Walkie Talkies

[bizzard]

Many moons ago I bought a pair of these things from the Army and navy stores for I think it was £3-9-6d purely to talk to my girl friend at night who lived in the next road. Their range wasn't much even though our two houses were only about 500 yds distant apart as the jolly old crow flies and didn't work even when we were both upstairs so I got some old car chrome strips and made two extension aerials by fixing them to a couple of wooden L brackets I then got a ladder and nailed them up under the wooden eaves above her house (while she watched in amazement from her window, it was like Romeo and Juliet, me climbing up to the eaves above her bedroom window, nails in mouth, hammer in pocket) and above my houses bedroom window and by twiddling lengths of wire around the bases of the chrome strips, led it through the top window vents and twiddled the other ends around the aerials of the walkie talkies, they then worked quite well. The only trouble was that after installing my girl friends aerial to her eaves it was dark and I was tired and couldn't be bothered to carry my dads extending ladders back home that night so I flung em down in her garden which was badly overgrown. Later that evening her mother went out to get the washing in and tripped over it nearly breaking her leg. However we would talk to each other at night in bed . Apparently her mother kept bursting into her bedroom thinking she was talking to herself. The batteries which were the little 9v ones seemed to last quite a long time.

Now isn't that nice.

Edited October 15, 2013 by bizzard

[Ex- Member]

You old romantic

[Jerra]

Well first of all, "lock needs filled" isn't a sentence, but that aside, if one has a lock in sight going uphill its pretty obvious whether its full (leaking) or empty (not leaking). Going downhill you can see for yourself.

Sorry if you didn't notice my words barely a sentence I thought that covered the fact I wasn't talking necessarily about sentences and might include phrases etc. for all except the terminally pedantic.

 

It may come as a shock to you but many locks aren't visible until you are fairly close and not all crew are blessed with good eyesight.

 

However I think the basic answer is if you want to use semaphore, morse code, telegraph, your own system of flags, mobile phones, a loud hailer or even smoke signals providing it doesn't interfere with others then get on with it.

[nicknorman]

"Lock needs filled" is not only not a sentence, it's not a phrase that actually means anything. You can have "lock needs filling" or "lock needs to be filled" ... Or in my case, dead silence because I can already see that it needs to be filled, and even if I can't I won't be trying to get into the lock until the gate starts to open.

 

If it was really necessary to pass this information (I can't think why it would be), a gesticulation of a level hand going up gets the message across without the possibility of misinterpretation caused by incorrectly structured English.

 

Anyway, banter aside I think the point of the debate is to explain to OP that most people don't have or need W-Ts, even if the vociferous minority want to make out that they couldn't function effectively without them. As far as I am concerned I have no problem with you using them, as long as you don't mind me giggling and pointing when your back is turned.

[pquinn]

Oh dear, here you go again. Nothing to say on topic? Yes, I know, sniping from the sidelines is so much easier.

i rest my case and as for sniping from the sidelines ,its no worse than being condescending from front and center stage.

[Jerra]

i rest my case and as for sniping from the sidelines ,its no worse than being condescending from front and center stage.

I tend to agree.

[Top cat]

We have a pair of cheapies they work ok and for the small amount of use they get the disposable batteries last for ages. We find them useful going up the Stoke flight where you go under the railway and on the narrows near Llangollen. They also came in handy when we were in convoy on the Nene and we were surprised to find they worked with another brand on the other boat.

 

We find that in most situations where the crew can see the steerer that an agreed set of hand signals works much better. Nothing to fiddle with or drop in the cut and less ambiguity.

So worth having but don't spend a lot.

 

TC

Edited October 16, 2013 by Top cat

[Keeping Up]

Anyway, banter aside I think the point of the debate is to explain to OP that most people don't have or need W-Ts, even if the vociferous minority want to make out that they couldn't function effectively without them. As far as I am concerned I have no problem with you using them, as long as you don't mind me giggling and pointing when your back is turned.

 

People are not saying that they can't function effectively without them; they are saying that they can function more effectively with them. Rather like having a waterproof coat; you can enjoy boating in the rain without one, but you can enjoy it more if you have one.

We find that in most situations where the crew can see the steerer that an agreed set of hand signals works much better. Nothing to fiddle with or drop in the cut and less ambiguity.

So worth having but don't spend a lot.

 

TC

 

I couldn't have put it better myself

[pquinn]

binatone,rechargeables.handy when on an unfamiliar stretch or like people have said when one person is indoors it saves shouting in the stern doors or one person is on the towpath and can not be seen around a corner or if they go ahead on a bike.

i like them when we have a crowd of people aboard and need to communicate directly with the wife when there are people on the stern and inside blabbering and making communication difficult.not so much when doing locks as we have a fairly good system. paul

[DaveC]

I expect that the majority of people on here that criticise the use of radios have never used them. Saying they don't see the need for them doesn't mean that in the right circumstances they can't be very useful.

 

Apart from locking where the lock crew can't be seen from the boat ie Nells bridge lock going up, they are handy when travelling in convoy should the following boat have problems.

 

 

Dave

[nicknorman]

People are not saying that they can't function effectively without them; they are saying that they can function more effectively with them. Rather like having a waterproof coat; you can enjoy boating in the rain without one, but you can enjoy it more if you have one.

 

There is a difference. Unless you particularly like getting wet for the sake of it, waterproof clothing carries clear advantages in bad weather as it keeps you dry and un-miserable. Not absolutely essential as you say, but definitely a game changer.

 

Whereas I still am unable to see what benefit a W-T brings except in the rarest of occasions such as the Llangollen narrows. I can see absolutely no benefit whilst locking, and a bit of a dis-benefit in that its something else to charge, carry, not drop, be distracted by etc.

 

As you may know from reading my other posts on this forum, I am "mr gadget man" and I will admit to suggesting to Jeff that we consider W-Ts when we got our new boat, but this was roundly dismissed and as usual he was quite right, I can barely think of an occasion when they would have been of any use.

 

Since I don't feel that we could function any more effectively than we do, if we had W-Ts, I dispute your theory that you can function more effectively with them than without. You are merely using them to provide functions for which for us are provided by more natural and innate resources.

[Machpoint005]

Speaking (or rather, writing) as the usual helmsman while others work locks, I find the following method infallible.

 

Going up: if the lock ahead has its gates open, in you go.

If the gates are shut, then wait.

 

Going down: you can see into the lock anyway, but the same rules apply.

 

It rarely fails.

 

I refuse to get stressed about how long a lock might take to fill/empty. If there's a serious problem or very long delay, I'll be told about it long before I need to know.

[Keeping Up]

One of the most useful benefits, is that when doing a flight of locks SWMBO will invariably be ahead at the next one setting it. If that lock is out of sight it is extremely useful to know when a boat is coming the other way so that I do not have to stop and shut the gate behind me. To me, that is functioning more effectively.

[Machpoint005]

Point taken, but if the next lock is out of sight you might as well close the gate anyway.

I notice the OP is going on the Llangollen and may be relatively inexperienced.

How busy is it in March?

[Top cat]

The OP is going on one of the few stretches where a w/t is particularly useful. Hence suggesting cheapies.

 

TC

[nicknorman]

One of the most useful benefits, is that when doing a flight of locks SWMBO will invariably be ahead at the next one setting it. If that lock is out of sight it is extremely useful to know when a boat is coming the other way so that I do not have to stop and shut the gate behind me. To me, that is functioning more effectively.

In our case, HWMBO normally runs back to close the gate, or far enough for me to see a hand signal if a boat is coming t'other way.

[gaggle]

It looks to me that many have one crew member on the towpath and one stays on the boat , the one on the towpath gets off to the next lock to set it leaving the boat to rise or fall in the present lock ?

so what happens if some kind of emergency happens , boat wedged in some way for instance , who is there to shut the paddles sharpish.

[Guest]

It looks to me that many have one crew member on the towpath and one stays on the boat , the one on the towpath gets off to the next lock to set it leaving the boat to rise or fall in the present lock ?

so what happens if some kind of emergency happens , boat wedged in some way for instance , who is there to shut the paddles sharpish.

 

Fair question - I never walk off and leave the boat going up or down for this reason.

 

In the manual locks up here we are quite a tight fit so to me it pays to have one person watch what the bow is doing from the lock side while the steerer keeps an eye on the back, our agreed method of them attracting the attention of the person working the lock is the use of the horn.

 

In the one case we did get caught under a lock wall protrusion This time in a hydraulic lock) I was able to drop the sluices immediately using the Emergency Stop - having seen how sharpish things started to happen I'm not happy to go ahead and do anything and leave the boat going up and down - even if it does mean it will take longer to get through a flight.

 

Of course if we ever have more crew it's a different matter.

Edited October 16, 2013 by The Dog House

[Keeping Up]

It looks to me that many have one crew member on the towpath and one stays on the boat , the one on the towpath gets off to the next lock to set it leaving the boat to rise or fall in the present lock ?

so what happens if some kind of emergency happens , boat wedged in some way for instance , who is there to shut the paddles sharpish.In general

 

SWMBO doesn't set off for the next lock until I have got off the boat and I am on the lock-side ready to shut paddles or do whatever else is necessary. As soon as I am off the boat she draws a paddle her side if appropriate, then sets off for the next lock. She will usually be there quickly enough to set it for me by the time I am back on board and out of the lock - at which point I need to know whether or not to shut the gate behind me.

[Ruth Tesdale]

Thanks for all the comments. It has certainly made for an interesting discussion. I agree with many that in most situations good organisation, especially with locks, and hand signals suffice in most situations. My main concern was that as there will only me us two on the boat and as my husband has no experience at all he may worry when I disappear round a corner and do not reappear for a while because I am helping other boats coming the other way before we can continue. Also when I crewed on the Llangollan when it was busy boats coming the other way could tell us how many more were coming through before we could go but in early March I suspect it will be less busy and we will not have that opportunity. In September when we crossed the aqueduct we simply followed the trip boat through but if that is not running in March we will not be able to do that. So when it comes to the narrow bits, aqueducts and tunnels I anticipated that I may have to go on ahead and then radio my husband to come through. I just wanted to be sure that when we get there we do not find that the radios only work on line of sight or will not work at a long enough distance or through tunnels but I did not want to spend too much as I suspect that on any other canal we will not find them so useful. I did see some people using them when they could have signalled and it seemed very silly to me.

Edited October 17, 2013 by Ruth Tesdale

[nicknorman]

Its only the narrow bits where one has to go ahead. The aqueducts are straight and its easy to see if another boat has started across (in which case you have to wait) and ditto the tunnels.

[geoffwales]

We use them all the time, especially when cruising with the club

[mark99]

Thanks for all the comments. It has certainly made for an interesting discussion. I agree with many that in most situations good organisation, especially with locks, and hand signals suffice in most situations. My main concern was that as there will only me us two on the boat and as my husband has no experience at all he may worry when I disappear round a corner and do not reappear for a while because I am helping other boats coming the other way before we can continue. Also when I crewed on the Llangollan when it was busy boats coming the other way could tell us how many more were coming through before we could go but in early March I suspect it will be less busy and we will not have that opportunity. In September when we crossed the aqueduct we simply followed the trip boat through but if that is not running in March we will not be able to do that. So when it comes to the narrow bits, aqueducts and tunnels I anticipated that I may have to go on ahead and then radio my husband to come through. I just wanted to be sure that when we get there we do not find that the radios only work on line of sight or will not work at a long enough distance or through tunnels but I did not want to spend too much as I suspect that on any other canal we will not find them so useful. I did see some people using them when they could have signalled and it seemed very silly to me.

They are tools that can be used at appropriate times - not all the time; they can make things very efficient. You can use them discretely if it worries you. If you think using radio's is daft rock on. Do you think people on mobile phones look daft too?

 

Seeing people shouting, wailing and waving their arms about, running up and down getting frustrated with each other does not look too good either.

Edited October 17, 2013 by mark99

[ditchcrawler]

 

SWMBO doesn't set off for the next lock until I have got off the boat and I am on the lock-side ready to shut paddles or do whatever else is necessary. As soon as I am off the boat she draws a paddle her side if appropriate, then sets off for the next lock. She will usually be there quickly enough to set it for me by the time I am back on board and out of the lock - at which point I need to know whether or not to shut the gate behind me.

There is no reason that I can see to stay on the boat while its going up or down. I must admit I have the last couple of days but that is because I am poorly and would have problems getting back on.

[pquinn]

They are tools that can be used at appropriate times - not all the time; they can make things very efficient. You can use them discretely if it worries you. If you think using radio's is daft rock on. Do you think people on mobile phones look daft too?

 

Seeing people shouting, wailing and waving their arms about, running up and down getting frustrated with each other does not look too good either.

agreed.as in any port or navy shipyard.