Archive for July, 2011
CB’s help pass the time when stuck in a construction zone…
Summertime in Minnesota (and I’m sure a lot of your locations as well) is a time widely focused on road construction. We often say in Minnesota that we have 2 seasons – Winter and Road Construction. Those of you that live here know what I mean. Sometime you get stuck in a traffic jam due to construction for 15 – 20 minutes at a time. During those times I have found that it’s really quite entertaining to talk to others on the CB. It helps pass the time of day and let’s face it – if the other person is also stuck in the traffic – misery loves company!! Sometime you are able to talk to someone ahead of you and can be advised to take a certain exit to save a lot of time and other times you may be the one in front “breaking trail” for the others listening in and you can become the hero for the day. Nothing wrong with that!! Good speakers are a must or it takes the fun out of talking to someone else because they would be too hard to understand – especially if they speak with a bit of an accent. Enjoy your summer – turn on your CB Radio and make the most out of your inconvenient times stuck in traffic. Have fun. Happy Boater.
Got a marine radio receiver?? …protect it…
Don’t do as I did because I didn’t buy that little protective cover for my radio receiver. The results?????…….I ruined my radio. These radios will hold up to a lot of weather, but are not intended to be constantly subjected to inclement weather. It thought that as long as I had a radio with a removable front on it and I religiously took the face of the radio into the house with me when I was done using it, all would be OK. Wrong. I now have to replace my radio and it’s my own fault. Those little protective covers are only about $25 or so and are well worth the money. Do yourself a favor and take care of your radio investment. I must say that when you don’t have the music available to you on board when you’ve become used to it, it leaves a pretty big hole. That would be especially true of the newer marine radio receivers as they now have the capability of playing all the pre-recorded MP3 and I-pod tunes by simply plugging them into the face of the radio – cool, hey? Take my advice and protect your equipment. Happy Boater.
Why sit on the fence when VHF could save your life?
There are so many boat owners that have yet to get on board with the importance of having the proper communication equipment on board. It’s just baffling to me why they continue to ignore something so critical to their safety. I have grown to have a very healthy respect for Lake Superior as I’ve been out on the lake fishing when (within a half hour) the seas changed from calm to coming over the bow of a high sided 18 foot skiff. That is not fun. How could I have avoided a situation like that with a VHF radio? It’s like this. With a VHF Radio you have the benefit of constant 24/7 monitoring on channel 16 from the USCG. Besides that, NOAA weather updates are constantly fed through your radio speakers so you have ample time to get off the water if a storm system is looming and closing in fast on you. I know this happens fast particularly on Lake Superior as the lake sits in a geographical “basin” and you often don’t see the storm system coming early enough to react to it. By the time you see it, you’re practically in it. Don’t let this happen to you – consider installing a VHF marine radio today and put your mind at ease. Even if you don’t want to spend the time installing one into your boat dashboard, hand held VHF marine radios are available and will do a fine job for you. The only difference is the broadcast ability. Hand held units typically will be limited to about 5-6 nautical miles or so while the fixed units (with proper antenna) will buy you approximately 20 nautical miles of broadcast distance. Happy Boater.
Add a new dimension to your ATV…
Lately I’m sure you’ve noticed – as I have – all the really neat ATV’s that have flooded the marketplace. The latest one that has caught my eye is the Razor that has been put out by Polaris. They are really sporty and is a cross between and ATV and an ATV sports car (in my words). Some of them even come with heaters and radios built in. The only thing missing is a communication device. With more and more of them on the market, you mark my words – in the very near future you will seed folks mounting CB Radios and antennas on their Razor dashboards so as to have communication with all those they are out on the trail with. What fun!! After all, there’s fun in numbers and what good is it to have the numbers of units if you can’t talk to them while you’re on the trails – right?? The good news is that CB’s are so affordable that there’s really no reason not to install one!! Have fun and enjoy your summer! Happy Boater.
Make sure the speakers you add to your outdoor toys are outdoor speakers!
There’s no faster way to ruin a speaker than to install a speaker that is not capable of withstanding the elements on an outdoor “toy” and expect it do the job for you. The speaker cone will become soggy, then moldy and will quickly become useless as a speaker. Your outdoor toys could include your boat, ATV, pontoon, or simply just a backyard patio with speaker boxes strategically placed to enhance any party you may be having. Marine speakers are the way to go. These little speakers pack a dynamite sound and are virtually unaffected by the elements. Any rain that would come down will ruin your party LONG before it will even think about affecting your speakers. I’ve had marine speakers on my pontoon boat now for 11 years and they sound as good today as the day they were installed and have been out in hundreds of rainstorms. Of course, the speakers available today are much superior to the ones I have as they have digital capabilities for sound reproduction and reached a new level of quality. I’ll eventually have to upgrade my own speakers to these, but in the meantime mine continue to give great sound. Enjoy! Happy Boater.
Having good communication could be relative to your location!
This year, they have closed the main boat launching facility in Two Harbors to make way for the construction of a new marina. Now, this is all well and good, but in the meantime, those that launched their boats here and fished here now have to head to Knife River or Silver Bay to launch. This could add about 30 additional miles on to your trip to arrive at your favorite fishing spots. When you are familiar with a certain area, you become comfortable with the surroundings and have a gut feeling of just how long it would take you to seek shelter if you needed to. However, if you’re putting in at an unfamiliar docking facility and then head out for a day of fishing or relaxation, it’s even more critical to have the proper communication devices on board to ensure the safety of both you and those you have with you. VHF marine radios fill the bill here. With the United States Coast Guard monitoring channel 16 constantly (24/7), you can feel pretty confident that you will be advised of any incoming storm fronts so as to avoid any unpleasant surprises. When your radio is not in use, it should always be set at channel 16 so as to be ready to receive any broadcasts that would be pertinent to you. Always take needed precautions…it will gain you the respect of those others you have on board. Happy Boater.
Today is a GREAT day to be out on the water…
Yes, today is a great day to be out on the water, but what are you going to do about those frontal systems that are sneaking in from the west?? How will you know about them in enough time to be able to react to them and get to a safe harbor? How will you know how much time you really have before you pull up lines and head for shore? Is it just by chance that the other boats in your area are mysteriously heading out to other areas closer to shore?? The obvious simple answer to all these questions is that you would know the WHAT, WHEN, and STRENGTH long before you need it if you have on board a radio that will relay NOAA weather updates to you. You may ask what radios do this?? Several radios have this capability. They include a hand held VHF marine radio, a fixed mount VHF marine radio, and even many marine radio radio receivers have that technology built right into them. Don’t become a victim of the storm system. Make a small investment into the rest of your life – and the lives of those you have on board. It’s not fun to be caught unawares when you are obviously the pawn in the game. Be aware and have fun! Happy Boater.
July is here! Why did it take so long?
Summer is something we look forward to all year long, but this year it seems like July has taken forever to arrive! Maybe its because of the very long cold, wet spring we’ve had. Its been a long time since I’ve seen so much water in the lakes in northern Minnesota! I know that other parts of the country would love to have what we’ve got in the line of moisture with forest fires blazing all around the country. The good news is that July is finally here and with it, the summer activities whether it be gardening, boating, reunions, picnics or whatever! It’s time to enjoy! Kick back and soak up some of those rays. However, with the great weather and abundance of fun activities, comes a bit of responsibility. Water safety should be at the top or near to the top of your list. A key player on that safety list of yours should be a VHF marine radio if your plans include heading out on the blue waters for a day on the water. These come as a both a fixed unit or a hand held unit so you don’t even have to bother installing it if you don’t want to. Most hand held VHF marine radios are now waterproof to about a meter and have broadcast capabilities of about 5 miles over water with just the built in antenna. In most cases that will reach the USCG who monitor channel 16 on a 24/7 basis. Very likely, someone else in your locale will hear your call and will be able to assist you even earlier than the Coast Guard if there are a lot of boats on the water. Let’s make this summer a very fun, safe summer. Happy Boater.