Archive for September, 2011
Emergency crews can sure make good use of a hand held VHF Marine Radio…
As I was leisurely cruising around the lake at my cabin this past weekend, I was amazed that I was able to see the billows of smoke from the forest fire in the boundary waters canoe area filling the sky to the northeast of my lake home. It was pretty dramatic to see. Also, I was sure glad that the wind was taking the smoke away from me instead of filling the air around where I was with that pungent smell of stale, smoldering smoke. Now that the evacuation has begun, I would be pretty sure that there are a lot of folks using Hand Held VHF Marine Radios for communication in that area, although, they have still not allowed a tower to be installed up there. Too bad, I say…. I saw towers in Kansas that were really well constructed and painted dark green with trees planted right in the middle of the tower so as to make the tower less obvious. Sure would be nice if the folks fighting over this could come to come agreement. I think the “good” surely outweighs the “bad” – especially in a rescue situation is someone is lost up there. Happy Boater.
CB’s are far from forgotten…
You may think that CB’s are all but forgotten. You have another guess coming because there are many, many boats out there that choose to have CB’s mounted in the wheel house because often they are out in a party with other boats and this allows them to have conversations with the other boaters while still monitoring channel 16 with the VHF radio on board so they don’t miss any important information from the USCG. Just this past weekend I saw a base unit CB Radio as well as a remote CB Radio for sale at an estate sale. I was really tempted, but didn’t end up making the purchase. Some of the newer CB Radios also have digital capability so the sound quality is light years ahead of what we used to listen to in the 60′s and 70′s!! The good news is that they are really inexpensive for the amount of fun and communication you can have with them.
Hand Held VHF is really a great way to go!
Even if you aren’t the handiest person around and you don’t feel like cutting holes to install those marine speakers into your boat or pontoon (even if it IS easy), you need to consider a VHF Hand Held Marine Radio. These little radios fit into the palm of your hand and if you drop it into the water – guess what – they float!! …AND they’re waterproof!! This makes them an ideal item to include in your emergency bag to have available for that “just in case” time we never want to think about. These little radios are becoming increasingly popular. That’s because more and more folks are discovering just how effective and useful they are. They can obtain the latest and greatest weather updates from NOAA as well as any important broadcasts sent out from the USCG as related to current conditions. Get on board and enjoy the technology we have available to us today. Happy Boater.
“Marine speakers” is the way to go…
It sure makes me wonder why in the world some guys invest good money to put a great VHF Marine Radio into their boat and then plug it into some old worn out speakers that probably don’t even have digital sound capability. Since all of the newer marine radios are now digital quality, why not get the best bang for your buck and allow the sound to flow through a speaker that is capable of handling the output from the radio! Your radio may have the capability of putting out great sound, but if you plug it into a “less than desirable” speaker system, you’ve actually gained very little. If you have some trouble with hearing loss, you owe it to yourself to go digital. It makes all the difference in the world. You can actually understand what the person on the other end of the conversation is saying! New concept, hey?? Do yourself a favor and make the switch to digital (marine speakers as well as VHF Radio) - you won’t regret it for a minute! Happy Boater.
Digital signal sure improves clarity!
This past week I was sitting in a seminar training session to learn how to operate the new radios they just installed into the district’s school buses. The decision was made to upgrade the radio system to a digital system to improve communication abilities between the bus garage and the buses in remote areas. The difference in sound quality was incredible! Now, they didn’t go with VHF radios, but it was as close to a VHF Radio as you can get to one without actually being there. The point I want to make is that your communications are digital quality when you use a newer model VHF marine radio. I say “newer” because it was just earlier this year that a law was passed requiring any VHF Marine Radio sold to have the digital capability. Yes, there are some out there on e-bay and some of the other online auctions still for sale and they may even be in their original boxes, but they probably won’t have the digital capability. Make sure if you purchase a VHF Radio that you’re getting the updated radio. Don’t short change yourself because I believe the difference is incredible. Happy Boater.
Importance of communication is NOT contingent on your current situation…
The importance of communication seems to be directly proportional to the current situation you find yourself in. Sometimes you may be out on your boat on a beautiful, sunny day with no worries and you wonder why you even have a radio on board. Other times, you start out the day on a peaceful note and find that you have a weather front fast closing in on you and you have to find shelter. Those are the times you don’t want to be without a radio which has NOAA capability for broadcasting current weather updates and receiving any radio transmissions as advisories from the United States Coast Guard. When times like this happen, you don’t want to find yourself saying “If only I had taken the time to install a marine radio“. The summer season is winding down. Why not make it a point to have a marine radio installed on your boat yet this fall? There’s plenty of time left to have this accomplished – then you’ll be front and center in the readiness category next spring. Remember – Communication is ALWAYS important to have in operating condition! Good to go!! Happy Boater.
Hand held CB’s you see in use every day…
Along with the fall season comes the normal crazy rush of construction crews trying to squeeze in the final touches on their road projects before bad weather closes in on them. We’ve all seen them – and it usually happens when you’re in a rush to get somewhere – those wonderful signs that say “flagman ahead”. Sure enough – just a few hundred feet ahead you come across a young man or lady holding that dreaded stop sign. Isn’t it a wonder why it never says “slow” when you come up to it? You sit there – probably put your car in “park”, and wait. Then there’s that glimmer of hope! He/she picks up their CB Radio and presses that button on the side of it and begins talking to someone out of your sight. Then she turns the sign around to expose the “slow” side of the sign and all is well. You can get on your way. I’ve seen the use of hand held CB Radios a lot in just the couple of weeks. Everyone from construction folks to surveyors use them – and why not!! They’re an incredibly handy thing to have at your fingertips. …and they are very affordable… Happy Boater.