Archive for September, 2011
With hunting season coming up, a hand-held VHF Radio may be the clear ticket for you!
Every year we hear reports of hunters getting lost while hunting in areas they are not familiar with. They live and work in a big city and then expect to jump right into the woods and pretend they’re Daniel Boone or something. Even those of us who live in the woods all our lives have to be careful not to get turned around while walking through dense forestation. It’s real easy to get turned around – I’ve had it happen to me and let me tell you – it is not a very friendly feeling. I knew the way out, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember how far in the woods I was – a half mile?…a mile?…I didn’t know. I can happen fast. Then, there’s that moment when you check your compass and low and behold you convince yourself that the compass is WRONG. First BIG mistake. You always have to believe your compass. Now, wouldn’t it be a great idea to invest in a little hand held VHF marine radio that would fit nicely into your vest pocket and not even take up any room? There ‘s a lot of hunters that are realizing that this is the way to go. It would be a great resource and peace of mind for all hunters. Be safe always. Happy Boater.
CB’s help keep you awake when traveling long hours on the road…
I have some relatives coming this week from Montana. They left Montana on Friday mid day and expected to arrive around the middle of the night on Sunday for their initial run. Obviously, this would require some real long hours on the road. Now, I don’t expect that they have a CB radio in their vehicle, but it sure would help keep alert when driving across the miles of “nothingness” if they had one. That is, assuming that some trucker was heading the same way they were and could carry on a conversation with one of them. Alas, they made it – CB or no CB, but why not make your next trip more enjoyable with a CB installed. RVr’s use them all the time as well as truckers as they criss-cross this country of ours and they’ve used them for years!! Is it possible they know something we don’t know??? Imagine that…. Happy Boater.
Be considerate – keep channel 16 free for others to meet on…
All too often, I hear other boaters apparently thinking that if they have a short conversation, why move to another channel – just stay on channel 16 and talk. In short, the proper thing to do is to meet on channel 16 meet, and move to another frequency where you can continue your conversation without interfering with other possible emergency messages from other boaters. I know, it seems like an extra step, but if it were you trying to hale the USCG for immediate assistance, you wouldn’t appreciate someone talking about the big fish they just caught or the fact they just ran out of food with the afternoon still young. Always be considerate when speaking on channel 16. VHF marine radios are great, but they must be used with respect and follow the rules. Happy Boater.
Tired of saying, “Would you repeat that?”
Granted, some of us that are hard of hearing and wear hearing aids are destined to a life of saying that tiring phrase, I’m afraid as hearing aids aren’t all their cracked up to be. Sure, they help but they sure aren’t the “real thing”. But, what if you’re finding yourself saying that phrase when receiving a call over your marine radio and you’re NOT hard of hearing. Let me suggest that the problem may not be your ears or your radio (although don’t dismiss that possibility entirely if yours doesn’t have digital sound), but your problem may be in your speakers – WORN OUT SPEAKERS. Marine speakers on the market today are not only waterproof so you don’t have to be concerned with weather when mounting them, but they have built in digital technology. Sound like the right ticket for you?? They don’t even cost an arm and a leg to get great speakers. Why wait! Happy Boater.
With good sound comes success…
If you have good sound (as in music), played through great speakers, you will ultimately have a successful party!! More and more boaters (and pontooners) have made the switch to a marine radio that has the capabilities of playing the pre-recorded music from your MP3 player. It’s simple! All you have to do is plug in your MP3 player into the marine radio receive and guess what! …you have your favorite tunes at your fingertips. With all the water toys coming out of the water (at least that’s the way life is in the northland), why not prepare for next season and install a great sound system on your boat and spend the winter months planning parties for the upcoming season!! Happy Boater.
An amplifier may be just what you need to get that extra UMPH!
From where you want to be are you finding that your marine radio is just coming up a bit short on reception? Maybe the answer to your woes is a marine amplifier. Boost your signal and you will boost your ability to both send and receive messages. Why fight it anymore? These little amplifiers are waterproof and are made just for use on the water. Maybe a longer antenna would also meet your needs. Certainly you don’t want to sit around and put up with hard to hear radio receptions when the answer is right at your fingertips. Always check the capability limits of both your radio and your speakers when adding a marine amplifier so you get the right size or don’t waste money purchasing something that your own equipment is incapable of handling. But, if an amplifier is right for you, now is the time to put it in and get ready for next boating season. Everyone has a lapse of time from the time you pull your boat out of the water until you store it – make use of that time and make next boating season that much better! Happy Boater.
There’s still some summer left to enjoy!!!
Sure – a lot of the summer is gone, but I have to say that we are coming into probably my favorite time of the year – autumn. Yes, it means putting away all our summer toys, closing up the cabins, and storing a lot of things for the winter. However, that time also affords a person an ideal opportunity to make those desired updates to their boats/pontoons. before they get stored for the winter. Why not make use of the time you aren’t using the units to install great equipment? I would like to suggest that a sound system that allows the playing of your I-Pod or MP3 player music by just plugging them in would be a great asset to any boat or pontoon. A lot of marine radio receivers now come with even remote controls that you can “WOW” your friends with and all the while you will be listening to your favorite tunes as you will have recorded the music as your favorites!! Adding these units to your boat or pontoon is extremely easy and adding a couple of marine speaker to your system makes it totally digital quality as well as waterproof and weather proof. How about that for a good combination? Happy Boater.
Crummy sound doesn’t necessarily mean a crummy radio…
A person doesn’t have to stretch his/her imagination too far to come up with a situation where you were listening to a radio and just plain couldn’t tell what they were saying. That could be even on a television set as I know those speakers are not necessarily very high quality. Don’t just go out and shoot your old radio without considering just what kind of speakers that sound is being broadcast though. Maybe the radio is really that bad, but more than likely you can increase the quality of that sound by simply adding (or replacing) the speakers. True, the VHF radios sold now are all digital quality, unless you purchase them used or find a new obsolete one on an auction or something, but having that digital quality is a very fine feature. Very likely you can improve the whole picture of your whole listening pleasure by simply replacing those old speaker with digital quality marine speakers. They are waterproof so weather is no longer a concern. They can be used on your deck or in your back yard to have nice music piped into your relaxing area. Wherever you want them to be, they can be there. Happy Boater.
Don’t be caught off guard with the weather…
On many of the marine radio receivers as well as the VHF marine radios available (both fixed units an hand held units) you will be able to receive any alerts and advisories from the USCG or from the national weather service on NOAA. These broadcasts are critical to keeping you safe when on the water. I noticed just this morning as I was traveling to town patches of very dense fog. Now, if I had been planning to head out on the big lake (Lake Superior) for a bit of fishing and relaxation, I would certainly want to take with me a radio with those capabilities. With front systems moving in rapidly, it is often difficult to get off the lake in time when the spot where the fish are biting is maybe 5 miles out from shore and you’re trolling with deep lines at maybe 175 feet deep. You really aren’t allotted a lot of time from the time you see the clouds coming over the basin ridge until you are feeling the increased winds and maybe being pelted with rain as you are caught in a thunderstorm. Don’t be one of those that are heard saying…”I just didn’t know that the weather was going to get bad”. Live on the cutting edge of technology with one of these very fine radios. Happy Boater.
Thinking up a handle for your CB radio is half the fun…
It’s sometimes a challenge to find just that right term which will perfectly describe you (or not) to use as a handle on your CB Radio. Years ago, I owned a restaurant/ice cream parlor. Sometime during that time I recall that I had a cb radio and used it quite frequently. My handle was “Sodajerk” as that is what you called the person behind the counter that mixed up your favorite shakes, malts, or carbonated drinks of various flavors – right up to and including “swamp water” which was just a little squirt of every flavor available on the fountain, then you add charged water to it. I was never very fond of it, but some said they liked it (I personally think it was more of a fad). Well, those days are gone for me, but CB’s are still around and the fun of picking out your personal handle to operate one is still front and center. The cost of these now are really reasonable and certainly not out of reach for just about anyone and it is certainly a cheap form of entertainment!! Get yours and start having fun today. Happy Boater.