Radios for Powell and Mead

[SPBFAN]

Does anyone know what types of Radios and communication are used on Lake Mead and Powell for emergency communications with the Rangers and emergency services if ever needed?

[eks]

The house boat we use, we always monitor all radio communication through a CB radio.

Many times we heard stress messages through the CB radio, in witch either rangers or other houseboats will come to the rescue.

[Big Wave]

They use marine radios. I think 16 is the emergancy chanel. The reception is real goodd on Mead.

[TeamAllen]

Cell phone coverage is pretty good up to a little past Padre Bay (at least with Verizon). It gets spotty after that. We even received a few calls near Rainbow Bridge. The Houseboats generally have Marine CB radios. SO I would think that are the most reliable.

I found ths info this morning and thought it was interesting. I don't know if it works, but interesting.

Marine Radio practices

It’s always a good idea to have a marine radio on Lake Mead. Most houseboats have radios built in, but many captains don’t set a routine monitoring time slot. Since it is possible to receive emergency phone calls via marine radio, it’s good practice to leave the radio ON at a certain time every day AND MONITOR so you can be reached in case of emergency. Many chose between 7pm and 9pm to monitor channel 16 since the odds are good that someone will be on the houseboat during this time for dinner, etc. Just inform relatives and friends to call you during that time slot in case of emergency. Emergency "Shore to Ship" calls can be arranged by calling the emergency Lake Mead dispatch. Remember this is only for emergencies. There are 3 things land callers must know to reach your boat by phone in case of emergency.

1. The time slot you will be monitoring the marine radio (i.e. 7-9pm).

2. Your vessel name.

3. For Lake Mead, call Emergency dispatch at (702) 293-8998

4. For Lake Powell, call 800-225-5288 if you use ATT for long distance or have an active ATT calling card. Otherwise call 10102880 if you don't use ATT for long distance.

This call will need an operator to assist you. When you get the automated voice for various options, wait till the end, then SAY "OPERATOR" and you'll be connected to a real person, an operator. When you reach the ATT operator ask to connected to the Window Rock Marine Operator in Arizona to place a Shore to Ship call. If the operator acts like she doesn't know what your talking about (likely), ask to speak to a supervisor. Ask the supervisor for Window Rock Marina Operator, tell the supervisor the ATT router number is 520058121 (this is not a phone number) for Window Rock Marine operator. They will ask you for the name of the vessel to make the call.

This call is not cheap, about $11 first minute, $1/min after that, plus the marine operator charges (varies).

[SPBFAN]

Cool, I was just thinking if we are going to hit the bigger lakes it might me a wise choice to get a water proof radio or two for the boat. This way we are prepaired in case of an emergency.

[evil0ne]

After having a few incidents where there was no cell coverage I picked up the Uniden Atlantis 250G

[halena12]

I used Cobra MR HH350 radio. There is a lot of hate for this radio on nrcradio website but my radio works excellent. The sound is clear, it has a decent range, and it is absolutely waterproof. Make sure you test it out of the box, set up the warranty through Cobra, and your radio SHOULD be protected if something comes up.

A few things I would recommend, take a moment to wipe down the radio (mostly just the battery terminals) and any seals after use, especially if it is exposed to salt water, but you should always do that anyway. Saltwater is harsh on things, even “waterproof” things. If the radio gets submerged, LIGHTLY blow into the mic to get any water out, that way your transmission won’t be a garbled mess. I can’t speak to the longevity of this radio, as I’ve only had it for a short bit, but so far it’s working great. I mostly use it for inland rivers and protected bays here in the mountainous PNW, and my range on High is very good considering the size of this radio.