Bill Rhetts | Ham Radio while trolling near the Santa Catalina Islands & thru the 14 Mile Bank – Maritime Mobile @ForensicPI | Uploaded April 2021 | Updated October 2024, 12 hours ago.
On this beautiful Saturday, I went 28 nautical miles out to sea, which placed me about 3 miles southwest of the Santa Catalina Islands. Before this trip, I topped off my fuel tank, and by 0415 I was launched. While trolling from the back bay launching ramp through the Newport Harbor, I used my Mercury 9.9 EXLHP Command Thrust Pro Kicker. Then once beyond the jetties, I used my Mercury 200HP XL Pro XS® Four Stroke V8 for the trip. Once I reached my destination, my fuel gauge had hardly moved. As anticipated, the winds were light at approx. 20 MPH, the wind waves were only 2’ high, and the westerly swells were only 2’.
While on the infamous 14 Mile Bank, I decided to take a break from trolling and called out to the following ham radio repeater. I’m not surprised I got a bite over the air as quickly as I did. This repeater is located on an airport hangar on the Catalina Islands (147.090, 600 kHz + PL tone 79.7Hz). I’ve spoken to Hams before on this repeater from Big Bear City, as well as other portions of the San Bernardino mountains. Another asset to their great propagation is the saltwater works as a magnifier for greater antenna propagation. I regret not making a specific Ham call to anyone in the San Bernardino mountains. Which would have shown how a mariner can communicate far away from a little HT like mine. The rest of my story can be read about here theexpositor.tv/blog/ham-radio-while-trolling-near-the-santa-catalina-islands-thru-the-14-mile-bank-maritime-mobile
#HamRadio #Maritime #Boating
On this beautiful Saturday, I went 28 nautical miles out to sea, which placed me about 3 miles southwest of the Santa Catalina Islands. Before this trip, I topped off my fuel tank, and by 0415 I was launched. While trolling from the back bay launching ramp through the Newport Harbor, I used my Mercury 9.9 EXLHP Command Thrust Pro Kicker. Then once beyond the jetties, I used my Mercury 200HP XL Pro XS® Four Stroke V8 for the trip. Once I reached my destination, my fuel gauge had hardly moved. As anticipated, the winds were light at approx. 20 MPH, the wind waves were only 2’ high, and the westerly swells were only 2’.
While on the infamous 14 Mile Bank, I decided to take a break from trolling and called out to the following ham radio repeater. I’m not surprised I got a bite over the air as quickly as I did. This repeater is located on an airport hangar on the Catalina Islands (147.090, 600 kHz + PL tone 79.7Hz). I’ve spoken to Hams before on this repeater from Big Bear City, as well as other portions of the San Bernardino mountains. Another asset to their great propagation is the saltwater works as a magnifier for greater antenna propagation. I regret not making a specific Ham call to anyone in the San Bernardino mountains. Which would have shown how a mariner can communicate far away from a little HT like mine. The rest of my story can be read about here theexpositor.tv/blog/ham-radio-while-trolling-near-the-santa-catalina-islands-thru-the-14-mile-bank-maritime-mobile
#HamRadio #Maritime #Boating
