the old sailor VHF's used to give you the different channels/purpose on the dial..miss them, i like 74, it used to be for general use between the scottish fishing boats, i belive some off them still leave a VHF on that ch,especially if more than one boat working the same ground, ch 70 for DSC is a no-no, any other ch doesnt really matter as long as you listen first before having a blether