Electronic "toys" on a cruise

Bruce,

You mean besides digital cameras and video cameras or tape recorders :-)?

In fact we do have a tiny laptop which I mainly use for writing my reviews or to store our digital photos. Last year Franz also took a GPS receiver with him and had the river charts installed on the laptop. Gee, we weren´t the only ones aboard the MQ with a GPS! Sure we wanted to know if it´s working. But we only used it to locate another board member´s summer home on the UMR in the middle of the night (it was fully lit up anyway and we just could have waited outside to locate it). We also had a route planner on the laptop and while chasing the MQ downriver by car we used it to locate roads going to the river.

Carmen

A few times I've seen passengers bring VHF radios to listen in to the pilot talk on the river. I have one but never have brought it with me. I've wondered if the crew minds if passengers are listening in and may hear something that would be mis-understood by the unexperienced. If I ever bring my radio, I think I would try to be a little discrete with it.

I have a handheld marine radio which I use around here when the boats are coming through, but I've never taken it on a DQ trip. There are people who do take marine radios, and the pilothouse personnel are fully aware that their conversations are open to the public. But I think you'll be disappointed in the lack of radio talk on the Ohio - you could go quite lengthy periods without passing any vessels and hence have nothing on the radio. If its something you want to bring, don't worry about whether others bring it or not. Boats use Channel 13 for passing and 14 to contact locks and bridges on the Ohio and Mississippi to Baton Rouge. Below BR, its Channel 67 and has a lot of chatter. I often have my marine radio on in my NOLA apartment rather than the TV or radio, because it is fairly constant down there, unlike on the upper rivers.

I've used my father's hand-held scanner in the past with all the marine channels programmed...

It was uber-fun below Baton Rouge on the Mississippi!

I took my cheapo GPS on the DQ in March. It sure helped to figure out where I was (I know, I know, I was in the River) . Also, what our over-the-bottom speed was (usually about 5 mph).

Being primarily a steam railroad guy, I know that most dyed in the wool rail-fans (we call them "foamers," - they foam at the mouth when they see they see a train) carry scanners. We all know that whatever we say on the radio is being heard by many more people than the guy we're talking to. I doubt if it would be any different on the boats. However, I'd sure suggest using ear phones. Radio chatter can be pretty annoying to other people in the area.

Jim

Jim Baker;5450 wrote: I took my cheapo GPS on the DQ in March. It sure helped to figure out where I was (I know, I know, I was in the River) . Also, what our over-the-bottom speed was (usually about 5 mph).

Being primarily a steam railroad guy, I know that most dyed in the wool rail-fans (we call them "foamers," - they foam at the mouth when they see they see a train) carry scanners. We all know that whatever we say on the radio is being heard by many more people than the guy we're talking to. I doubt if it would be any different on the boats. However, I'd sure suggest using ear phones. Radio chatter can be pretty annoying to other people in the area.

Jim

When my parents & I would listen to the scanner...a lot of times it was in the evening when most folks were at the nightly show...we'd be one of the few out on deck looking at the scenery...
Instead of a GPS unit, I'd use one of my navigation charts that I personally have to chart "our course". It was fun because having travelled by car along the area where we were cruising the river made it all the more intersting!
Pretty soon a small group would accumulate also wanting to hear the chatter on the radio, (which we didn't play loud anyways) or to look at my chart...

That people is "steamboating" to me....riding the boat on the river seeing the scenery...not the fancy dinners, fancy shore tours, fancy entertainment or fancy bathrobes...

Jim Baker;5450 wrote: Being primarily a steam railroad guy, I know that most dyed in the wool rail-fans (we call them "foamers," - they foam at the mouth when they see they see a train) carry scanners.

I was warned that railroads are going digital, so anything I purchase for this trip would have a limited railfan lifespan, which btw, is the only use I would have at home. Have you heard differently?

Some people have recommened buying a recreational boaters guide to the Ohio instead of the two books of charts that would be needed to cover Cincinnati to Pittsburgh.

Personal recommendations?

Bruce: I passed your question on to one of my fellow volunteer crew guys at PSRM, who also is a ham radio operator. Here's his reply:

"Jimbo, here’s a good link that describes UP’s radio system: http://www.norcalscan.org/railroad/radio.html

"You can see that cab to dispatcher is at a much higher frequency, with digital modulation. There’s no mention of the analog 160MHz channels going away."

So, that is what Union Pacific is doing. I haven't heard anything about any of the other roads, but I don't think that, BNSF, for example, could do something different from the UP. They have to talk to each other too often. But, the eastern roads are a different story. They even use a different operating rule book than the western roads.

I'm afraid I'm no help in regard to navigation charts, etc. On my DQ trip I just used AAA road maps, certainly not suitable for river navigation.

Regards, Jim Baker, Steam Foreman, PSRM www.psrm.org

Charts

Bruce: Most recreation guide books are fine if you want gas or supplies. As far as the river info, terminal names, towns etc. the COE charts are the way to go. They are available on line for both the Huntington and Pittsburgh Districts I think, as I use only the book charts with my update and changes duly noted I personally have not used the online versions. A VHF marine radio is the way to evesdrop on all the river chatter, best is one that can be set to scan.

Jim Baker;5501 wrote:
I'm afraid I'm no help in regard to navigation charts, etc. On my DQ trip I just used AAA road maps, certainly not suitable for river navigation.

Hi Jim,

A friend of mine was a private airplane pilot. He was kind of a crusty old dude who would fly his plane from Massachusetts to Florida every winter to snowbird. While he never had a mishap, I often wondered why.

He always flew IFR, which in his case meant "I Follow Roads". He'd use AAA maps and follow I-95 all the way from Providence to West Palm Beach.

You wonder what goes through their minds sometimes.

Paul

Paul: OH YEAH! I grew up working on the San Diego waterfront. You wouldn't believe how many people ran their boats aground "in the middle of San Diego Bay." Channel? What's that?

Or private airplane pilots that got "lost." Sir, if all you see below you is water, you probably ought to turn so you are heading east.

Nothing wrong with your crusty old dude pal. As also licensed as a Commercial airplane pilot, I've flown so-called "IFR" quite often. And if you get lost, find a water tower in some town, circle it, read the name, find the town on the chart, and you're back on track again.

Shipyard Sam;5554 wrote: Nothing wrong with your crusty old dude pal. As also licensed as a Commercial airplane pilot, I've flown so-called "IFR" quite often. And if you get lost, find a water tower in some town, circle it, read the name, find the town on the chart, and you're back on track again.

Just like the barnstorming days, eh? Back when VOR meant Very Old Roads

Paul

Paul Penta;5558 wrote: Just like the barnstorming days, eh? Back when VOR meant Very Old Roads

Paul

Having flown in several third world countries, IFR literally meant I follow roads and a good road map was of way more value than an aviation chart.

Bear

Around TVA country...

Around here you can follow a power line to anywhere. I used to be able to tell which power line I was following and where I was from the briefest of glimpses. Kind of like recognizing the rocks or clump of trees on the banks of the river. 🙂