Posts Tagged ‘handheld VHF Marine Radio’
Why do people talk so funny on their marine radio???
They may not be talking funny at all – they may be following the “proper operating procedure” for using their marine radio. Their are 6 basic operating rules that should be followed for proper use of your VHF Marine Radio. These include…
- Listening for 2 minutes before transmitting
- Using Channel 16 only to establish communication (if necessary) and then switch to a different channel
- Using a set of international “calling” procedures such as the “Mayday” distress call, the “Pan-pan” urgency call and “securit’e'” navigational hazard call
- Using “Pro-words” based on the English language
- Using the NATO phonetic alphabet
- Using a phonetic numbering system based on the English language
I’ll try to address these items in more detail on subsequent blogs to clarify what they mean. These items are mainly for use of the VHF marine radio an the handheld VHF Marine Radio. Enjoy your day on the water and be safe! Happy Boater.
Handheld is Handy!
Don’t have enough room in your recreational vehicle – whether you have a boat, RV, camper or some other form of recreational vehicle? Maybe a handheld VHF Marine Radio is just the perfect fit for you! You can clip it on your belt, slip it into your pocket, or keep it just about anywhere! Over the past few years, these units have become very affordable. It has pretty much followed the same course as the transistor radio as far as price history. Remember how expensive they were when they first came out? I believe I paid nearly $40 for a small 6 transistor radio back in the early 1960’s. That was a lot of money back the for something like that! …how about calculators? They’ve sure come down from the time they were introduced into the sales market! There was a time you could hardly afford them, and now some companies give them away as “promotional gimmicks”! How about making it a goal this year to include a VHF marine radio on your list of “must haves” for your boat (either fixed or handheld VHV Marine Radios)? Let’s make this year a safe one for all! Happy Boater.
My radio has shrunk!
I’m reminded of the old film “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids”. I think it was a Walt Disney Production and was a light hearted movie of an absent minded professor who managed to shrink his kids. Well, nowadays, the whole world seems to have shrunken a bit with technology where it is. Everything has gotten smaller!! Handheld radios really didn’t appear on the scene until the early 1960’s. I would suppose that the comic strip character of Dick Tracy had something to do with spurring on the actual inventions – maybe?? These first handheld radios weighed in at just over 2 pounds and was nearly as big as a standard kids school lunch box plus they sported an antenna about a foot long! What a treat to realize that we can enjoy a handheld VHF Marine Radio nowadays which literally fits into the palm of your hand and can broadcast many nautical miles with clarity. So…the old saying that good things come in small packages is really quite accurate in this case. The VHF marine radios on the market today are much superior to those of the 1960 era. Let’s enjoy what technology has given to us!
No need to be costly to be safe!
As I look at the thermometer this morning, it’s hard to imagine that just a couple of months from now we will be thinking spring and the warmth of summer. The reality is, however that the temp is 5 degrees below zero right now and I find that the snow starts creaking under your footsteps as you walk on it. The snow will soon be gone and it will be time to launch you boat in the north country. Along with that comes the normal “checklist” which for everyone should include a VHF Radio. Now, a VHF radio doesn’t have to be a fixed unit, although that’s a nice way to go. A 
handheld VHF Marine Radio can serve quite nicely as the primary communication device on smaller boats. It can also serve as a backup for a fixed or mounted unit.