How often have you been called using your MMSI?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ric
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prv said:
So what happens when two boats with apparent MMSI zero come into range? The poor receiver will get very confused about this boat that's travelling several miles in between each position broadcast!

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Pete
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Quite true - sorry!
 
When you apply for a Ships Radio Licence you get a callsign and MMSI as a matter of course, whether you wanted one or not. There is now an assumption that if you have a radio on board it will be one equipped with DSC.

Never used MMSI either to make or receive a call. However the radio is linked to the gps so if the red button is pushed, the distress call will give our position and MMSI.
 
I have send and recieved DSC calls many times but only by friends who have my MMSI number stored in their VHF. I have an AIS transponder transmitting our MMSI but have never been called by anyone using this info.
 
duncan99210 said:
When you apply for a Ships Radio Licence you get a callsign and MMSI as a matter of course, whether you wanted one or not. There is now an assumption that if you have a radio on board it will be one equipped with DSC.

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When did that happen? I applied for the Ships Radio Licence on our current boat less than 18 months ago and had to explicitly ask for an MMSI.
 
I think that the Coastguard now requires to be called using DSC, although they still accept voice calls these are kind of frowned upon.
 
Dsc is a total pain for a single hander,
Up on deck handling the sails etc & some t..t in france decides they want to transmit a weather forecast for somewhere else in the world. So one has to struggle below & switch the alarm off as it does not go off on its own
I once tried to tell the coastguard about a drifting dinghy via DSC. no reply so i went ashore & used my mobile phone.
Comment was --oh yes i think we did hear a dsc call half hour ago!. Lot of use that was then
It would be ok of it could turn the alarm off after a few rings.
Usually i just turn the radio off to avoid the hassle
 
Daydream believer said:
I once tried to tell the coastguard about a drifting dinghy via DSC. no reply so i went ashore & used my mobile phone.
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Could this be a procedural mis-assumption? The correct procedure with the coast guard is to wait until they acknowledge your DSC call (when your channel changes to their working channel) then call them by voice (including mmsi in identification). I'm pretty sure the who-speaks-first question wasn't covered in my DSC course 8 years ago, and it's not unreasonable to assume that you're waiting for them to call you up but this is not the way it works.
 
laika said:
Could this be a procedural mis-assumption? The correct procedure with the coast guard is to wait until they acknowledge your DSC call (when your channel changes to their working channel) then call them by voice (including mmsi in identification). I'm pretty sure the who-speaks-first question wasn't covered in my DSC course 8 years ago, and it's not unreasonable to assume that you're waiting for them to call you up but this is not the way it works.
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Once you call another station on DSC, be it the Coastguard or othewise, and they acknowledge the DSC call, then it is usually the original caller who then initiates the voice call on the selected channel.
 
I've received about 4 calls using DSC and made about the same. I have number s progr ammed into my DSC set for local membe rs of the VOA (now the Newbridge Owners Association. W e find it easier to call each other up using DSC.

My VHF is always on, and, since receiving a radio call from a fishing vessel advising me of his intentions, I have installed a cockpit speaker.
 
I'm thinking of getting the standard horizon gx1700e which has GPS built in so no wiring head scratching. But apart from having the small comfort of yet another GPS, I cant see me ever using the DSC functions. Never used it so far.
 
I think an added bonus is to register the MMSI on the CG66 scheme. If you have to hit the red button, I believe the name, details and photo of your boat are automatically available to help the helpers.

Am I right in this?
 
TonyBuckley said:
I'm thinking of getting the standard horizon gx1700e which has GPS built in so no wiring head scratching. But apart from having the small comfort of yet another GPS, I cant see me ever using the DSC functions. Never used it so far.
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Most of us can say the same for the liferaft, lifejackets and flares - they are things you purchase, hoping that you are wasting your money! :)
 
viking2 said:
I think an added bonus is to register the MMSI on the CG66 scheme. If you have to hit the red button, I believe the name, details and photo of your boat are automatically available to help the helpers.

Am I right in this?
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Ish. Chanelyacht if he's about will be able to confirm, but I think last time the subject came up he said that their systems are not that integrated. The MMSI comes in from the radio system, they then have to look that up in another system connected to the radio licensing database to get vessel name, callsign, etc, and if they want the full details that are in CG66 they have to make a separate lookup for that. So all the information is available and can be gathered in a minute or so, but it doesn't all pop up in one comprehensive panel like you'd hope.

Pete
 
Getting back on track I've been called once directly on the DSC. I have an AIS transponder and the CG called me up to assist a small dinghy I'd just passed in St Albans Race who had lost their outboard. I have to say it scared the brown stuff out of me!! But it proved the value of the system working together. Other than that the DSC goes off quite often now for routing and mayday traffic. Right pain having to go an silence it...
 
I'm just collecting MMSI numbers in our club to publish to members - and several people have said that they've never dared enter their MMSI number into their radio as they've heard if they mistype it they'll have to send it back to the manufacturer/dealer to get it corrected. True or urban legend?

[From what I've seen, the problem with MMSIs / DSC is an appalling lack of usability in the radio - worse than the original 'brick' mobile phones, as some of it (e.g. having to go and silence it) is legislated in... e.g. there should be a button 'send MMSI number' which adds it it any DSC set on receive nearby whose owner is pressing 'receive MMSI' (because you've just said you'll send it). Then they send theirs to you. Rather like sending someone a text to a) check you've got their number right and b) to give them your number.]
 
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