January 23, 2009 11:38
Oh, and my next purchase is going to be a 2 meter ham radio for the boat. I'm a ham operator and 2 meters is a nice addition. You can clip it to transmit on marine frequencies in an emergency (it had better be a real emergency, though!), and the power level is twice what a marine radio can legally transmit. Plus the amount of chatter is a lot less, and by transmitting on duplex frequencies to a repeater you can cover an amazing range. From here in Seattle I can talk on a repeater trunk to the north end of Vancouver Island, or to Eastern Washington, or even to the East Coast. If you're not a ham, I urge you to take the Technician test and get on 2 meters, it's an easy test (no code for anything any longer!) and it's the first step to getting your General class HF license and talking to the entire world!