call signs.....how do you find yours?

Might be if you go foreign. - SSR No & VHF licence always get checked if customs come aboard in France & Belgium
Well they do with me, but quite often they just visit me, search the boat, & ignore everyone else- No idea why, but has happened a couple of times recently in Boulogne

SSR and ships radio licence, yes. But has anyone ever been asked for their operators certificate?
 
SSR and ships radio licence, yes. But has anyone ever been asked for their operators certificate?

I keep all my documents together & they often open them all & look. I seem to get the full degree. The last but one time in Boulogne was my third visit in 4 weeks. Within 2 hours of berthing 3 officers arrived & spent 1 hour & 5 mins aboard, searching everything, even my bedding. I had just prepared evening meal so carried on eating. They asked me why I was so relaxed about it & i said well you are just doing your job & i have nothing to hide. They seemed surprised that I just let them get on with it with little comment.
They even looked at my ICC which they have done so on more than one occasion. Others tell me that they have never known this, but they have with me in both France & also Belgium ( where I have been threatened with fines ). On one cruise in France via Channel Islands down to Pornic I logged 14 customs officers aboard in about 4 months & for half the time I was with my wife.
 
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i have a RYA vhf radiotelephony license from 30 years ago!....tbat'll do nicely surely....pre dsc of course but legal??

I've just registered on the Ofcom site to check my vhf operators licence from about 25 years ago and it says I don't have a licence, so wheather old licences were put on the database and if they are still valid I don't know
 
I've just registered on the Ofcom site to check my vhf operators licence from about 25 years ago and it says I don't have a licence, so wheather old licences were put on the database and if they are still valid I don't know

No, these licences are no longer valid as they did not include the DSC protocol. Afraid its a case of doing another course!
 
Might be if you go foreign. - SSR No & VHF licence always get checked if customs come aboard in France & Belgium
Well they do with me, but quite often they just visit me, search the boat, & ignore everyone else- No idea why, but has happened a couple of times recently in Boulogne

I avoid all that trouble by ringing in as I arrive, and giving them an anonymous false tip off that some other boat I can see there is smuggling this or that. ;)
 
Hi Geoff.....is that official?

When I did my VHF "Short Range" course, about 15 years ago, we were told that the old non-DSC licence was valid, and a DSC conversion certificate could be had on completion of training and certification. It was a half day course rather than 2 days. I don't know if that's still true.
 
Hi Geoff.....is that official?

As I understand it the old licence is still valid for radios without DSC, but if you have a radio with DSC then you need the new licence. I have not heard of a shorter course to upgrade from the old licence - maybe it is not advertised so that you do the longer course at greater expense!

The RYA course I did for DSC radios lasted a whole day ( long day) with a separate examiner at the end. It was good value and I did learn a lot from it.

I would think anyone these days would be wise to upgrade to a DSC radio - it is probably your main bit of safety kit and well worth the cost, knowing that at the hit of a button your distress call has been sent, with your MMSI number, and position, to both the rescue services and any other DSC enabled radio in the area.
 
Some RYA Training Centres, Scotsail for example, offer reduced course costs on presentation of the restricted VHF licence that was obtained before 1999; they recommend that you do the whole day training (just 1 day). You can only sit the VHF exam without any training as well, 30 minutes written test, a bit of theory and practical demonstration that you can make certain types of calls competently.

http://www.scotsail-training.co.uk/rya_vhf_radio_licence.htm

I have no association with Scotsail.
 
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SSR and ships radio licence, yes. But has anyone ever been asked for their operators certificate?
Yes, every time I cross the Adriatic and clear into Croatia. They also want to see my ICC and current insurance certificate.

Without any one of four documents (Registration, Insurance, Certificate of Competence, VHF SRC - no radio licence requested to date) I would have entry refused and have to sail back to Italy - unless missing is the 'certificate of competence' or VHF SRC, then I could opt for a local test at €200 for each.

.
 
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thanks bru, its all in the previous owners name still, despite me sending off the eprib reg form to falmouth months ago. gues I need to reister with ofcom and change the rest too. I thought boats had no paperwork too :)

The MARS ITU data is derived from the Ship's Radio Licence. It can take several months to update to reflect changes
 
thanks bru, its all in the previous owners name still, despite me sending off the eprib reg form to falmouth months ago. gues I need to reister with ofcom and change the rest too. I thought boats had no paperwork too :)

It's nothing (much) to do with the EPIRB. Your licenses are from OfCOM, and they (and only they) can update the ship's license. Your EPIRB needs details FROM your ship's license, but changing the EPIRB registration details doesn't touch the ship's license.
 
I keep all my documents together & they often open them all & look. I seem to get the full degree. The last but one time in Boulogne was my third visit in 4 weeks. Within 2 hours of berthing 3 officers arrived & spent 1 hour & 5 mins aboard, searching everything, even my bedding. I had just prepared evening meal so carried on eating. They asked me why I was so relaxed about it & i said well you are just doing your job & i have nothing to hide. They seemed surprised that I just let them get on with it with little comment.
They even looked at my ICC which they have done so on more than one occasion. Others tell me that they have never known this, but they have with me in both France & also Belgium ( where I have been threatened with fines ). On one cruise in France via Channel Islands down to Pornic I logged 14 customs officers aboard in about 4 months & for half the time I was with my wife.

they were probably training newbies, you made a rod for your own back by being so relaxed!
 
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