How long before CG stop listening in on ch16? and handheld VHF

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hmm

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I know they only listen in now coz they are good guys.

I was thinking about getting a handheld VHF for emergency, but I'm not sure how long it will be useful for.

Isn't DSCC (was that right?) going to do away with ordinary VHFs?
 
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Isn't DSCC (was that right?) going to do away with ordinary VHFs?

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Just DSC.... I suppose longer term it will do away with the old style VHF. I think they already wanted to stop listening to CH16, but there hasn't been a great enought uptake of DSC on leisure boats, I believe. One day I suppose....
 
They still do listen in on Ch16, and not cos they are good boys. What they did somewhile ago was move from a dedicated headphone watch (one person doing nothing else) to a loudspeaker watch, so people can be doing other things while keeping an ear out. If they don't catch it all, they have special recorders to play back the message.

As far as I know there is no intent to stop listening on Ch16
 
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What they did somewhile ago was move from a dedicated headphone watch (one person doing nothing else) to a loudspeaker watch,

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I have been told by a CG that Solent Coastguard still have a dedicated headphone watch as they found that the loudspeaker was distracting.
 
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I know they only listen in now coz they are good guys.

I was thinking about getting a handheld VHF for emergency, but I'm not sure how long it will be useful for.

Isn't DSCC (was that right?) going to do away with ordinary VHFs?

[/ QUOTE ]

2 probs with a non DSC handheld - big ships have stopped listening to 16 (if indeed many of them ever did) and the range of a handheld is limited both by height and by power so its emergency use is also limited.

better than nothing, but not a lot.
 
Contrary to the popular myth we've found that big ships usually do respond to Ch16 provided you preface the call "all ships, all ships" before going on to describe the ship you want to talk to. It seems to wake them up.
 
I drive a "big ship" across the N.Sea every day. We definitely listen to Ch16. Always call ship-ship on CH16 unless talking to pilots or VTS on dedicated channels. Even then we have a listening watch on CH16 in the background.
Only time we may not listen to CH16 is when we are under pilotage as we often need to monitor more than one VTS (vessel traffc service) channel.

I would advise anyone entering/leaving a busy commercial port to listen to the local VTS channel as this is what the big boys will be doing.

For personal use on my boat I have a basic VHF and only use it when within port limits or when making a passage out to sea. Have no plans to replace with DSC yet.
 
The official press release at the time was that it was at discretion of the duty manager, so for a busy centre like Solent, it would make sense to still have a dedicated headphone watch, but in many areas it would be a waste of resources
 
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I would advise anyone entering/leaving a busy commercial port to listen to the local VTS channel as this is what the big boys will be doing.


[/ QUOTE ]Don't most busy harbours stipulate that monitoring the relevant VTS channel is compulsory?

Its hugely useful to monitor 71 when in Harwich harbour regardless....
 
Thanks all

And Homa - nice to know big ships are listening thanks.

Still undecided as to whether to buy one or not - will think about it - a lot of bargains out there (following a search of this site on what has been said before)- even DSC handhelds at £150 or thereabouts.
 
Re: DSC

I have NEVER made a DSC call in (I think it must be) 10yrs or more since we started using GMDSS, except for carrying out regular safety checks of the equipment. But then I have never had to make an urgent call to the CG or another ship, when within VHF range. When I once had had to call for radio medical advice and talk to the lifeboat we used MF for the former then straight to a VHF working channel for comms with the lifeboat. Another time I used the sat phone to call the CG for medical advice.

Don't get me wrong, I think DSC is a good idea for emergency use, particularly if time is short, but to my knowledge it's rarely used for day to day routine communications ship to ship. Only the CG seem to use it for routine weather/nav warning.

In the Southern N. Sea there are always plenty of other vessels within sight, so VHF range is never an issue. We often call other vessels, and always on CH16, unless within port VTS limits.

If I was to call the CG it wouldn't necessarily be on CH16 anyway, I'd try their working channel first. If I were sinking and wanted every vessel in the vicinity to hear me then yes of course, I'd call on CH16.

Please don't read this post as anti DSC - It is not that at all - I was just answering another post by saying that we "big boys" do still listen to CH16 - & I can't think of why anyone in their right mind wouldn't.....even if Thames CG were to stop a dedicated listening watch, we will still listen and use CH16 for calling ship to ship.

Cheers
Homa
 
Re: listening to a VTS channel

Yes of course listening to the relevant VTS channel is obligatory, but in my experience the few yachts that follow the deep water channel do not actually keep a listening watch, and it's particularly annoying when we have to follow a "deep draft" yacht in and/or out of Harbour in the main (14.5m) channel doing 3.5 kts & totally oblivious of what's coming up behind !
There's no way we can communicate with him. The whistle is really a last resort and not advised as the poor s@d usually does what you least expect only compounding the situation.
 
Re: DSC

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Please don't read this post as anti DSC - It is not that at all .........

[/ QUOTE ]Indeed, and thanks for some very informative posts on the subject. However, of those I have spoken to who have DSC, most leave them turned off much of the time due to the unacceptable nature of the alerts. That means that lots of yachts are no longer monitoring 16 or any other channel. This has to be very bad news for safety. The solution is either to change the equipment spec to meet the needs of yachts or drop full DSC altogether. I have a Simrad partial DSC set, that can send a basic DSC alert but has no other DSC functionality. Most of the advantages of DSC without the disadvantages. I don't believe that they are available any longer as they don't meet type approval.
 
Re: DSC

Interesting topic, it is good to know that large ships do indeed moniter channel 16 .....
here in Canada and Ontario in particular, marine VHF has sunk to new lows, channel 16 is not much better than Redneck CB radio what with the chatter and foul language and refusal to switch to a comms channel......ie: 06/68.......
As for DSC ...i think it's a novelty here.........
 
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