Archive for January, 2011
Be informed to stay on top…
I think there is nothing sadder than those of us that keep doing the same things over and over simply because “it’s always been done that way”. There is nothing to be gained by accepting the “old way of doing things” unless you can verify that it has some merit. Now, don’t get me wrong – a lot of the old ways of doing things are usually that way because a lot of folks have tried them and proven their effectiveness so don’t be too hasty throwing out the old ways of thinking!! I’m thinking more of those who simply accept some things because they don’t know there’s something better that’s just out of their reach. Case in point….when I was in elementary school, my brother (2 years younger than me) received his first pair of glasses. During supper one night I simply tried them on and discovered that for the first time in my life I could actually see individual leaves on the trees instead of a green blur and that same night I discovered that the clock on the wall had a second hand. Now, I was in the 6th grade so was not a little tyke, but the sad part of this is that I always thought I could see as well as anybody else so why complain?? It’s great to see the light!! I feel the same way about the large gap between what communication equipment used to be vs what it is today. I generally like to focus on VHF marine radio equipment as well as marine speakers because these items are among those whose day has come to step up and be noticed. They also fit keenly into the slot of being one of – if not the top item when considering safety items on a boat. These marine speakers are waterproof and the VHF radios are even available in a hand held VHF marine radio to allow portability and safe communication even if they are dropped into the water! Let’s get on board with some of these ideas and keep your friends and family safe this upcoming boating season! Happy Boater.
Speakers make the difference….
I am reminded of how my car radio (or any radio, for that matter) sounded back in the late 1950′s or early 1960′s. Yeah – we thought it sounded really great, but compared to what digital enhanced sound through quality speakers that’s readily available nowadays, we had some pretty “scruffy” sounds coming through our speakers that we called music. It’s tough when you seemingly get “acclimated” to something that in reality is pretty awful sounding simply because you didn’t know what it was supposed to sound like. We all find ourselves in this predicament occasionally – even when eating food, but why get stuck in that rut when there are incredible sounding marine speakers available and they are VERY affordable! You might even find that you enjoy listening to music that up ’till now you’d just as soon leave turned off!! Enjoy. Happy Boater.
Hard to be in control without the right equipment!
Let’s consider for a minute just what is needed to be in control of a situation – let’s say….when you’re out on the water for a day with friends and family on your boat. The day starts out with a beautiful sunrise and soon you’re setting a course for your favorite fishing reef somewhere just beyond the horizon. The day is going great and suddenly you see a very ugly cloud coming over the hilltop that just a minute ago wasn’t visible. You’re too far out to reach the harbor before it hits and suddenly you’re feeling very out of control – a feeling that just wouldn’t have to be a reality if you had thought ahead and installed a VHF marine radio and marine speakers on board which allowed weather updates and all the latest warnings from the weather service as well as the United States Coast Guard. If this had been on board, you would have been given a warning in sufficient time to allow you to get you and your friends to a safe harbor before it hit. It sure feels good when you’re acting responsible and it’s greatly appreciated by all those on board you can be sure. Make this a priority this season to be the one in charge with the proper equipment installed on your boat or pontoon. Happy Boater.
Road hazards don’t have to be so “dreaded”…
It’s never fun when things just don’t work out the way you intended them to go. For example, today my wife went to get her car out of the garage after I had already left the house and found that her battery chose today to drop dead. Nice way to start the morning – right? Anyway, to make a long story short, she didn’t have a CB Radio in her car to reach me and ended up getting hold of another family member who pulled a rabbit out of a hat and provided transportation for her to get to work. Now – she was lucky – her car was in a garage when it went “ka-put”, but what if she had been out on the road? Sure would be nice then to be able to reach someone for assistance. To be perfectly honest, the battery in this case was soooooo dead that even if she did have a CB Radio on board (unless it was a hand held unit), she wouldn’t have been able to reach me anyway… but even so, it’s a poor excuse to not plan for situations like this. CB Radios are so affordable nowadays and the correct choice for her this fine morning would have been the hand held CB Radio as it holds its own power source. Always plan for the worst – that way you never will be left unassisted when needed. Happy Boater.
It’s time to beat the spring rush!!
Fact is, right now it’s really hard to imagine spring even coming to the north land right here in Minnesota!! It seems like each and every cloud that goes over this year has to dump more snow on us! I’m actually starting to run out of spaces and spots to put the snow this year – the banks have even grown so large that the snow blower has a difficult time blowing the snow over the top when clearing the area. Mostly, it just falls back down on the ground where I already cleared. Yes, it’s been a long winter already and I’ve seen enough of those -30 F temperatures. Good news is that spring is coming and it would be good “therapy” to be proactive this year by putting your plans together to install a new audio system on your boat before you actually need it!! Now THAT’S a great way to start off the summer. Imagine a new marine radio receiver installed on your boat or pontoon making it possible to receive NOAA weather alerts and advisories as well as providing quality listening while you enjoy your lazy days on the water (which is now hard ice up here!) . These quality radios allow you to play your MP3 recorded music so you never have to be very far away from your favorite tunes! Sounds like a great recipe for a wonderful day! Happy Boater.
VHF doesn’t have to be bulky!!
As with everything, necessity is the mother of invention. Over the recent years, we’ve seen VHF marine radios change in style and color, but the most important change is size! Yes, today you can actually have a hand held VHF marine radio in your vest pocket! Now that’s nice. These personally sized units are designed to literally save your life as they are sized to be part of your “emergency exit pack” on board your life raft. They are waterproof to about 1 meter and limited time, but if they get wet, no sweat – they will keep you in communication with a rescue vessel until they find you and arrive. If they get dropped in the water accidentally, they float! As with the larger, fixed VHF Marine Radio, the hand held VHF marine radio will receive the weather advisories as well as give you instant 24/7 communication with the USCG at the push of a button on channel 16. Although these units are not approved in some areas like England, they are widely used throughout the world. Just think how many of these units are being used today in Australia with all their flooding to coordinate rescue efforts in that country. Don’t let another season slip by without putting that on the top of your “NEED” list and be safe. Happy Boater.
Imagine a world without communication!
Can you just imagine what the world would be like without communication?? What chaos! Cab drivers would be just about out of business, ships would be crashing into one another, emergency vehicles wouldn’t know how to respond, and on and on. We’ve enjoyed a lot of improvements in the communication world lately and we live in a better world because of it. More and more boat owners are considering a VHF marine radio as standard equipment on their boats as most lists put out by the United States Coast Guard related to water safety include this item near the top of each and every safety list they put out. With these little units you will never be out of touch with any late weather advisories or warnings so those on board (including you) are much safer as it allows you time to head for a safe shelter in the event of a fast moving weather system. Then there’s what I like to call the “neighbor factor”. This is the ever present reality that some time you may have the opportunity to be the needed helping hand to another boat in distress. At that moment, you’d be the most important person in the world to that boat in peril. Let’s not find ourselves unprepared when that moment arrives. Happy Boater.
Marine speakers allow listener clarity…
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel as if I’m the only one in the room that can’t understand what is being said over a speaker system if that speaker system is less than desirable quality. Now, maybe everyone either just doesn’t care (which I can’t believe) or maybe they pick up just enough so they make up what they think they heard (which I think is dangerous – you can get yourself in all kinds of trouble that way). In today’s world, there is really no reasonable excuse for not having digitally enhanced quality to sound projected through speakers. You know – something that you actually understand!!! Yeah – it’s a new concept!! Distortion of sound is completely avoidable and static and crackling – well, it’s also a thing of the past. Make this year the year that you take the big step to replacing those old speakers that operate with “yesterday’s” technology with waterproof, durable, dependable marine speakers and enjoy!! Happy Boater.
What if you were the first one at an accident site?
Now, nobody wants to be that one that comes up on an accident site, but what if you were? The first thing you’d have to do is to check to see if anyone needed medical assistance. Then, what if you were in an area with no cell phone coverage – and there’s a lot of those places around this area – maybe your area also. That happened to me last week while driving along the north shore of Lake Superior during a snowfall. The roads were very greasy as they tend to get with temps in the mid 20′s. One car lost control and crossed the center line, hitting the other van nearly head on. Fortunately, I found myself in an area with cell phone service so we could get help on the way, but I thought for a minute that if I hadn’t been able to grab a cell signal, a VHF Marine Radio would sure have been handy to have at that moment. With range of up to 20 miles, I could have reached someone and then had them relay the emergency message to the proper authorities. Always try to be prepared for the unexpected. Whether you’re on a pleasure trip or on your boat a couple miles out on the water, safety should always get top billing. Be prepared, because sometime, somewhere, you may realize that it doesn’t have to be you that’s in trouble – be prepared to help the “other guy”. Happy Boater.
Two way communication all over the place today…
Wow – this has sure been a white winter! Even the snow banks on the sides of the road don’t even get a chance to get dirty and sloppy looking before we are dumped on with a new blanket of snow. I plowed snow yesterday and today woke up to another 5-6 inches on the ground. I drove school bus today (yes – our district has school on Martin Luther King day) and found just about every plow in the county out in force. School buses were running late and a lot of bus substituting was going on trying to help other buses that were running later. Through all this, it seemed like just about everyone was on the radio communicating road conditions as well as informing of pick ups. I can imagine the county employees were busy on their radios as well. What would we do without some kind of communication device to keep us in touch? For most of us, a CB Radio would fill the bill – providing us with the needed communication needed to effectively do our jobs. Phones are nice, but it’s sure nice to be able to pick up a microphone, press a button, and be able to talk instantly. Phones have come a long way, but they can’t do that yet! A good CB Radio hooked up through a good speaker system makes a winning combination. Marine speakers make a great choice when installing speakers – no matter where you are installing the speakers – as they have a great tone quality, they’re waterproof, and durable. Happy Boater.