'I Got Really Lucky': Makeshift Radio Saved Sailor After 12 Days at Sea
- Thread starter dimab
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Must of had a good SWR 
K5MPH
Member
What freq was he Tx on......
mikepdx
Member
The guy must be a magician to fashion a working transceiver
out of a coat hanger and some wire!
Last edited:
Wilrobnson
Rock or Something
Correction to the story was posted- his boat is actually the S.S. Minnow.
My thoughts exactly. Even McGuyver isn't that good.
And he was trained by Jack Bauer.......
gordonaustin
Member
Somebody should track this guy down and get his schematic!
rapidcharger
Member
All I want to know is whether or not the radio he built did DMR and if so, was it TRBO IP site connect compatible?
It sounds like the radio was fine, but as his masts were broken, he had to fashion his own antenna. Leave it to idiot news "reporters" to completely gloss over that possibility and tell us he built his own transceiver from parts lying around his swamped boat. Ugh.
902
Member
I was thinking he built it with coconuts and the portable AM-FM receiver that always seems to pull in one static-free station in the middle of nowhere.
rapidcharger
Member
It probably wasn't narrowband though. Uh oh.
He needs one of these. I'd have at least two on me if I went out on a boat.
Humminbird Sar TX1 Search Rescue AIS Sart Beacon Transponder | eBay
ACR Resqlink 406 MHz GPS Personal Locator Rescue Beacon PLB Land or Water 2880 | eBay
Humminbird Sar TX1 Search Rescue AIS Sart Beacon Transponder | eBay
ACR Resqlink 406 MHz GPS Personal Locator Rescue Beacon PLB Land or Water 2880 | eBay
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
There are still many sail boat owners that think a good strong wind and a compass is all they need. Romantic, but usually stupid.
Sounds like when this guy got laid over by the waves it took his mast down. Sailboats -usually- use a 1/2 wave VHF antenna on top of the mast to take advantage of the additional height. Works well, but puts the antenna on the end of a long coaxial cable and on the least accessible part of the boat.
A standby VHF antenna (or in this case, a coat hanger) should be standard equipment. Going anywhere out on the open ocean should include HF/SSB capabilities, as well as an EPRIB.
This guy was lucky, but waiting 12 days before hooking up a coat hanger makes me wonder what he did for the first 11 days.
EPRIBS/PLB's are cheap and would have had this guy on a nice warm cutter or helicopter in a few hours, and probably home within 24 hours.
I'm glad to hear this guy is OK, but I'm hoping that if he decides to go out to sea again, someone in his family talks some sense into him. Relying on a single radio was foolish. Putting all those rescuers at risk looking for him was stupid. People die trying to rescue others, even the professionals.
Sounds like when this guy got laid over by the waves it took his mast down. Sailboats -usually- use a 1/2 wave VHF antenna on top of the mast to take advantage of the additional height. Works well, but puts the antenna on the end of a long coaxial cable and on the least accessible part of the boat.
A standby VHF antenna (or in this case, a coat hanger) should be standard equipment. Going anywhere out on the open ocean should include HF/SSB capabilities, as well as an EPRIB.
This guy was lucky, but waiting 12 days before hooking up a coat hanger makes me wonder what he did for the first 11 days.
EPRIBS/PLB's are cheap and would have had this guy on a nice warm cutter or helicopter in a few hours, and probably home within 24 hours.
I'm glad to hear this guy is OK, but I'm hoping that if he decides to go out to sea again, someone in his family talks some sense into him. Relying on a single radio was foolish. Putting all those rescuers at risk looking for him was stupid. People die trying to rescue others, even the professionals.
+1 to everything you said here.
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