Vhf, Useful Or Not?

[ChrisB]

26 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

I wonder if anyone has ever boosted a PMR? 

No need to Peter. Strictly illegal to transmit but you can program one of them twenty quid chinese feng jobbies and it will kick out 10X on low or 100X on full the legal limit for PMR. Very simple to do.

[ChrisB]

PS. The fines for contravention have the potential to be very large.

[Bound2Please]

32 minutes ago, grendel said:

I think CB died with the coming of the mobile phone, that took over that niche in communications.

Not so sure that is correct Grendel, wasnt it more to do with becoming over crowded. ????

[Bound2Please]

33 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

I wonder if anyone has ever boosted a PMR? 

 

33 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

I wonder if anyone has ever boosted a PMR? 

Why bother when a legal CB 4w out put legally JM ?

[grendel]

I dont know Charlie, I had several sets including one on the motorbike and one in my shed, I cant remember why it dropped into obscurity, I just stopped using it.

[MauriceMynah]

Ok, How do you use a mobile phone to find out who's about on the water? or... I want to chat to Timbo and Regulo at the same time whilst at the helm. I'm heading under Potter, they are each heading for Thurne dyke, one from Stalham the other from Horning. What media am I best using?

No, Mobile phones are good (except in Horning) but not the best tool.

[unclemike]

3 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

No, Mobile phones are good (except in Horning) but not the best tool.

last week we had enough signal in horning and salhouse to stream utube

[coolcat]

When we purchased Riverlight she had a DSC VHF radio already on board so we got the relevant OFCOM licence for the equipment and I took my VHF Operators course.

That was a year and a half ago and I have never used the radio once on the Broads.

Still, better to have than have not I guess and when(if) we do decide to venture off the inland waterways we are covered.

[Ray]

28 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

Ok, How do you use a mobile phone to find out who's about on the water? or... I want to chat to Timbo and Regulo at the same time whilst at the helm. I'm heading under Potter, they are each heading for Thurne dyke, one from Stalham the other from Horning. What media am I best using?

No, Mobile phones are good (except in Horning) but not the best tool.

A WhatsApp group should work fairly well. On the northern broads I tend to get a weaker signal after Horning on the way the Wroxham but it's usable for most things other than streaming.

[ChrisB]

51 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

Ok, How do you use a mobile phone to find out who's about on the water? or... I want to chat to Timbo and Regulo at the same time whilst at the helm. I'm heading under Potter, they are each heading for Thurne dyke, one from Stalham the other from Horning. What media am I best using?

No, Mobile phones are good (except in Horning) but not the best tool.

If 4G was available you could set up a group on "Whats App" and speak to more than one person.

[ScrumpyCheddar]

1 hour ago, grendel said:

I think CB died with the coming of the mobile phone, that took over that niche in communications.

Grendel your be very surprised there still out there many of my trucker mates and fellow truckers still have them fitted....  they always run on 19 when on the motorways listening out for fender benders (Accidents) and if the DVSA are pulling trucks for vehicle checks .....A quarry near me has a sign telling drivers to use ch22 to ask if anyone is coming down the single track lane for access and exit....  

I think the days of having a homebase CB system with thunder pole aerial bolted to the chimney have gone.... I know mine has ha ha.... 

[ZimbiIV]

Mobile phone signal, try Loddon even 2 tin cans and string don't work.

paul

[Bound2Please]

4 hours ago, MauriceMynah said:

Ok, How do you use a mobile phone to find out who's about on the water?

CB would be very handy for that MM

 

[Bound2Please]

3 hours ago, Ray said:

A WhatsApp group should work fairly well. On the northern broads I tend to get a weaker signal after Horning on the way the Wroxham but it's usable for most things other than streaming.

Not so easy for a 3 way conversation though.

[Ray]

True enough, the voice recorder works almost intantly though. But that's not ideal, maybe userul in the odd situation but as you rightly say, not so easy for a conversation.

[Cockatoo]

Having used a CB in my LandRover when greenlaning I found that there were a lot of idiots playing music and suchlike. The PMR channels seem a lot better for this. I spoke to Griff on BA on channel 4 as we came by Horning sailing club and he was in the CinC from Ranworth to Salhouse. It sounded like he was really close but I think they'd just joined the main river.

 

I'd say PMR was the way to go rather than CB.

 

CB was good fun when it was illegal 

 

ETA I was monitoring channel 12 on VHF for most of the time we were onboard recently and besides a couple of boats asking Reedham to open and a bit from Haven as we crossed Breydon there was hardly any traffic at all

[ScrumpyCheddar]

The only problem with PMR radios is the distance....  any slight hill or rise or building blocks the signal...

As we found out at work... we run Motorola XT460... we’ve tried others and found these the best... we struggle at 700 meters distance on a good day...

So how many of you run on PMRs and is there a PMR running channel on the broads....

[stumpy]

We've often got a PMR on, also very handy for bar to mothership Comms "Doom Bars off, will Little Sharpie do? Over" Channel 4 seems to be the Chan.16 equivalent.

[ScrumpyCheddar]

So what make and model PMRs are everyone running ???

[LondonRascal]

It is about sale and usage, you will never get much more than a few 'fans' using it, and even then not all the time. We all have powerful communication devices on us that - well everyone has - and are able to communicate for for free using them.

PMR is great because of it's short range, ease of use and cheap price with no licence required but again then only often used if with people around you who you have already informed to use their radio's and even then you will be surprised how some will forget to turn it on and you only find this out when underway so text their phone to remind them to turn on the PMR radio lol.

 

[stumpy]

On 28/05/2018 at 13:40, ScrumpyCheddar said:

So what make and model PMRs are everyone running ???

Scrumpy - ours are real cheapies, Silvercrest Twintalker 4810. I think they came from Lidl for about £20 with a mains charging dock 3 or 4 years ago. Range has been proved from Irstead Staithe to the Sutton turn. As I have previous for dropping things in the 'oggin I didn't want to pay a fortune.

[Bound2Please]

1 hour ago, stumpy said:

Scrumpy - ours are real cheapies, Silvercrest Twintalker 4810. I think they came from Lidl for about £20 with a mains charging dock 3 or 4 years ago. Range has been proved from Irstead Staithe to the Sutton turn. As I have previous for dropping things in the 'oggin I didn't want to pay a fortune.

We have motorola they are useless as is PMR

[dnks34]

We fitted a VHF to our Broads boat and got the correct licences etc thinking it was a must have piece of equipment to talk to the bridges.

Then they fitted the LED Bridge boards and coupled with someone deciding to give us a load of verbal over it for what I still have no idea, it was switched off then and never been on since.  Dont need the hassle! 

 

[PastorsDayOff]

Never had any verbal from the bridge operators. In truth I have found them very helpful; especially so on Monday when we got stuck the wrong side of a non-operational Somerleyton Bridge. We were kept well informed by the operator through the VHF, and what they were trying to do to get the bridge open. I even got a laugh out of the guy when I congratulated him for his efforts, as well as ‘enjoy the rest of your day!’ Now you don’t get that through a matrix board.


Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

[DaveRolaves]

Always have found that the bridge operators at Reedham are helpful. The LED bridge boards work well and if it says REQUEST TO OPEN then we radio the bridge and the bridge operator will inform us when he can open. There are several messages that can be displayed on the boards one is Bridge closing in (  ) minutes the other other is Bridge opening in ( ) minutes.