Walkie Talkie Etiquette

Deal with your own walkie along with regard. They're very costly and in some cases may emerge from your earnings should you split or even shed .

Remain on your own funnel and don't wreck havoc on additional sections. From time to time you'll have to talk to somebody outdoors your own division, with regard to lengthier discussions make sure to navigate to the speak funnel together regarding not really block upward their own funnel.

Whenever talking in to your own walkie wait around the defeat following entering before beginning in order to talk. Lots of people possess a routine associated with striking the actual switch as well as talking simultaneously, this particular generally leads to your own very first couple of phrases to become stop.

Be familiar with your own walkie as well as it’s control keys. Occasionally you may be transporting some thing as well as position close to as well as unintentionally crucial this. This really is some thing a person actually want to prevent. The queued walkie is extremely anoying, additionally, it blocks upward your own funnel which makes it difficult in order to connect.
This really is a different one upon walkie attention. You have to additionally end up being really conscious of your own knobs. The majority of walkie-talkies come with an on/volume call along with a funnel call. Quite often based on the way you put on your own walkie you are able to unintentionally change stations or even change your own quantity lower. It’s great to get involved with the actual routine associated with looking at your own knobs every once in awhile. In the event that in times exactly where you believe you’ve knocked your own funnel call and therefore are unsure/unable to check on you can simply perform a fast walkie examine as well as pay attention for that correct sounds, request straight regarding becoming about the correct funnel or even quickly change completely right down to funnel 1 as well as total through presently there to your own funnel.

Burn Test of Element Wood Stove and Pine Fire Sandy Cookie

For some time I had been interested in getting a backpacking wood stove.  There are a number of different styles available on the marketplace and so I took my time deciding. I wanted something small, efficient, and reliable.  Eventually, I decided on the Element by Tato Gear.  I choose the titanium model, which weighs in at around 5 oz.  It folds flat and can be assembled very quickly.

(Watch the video)

The obvious contribution of a stove like this is its lightweight feature.  Because it burns fuel that is gathered in the woods, there is no need to carry bulky fuel canisters.  As well, wood stoves eliminate some of the dangers inherent to alcohol stoves, like knocking over a stove and spilling burning fuel over gear and flesh.

The downsides are obvious, too.  Wood stoves depend upon dry firewood.  If you are hiking in wet weather or above the treeline, good fuel may not be available.  However, the Element stove can also be used as a windscreen for a small alcohol stove, which can be carried as a backup.  Also, the Element takes more time.  If you are planning an early, quick start to your day, then you may want to consider another type of cooking source.

Recently, I took the stove with me on a day hike.  Stopping for lunch, I decided to run a field test and make some hot chocolate.  It had been raining for almost two days and I knew there would be a lack of dry firewood.  Therefore, I took the new Sandy Cookie fromPine Fire Fatwood to give it my first field test.

I’ve been using Pine Fire Fatwood for over a year now and am really impressed with its ability to jumpstart my campfires.  The Sandy Cookie is one of their newest additions to the fire-making line.  It is a compressed composite of fatwood sandwiched around a cotton pad.  The Sandy Cookie is designed to ignite quickly like tinder and provide a sustained, hot burn in order to get your kindling and next fuel stage going.  However, I’ve seen video reviews suggesting that the Sandy Cookie alone burns hot and long enough to bring several cups of water to a boil without the use of other fuel.

I was able to locate some small twigs that were dry enough to burn. After erecting the stove, I broke up a few twigs for a base beneath the Sandy Cookie.  Since I was only boiling around 1 cup of water, I separated the Cookie into halves.  This exposed the dry cotton pad. Using my ferro rod and Mora knife, I was able to ignite the Cookie in one strike. I was very impressed.

I moved the Cookie into the Element and stacked some small twigs on top.  Within a few minutes I had an impressive flame. I failed to time the whole procedure, but one cup of water was brought to a boil within around 8 minutes.  Adding no more fuel, the flame died out within 2 or 3 minutes after reaching a boil.

Both the Element stove and Sandy Cookie performed very well.  The Element will likely be part of my summer/fall backpacking gear, while the Sandy Cookie will be with me every time I plan on making a fire.  These two great products are made in the U.S.A. and are produced by small businesses.  Those are both very good reasons to give my support.

Update on Fishing Fleet at MH370 Search Site

I would like to provide an update on our post from earlier this month on the Fu Yuan Yu Fleet appearing near the search site for Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. We were puzzled to see a large number of fishing vessels at this remote location. Since our post we have received information indicating that these vessels are licensed Chinese fishing vessels targeting small pelagic species.

The Fu Yuan Yu fleet now appears just south of the area being surveyed by MH370 search vessels Fugro Equator and Fugro Discovery. The Liao Chang Yu Yun 88 can be seen headed north after spending two weeks with the fleet. This Chinese flagged vessel is likely a fish carrier.

If as reported the Fu Yuan Yu vessels 070, 071, 072, 073, 075, 076 are targeting small pelagic species (not tuna) then they would not need to be licensed by an RFMO (Regional Fishery Management Organization) in the Indian Ocean. However we are still curious about the fishing methods of this fleet, described as lightning purse seiners. The lightning presumably refers to use of light attraction in their fishing operation. 

Each parent vessel appears to be associated with a string of 5 or 6 AIS beacons attached to some type of gear. The vessel and gear can be drifting and strung out in a 30 mile string as seen in the recent screenshots below. Or at other times each parent vessel and set of associated gear is in the same location. This pattern made us think of setting and retrieving a longline but these vessels have now been reported as purse seiners so the fishing operation is puzzling. 

Below you will see track for one of the fishing vessels, Fu Yuan Yu 070, as well as what we assume is a piece of associated fishing gear (070 04). The two tracks can be seen to overlay closely. We are looking for further information to clarify the fishing operation taking place.

The track of the Fu Yuan Yu 070 (black dashed line) over three days. Other vessels of the Fu Yuan Yu Fleet also appear to the south each with string of what is assumed to be associated fishing gear extending southeast about 30 km. All vessels have been described as lighting purse seiners.

Here is shown the three day track of one of presumed pieces of fishing gear associated with the Fu Yuan Yu 070. The track has fewer broadcast AIS positions but it can be seen to closely follow that of the parent vessel.