Steve wrote:

My VHF has a H/L button for selecting high or low power on various
channels.. Some channels, when selected, are preset at Low power. If I push
and hold the HI/Lo button the indicator shifts to HI..

Am I actually overriding the preset low power when I do this??

Is it legal to do this on a channel that is suppose to be LO power (ie.
channel 13)??

Or if legal, is it ethical??

I believe the radio isn't supposed to do something that was illegal when
it was type-accepted, so if it switches to high power, it was probably
acceptable at the time. Ethical? I'd say yes, particularly if you try
the low power first and get no response. I'll have to see whether ours
does the same thing.

SOME operators will keep the squelch and volume up high so they only get
the nearest calls as they "putter about", so the high power setting
might break through a little bit earlier.

The reason I ask, Monday, I was trying to reach the Hood Canal Bridge
operator and I was still several miles away.. He wasn't answering on his
working channel or channel 16.. snip

I wonder what people do who go sailing without a cell phone?? Maybe, pull
over and use a payphone??

Didn't we use to use horn signals to communicate with bridge tenders?


On the Chespeake, some of the bridges are still primarily opened by
horn. The Sassafras bridge comes to mind.... For all I know, it's simply
an affectation, but an awful lot of boats honk through. [The water
taxiis also responds to two toots, too]

In the US, except when otherwise posted, water traffic takes preference
over land traffic, so while it's nice to give them that hour warning,
I'd park far less than 800 yards from them as I waited... 20 feet
wouldn't be unreasonable in some cases.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/