[Paddlewise] [Fwd: VHF radios.

attached mail follows:

Dave:

Here is the first vote.  I *always* leave my VHF on and tuned to
16 regardless of where I'm paddling.  As you have seen, it is
carried in a waterproof bag in a right chest pocket on my PFD --
right below my right ear.  I adjust the squelch to just below
static level and listen in as I go along.  Weather alerts are
picked up this way, too.  There is not always a lot of chatter. 
During a week in the northern Charlottes in the fall I heard two
calls between fisherfolk (and none from kayakers).  
VHF has other advantages.  It is truly international -- the same
call rules and procedures apply in Greenland and Thailand, the
Great Lakes and Patagonia, and most power and sail craft *do*
keep 16 on.  I have a license, too.  Though it is not needed in
the US coastal waters it is in other countries.  You don't always
need to reach the coast guard directly (which may not be near, or
immediately concerned with kayakers) to get help.  Other boaters
can pass messages along quite effectively.  Your handheld VHF may
only have 5 watts and an 8" antenna but if there is a sailboat
within 3-5 miles they have 25 watts and a 40' antenna.  EPIRBS
require much longer response times (24-36 hours ?), are monitored
only by government agencies, and will not reach the very local
and at-hand help one often needs.  

Final note: the new generation of VHFs with digital tuning and
controls are a nightmare in an emergency if you are an old folk
like I am.  Instead of my M7's audible adjustments for squelch,
for example, my new and improved M3 now requires I get out the
reading glasses and visually set a squelch level, then return to
normal monitoring.  I believe all VHFs should be on and ready for
instant use, including use in the drink.  That is no time to be
looking for the "on" button.

Let's see what others do.

Rich


Dave Kruger wrote:
> 
> Edward Sullivan wrote:
> >
> > In Barkley Sound in October I started thinking a VHF might be a nice
> > thing to have, as there was nobody around to see my aerial flares. My
> > ham buddy tells me VHF is line-of-sight range. [snip]
> >
> > I know it's a hail mary kinda gadget, but do I have a good chance of
> > getting heard when my Caribou has burned down to the waterline? Assuming
> > I'm out there.
> 
> I'm glad you raised the question, because the answer is a rather large "depends."
> 
> "Depends?"  On what, you ask?
> 
> I think it depends on whether or not other *sea kayakers* leave their VHF's on, and tuned to Channel
> 16, the universal hailing/emergency channel.  Face it -- in places like Barkley Sound, the nearest
> craft is a sea kayak, not a fishing vessel or a sailboat (and there are a lot of sea kayaks in
> Barkley Sound!).  Yeah, sure, it would be better to reach the Coast Guard, or a motor vessel, but we
> are probably the best "safety net" in places like Barkley Sound.  Same's true many other places I
> paddle -- but not everywhere.
> 
> I believe the Canadian CG has a sizable antenna on a ridge overlooking Barkley Sound, so they
> *might* pick up your weeny 5 Watt transmission from your handheld -- but that depends on good
> line-of-sight to their antenna -- which is at least 5 - 8 miles off, depending on where you are on
> Barkley Sound.  Eight miles is getting close to the *practical* range for a 5 Watt handheld
> (assuming the standard rubber ducky antenna), though I have now and then gotten 8 miles
> beach-to-beach, handheld to handheld, a tougher shot.
> 
> OTOH, I have *regularly* made successful transmissions to other handheld VHF's in the hands of sea
> kayakers, also in their yaks, in the water, over a distance of 2 - 3 miles, sometimes *over an
> intervening ridge.*  In Barkley Sound, that range probably includes a half dozen sea kayakers.
> 
> Now, if they only had their VHF's ON.  And, I bet they DON'T, because most sea kayakers (in my
> experience) only turn the VHF on to listen to the weather, yak briefly at other yakkers, or to send
> out a Mayday.  In other words, most of us are so selfish that we don't want to be part of the
> "safety net" to help others -- but we DO expect somebody else to hear us, and respond.
> 
> How about it?  Do you leave your VHF on, tuned to 16 (and whatever "call" channel fits your area)
> while paddling?  Bet you don't.
> 
> I'll collect responses and summarize the results -- no one needs to confess to the Paddlewise throng
> they are selfish.  I promise to maintain confidentiality.  Just email me.
> 
> --
> Dave Kruger
> Astoria, OR
> --
> P.S.  Most of my own paddling is in the Lower Columbia River, where I monitor 16 and 13 (shipping
> traffic).  I think down here I could raise a pleasure craft, duck hunter, or maybe a pilot on a
> freighter, but not a sea kayaker.  Not many of us around, and the area is too huge for me to expect
> other sea kayakers to form a "safety net."  I also am able to monitor current conditions by
> listening to the barge traffic and freighters exchange info.  I leave it on, down here, but have yet
> to hear another sea kayaker asking for help.  Have heard lots of power boaters requesting aid from
> the CG, however.
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-- 
Richard G. Mitchell, Jr.
Department of Sociology
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331
U.S.A.
(541) 752-1323 phone/fax
mitchelr_at_ucs.orst.edu

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