35 miles to the nearest mall and be there when the stores opened just to see first hand the “crazies” that were out there. We pulled into the Wallmart parking lot at 4:30 a.m. and found to our shock that the parking lot was full and we had to park in the grass next to the store!! About this time we started wondering just who was the “crazies” – us or THEM! We got into the store and found that nearly all the items we had anticipated getting were already sold out so we just wondered around and watched everyone flying around – some calling their “buddies” in other stores to hone in on a plan that would best suit their shopping needs so they could shop in the most efficient manner. It really was kind of entertaining, but we were sure glad that we didn’t HAVE to buy anything that day because there wasn’t enough money in the country to make me stand in line that long to pay for something that I could have purchased the next day without a wait in line. Well, that day is today and I’m not fighting those crowds, but if you are, you deserve a medal!!! (or a straight jacket!) Hopefully some of you come away with a great deal on a VHF marine radio, a marine audio system or a CB Radio for the man in your family to neatly tuck under the tree this Christmas. Happy Boater.
It’s Thanksgiving Day…
I can hardly believe that another year had gone by! This year in northern Minnesota we are definitely going to have a white Thanksgiving! The ground is already covered with 3-8 inches of snow (depending on where you are) and we have another 2-4 inches forecast for today. Now, I know this tends to put a damper on boating for the season, but you have some great options coming your way in the next couple of weeks! You can figure out a way to drop subtle hints to your spouse or parents as to what you may like for Christmas which is fast coming up on us. A VHF marine radio would fit real nice under that tree!! It’s my wish to you that you have a great Thanksgiving holiday!! This has been a very tough year for a lot of folks and my heart goes out to all of them. Some will find it hard to find something to give thanks for, but there is always something. I’ve found over the years that in my darkest hours I inevitably find someone else that is a bit worse off than I am. My grandmother used to say that if you have your health, you are rich. I never quite got my arms around that idea – especially during the years when I didn’t know where my next dollar was coming from, but the older I get, I can see the wisdom and truth in her statement. I found the secret to accepting this view is to take one day at a time and to do my best to make it a masterpiece. Happy Boater.
What is Digital Selective Calling??
Let’s say that you just purchased a VHF (very high frequency) marine radio. The instruction booklet with your VHF marine radio states that you have DSC! You might say “that’s nice”, but what does that mean? This is a great feature on your marine radio for at least 3 reasons…(1st)You can interface your DSC radio with a GPS navigator and your vessel’s position and time are automatically included in the distress and urgency alerts. (2nd) Because your are sending a digital signal, you have a better chance of reaching a maritime rescue center than any voice transmission because a digital signal has a 15% greater range than a voice transmission PLUS it stands a much less chance of being misunderstood. (3rd) By using the DSC channel (channel 70), you are freeing up channel 16 for other emergency transmissions from other authorized personnel. Most VHF marine radios have this feature built in so when purchasing, it would be a good item to clarify before purchasing. These radios allow a distress message to be broadcast at the press of a red button on the radio or on the handset. This would set off an alarm in ship and shore stations within radio range. Happy Boater.
Speakers make the difference…
Doesn’t it seem like there are some things that you never quite get around to replacing – even if they are no good or wearing out?? I think of things like a dulling saw blade – it’s amazing just how long we tend to put up with this before we get in the car and go get a new one. How about a wiper blade on your car?? Yeah – there’s a lot of us that procrastinate on that one!! After all – it’s only bad when it rains and when it is raining, who wants to get outside to replace the goofy wiper blade!?! Your speakers fall into that category also. They have become really quite affordable and certainly can’t be construed as an “expensive” item any more. Plus, if you purchase a marine speaker, you will find they are waterproof so you can install them with confidence on your boat knowing they will be operating at top performance when you need them. If you had the USCG trying to contact you by radio, it wouldn’t be a good thing if you couldn’t understand what they were saying due to poor quality speakers that maybe insist on squawking and squeaking and distorting the transmission. Don’t let this happen to you – why not drop a hint into your “wish list” bucket for the Christmas season! They make GREAT gifts and can be used virtually anywhere. Happy Boater.
Channels 9,16,22A, and 68….
Maybe your marine radio
is a new item on board and you find yourself a bit unsure of where to set your dial. I suggest that you at least memorize the channels listed in the title of this article (channels 9,16,22a,and 68. Why these channels? These will get you operating and operating within the broadcast rules of the USCG. Channel 16 will be where your radio should be set most of the time because this is the channel monitored by the Unites States Coast Guard 24/7 for your boating safety. If you wanted to hail another vessel, you have your choice of using either channel 9 or channel 16. When you reach the party you are radioing, you move your conversation to a working channel. Channel 68 is just such a channel. Sometimes, when the USCG wants to post marine advisories for the general use of all boats, they will announce on channel 16 that information is available on channel 22a if desired. You would then have the option of switching the dial to channel 22a to obtain this vital information (likely weather or traffic related). So as you can see, it really isn’t that complicated! Enjoy this great experience. Happy Boater.
A lot of happy people use CB’s…
There was a time that I actually thought that the CB Radio would be a thing of the past – left by the wayside along with those old movies that we all saw them used so heavily in like ol’ Bo and Luke Duke in the Dukes of Hazzard television series or possibly in movies like Smokey and the Bandit. Although I haven’t got any numbers to support my next thought, I believe that CB Radios did take a drop from about the mid 70′s until about the mid 90′s except for truckers who used them constantly clear through that period and are still using them heavily. With our mobile society I see RV’rs as well as farmers, boaters, and local businesses using CB Radios more and more. They add kind of a “connection” to a business as they accomplish their days work or a “closeness” to vacationers as they travel. Wherever you see them being used, you usually see happy people because they are able to share information with others at the push of a button that they wouldn’t be able to do without that technology – technology I might add that has only gotten better over the years – right down to the speaker clarity that your sound comes through. Everyone likes to push buttons – even though it’s usually the guys that seem to be accused a lot of the time for being the “button pushers”. It appears as if CB’s are here to stay! Happy Boater.
Are your speakers waterproof??
There are speakers available for just about every use today. We have speakers for our entertainment centers, audio systems, cars, trucks, boats, pontoons, outdoor patios, golf carts, and just about anything that has the capability of generating electricity to operate a sound system. But – are your speakers waterproof. Being waterproof means that you can now place speaker in places that you never would have even considered before. I know that just in the past 10 years or so, we’ve seen so many strides in both quality of workmanship and clarity of sounds when talking marine speakers that it is just amazing. Since marine speakers are waterproof, it means that you can install them just about anywhere you want without worrying about if they will be ok there. Put them where you want to – as long as they have enough room for air circulation so it doesn’t create an excessive amount of heat. If your speakers are not waterproof, its time to upgrade!! Check out just how reasonable you can match up waterproof speakers with your receiver’s output and start enjoying trouble free listening! Happy Boater.
The name of the game is “SAFETY”
In today’s workplaces there are some things that just plain are “absolutes”. One of those things is safety. That same thinking flows over to our everyday lives simply because it has been ingrained into or thinking processes and we become the winners in this arena just by default. I won’t say that safety was ignored years ago, but it certainly didn’t get the focus it gets today!! The focus was to get the job done and get it done in most efficient, cost effective manner. Today we think smarter because we’ve had the advantage of all the data available on just about any subject you can think of so we are making more informed decisions on those things which affect our lives. When out on the water for a fun weekend in the sun, the same holds true. One of those basics to maintain a safe environment is a VHF Marine Radio. These can either be a fixed unit or a hand held unit. The idea here is that you have the capability of contacting the proper authorities in the event you have an emergency and have the need to call for help. These radios have a transmitting range of up to about 20 nautical miles depending on which model you choose and it costs very little to have a VHF Marine Radio on board in today’s world. What a small price to put on keeping you and your guests safe! Happy Boater.