boating skills and seamanship 1 copyright 2007 - coast guard auxiliary association, inc. your...

1 Copyright 2007 - Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.

Boating Skills And Seamanship

Your Boat’s RadioChapter

13

2 Copyright 2007 - Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.

Boating Skills And Seamanship

Lesson Objectives

• Types of Radios• Functions and use of radios• Necessity of station license• Radio operator’s license• Buying a radio• Radio limits• Antenna selection• Radio check• Distress calls

3 Copyright 2007 - Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.

Boating Skills And Seamanship

Communications on the Water

• Coastal and inland

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of VHF radios, Citizen Band radios and cellular telephones?

4 Copyright 2007 - Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.

Boating Skills And Seamanship

Communications on the Water

• VHF• Used & Monitored By U.S. Coast Guard• New GMDSS models registered so automated

distress call can identify your boat & location• FM - Static Free• Line Of Sight - 10-30 Miles• 25 Watts Maximum Power• Relatively Inexpensive

5 Copyright 2007 - Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.

Boating Skills And Seamanship

Communications on the Water

• Citizen Band (CB) Radio• Not Monitored By U.S. Coast Guard • Sheriff or marinas may monitor at inland waters• Low power - 5 watts, Limited Range• Overcrowded • AM - Susceptible To Static• Channel 9 - Unofficial Emergency Frequency• Inexpensive

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Boating Skills And Seamanship

Communications on the Water

• Cell phones• Not Monitored By Others

• Help most likely from another boater nearby• Cannot Be Located By RDF • Some areas no signal

7 Copyright 2007 - Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.

Boating Skills And Seamanship

Communications on the Water

• Offshore• Single-sideband radios• Amateur radios• Emergency Position-Indicating

Radio Beacons

Reprinted with permission from Rough Weather Seamanship for Sail and Power by Roger Marshall

8 Copyright 2007 - Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.

Boating Skills And Seamanship

Single-Sideband

• Range• Day - 100 miles• Night - 1000 miles

• A Must For Ocean Operation• Weather information• Monitored by some U.S. Coast Guard• More Costly Than VHF-FM• Must also have VHF-FM Radio• Ship station license

9 Copyright 2007 - Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.

Boating Skills And Seamanship

Amateur Radio

• Amateur Radio Operators (HAM)• License required• Not monitored by Coast Guard• Other party may not be familiar with boating

issues

10 Copyright 2007 - Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.

Boating Skills And Seamanship

Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacons

• 406 MHz registered so identifies vessel

• License required on 65’ recreational boats

• Expensive

• May be rented (vacation)

• Transmit only; no communications

11 Copyright 2007 - Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.

Boating Skills And Seamanship

Function of Radio Telephones

• Who recalls the functions of the VHF and SSB marine radios?

12 Copyright 2007 - Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.

Boating Skills And Seamanship

Function of Radio Telephones

• Safety• Distress, Urgency & Safety Messages

• Operations• Call Lock Master, Bridge Tender, Marinas, Boats,

Radio Checks

• Commerce• Messages Between Commercial Vessels And

Stations

• Public Correspondence

13 Copyright 2007 - Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.

Boating Skills And Seamanship

Licenses

• Station license• SSB Radio Is Installed

• Must Also Have VHF-FM Radio Installed• Boat Is Over 65 feet In Length• Visit Foreign Ports• Make International Calls

• Operator permit• May need if docking in foreign port

14 Copyright 2007 - Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.

Boating Skills And Seamanship

Selecting Your VHF-FM Radio

• What are the advantages of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System available in fix-mounted VHF radios manufactured since 1999?

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Boating Skills And Seamanship

GMDSS

• Uses channel 70 for distress calls

• MMSI provides vital boat info.• MMSI registration free at BoatUS

• Can provide position info when interfaced with GPS

• Operator can handle emergency while distress info is being sent

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Boating Skills And Seamanship

Selecting Your VHF-FM Radio

• Sensitivity

• Selectivity

• Audio output

• Signal strength

• Signal suppression

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Boating Skills And Seamanship

Selecting Your VHF-FM Radio

• Line of sight transmission

• Available channels

• Channel selector

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Boating Skills And Seamanship

Installation

• What are some important considerations when installing a VHF radio and antenna?

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Boating Skills And Seamanship

Operating Your VHF-FM Radio

• What are the important caveats to remember when using a marine radio?

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Boating Skills And Seamanship

Using a marine radio

• No false distress messages

• No obscenity

• Observe confidentiality

• Do not use when boat is on land

• Shift from calling to working channel

• Use correct radio terminology

• Speak slowly and distinctly

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Boating Skills And Seamanship

Using a marine radio

• Calling• Select channel – usually 16• Listen – determine channel not in use• Press to talk (PTT) button• Name Of The Boat You Are Calling

• “This Is (Name Of Your Boat)”• “Over”• Release PTT button & listen

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Boating Skills And Seamanship

Using a marine radio

• Digital Select Calling (DSC) radio• Select working channel• Press DSC button

• Choose or enter MMSI number to call• Radio changes to Ch 70 & calls• Radio reaches vessel you called• Both radios change to working channel• Radio sounds alert

• Press PTT & start communication. Working channel may be in use; pick another

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Boating Skills And Seamanship

Using a marine radio

• Radio watch

• Radio station log

• Special purposes of channels

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Boating Skills And Seamanship

Special Purpose Channels

• CH 16 - Distress, Urgency, Safety• CH 9 - Alternate Calling Channel• CH 12 - Port Operations• CH 13 - Navigation• CH 22A - Coast Guard Liaison• CH 68 - Non-Commercial Working• Ch 70 – DSC calling• WX-1, WX-2, WX-3

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Boating Skills And Seamanship

Using a marine radio

• Procedure (Pro) Words• Over• Out• Roger• Wilco• Say Again• I Spell• Words Twice• Wait

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Boating Skills And Seamanship

Phonetic Alphabet

• Spelling

• Numbers

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Boating Skills And Seamanship

Distress, Urgency, and Safety Calls

• Distress signal: Mayday

• Urgency signal: Pan-Pan

• Safety signal: Sécurité (Use French secur-i-tay)

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Boating Skills And Seamanship

Sending Distress Signal

• Use When IMMINENT Danger Exists• With GMDSS radio, press DISTRESS • Other radios, Call On Channel 16• Call Format:

• “Mayday Mayday Mayday”• “This Is (Name Of Your Boat)”• State Location, Nature Of Problem, Number

Of POB, Describe Boat And Condition• “This Is (Name Of Your Boat), Over”

29 Copyright 2007 - Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.

Boating Skills And Seamanship

During Distress Communications

• To Stop All Other Communications on this channel, transmit• “All Stations”• “SEELONCE Mayday”• “SEELONCE Distress”

• When Distress Is Over, Transmit• “SEELONCE FEENEE

30 Copyright 2007 - Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.

Boating Skills And Seamanship

Rules violations

• False Distress• $5,000 Fine Plus All USCG Costs

• Obscenity, Indecency, Profanity• $10,000 - 2 years

• Secrecy Of Communication• Applies To All But Distress

• Violation Of FCC Rules• Loss Of License, Fine, Prison

31 Copyright 2007 - Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.

Boating Skills And Seamanship

Crew Training

• Why is it important for a crewmember to be familiar with how to operate the VHF-FM radio?