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RE: Does CB radio make sense for remote areas of BC?
I have a CB in every vehicle when traveling. I just bought a couple more in the last month. They are still used by truckers in the lower 48 all the time. Nearly every truck on the highway has one. I use them for many different uses. They are great if you are worried about police speed traps as truckers always talk about them. They are invaluable when pulling large trailers knowing which lanes of traffic are open ahead so you can adjust ahead of time. Mine have NOAA weather channels that I really like to tune into for local weather conditions.
I have one in my truck too. It's on whenever the other radios are on, but it defaults to channel 9 and I rarely bother to change it. I think mine does the NOAA channels as well, but I can tune those (or Environment Canada stuff here in Canada) on my ham radio just as quickly and easily.
I just recently finished a radio install in the DW's van. She has the same CB I do but she told me not to bother installing it as we don't use them much. We are more likely found on VHF.
Not sure where people are getting the info about them being out of style these days. It is still a huge business in the trucking industry, at least in the states. We run a semi and it's always on.
Depends on where you are. Here in BC, at least on Vancouver Island, they are way out of style now. ALL the truckers use VHF instead. Cleaner signal, better range, no skip, etc.
I did notice, though, as I went further north, they are used less. I couldn't get a trucker to answer ever in Alaska. I used it some in Canada along the AK highway. Problem there is trucks are few and far between.
I do believe they are still used in Alberta to some extent. Don't know, haven't been in that province in 16 years.
CBs are perfect when traveling in a group. Puchase price is low, they don't run on batteries so no dead batteries, and they have decent range. I have walkie talkies that claim 15 or 20 mile range- false advertising. My CBs do much better. If you are worried about range, go to a truck stop CB shop and have your CB peaked and tuned. That will extend their range by turbo charging them.
Yes, CB's do have their uses. I used to be part of a group that did bunny hunts on the CB radio (this is a game of skill and wits using your car and your radio, not actually hunting the cute little buggers).
And you don't "turbo charge" an antenna. The tuning process matches the length of the whip to the wavelength of the frequency or frequencies in use. In the CB world, that's a rather large compromise, as a true 1/4-wave is 9 ft long! :E. But, a properly tuned antenna will give you better range, both transmit and receive, than a bad antenna. Not to mention, your radio will like you better.
As far as trucker language and noise, find a quiet channel and tune to it. Works awesome. The key to them is to use a good quality antenna. I use magnetic antennas called "Lil Wil" by Wilson. They work great.
Even the VHF channels I listen to for truckers has the foul language on occasion. Not as much, but it's there. And I'd be careful about using magnetic mount antennas. They are at best a temporary solution for a radio. Or for a temporary installation. Your best bet is a properly mounted and tuned antenna. Much better performance.
Anyway, to your original question about BC, the guys up there know best. Just didn't want everyone to get the idea that CBs are not used anywhere anymore because they are.
You are correct. But, here on Vancouver Island, they are rarely heard now. I think the pleasure craft community (sport fishermen) still use them for chatting on, but I rarely hear any road-based vehicles using them. And I can't remember the last time I talked to another vehicle using one either, it's been that long. Which is to bad, really, as CB's do make for decent short-range communications devices.
Cheers!
Mike
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ve7prt
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05/22/12 05:28am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Victoria Day Long Weekend plans - What are yours?
Bob,
I didn't get to camp. The DW spent 2 of 3 nights in a tent with a group of Junior Canadian Rangers (JCR's) at Green Point, Pacific Rim National Park. I did help out with site setup, their kayak trip on Saturday, and site tear-down (in the rain too!) on Monday. I was going to spend Sunday night camping after work, but the DW bailed due to a leak in her tent. Even with the wet weather, everyone had fun.
Cheers!
Mike
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ve7prt
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05/22/12 04:02am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Does CB radio make sense for remote areas of BC?
The interesting language from the truckers is on the LAD channels now. VHF/UHF? It's late and I can't remember which one or what the frequencies are. I listen in to know what the roads are like and where the county mounties are. I also get to learn new words sometimes.
Haven't seen a CB in a loooong time. I wouldn't invest in one. JMHO
LADD 1 is 154.100. It is mostly used now, especially north of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, and out to Tofino. Coming out this way, most truckers call on Kennedy Hill as the road narrows to the point they take up both lanes coming or going. I usually stop and wait for the rigs to clear if I hear them on the hill. I also call out on that hill as well in case a big rig is coming.
CB's are not really used much anymore. I have all 40 channels in the scanner, but mostly I get skip from parts of the US. They can be useful for chatting between vehicles in a convoy, but that's about it.
The comment made about getting your ham ticket, yes that would work. Case in point, I answered a call for help on our road today - was a car fire just west of Sutton's Pass, and a a traveling ham put out the call for help (no cell service in that area). I answered him, got some details, and phoned 911 to get that ball rolling.
As to being on the logging/mining roads, I usually recommend at least a tunable VHF receiver with you (most scanners allow direct frequency entry). When you get onto a particular road, the active radio frequency for that road should be posted on a sign, along with some instructions for call outs and such. Even if you don't know the road, watch for the mile markers, and what direction the miles are going, and you will soon figure out your direction of travel as well as that of the trucks.
My $0.02.
Mike
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ve7prt
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05/14/12 04:34am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Boondocking in British Columbia provincial parks?
Mike...I too have a radio and I too use the roads. But..surely you are inviting an inexperienced 'logging road user' to just go just ahead? That is where trouble lays, my friend. Just like maybe going out onto the waters of the west side if a person hasn't acquired the needed skill-set, right?
Gary Haupt
Gary,
Gotta start somewhere. Though, I wouldn't recommend going out alone your first few trips. Take someone along who is experienced and knows the roads. That's how I learned.
Having said that, the wife and I did a trip to the North Island back in 2002 (it's in the archive on my website). We didn't know where we were going, had a mapbook, and a basic GPS, but I had 2 radios in the truck. We were on active logging roads for about 90% of the trip. Our third night camping was at Atluck Lake. We were up at the butt-crack of dawn due to logging trucks driving down the lake and using their Jakes in the corners. And we had a blast, got lots of pics too.
Really, it's common sense. And keeping in mind that "Might Has Right". Or, as someone else put it somewhere, "He who has the most lugnuts wins".
And, as for the west coast waters, the skill-set is important, yes, but so is knowing your vessel, and how it reacts to different weather and seas. But, even the most prepared people get into trouble out here. Usually due to unforeseen situations, like unexpected weather or mechanical failures (and not due to lack of maintenance either!).
Cheers! And keep on camping!
Mike
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ve7prt
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04/22/12 12:45pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Boondocking in British Columbia provincial parks?
http://youtu.be/A4u38fRFonM
like this.....if a sign says "active logging"..stay off it.
Gary Haupt
I don't. I just look for the sign that tells me what radio frequency to be on (if I have it in the radio), or to put into the scanner to listen to. Then I keep cognizant of my milemarker location so when I hear the trucks calling out I know when to be off the road.
So long as you remember that "might has right", IOTW, the logging truck (loaded or empty) has the right of way, you let HIM pass. Funy thing, though, if you make blatant moves to get out of his way, the driver just might pull out for YOU! I've had that happen many times.
So yes, you can share the road with logging trucks. I do it all the time.
Cheers!
Mike
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ve7prt
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04/13/12 11:56am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Boondocking in British Columbia provincial parks?
Mike -- does the GPS feed to Google Earth work when you are not connected to the Internet? If so, I can imagine hiking with an iPad, with the map updated in real time! That would be amazing.
It should. The only reason GE wants a full-time internet connection is so that it can download the sat images at will. You can get around this by ensuring all the imagery is in the local cache prior to departing. Do this by scrolling through the area while connected online. That will download the required imagery to the cache. When you're offline and start GE, it will complain it can't log into the servers and to check your connections. Just acknowledge the errors, but don't allow it to check for problems (the first dialog box).
When I'm running the Backroads Mapbook files, at full strength I have no need for the sat images. So if they're not fully downloaded for where I am, oh well. The Mapbook files fully overlay the area anyway, and with my little plotter program creating the KML file of my position, track history, and next waypoint, I have the perfect navigation setup.
Cheers!
Mike
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ve7prt
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04/03/12 07:46am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Boondocking in British Columbia provincial parks?
The Backroads Mapbooks have a Backroad GPS Maps series that I highly recommend. Compatible with Garmin GPS units only.
Not quite, Sue. I have the Backroads Mapbook on DVD. Best $50 I've ever spent. It comes with multiple versions of the area of interest, in my case Vancouver Island. And It covers the same as the mapbooks themselves do. Of the different formats on the DVD, one format is for Google Earth, and it works as a Places link. You can set the transparency of the maps too (I have mine at full strength as I'm not interested in the sat images when using the mapbooks). And since Google Earth can take a GPS input, you can plot yourself directly on the map itself. Or, in my case, I have a program running in the background that plots my position, breadcrumb trail (variable length), and next waypoint into a KML file that Google Earth updates every 15 seconds, right on top of the map. Works like a charm!
Cheers!
Mike
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ve7prt
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03/26/12 11:33am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Provincial Parks sucked me in again
It probably was Coombs Country on the old Alberni Hwy. This was before there were any divided highways on this part of the island. I probably choose next thing after seeing the 'full' sign for Englishman River. The campground maps looks right. Current prices are $30 for 'tent' site, up to 45 for full hookups.
http://www.coombscampground.com/index.html
It's a good example of a private campground taking advantage of the draw nearby public parks, beaches and trails, by offering amenities like full hookups and a man made lake. And with 90 sites it is quite a bit larger than Whisky Creek.
Ah yes, Coombs Campground. Forgot about that place. Stayed there several times too. First time I ever stayed there we got shoehorned into the spot behind the laundry/shower/games room. I had to do some really tricky driving to get the pop-up into the site AROUND a tree. Then we packed in 4 adults and 5 kids in 3 tents and the pop-up, not to mention the 2 vehicles (my truck and wife's car) to get everyone/thing there. Then, to really make it interesting, the 100lb upright propane tank decided to spring a leak at 10pm, while we had the fire going and 2 of the adults were smoking! :E:E:E Luckily the hosts agreed to shut the tank valve to stop the propane from spewing out. Was a good trip, though.
Cheers!
Mike
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ve7prt
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02/21/12 10:56pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Provincial Parks sucked me in again
How are the hikes at Whiskey Creek?
No hiking trails there. The place is situated on 11 acres of private land.
Besides the beach at Rathtrevor, Little Qualicum Falls has camping, good walks and falls for sightseeing. I have also enjoyed the quite campsites at nearby Englishman River Falls, as well as the hike and falls.
All of these places are relatively close to Whiskey Creek. In fact, LQF is about 5 minutes away by vehicle.
One time, years ago, on the way south from Strathconia, we spent a night at crowded private campground along Alberni Hwy because the provincial parks were full. The campground had showers, laundry, playground, and no space between sites. We spent the next couple of nights at a nicer private campground near Goldstream (Victoria). Paradise Lake or something like that. We used it a couple of other since it was hard to get into Goldstream without a reservation (at least during the summer). Unfortunately Paradise has since been turned into condos.
Sounds like maybe the place you stayed at was on Cameron Lake? That's the only other private campground I am aware of along the Alberni highway.
The nicest private campground we've stayed at was Gnome's Home near Bella Coola. That is set among old growth, and even has its own nature trail. And the owner (a retired school teacher) was a fountain of information on local sights and opportunities.
Nice! But due to the price of ferries and whatnot, I have no idea if I will get off this rock again.
Cheers!
Mike
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ve7prt
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02/11/12 01:26pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Provincial Parks sucked me in again
Rick and Paul, I enjoyed your posts. Yes, most of the time the government run parks give one more room.
Yet, I have seen a National Park east of me in this part of Canada, where the campsites had been divided in 2 or 3 rather than enlarging the campgrounds and where campers were so tight to each other, that Rick's passing gas comment was most apt. & the private cgs outside of that National Park gave one space. (Cape Breton Highlands National Park ie. where the Cabot Trail runs and there are some good hiking trails)
When my perspective is that of having 1.5 acres and my closest neighbour 400 feet from my house, to be squeezed like that is the outside of tolerance.
:S
You want to see a PP campsite where you can pass gas and get your fellow camper 3 units down? Try Kitty Coleman PP just north of Comox. Stayed there 3 nights. Our site was literally 10 feet wide, though it was like 50 ft deep. You could hear the old guy fart in his sleep at the other end of the road! :E Not to mention the the fire rings weren't even in the sites, they were across the road at the beach; and you'd better like your neighbours on one side or the other, as it was 1 ring for every 2 sites. Cheap at $10/night (then) with a $1,000,000 view of the ocean (literally 50ft from your rig!), but not worth the effort of trying to keep your toddler quiet so as not to piss everyone else off.
Cheers!
Mike
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ve7prt
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02/11/12 01:15pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Provincial Parks sucked me in again
Ah, u forgot the most imporatnt thing about the private campground for 2 bucks less....u can hear your neighbour pass gas, cause you're camped atop of him!
Least the PP still give you some space, i'll take that over fancy fire rings and water hook up anytime...if thats most important, stay home, set up in the back yard
Actually, Whiskey Creek is rarely busy, which is why we like it. WE get our choice of spots to use (we usually take the back corner). Even when it's busy in there, noise from your direct camping neighbours isn't a problem; however, the barking dogs on the next property over can be. And the fire rings aren't anything like what the PP ones are, they're actually a lot smaller than the PP ones.
Sorry, trailer don't fit in the back yard, IF we could even get it back there. ;).
Cheers!
Mike
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ve7prt
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02/11/12 01:08pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Provincial Parks sucked me in again
Still far cheaper than a private park and generally they provide much better scenery.
Not necessarily. Last time we went to stay at Rathtrevor it was $30/night (last year I think). Due to a storm in the area we delayed departure by a day. However, we discovered the park was almost full for what was open at the time. So, we ended up staying at Whiskey Creek Campground for $28/night. So let's compare:
Rathtrevor PP: $30/night, you get:
1) Flat Pad
2) Picnic Table
3) Fire Ring
4) Water From a nearby tap
5) Mostly outhouses for washrooms (yes there are flush toilets in certain locations)
Whiskey Creek Campground: $28/night, you get:
1) Grassy, mostly flat site
2) Movable picnic table
3) Fire Ring
4) 15/30Amp power (depending on site)
5) Water connection (though it is well water)
6) Flush Toilets
7) Toys for the kids to play with
Seems to me the private site in this case is more economical. Having said that, though, when I first started camping, Rathtrevor was $18.50/night, and you got all the free firewood you could burn.
Not all private sites are cheaper, though. It depends on the site(s) in question.
Cheers!
Mike
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ve7prt
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02/01/12 01:17pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: ChargeWizard Extension Cord
Anyone know of an extension cord for Charge Wizard ?
Otherwise extending it 5ft w/.....same size wire be any problem ?
Thanks
Extending it is no problem. I did that on one of mine without issue. All you need is your choice of length of 3-conductor cable, and when inserting it into the CW's cable, make sure you keep the color coding correct.
I did the CW on my emergency battery system at home, inserting almost 10ft of cable into the CW's cable. I ended up emailing PD on this issue, and they told me it would be no problem, just make sure that each wire in the original cable stays connected together via the inserted cable (ie - red to red, black to black, etc), and that a cross-connection would damage the CW.
So, fire up your soldering gun, and have at her. Works like a charm!
Cheers!
Mike
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ve7prt
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01/14/12 09:43am |
Tech Issues
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RE: winter camping-Tofino
I'd be careful about Toquart Bay right now. A couple of our recent, more-nasty, winter storms did some serious damage out there. A number of the water-side spots are missing large amounts of sand, mostly around the the firepits, but in one case, the picnic table was undermined as well. Lots of debris in the campsite too. And I don't think the hosts are there at the moment either.
The road in isn't too bad right now. Was out that way just before Christmas and the road was in decent shape, not too many potholes.
As for in-town stuff, not much is open. Ucluelet Campground is closed, Surf Junction is closed, not sure about Island West, but I suspect it might be closed right now as well. You could try Wya campground, I think they are open. Otherwise, you'd be looking at places around Tofino.
Cheers!
Mike
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ve7prt
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01/14/12 09:34am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Solar, a few questions
The spelling cheque thing must be US
As it SHOULD be. It was a great, American vice president who invented the internets, after all.
:B Not really, if this clicky is to be believed. More like the American military got it all started. Everyone else just kinda took it over, and voila, we have the internet now.:W
Cheers!
Mike
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ve7prt
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10/16/11 02:25pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Solar, a few questions
And ahhh... pay attention to your free rv.net spell check. You misspelled "rumored.". Look it up... in a proper AMERICAN dictionary. Or look no further than an album by a partially British band called Fleetwood Mac. I think THEY would know how the word is spelled.
YOU might want to rethink that. "Rumour" is a proper spelling of the word. Check it out on dictionary.com. Just because most spell checkers use the AMERICAN spelling does not mean that non-Americans are required to do the same.
Regards,
Mike
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ve7prt
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10/07/11 12:34pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Xantrex Linklite troubles
I would suspect that your LinkLite has a problem. It should not act like that. The backlight should come on whenever you touch a button or the current flow exceeds 1Amp (if set in that mode), and extinguish after the set time. But if the display is blanking completely, the unit has a problem, and should be returned for repair.
Just my $0.02.
Mike
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ve7prt
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10/01/11 05:13am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Earthquake on Vancouver Island
I was in Nanaimo in the truck and didn't feel it, though the wife texted me and her cay keys fell off the shelf. A friend of our commented on Facebook that her landscaper thought the ground was swaying due to sniffing too many sealant fumes. No damage was reported anywhere on Vancouver Island, but it sure woke a lot of people up!
Cheers!
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ve7prt
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09/10/11 01:17pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Pt Alberni/Tofino Questions!!
The Amster"DAM" will be heading into port the morning of the 25th (Sunday). As I stated, docking aboot 9am.
Don't have any VHF radios or desire (sorry!!), so won't be able to listen in. But probably be out on our balcony watching the sights slip by!!
Gerry
D'OH! I'll be on days off then! :S And probably just getting up and contemplating starting pack-up from a camping trip.:B Oh well. Enjoy your cruise up the Alberni Canal - the scenery is quite lovely. And being September you should be getting the fall colors starting to come out as well.
Cheers!
Mike
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ve7prt
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08/29/11 05:46am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: What is your "Whoops" moment?
Our one "big" whoops was with our 2004 Rockwood tent trailer. First trip out with new trailer. We get to campground, sign on door says find spot, enjoy your evening, settle up in the morning. OK fine. We find a spot close to the pool (it's gonna be stinking hot the next few days), get the trailer backed in, leveled, chocked, and unhooked from the truck.
So far, so good. Well, that is until DW is removing stuff from the underside of the currently overturned galley. She removes a pillow, and all we hear is a God Almighty CRACK! We look at each other with "what the H E double-hockey-sticks was that?!?!" looks on our faces. She reaches back into the galley and comes out with the sink drain pipe, in about 3 pieces!!!:E
Phone dealer in the morning, they instruct us to find a hardware store, buy the parts we need and build a new drain line, bring them the receipt and they will reimburse us the cost. And we get a stronger drain line in the process. :h The real kicker is: We get to the dealer, hand the manager the receipt and broken parts. While he's off getting us the money, in comes one of the technicians with some black pieces of something in his hands - they turn out to be pieces of drain line from another tent trailer!:E
I guess Rockwood was having a run on bad PVC drain pipe that year.
Cheers!
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ve7prt
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08/29/11 05:39am |
Travel Trailers
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