Archive for June, 2011
Music is the “sparkplug” for any party…
Have you ever gone to a party where there is no music being played in the background? Kinda scary, isn’t it! Those normal and natural lulls in conversation seem to go on forever. I think those moments are really uncomfortable. Well, this summer when you decide to have friends over you can have the best and greatest tunes playing. And how will you know this? Because you will have recorded the music yourself and those tunes will be the very ones you have on your MP3 memory stick or your I-Pod. These will now plug right into a marine radio receiver and as long as your guests like the same music as you do, you will have all the making of a VERY successful party. All the ingredients will be in place…friends, music, fun, and refreshments. Summer is here now – don’t let it get too far ahead of you before you get out and enjoy it! Happy Boater.
Speaker boxes aren’t rocket science…
This year you may have the desire to add some speakers to your boat or maybe on the patio or deck behind your house! If the location you want speakers is out of doors and subject to the elements that weather can dish out, you’re in luck. Marine speakers are available in many locations at very reasonable prices. Why marine speakers??…because marine speakers are waterproof and whatever weather dishes out, they can take. The speaker box you make to mount the speaker will actually be more subject to the weather than the speaker itself will. Making the actual box for a speaker is as simple as 1 – 2 – 3. Make a box out of plywood or just pine boards. Place your speaker upside down on one side of the speaker box and trace around the perimeter of the speaker. Allow approximately 3/8 to 1/2 inch space inside of the marked circle (depending on the width of the mounting rim on the speaker) and proceed to cut out the hole. Note: if you cut on your original line, the speaker will drop right through the hole and you don’t want that to happen!! I’m sure there are a lot of folks out there that can identify with having done something like that if we’re honest with ourselves…of course we don’t admit to those things, do we!! If you have 2 speakers located in different locations, it’s always a good idea to have the same length of speaker wire to each speaker. (i.e. If the distance from the receiver to one speaker is 10′, and the distance to the second speaker is 30′, you should have 30′ of wire to each speaker and just coil up the unused length behind (or inside) the other speaker.) Happy Boater.
Plan ahead – think VHF!
When you feel the cool temperature of the water coming in your boat as you flounder in rough water is no time to plan to purchase a VHF marine radio to have with you on board! The time to do this is before you need it. I know, it’s real easy to put off things that you hope you never have to use (I know because I’m guilty of it myself). The truth of the matter is that you are purchasing peace of mind for you and your guests on board and with a VHF marine radio, you will have the USCG with you 24/7 if needed. They monitor channel 16 constantly so if any emergency should arise or weather alert became available for your area, you would know about it immediately. Any fast moving weather patterns will no longer surprise you. You’ll have ample time to get to safety. A hand held VHF marine radio is great to have also and should always be with your “emergency pack” on board which should include a raft, life vests, etc. These little hand held units are so nice because the float!! No more “whoops – I dropped it!” kind of statements. Just fish it out of the water and resume communication with the coast guard or another boat until rescue is possible. Plan ahead now. Happy Boater.
Home theater vs marine speakers…
I know this comparison isn’t really realistic, but let’s think about this for a minute… I know there are hundreds, if not thousands of guys out there that sink a lot of money into a home theater sound system. Why do they do this? I’m not sure but some of the answers I suspect would be “Because I wanted to”, “Because I wanted to hear the words better”, Because I wanted to impress my friends”, and several other obvious excuses. The simple truth is, when you can’t hear the words or the music clearly that you are spending you time to hear, it fails to impress you. This is the very line I think should be crossed on every boat with a built in music system as played through a marine radio receiver. For really very little, you can install marine speakers into your watercraft and have the capability of reproducing your prerecorded music (direct from your MP3 player or I-Pod) and hear it in digital quality. It’s extremely easy to do, and the results make it well worth the effort. Self satisfaction with being able to do it yourself is a reward within itself. Being able to share your tunes with your friends through clear and crisp speakers will impress your friends. I think this is the summer to step out and enter the next level of music appreciation! Happy Boater.
Rising fuel prices can justify a VHF Marine radio for your boat!
With the rising cost of fuel prices across this wide land of ours, it just costs too much to keep running back to shore to pick up various things you forgot when you went out the first time. Why not radio in your needs on your VHF marine radio and have them compiled for you so that you can pick them up all at once when you do get to shore? Sound unrealistic? Not really. I know how much fuel you can burn up – especially if you are throttling up to a higher speed to get to shore. You can just about see the fuel gauge drop as you speed across the lake! …and you know I’m not exaggerating on this item!! Even having a CB Radio on board will work for this if you don’t plan to be further than about a mile out in the lake. (This would be because of the shorter broadcast distance of a CB Radio) In either case, surely you can see the advantage of these radios from purely a money saving viewpoint. Plan more efficiently this boating season – prepare for those unexpected needs. …radio them in this year!!! Happy Boater.