Do I need a hailer horn w/ listen back?

[SmilingMonkey]

I've got a RM Ray260 and want to add a hailer horn to it. I'd really like to be able to use listen back as well and I'm a little confused. Some horns state that they have listen back capability, but most others don't say anything.

Is there something special about horns w/ listen back or will any horn work?

 

[sbw1]

Must have the listen back feature in the horn for it to work. My 370 had this horn. It is very handy if you have someone on the bow who is handling lines for you that is new to the task. Otherwise it's no big deal. The feature of that set up that I really liked was the automatic fog horn that sounded at the proper interval. Very useful.

 

[SmilingMonkey]

Thanks! My main use case is for the fog horn, but would love to have listen back. But not sure it's really needed on a 35 footer!

 

[Bt Doctur]

You should have Radar installed so I`d say no.

 

[sbw1]

Thanks! My main use case is for the fog horn, but would love to have listen back. But not sure it's really needed on a 35 footer!

The listen back feature is also useful if you encounter foggy conditions. You can hear bells, fog horns, people speaking, etc. Back in the day we were able to locate the channel into Charlevoix, Michigan. Our LORAN placed our position at the harbor entrance but the fog was too heavy to get a visual. I shut down the engines and my son on the bow was able to hear traffic going across the lift bridge. We found our way by the sound. This was on a 300 Week Ender that had an LC-90 Loran Navigator but no radar. A listen back fog horn feature would have helped a great deal.

 

[Sea Gull]

Unfortunately this is one case where the listen back feature would NOT help. Able bodied humans have two ears placed strategically on either side of the head allowing us to hear in 3D. We not only hear a sound, but can also determine the direction of its origin. A single electronic "ear" does not have this ability. You might have heard the traffic, but would not have been able to accurately locate it.

The listen back feature is also useful if you encounter foggy conditions. You can hear bells, fog horns, people speaking, etc. Back in the day we were able to locate the channel into Charlevoix, Michigan. Our LORAN placed our position at the harbor entrance but the fog was too heavy to get a visual. I shut down the engines and my son on the bow was able to hear traffic going across the lift bridge. We found our way by the sound. This was on a 300 Week Ender that had an LC-90 Loran Navigator but no radar. A listen back fog horn feature would have helped a great deal.

 

[SmilingMonkey]

Unfortunately this is one case where the listen back feature would NOT help. Able bodied humans have two ears placed strategically on either side of the head allowing us to hear in 3D. We not only hear a sound, but can also determine the direction of its origin. A single electronic "ear" does not have this ability. You might have heard the traffic, but would not have been able to accurately locate it.

But it's better than not hearing it at all! :grin:

 

[sbw1]

But it's better than not hearing it at all! :grin:

Exactly. There is no substitute for looking out the window and listening, but an electronic ear as it was called could cue you that there is something in the area that merits attention.

 

[Gofirstclass]

I guess I'm not seeing a reason at all to have a hailer on a 30' boat. At the helm you're standing just about midship. That puts you about 15' from the bow and probably 8' from anyone standing on the bow.

Why not just open the window curtain to the bow and talk with the person on the bow? We have a hailer on Beachcomber and I've never used it. On our boat, the furthest a person on the bow could be from me would be about 30'. I can make my voice heard at that distance without having to resort to yelling.

It's must my opinion, and take it for what it's worth, but that seems like something you'd spend more time fooling around with the switches getting it to work than you would actually using it.

 

[SmilingMonkey]

I guess I'm not seeing a reason at all to have a hailer on a 30' boat. At the helm you're standing just about midship. That puts you about 15' from the bow and probably 8' from anyone standing on the bow.

The main reason I want a hailer is to yell at people asking why i want a hailer but i also want it for the fog horn functionality. The radio supports listen back so I was wondering if the speaker needed to support it too.

 

[sbw1]

We used the "auto" feature on the fog horn a lot. It is foggy on Lake Michigan in the spring and fall, even during the summer. Wish my current boat had this capability. It depends on how you use the boat and local weather conditions.

 

[insfnds]

To answer the original question, it does not take a special speaker/horn for listen-back to work. Speakers make great microphones and that's all listen-back does, is use the speaker as a microphone.

As to the question as to why you need a hailer on a 30ft boat, it's not to talk to someone on the bow, it's to talk to someone on shore, the dock, or to yell at a fricken jet ski or wake-er in the marina. The listen-back feature is especially great if you're zipped up in an enclosure.

 

[Gofirstclass]

I stand corrected.

 

[SmilingMonkey]

To answer the original question, it does not take a special speaker/horn for listen-back to work. Speakers make great microphones and that's all listen-back does, is use the speaker as a microphone.

Then why are some hailers labeled as supporting listen back, other than marketing? Why are they also at least 2x the cost? (These are mostly rhetorical questions)

 

[Stee6043]

I've got a hailer minus the horn I'll sell ya! With all the other electronics onboard I just don't see the use for it. Prior owner removed the horn for some reason and I've never seen the reason to replace it. This combined with my spot light are two items I never use and would not "want/need" on my next boat.

When I bought the boat I was told a hailer/listener can be helpful when docking or pulling up to the fuel docks. I've yet to have an experience where non-verbal communication wasn't enough when docking. And let's be honest - I need both of my hands free to drive the boat when I'm getting serious about pulling into an unfamiliar dock...or one with current, wind, etc.

And for what it's worth the horns are silly expensive. I looked into them ONLY because I dislike having a blank spot on my arch where the horn used to be. Once I saw the cost the aesthetics concerns quickly went away.

 

[insfnds]

Then why are some hailers labeled as supporting listen back, other than marketing? Why are they also at least 2x the cost? (These are mostly rhetorical questions)

Just marketing.

It's been a few years since I added the PA Horn to my boat but I don't recall specific horns 'with talkback feature' when I was looking. I guess someone has realized they can sucker a few people into paying more.

It's the same reason someone tries to sell you an Digital TV Antenna. (Don't get me started on those.)

 

[Fred]

I had a hailer on my 320DA and only found a use for it once.
I was anchored in a quiet spot on the river from early morning. Later in the day some larger sailboats began playing racing games and used my boat as a race marker. The first time around me I was caught off guard and the mast of one them came over the cockpit of my boat nearly hitting my wife. A while later on they were heading straight for me again at speed when I used the hailer to warn them that I was prepared to shoot some flares into their sails (actual language cleaned up).
Needless to say their race ended and they went home.

 

[Woody]

I've got a hailer minus the horn I'll sell ya! With all the other electronics onboard I just don't see the use for it. Prior owner removed the horn for some reason and I've never seen the reason to replace it. This combined with my spot light are two items I never use and would not "want/need" on my next boat.

When I bought the boat I was told a hailer/listener can be helpful when docking or pulling up to the fuel docks. I've yet to have an experience where non-verbal communication wasn't enough when docking. And let's be honest - I need both of my hands free to drive the boat when I'm getting serious about pulling into an unfamiliar dock...or one with current, wind, etc.

And for what it's worth the horns are silly expensive. I looked into them ONLY because I dislike having a blank spot on my arch where the horn used to be. Once I saw the cost the aesthetics concerns quickly went away.

I did a quick google, there are probably more expensive ones but what I saw pop up weren't too bad in price. If you get into some fog and you have the auto fog horn feature it'll be one less thing you have to do, lets you concentrate on everything else. You're running the Great Lakes...sooner or later you'll be in fog so thick you can't see past the windshield...anything that could help will be nice to have.:lol:

 

[SmilingMonkey]

I did a quick google, there are probably more expensive ones but what I saw pop up weren't too bad in price. If you get into some fog and you have the auto fog horn feature it'll be one less thing you have to do, lets you concentrate on everything else. You're running the Great Lakes...sooner or later you'll be in fog so thick you can't see past the windshield...anything that could help will be nice to have.:lol:

Yeah, the ones that don't claim to have listen back are pretty reasonably priced. It's worth the $40 to get a fog horn