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On Tue, 16 Apr 2019 13:35:31 -0400, wrote:

On Tue, 16 Apr 2019 08:30:30 -0400, John H.
wrote:

On Tue, 16 Apr 2019 07:27:04 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 4/16/2019 6:03 AM, John H. wrote:
On Mon, 15 Apr 2019 20:29:26 -0400 (EDT), Justan Ohlphart wrote:

True North Wrote in message:
I was thinking of getting a set off and on for the last 15 or more years. They started off with modest range claims but seemed to get more powerful maybe up to or so kilometers. Even wondered if they would help communicating with the wife while backing the boat into the driveway. She likes to hide in my blind spot while directing me.

Why don't you educate her on where to stand and how to signal. A
good spotter is worth his/her weight in gold.

We now have a good system. She stands where she wants the driver's side rear corner of the rig. I
aim for her. Simple. No yelling, no waving, only a fist when it's time to stop. If she leaves the
spot to check the passenger side, I stop until she returns a few seconds later.

Works well.



I've posted this before but it's worth repeating. True story:

When we had the 5th wheel (it was a 37' Raptor Toy Hauler) I was
attempting to back it down a narrow, stone driveway at our house.
The driveway was curved and lined with trees on one side.
Justan will remember it.

Anyway, I was backing it in with Mrs.E. as my spotter. I asked
her to let me know if I was going to hit anything ... mainly the
trees on the side.

As I started backing up, she suddenly started shaking her head
from side to side so I jammed on the brake and stopped.

She started motioning me to continue backing again, which I did
but she immediately started shaking her head again, so I stopped.

Again, she motioned me to start backing up but again she started
shaking her head from side to side. I stopped, hopped out of the truck
and asked, "What's the problem?"

She said, "Nothing, you are doing good".

"Then why are you shaking your head every time I start backing up", I asked.

She replied, "I am saying *No*, you aren't going to hit anything".



Yes, that was funny!! Female logic at its finest!


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  #24   Report Post  
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On Tuesday, April 16, 2019 at 1:20:14 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Tue, 16 Apr 2019 05:18:39 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 4/15/2019 9:04 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 15 Apr 2019 16:58:47 -0700 (PDT), True North
wrote:

I was thinking of getting a set off and on for the last 15 or more years. They started off with modest range claims but seemed to get more powerful maybe up to or so kilometers. Even wondered if they would help communicating with the wife while backing the boat into the driveway. She likes to hide in my blind spot while directing me.

The range claims jumped when the upped the allowable power to 5 watts.
Five watts and a decent antenna should get you to the horizon in open
country.



FRS radio output power was "upped" from half a watt to two (2) watts
(not 5 watts) in 2017. Some channels are still limited to half a watt
though.


I finally found the chart that explained all of that. It is
interesting that I still haven't heard anyone else on these radios and
they are on all day.


As Luddite points out it's 2 watts, not 5. The other limiting factors are that they have non-detachable antennas, so it's not so easy to replace with an upgrade. And they are UHF (around 450 Mhz), so *anything* messes with the signal. Walls, leaves, grass, you name it. That theoretical 30 miles drops to a mile or less in normal terrain.

They are cool radios, but they are best suited for short distance, occasional use. You are seeing that with your absence of other users. Tt's not our old CB.
  #25   Report Post  
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On Tue, 16 Apr 2019 15:46:40 -0700 (PDT), Its Me
wrote:

On Tuesday, April 16, 2019 at 1:20:14 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Tue, 16 Apr 2019 05:18:39 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 4/15/2019 9:04 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 15 Apr 2019 16:58:47 -0700 (PDT), True North
wrote:

I was thinking of getting a set off and on for the last 15 or more years. They started off with modest range claims but seemed to get more powerful maybe up to or so kilometers. Even wondered if they would help communicating with the wife while backing the boat into the driveway. She likes to hide in my blind spot while directing me.

The range claims jumped when the upped the allowable power to 5 watts.
Five watts and a decent antenna should get you to the horizon in open
country.



FRS radio output power was "upped" from half a watt to two (2) watts
(not 5 watts) in 2017. Some channels are still limited to half a watt
though.


I finally found the chart that explained all of that. It is
interesting that I still haven't heard anyone else on these radios and
they are on all day.


As Luddite points out it's 2 watts, not 5. The other limiting factors are that they have non-detachable antennas, so it's not so easy to replace with an upgrade. And they are UHF (around 450 Mhz), so *anything* messes with the signal. Walls, leaves, grass, you name it. That theoretical 30 miles drops to a mile or less in normal terrain.

They are cool radios, but they are best suited for short distance, occasional use. You are seeing that with your absence of other users. Tt's not our old CB.


The funny thing is before the truckers got cool (Smokey and the bandit
stuff), CB was that way. I knew some CB guys and it was real quiet on
those bands before around 74-75. There were fishing pros on the
Chesapeake who used them because people would be listening on VHF but
they had the CB bands to themselves.
With the right antennas you could get from Schiebels down to Tangier
Island or beyond (25-30 miles)



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True North wrote:
I was thinking of getting a set off and on for the last 15 or more years. They started off with modest range claims but seemed to get more powerful maybe up to or so kilometers. Even wondered if they would help communicating with the wife while backing the boat into the driveway. She likes to hide in my blind spot while directing me.


Funny.
  #27   Report Post  
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True North wrote:
Good understandable hand signals can be handy on the water too. Last time I went sailing on a friends 40' Irwin he had a mooring at the Wagwaltic Club on the North West Arm. The wind was quite heavy from the North as we returned trying to pick up the bridle line. It ended up being more of an effort than it should have been with the helmsman trying to deceifer our signals of how much further to motor and in what direction. Way to windy to hear properly.


deceifer? You can't call that a typo, spelling cop.

It's hard to decipher your posts when you don't quote.

  #28   Report Post  
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On Tuesday, April 16, 2019 at 7:38:20 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Tue, 16 Apr 2019 15:46:40 -0700 (PDT), Its Me
wrote:

On Tuesday, April 16, 2019 at 1:20:14 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Tue, 16 Apr 2019 05:18:39 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 4/15/2019 9:04 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 15 Apr 2019 16:58:47 -0700 (PDT), True North
wrote:

I was thinking of getting a set off and on for the last 15 or more years. They started off with modest range claims but seemed to get more powerful maybe up to or so kilometers. Even wondered if they would help communicating with the wife while backing the boat into the driveway. She likes to hide in my blind spot while directing me.

The range claims jumped when the upped the allowable power to 5 watts.
Five watts and a decent antenna should get you to the horizon in open
country.



FRS radio output power was "upped" from half a watt to two (2) watts
(not 5 watts) in 2017. Some channels are still limited to half a watt
though.

I finally found the chart that explained all of that. It is
interesting that I still haven't heard anyone else on these radios and
they are on all day.


As Luddite points out it's 2 watts, not 5. The other limiting factors are that they have non-detachable antennas, so it's not so easy to replace with an upgrade. And they are UHF (around 450 Mhz), so *anything* messes with the signal. Walls, leaves, grass, you name it. That theoretical 30 miles drops to a mile or less in normal terrain.

They are cool radios, but they are best suited for short distance, occasional use. You are seeing that with your absence of other users. Tt's not our old CB.


The funny thing is before the truckers got cool (Smokey and the bandit
stuff), CB was that way. I knew some CB guys and it was real quiet on
those bands before around 74-75. There were fishing pros on the
Chesapeake who used them because people would be listening on VHF but
they had the CB bands to themselves.
With the right antennas you could get from Schiebels down to Tangier
Island or beyond (25-30 miles)


Even that was a stretch and required the "just right" conditions. Over water was better, but over land was just a few miles if you were lucky. I got into CB in the late '70s, and had a Shakespeare "Big Stick" on a 35' mast in the back yard. With an old Johnson "White Face" base station tweaked to put out about 15 watts and a Turner +3 power mic, I had the county covered.. If I needed more, I could crank up the 200 watt linear amp and walk tall, as they used to say. With SSB, I talked from SC to TX and beyond late at night when the "skip" rolled in. Heh, fun memories.
  #29   Report Post  
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First recorded activity by BoatBanter: Aug 2017
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On 4/16/2019 8:39 PM, Its Me wrote:
On Tuesday, April 16, 2019 at 7:38:20 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Tue, 16 Apr 2019 15:46:40 -0700 (PDT), Its Me
wrote:

On Tuesday, April 16, 2019 at 1:20:14 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Tue, 16 Apr 2019 05:18:39 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 4/15/2019 9:04 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 15 Apr 2019 16:58:47 -0700 (PDT), True North
wrote:

I was thinking of getting a set off and on for the last 15 or more years. They started off with modest range claims but seemed to get more powerful maybe up to or so kilometers. Even wondered if they would help communicating with the wife while backing the boat into the driveway. She likes to hide in my blind spot while directing me.

The range claims jumped when the upped the allowable power to 5 watts.
Five watts and a decent antenna should get you to the horizon in open
country.



FRS radio output power was "upped" from half a watt to two (2) watts
(not 5 watts) in 2017. Some channels are still limited to half a watt
though.

I finally found the chart that explained all of that. It is
interesting that I still haven't heard anyone else on these radios and
they are on all day.

As Luddite points out it's 2 watts, not 5. The other limiting factors are that they have non-detachable antennas, so it's not so easy to replace with an upgrade. And they are UHF (around 450 Mhz), so *anything* messes with the signal. Walls, leaves, grass, you name it. That theoretical 30 miles drops to a mile or less in normal terrain.

They are cool radios, but they are best suited for short distance, occasional use. You are seeing that with your absence of other users. Tt's not our old CB.


The funny thing is before the truckers got cool (Smokey and the bandit
stuff), CB was that way. I knew some CB guys and it was real quiet on
those bands before around 74-75. There were fishing pros on the
Chesapeake who used them because people would be listening on VHF but
they had the CB bands to themselves.
With the right antennas you could get from Schiebels down to Tangier
Island or beyond (25-30 miles)


Even that was a stretch and required the "just right" conditions. Over water was better, but over land was just a few miles if you were lucky. I got into CB in the late '70s, and had a Shakespeare "Big Stick" on a 35' mast in the back yard. With an old Johnson "White Face" base station tweaked to put out about 15 watts and a Turner +3 power mic, I had the county covered. If I needed more, I could crank up the 200 watt linear amp and walk tall, as they used to say. With SSB, I talked from SC to TX and beyond late at night when the "skip" rolled in. Heh, fun memories.



Same here shortly after getting out of the Navy in 1977. We lived in a
house right on the ocean and I had a Radio Shack "base" unit and a Big
Stick. I modified the radio a bit ... 15 watts and about 35 watts SSB PEP.
On Saturday and Sunday mornings I could talk to a guy in Italy.
Evenings it was Texas and the West Coast.



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On Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:43:44 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 4/16/2019 8:39 PM, Its Me wrote:
On Tuesday, April 16, 2019 at 7:38:20 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Tue, 16 Apr 2019 15:46:40 -0700 (PDT), Its Me
wrote:

On Tuesday, April 16, 2019 at 1:20:14 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Tue, 16 Apr 2019 05:18:39 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 4/15/2019 9:04 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 15 Apr 2019 16:58:47 -0700 (PDT), True North
wrote:

I was thinking of getting a set off and on for the last 15 or more years. They started off with modest range claims but seemed to get more powerful maybe up to or so kilometers. Even wondered if they would help communicating with the wife while backing the boat into the driveway. She likes to hide in my blind spot while directing me.

The range claims jumped when the upped the allowable power to 5 watts.
Five watts and a decent antenna should get you to the horizon in open
country.



FRS radio output power was "upped" from half a watt to two (2) watts
(not 5 watts) in 2017. Some channels are still limited to half a watt
though.

I finally found the chart that explained all of that. It is
interesting that I still haven't heard anyone else on these radios and
they are on all day.

As Luddite points out it's 2 watts, not 5. The other limiting factors are that they have non-detachable antennas, so it's not so easy to replace with an upgrade. And they are UHF (around 450 Mhz), so *anything* messes with the signal. Walls, leaves, grass, you name it. That theoretical 30 miles drops to a mile or less in normal terrain.

They are cool radios, but they are best suited for short distance, occasional use. You are seeing that with your absence of other users. Tt's not our old CB.

The funny thing is before the truckers got cool (Smokey and the bandit
stuff), CB was that way. I knew some CB guys and it was real quiet on
those bands before around 74-75. There were fishing pros on the
Chesapeake who used them because people would be listening on VHF but
they had the CB bands to themselves.
With the right antennas you could get from Schiebels down to Tangier
Island or beyond (25-30 miles)


Even that was a stretch and required the "just right" conditions. Over water was better, but over land was just a few miles if you were lucky. I got into CB in the late '70s, and had a Shakespeare "Big Stick" on a 35' mast in the back yard. With an old Johnson "White Face" base station tweaked to put out about 15 watts and a Turner +3 power mic, I had the county covered. If I needed more, I could crank up the 200 watt linear amp and walk tall, as they used to say. With SSB, I talked from SC to TX and beyond late at night when the "skip" rolled in. Heh, fun memories.



Same here shortly after getting out of the Navy in 1977. We lived in a
house right on the ocean and I had a Radio Shack "base" unit and a Big
Stick. I modified the radio a bit ... 15 watts and about 35 watts SSB PEP.
On Saturday and Sunday mornings I could talk to a guy in Italy.
Evenings it was Texas and the West Coast.

These guys were using a base station antenna that was probably too
tall but in the 70s who was going to drive down to Ridge Md to catch
them. The head boat he ran had a marine antenna is high up as it could
be on a 2 deck boat with a fly bridge. They didn't know about co phase
in those days.
I don't think they had any heaters. The guy I was fishing with had a
standard radio and a marine antenna. Most days we were still getting
the Scheibel base until we got to Tangier and we could always raise
the Bay Queen that was running around the south Bay
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