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 "Are
You Listenin' Good Buddy"
by
Dusty Miller
After
boating most my life, I am still a strong believer that all boaters
should invest in a VHF radio. Yes, I know the "Good Buddy" business
is CB radio-talk, but there are several positive benefits of a marine
VHF radio.
First
of all, boaters using VHF radios generally say what they mean and
jargon or codes are not generally used. That way everyone listening
understands. I do think, however, there should be a little more
discipline in the way boaters use the radio.
In the 50's, when I frequently used my father's boat on Lake Simcoe
and Georgian Bay, marine communication was very formal and there
was a strict protocol.
Owning
a radio-telephone then was a privilege. You had to study and pass
an exam to get a station license. You needed to know Morse code
and had to identify your station in each broadcast.
The equipment itself was fascinating. The unit my father had was
encased in a huge shiny black box, roughly three by two feet, a
foot high and it was tucked into the corner of the helm station.
The
handset hung on the side and when my father turned it on, the huge
generator inside would begin to wind up and by the time he actually
reached the operator, it'd be howling. I have no idea what the rpm
would have been, but I'm sure it'd be pretty high. While my father
made his call, he would end each sentence with "over" and wait for
the other party to start speaking.
Times
have definitely changed. In the 1970's, VHF became popular in the
marine industry. The radios were about the same size as they are
today and were much easier to operate than the original radio-telephone.
You still needed to write and exam and get a station license, but
the conversation was not as formal.
Today,
you don't need a station license, just an operators' license, which
is fairly easy to get. The conversation is about as relaxed as you
can get, too. In fact, there are some people who use, shall I say,
"colourful" language, especially when in the thrall of "radio rage".
We've all heard the nonsense blasting from the radio. The trouble
is that no matter how harsh the language is or how loud people shout,
it has no effect, with the exception of making the boater (or boaters)
on the other end very angry.
However,
this language is offensive to everyone else listening in and sometimes
a chain reaction develops and other boaters get involved, which
is most often pointless.
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