Archive for December, 2010
Listening is a given – hearing is a gift!
Having owned and operated a restaurant many years ago, I spent a lot of time under a very strong exhaust fan in the kitchen. According to the doctor, that’s where I left a good percentage of my hearing. Ever since, I’ve struggled to understand what I hear – especially from children and women’s voices (I know that sounds like a joke – right?) It really isn’t. I guess that’s why I put quality speakers at the top of my list when talking any kind of sound system from a home entertainment system to installing speakers on your boat or pontoon. If you speaker don’t have the ability to duplicate digital sound, you’re not going to be happy with the end result. Why spend your valuable time listening when you can’t understand what is being said or played over the speakers?? What’s even more frustrating is that there is really no excuse for not being able to duplicate that sound through speakers which have the capability of improving the clarity of the sounds you’re listening to to a level that is easily understood. Marine audio speakers should always be used in areas that are sensitive to the elements (weather, etc). Not only are they top notch in “listening quality”, they provide the added quality of “hearing” with them. Enjoy. Happy Boater.
Sometimes a CB is the only show in town…
Not everyone enjoys a strong signal for their cell phones. I’ve seen guys in our area stopped by the side of the road – standing on top of their cars while their car is parked at the top of a hill trying to make a cell phone call. Now, my experience with calls made in that manner is not good. Either the party you are calling is getting such a broken up message that they can’t decipher it or the person making the call has his phone continually shutting off because of lack of signal. In those cases, the best you can hope for is to have a CB Radio with where you can hopefully connect with a trucker on the road who can relay your message to another trucker and ultimately to your intended destination. Maybe it’s kind of a ragged way to accomplish what you wanted, but it does work – whereas you’d have been out of business with a cell phone. I believe there are more spots in northern Minnesota that DON”T have cell service that areas that DO. Be prepared when traveling to come across areas of very little communication capabilities. Having that communication connection could be the only link to emergency services at some time. Happy Boater.
Winter storm “comfort pill”
Now, this may sound like a funny title for an article, but if you really think about it, that’s just about what a CB radio offers the driver – especially during a storm like what just went through the mid section of the United States in mid December. I was driving a bus southward through the center of Minnesota on Interstate 35W where the speed limit is 70 mph. I was only able to maintain 45-50 mph in order to be safe, but there’s always those goofs on the road that had to pass me and one by one, I drove past them sitting in the median of the freeway, having spun around after loosing traction on the road. Did they have a CB radio with them? I don’t know. It would have to have been a hand held CB radio because I saw no antenna on any of the vehicles as they sat helpless in the median, but I’ll be willing to bet that they were wishing they did have one! Maybe if they had had one, they wouldn’t have been in the predicament they found themselves in because they would have been listening to the truckers and would have found out about the road conditions BEFORE they decided to head down the freeway like there were dry roads beneath them. Happy Boater.
A VHF Radio is just the right size….
I have a pillow my daughter gave to me a few years back that has a picture of Santa Claus on it checking over his list for Christmas gifts to see who was naughty or nice. He is saying “Yep – you were nice…..oh wait , that’s not you!” Well, over the the years, we’ve had more than a few chuckles over that and it still finds it’s way on the sofa each year as we unpack our Christmas decorations. Here’s hoping that when he checks over his naughty/nice list, you will be found deserving of a great gift this year! A VHF marine radio would be just the right size to fit under that tree!! Maybe even a hand-held VHF marine radio, or a pair of really neat waterproof marine speakers for your pontoon or fishing boat! The list could go on and on, but what better gift to receive that one that would enhance the safety of both you and those aboard during this coming boating season! Happy Boater.
Steam on the lake…
I just got back from traveling the north shore of Lake Superior. Waves were pounding the shoreline leaving amazing ice sculptures caused by the mist from the waves which covered the rock cliffs along the shore. The temperature was -13F last night with the wind blowing, it yielded a wind chill factor of around -33F. UGH!! The air temperature was obviously colder than the water judging from all the steam that was coming off the surface of the water this morning. She’s really cooling down today!! If this keeps up, it wouldn’t surprise me to see the lake freeze over around the end of March or beginning of April. These are times you don’t really want to be out on the big lake without a VHF marine radio. It should be as normal a thing to have with as your right arm. One always needs to be practical and safe when battling the elements – especially the “unknown” factors like wind and weather fronts coming through. Your VHF radio broadcasts will keep you up to date on weather advisories as well as providing you with a 24/7 communication line with the United States Coast Guard on channel 16. Yep – being “connected” is sure a great way to get that warm fuzzy feeling of comfort when you’re dealing with those frigid temps. Happy Boater.
Time to drop those subtle hints for surprises under the tree!
Now is certainly the time to drop those subtle hints as to what you would like to find under the tree this Christmas!! Don’t wait ’till the last minute – who wouldn’t want to be given enough time to look and shop for that special item that they would be proud to give because they know it’s something you want!! It’s way too cold to be working outside if you live in the north land, but if you live in the southern states, you can pretty much be out all year long doing yard work, working on special projects, and yes, installing your shiny new VHF Marine Radio into your boat or pontoon!! Some things are just plain fun! Don’t make your loved ones strain their brains trying to figure out that special gift for you – spell it out for them. That way they can give the gift that will give back in a BIG way if it was ever necessary to contact the USCG for emergency help. Everyone wins!! Happy Boater.
Every day I listen to crackly speakers…and I don’t like it.
During the school year, I drive school bus – something I started last year and have enjoyed through this year. Granted – sometimes it gets a bit challenging, but overall, the kids are good. The part of the driving that I find hardest is to understand the radio when someone is trying to reach me when driving. You have the sound of the students, the sound of the road, the sound of the blower fans on the bus, and besides that, I have hearing aids which not only help me to hear, but it makes the other noises on the bus louder also! Now, if you don’t have good quality speakers on board, you just entered the “twilight zone”. There is no way you can hear what is going on easily over the talking of all the students on board. Sure would be nice if the speakers were upgraded to the quality that is out in the marketplace today! Marine speakers are durable and whats more, you can actually understand what comes through them because they have been designed to reproduce digital sound in a manner which is nearly life like. Come on bus manufacturers – lets turn a new leaf and make sure you are putting easy to understand speakers in the buses as they come off the assembly line!! Happy Boater.
Is technology making things easier???
I just past one of those milestones where the cell phone company sends you out all these pretty advertisements which inform you that you are now eligible for a free update on your cell phone. WOW!! What a great thing! Then you read the fine print……most of the phones you want to upgrade to require a change of plans to a more expensive data plan – then they certainly want you to sign a new 2 year contract. It makes me wonder just who’s in the driver’s seat – them or me? To make a long story short, I got my cell phone in the mail today via FEDEX – unpacked the contents of the box and now (after I finish this blog) have the task ahead of me to try to figure out just how in the world to work this new phone. I knew how to work my old one just fine!! Sometimes I wonder just why we do these things to ourselves!! Marine radios, however, have somehow managed to get better with more clarity without complicating the world of the user. They just got better – the channels stayed the same and what you say into them stayed the same…the only thing that may have changed (for the better, I might add) is that they now have the ability to play MP3 formatted music through a plug-in on the radio itself so you can enjoy hours of your favorite music when out at sea. Sure is nice that some things get better without getting more complicated! Happy Boater.
Change in atmospheric conditions limits use of CB’rs…
In many parts of the world, the use of CB radios is somewhat less than it used to be in the 60′s and 70′s. The reason for this is the change in atmospheric conditions limited the usefulness of these radios, although they are still being used in many, many parts of the world. The group of users includes everyone from “snowbirds” traveling the nations highways in their RV’s to the wide network of truckers cris-crossing our nation. Many boaters also use CB’s. In areas where the communications have been encumbered, some CB users have taken to using VHF radios which have a much greater range – up to possibly 25 or more nautical miles. In the old days of CB’s, channel 9 was monitored in the event of someone needing emergency assistance, whereas channel 16 fills the bill when using a VHF radio for emergency messages. Whatever you use, there are rules of broadcasting and these should become second nature to the user so no time is wasted when trying to help someone who needs emergency assistance. Happy Boater.
Cell phones aren’t always an option….
In recent years we’ve become more and more dependent on our communication abilities – namely our cell phones which seem to be attached to our ears. It would seem that the whole world would stop if we were to lose that “magical box” called a cell phone – which ever brand you may be carrying. Just take a walk through the nearest mall to where you are and take note of the people surrounding you. You will probably see the vast majority walking through the mall with a cell phone at their head or sitting on a ledge sending a text message to someone – while managing to totally ignore everything else around them. Where I live, there are MANY areas that don’t have cell signal and we’ve had to learn to live with that reality – even if the phone advertisements make you think that you can get signal in those areas. I’d like to challenge any of those in those commercials (you know the ones I’m talking about!) to make (or receive) a call in the areas I just described! You can’t. What do you do in those areas?? Well – CB Radios still work great for a lot of folks – depending, of course, if you have a trucker or someone else with a CB on the road in that area. Marine radios work great on the remote waterways of our country and weather updates can be received from just about everywhere on our lakes and waterways to keep us safe and abreast of any weather warnings or advisories in our area. Keep yourselves connected, but don’t depend too heavily on that cell phone! Happy Boater.