Dave Kruger and I were doing some off-list discussion about the Maine kayaker's rescue, and after I commented that a VHF radio would have helped that guy a lot, Dave asked me if boaters monitor VHF channel 16 on Flathead Lake. I replied that a lot of the larger motor yachts and sailing yachts have VHF radios installed, but I was unsure of how well they (let alone Ch 16) were monitored. I said that cell phone coverage of the lake is almost complete, and that I was considering getting an inexpensive cell phone to carry to be able to contact the authorities if I saw an accident occur. I've been told that cell phone providers are required by law to transmit emergency calls, whether or not the phone owner has the phone activated, or even activated with another provider. Therefore, you should be able to carry an un-activated cell phone that is no good for regular phone calls, but could transmit to the authorities in an emergency situation. I think that's been the case for a number of years; you can dial the emergency number (not always, but usually 911) and reach the authorities. However, until recently, your call could go through to another emergency services department other than the one in your immediate area, depending on cell site coverage. Montana's Republican Senator, Conrad Burns has been strutting around, patting himself on the back due to the fact that his bill changed all that. Now, 911 is the nationwide emergency number, and cell phone providers have been charged with ensuring that calls to their cell sites will go to the nearest emergency services office. Shawn -- ____©/______ ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^\ ,/ /~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^ "Everything can be found at sea according to the spirit of your quest" -Joseph Conrad *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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