Vhf question

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itsonlymoney

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Forgive me if this is a stupid or obvious question but as a Lakes boater I have no experience with vhf, anyway here goes.
My mate has just got a vhf with a view to going offshore in the future (as opposed to Windermere) all he seems to be able to pick up is Hollyhead coastguard, presumably cos he's got a ruddy big mast. Question is if we can here him can he here us if we are contacting another boat on the Lake. Incidentally there seems to be no use of vhf on W,mere is this because it is not good etiquette to make contact with others via vhf in order to make arrangements to meet up etc. or is it because Northeners are tight gits.
Ian

<hr width=100% size=1>Play the best game you can with the cards you've been dealt ! ! !
 
Nothing to do with tight gits. But when Icom start making hand-helds with a built in camera, plus dowloadable games and ringtones, then they may catch on with the posey lake boaters!

The truth is that mobiles have better ranges than vhf, are better quality, you generally all have one with sufficient charge in it, they are duplex in operation, and offer private, unregulated communications. Also you don't need an expensive training course or licence to be able to operate one (legally) So why bother with vhf inshore?

Having said that, it's still difficult to navigate the Ouse and Humber without a vhf, since the swing bridges at Selby, and many locks respond only to vhf calls. I once tried to contact one of the Selby bridges on my mobile, but was passed around several offices so gave up in the end.

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the holyhead CG broadcasts with massive mast and height - but you don't - so unlikley he can hear you tho you can hear him. vhf is line of sight-ish so won't work round the back of a massive rock.

Northern types are indeed tight gits, but this does not prevent vhf use. You wd normally listen out on channel 16 and that is the "calling channel".

eg, you (I'm guessing your boat is called Whippet Fancier- yes?) make the call thus, but wait first for the channel to go quiet a bit - don't overcall whilst others transmitting:

"Tight Git, Tight Git, Tight Git, this is Whippet Fancier"

(wait one minute minute for Tight Git to respond, or call agin if no response, max three times beforee leaving it half an hour when he has saved up for enough batteries or whatever..)

eventaully you will hear summink like

"Whipper Fancier this is Tight Git" - and he should suggest another channel to switch to - often channels like 72, 77 frexample. So you change the vhf to that channel, and then you should be okay to arrnge a mtg. You mustn't swear on vhf, and shd end each tramsmission with "over" and when finished conv say "out" and then retun to ch 16.

You mustn't chat on ch16 - it is only a calling channel.

I wd think that the only reason for ch 16 being utterly empty is cos the northern types are too tight to buy a vhf, or of course they mite never respond in case you want to meet up which might risk it being their round.

hope this helps



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This is of course why you are required to get the relevent Maritime Radio Operators Certificate BEFORE you use a marine radio as it teaches you about radio propagation. In this instance VHF, the higher your antenna the further your signal will go. So although you can hear him it is not guaranteed he can hear you.

Your friend will need to book up on acourse from the RYA, details are here www.rya.org.uk and get a Ship radio Licence from me, details are here http://www.ofcom.org.uk/licensing_numbering/radiocomms/maritime_licensing/?a=87101

As to radio usage on Windermere, it's because a mobile phone will do everything you need there.

Mike

<hr width=100% size=1>Team Executive,
Maritime & Aeronautical Team, Ofcom
 
We use a Handheld Vhf a lot on Loch Lomond, Mainly for use Ship to Ship.
As tcm says, We call up the other boat on channel 16, once contact has been made, i tell them to move straight to channel 10. Where we continue our conversation.
There is a fair bunch of us on the Loch who all use VHF, and we all generally stick to Channel 10, so most of the time my radio is on D/W 10 and 16.
Plus the fact the Part Authority monitor ChL 16 so if a Mayday or such was called i'm sure someone would hear it.



<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://arweb.co.uk/argallery/alistair?&page=1> My Pictures, Please take a Look.</A>
 
Might all be true if W'mere was an accepted Northen principality, but surely it's just an oasis of southernness mistakenly located north of Watford.

Judging by what MDreamer paid for his moorings, no true northerner (who wasn't an accountancy qualified MD, who happened to jump of the new technology band wagon just at the right time) could ever afford to moor their Birchwood interceptor there, could they?

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I had no idea that meddreamer had paid anything for his moorings, ever. Surely he swapped them for some pigeons or opened an ambiguous northern never-pay account eg "I'll make sure we'll see you right". No?

Disagree (a bit) bout lake district being very southern really - all the shops are rubbish and shut mostly, and the hoteliers suitably rude, AND you can park grannies on a bench near a cliff or or next to the lake on the off-chance she'll fall off, drown or get gored to death by swan - how much better value could it be?

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Now I understand.....

Just who are you trying to convince with all this northern bashing (inc. Hull)?

Yourself, admit it!

Feeling a little homesick obviously. I'm sure there's room for D2 at Thorne marina. Just turn left after Grimsby, left again after Scunthorpe, Right just after Flixborough, squeeze through the lock at Keedby, push open about 7 swing bridges, and you'll be most welcome at Stanilands. It'll be a bit cheaper than PS to boot.

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Are you referring to my carefully planned and brilliantly executed career path?

I'll have you know that

1) I did pay for my mooring - well eventually anyway, it was either that or they were going to break my legs and take the telly away

2) I have TWO VHF radios - and a licence to use them. I am now an expert in shouting at the Spanish marinero's on CH16 (They are foreign & its the only way you can get them to understand you know)





<hr width=100% size=1>Living the dream
 
not so vhf post

Not quite, took my psuedo Northern (Lincolnshire) collegue to the Sealine dealers 'Burton Waters' yesterday. They didn't have a Leopard 27 that he's aiming for, but we were impressed with a 2001 F33 that looked brand new for £127K, but only got 41's in it. He's taken with the Elan 35 like most peeps, so I'm keeping the pressure on. I'll let him spend the £150K and give him some free training for the use of it now and then.

I've been trying to contact Global Trading to see is they have any newish cruisers with a duff petrol. The idea being to scap the petrol and put in a diesel (surprise surprise!!). Not sure about the CE stuff though, need to trawl the forum and read the article in this months MBY again.

Not sure I'll make it till next year without buying though, as was my intention. Actually I quite fancy picking up an Avon jet rib to have some fun with in the mean time. Are they a good buy, or are you best with a conventional rib and outboard?



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Re: Jet rib - avoid

urgh, jet ribs are toytown version of the loony newzealandy things. I have not met anyone who hasn't had problems with them, and many if not all need to be out of the water every night else the cables started going wrong. They are exclusively bought/suppplied to er poncy powerboats as tenders, cos can't afford a boat big enough for a proper Riva as a tender.

Ours is relative big novamarine 340 with v6 170 hp. Unsteerable at low speed unles you are er 15 years old and do it all day. No good for waterskiing cos towing eyes at sea level, also, i'm crap at water skiing...

But anyway, logically, if there a prob with the engine yer can't hoik it off to someone else. Or chuck it away and replace it with another engine as many people like to do ahem. Also, if there's a prob with the boat, can't ditch the engine and fool around fixing a much lighter boat.

worst imho is that with works underneath, you are a bit too high in a jet and it's more like being on it - and the drive is weird too - a fast turn can force the thing over as it suddenly tried to ride up itws own wash - unlike a prop which moves water well to the stern.

You CAN wham over things unlike a prop. However, if you wham over a lot of things, like a load of sand up a beach, they don't like it at all. If you hover over a floating line,. it gets sucked up the impeller, round the shaft and eats the lots then zunk jams solid, , have to take the thing to bits.

finlally of course, most of them are white so yerl look like a poof in yorkshire and have to say that it is light grey, which it soon will be.

Best would be longest possible rib, and massivist possible outboard engines. Actually, to be trendy the rib needs to be black and you need three engines. Or four would be utterly mega i think. Whatever engines you get, buy the decals that says "250 RRzii" and stick them on and wear motorbike gear



<hr width=100% size=1>
 
Sorry to be dull and boring on a amusing flat cap bashing thread but as moby does not do what a VHF will do on windymear or anywhere else, if you make a distress call on a VHF its an open broadcast, with a moby only one person hears it.

To me that is a huge advantage of a VHF over a moby.

But in any case you could put a note in a brown ale bottle, tie it round the neck of your whippet with your trouser string and chuck him in the drink to swim ashore for help.

<hr width=100% size=1>I didn't knacker TCM's copper it was Trazie
 
No - don\'t go there

Argggg....he would probably buy a black rib with three massive outboards but after a couple of weeks thrashing about burning all that petrol, he would take them off and fit a diesel outboard, tell us all it on here (many times),and have an article in MBM on how he went an entire season on a eggful cup of the red stuff without any drop off in performance....

I don't think I could go through it all again......

<hr width=100% size=1>Living the dream
 
The problem is that there will be no-one else listening to pick up the "open broadcast". When I fitted my VHF prior to leaving Windermere I left it on to test reception and found bugger all activity. Also you are never far enough away from the shore not to be able to attract attention.

Mobile phone and the Lake Wardens telephone number are the best options for Windermere IMHO

You would also be amazed how many of the larger boats in the marina's on Windermere have Radars and Chartplotters fitted - and half of them never leave their berths.

Martyn

<hr width=100% size=1>Living the dream
 
BurgundyBen 1 : MikeMartin 0

Well said BB! If you have a real emergency, ch 16 calls everyone, all at once. No ansaphone, no digging out numbers, no redialling, and much more likely to find a model that will work in the wet/water.

A mobile will not be the same at all, better than nothing and fine to orgainse a pub meet with one person - but otherwise no good.

<hr width=100% size=1>
 
Re: you\'re right

oo sorry it came across like that - i am not at all northern bashing, and indeed miss God's County, the driving slowly, gravy, being able to drive a £100 car without being stopped by the police very much, being let off by the police if driving a motorbike fast as long as you say you have got a norton, the ritually saving of money and buying cheap things regardless, and of course the extra helpings of rain.

unfortunately, i can't come up to yorkshire on the boat, cos the charts that i borrowed from Trazie don't go that far, so that's that.

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Excuse my ignorance, I can only offer that I have never been North of Winchester, but please do tell me, how big is windymear? how long? how wide? how deep? how many boats?

<hr width=100% size=1>I didn't knacker TCM's copper it was Trazie
 
Re: BurgundyBen 1 : MikeMartin 0

Sorry to be a pain but there are no SAR resources on Windermere and most boats that I've seen don't have a VHF anyway.

ANY response to a DISTRESS situation will be dealt with by LAND SAR (not HMCG) people who are under the local Chief Police Officer's control.

Anyone who's seen my posts knows that I will only support the most effective form of safety radio for the particular usage. In this case a mobile with the local Police number will do fine.

Mike

<hr width=100% size=1>Team Executive,
Maritime & Aeronautical Team, Ofcom
 
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