Michael Black wrote:
) writes:
Anonymous wrote:
I am going on a Royal Carribbean cruise soon, and wondered about the
feasibility of bringing along my Sony 2010 shortwave radio.

Is there anything interesting to listen to while at sea in the Carribbean?
(in English?)

Sure, lots of things to hear.


Anything on some of the islands?

Should I bother?

NO! You are paying for a cruise so enjoy the many things on the boat
and on shore instead of holing up in a room or on a deck chair with a
radio.

I don't know. Radio and the sea have gone together since the early
days of radio, and there is a certain mystique to it. Marconi went
to Nova Scotia to span the Atlantic in December of 1901. Radio was
there for the Titanic, even if it didn't help much. People would run
away to sea to be radio operators on ships. Nevermind all
those amateur radio DXpeditions in the fifties and sixties to exotic
places that often used ships to get there, because that was the only
means.

I'm not so sure those are really comparable to a cruise that likely
prices out on the high side of $5k.



Hence if someone already has an interest in radio, it's pretty logical
that they'd want to take a radio along. They don't have to use it, but
if they leave it at home, they'll never have a chance. It may be their
only chance to experience what it's like to be in the middle of the ocean
with a radio.

Michael

"Anonymous" wrote in message
. ..
I am going on a Royal Carribbean cruise soon, and wondered about the
feasibility of bringing along my Sony 2010 shortwave radio.

Is there anything interesting to listen to while at sea in the Carribbean?
(in English?)

Anything on some of the islands?

Should I bother?

Thanks!



I wouldn't worry about radio propagation on your cruise. What you should be
worried about is E. coli propagation. Before you go to sleep be sure to
look under your bed for monster size bacteria.

Yeah,you have to watch out for that cruise ship grub.It can make you
awfully sick.To prevent Montezumas Revenge,eat lots of Limes.That's what
I did when I visited Mexico in June,1992 and I didn't get sick at all.Be
very carefull of the local water too.I always filled up some empty one
gallon plastic milk containers with water on the Texas side of the
Border and I took them to Mexico with me in my raggity old 1978 Dodge
lonnngggg wheel base van.Of course I slept in my van.
cuhulin

White Heat,James Cagney movie has started on tv.You hear that,boys,,,
hes a copper,a dirty lousy copper!
cuhulin

I actually did some radio playing on an Alaska cruise recently. I
carried a ft817, vx2r, and a 7600gr aboard with no problem. If you plan
to do any transmitting on board a Princess ship, they want you to have
permission of some sort. This permission involves faxing paperwork to
them and you should plan on at least 30 days for the process to complete.

I chose to do none of this. I just took my stuff on board and operated
from secluded areas on the upper decks. No one bothered me. Operating
2m repeaters with the vx2r was even easier. FRS radios are ubiquitous
on board so no one even noticed what I was doing.

There are some caveats to hf tx/rx on ships. If you are cheap like me,
you will be in an inside cabin. There is absolutely no radio possible
in an inside cabin. Thus you must be out on deck with the rest of the
passengers. You will be very limited in what you can do with antennas.
Built in whips that are not excessively long will be fine. Wires or
free standing antennas are probably not going to happen. If you have a
balcony, you may have a little more flexibility with antennas, but since
cabin staff are constantly fluffing your room, you will want to break
down your antennas when not in use.

Also remember that ships are very noisy. There is electronics
everywhere, and RFI is an issue. If you have to roam the decks with
your radio, be aware of ship's antennas. They are everywhere. It would
probably be a bad idea to tx/rx in close proximity to any ship board
antennas, particularly if you are trying to be low profile.

I found I enjoyed the MW reception on board as I got to hear some stuff
that I don't get to hear at home. It was also fun to hear locally what
I usually hear as dx. Lastly, if you have one, take a small scanner.
It is fun to hear the ship communicate with some of the local boaters.

And remember you are on your cruise first and foremost to drink. I'll
have what the gentleman on floor is having and bring one every 10
minutes until after I fall off my chair. After that, bring one every 20
minutes.

Just take your radio(s) on board of whatever Ships and play with them.By
the way,play with them wimmins on there for me too,,, will you?
cuhulin