Marine Radio: use on land?

Isn't the point about DSC to:-

a, transmit your position accurately in an emergency
b, to de-clutter c16

I was a member of a club that used to give everyones MMSI in the club handbook and it was brilliant. Subsequently I joined a different club and now I have completely forgotten how to use DSC because the numbers are not distributed.

How many people know their MMSI by rote, I don't so for ship to ship they are pretty useless because you really have to make an effort to swap numbers with a friend.
 
timbartlett said:
CSR Training School -- all channels but must not radiate outside the building -- £50 per year.
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This is not the case now. The cost for training centre CSR is in fact £20 and is now valid for 10 years. It allows for 10 training MMSI numbers plus 2 group MMSI's, and 2 coast station MMSI's - 00 .
 
Solitaire said:
This is not the case now. The cost for training centre CSR is in fact £20 and is now valid for 10 years. It allows for 10 training MMSI numbers plus 2 group MMSI's, and 2 coast station MMSI's - 00 .
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Delighted to be wrong! It's a few years now since I had to get one, and I was pretty pi55ed off to have to do so! It wasn't really the money, so much as the principle -- "They" had forced us to buy radios that didn't work, and then started charging us for the "privilege" of not transmitting on them!

Up to that point, I'd been managing perfectly well with half a dozen PMR radios for voice procedure and the Lightmaster/Simrad simulator for DSC.

It's still £20 too expensive, though!

(PS Just proves you can't trust gov't websites, too ;))
 
prv said:
Those are the points on which it was "sold" to yachties, yes. As I explained earlier, I don't believe they're the reason it was invented.

Pete
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DSC is just one small part of a much larger system known as GMDSS - Global Maritime Distress and Safety System - all commercial vessels over 300 gt are required to be compliant with it but it is not a legal requirement for leisure vessels. You don't have to have a DSC enabled set - your choice! But of course you can't now buy a class D VHF that does not have DSC enabled.

To say that it has been "sold to yachties" is as you say not why it was "invented". The whole GMDSS system covers sateliite communications, SSB, VHF and even Navtex falls under the umbrella. GMDSS
 
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timbartlett said:
Delighted to be wrong! It's a few years now since I had to get one, and I was pretty pi55ed off to have to do so! It wasn't really the money, so much as the principle -- "They" had forced us to buy radios that didn't work, and then started charging us for the "privilege" of not transmitting on them!

Up to that point, I'd been managing perfectly well with half a dozen PMR radios for voice procedure and the Lightmaster/Simrad simulator for DSC.

It's still £20 too expensive, though!

(PS Just proves you can't trust gov't websites, too ;))
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I know how you feel, and in fact I sent £50 off to them which they returned after they rang me to tell of the change. As for the £20, well it is only the same as applying by post for a "normal" VHF licence and it does now not need revalidationg for 10 years, so in effect it's a saving of £480!!:rolleyes:

What is interesting though is that all the training MMSI's fall into the same batch so there is no need to reprogramme sets if you "move". Just let them know the coordinates of the new base.

Oh and they also give you MMSI's for both fixed wing and a helicopter!!
 
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ostell said:
However, if you are in a heavily used area, like Chichester Harbour, sharing 80 is probably not a good idea. My club has just moved channels after sharing a "private" channel for many years with another, verbose, club. Nothing like reading the results out over the air to annoy the other users.
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was it the one that read out the course for the mornings racing, on channel 16, twice last sunday?
 
Seven Spades said:
I was a member of a club that used to give everyones MMSI in the club handbook and it was brilliant. Subsequently I joined a different club and now I have completely forgotten how to use DSC because the numbers are not distributed.
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I created a cruiser/MMSI list in a booklet for my club but because I was not part of the "Inner circle" someone else took it over completely forgetting that the list was intended for MMSI information. There a 2 MMSI numbers on the current list and not so useful (while sailing) information like email address and mobile number. Completely forgot, or did not understand, how DSC can be used.
 
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC said:
VHF radios are used by Yachts clubs everywhere to coordinate races from the clubs on land which are normally very close to the sea. One does not have to be in the water to use a VHF.
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I just wish that more of them would use the dedicated channels of M1 and M2 and not clutter up the 4 ship to ship channels of 6,8,72 and 77! It really does get up my nose when they do that of a weekend in the Solent.

What's more, there is no need for an operators certificate to use M1 and M2
 
Solitaire said:
I just wish that more of them would use the dedicated channels of M1 and M2 and not clutter up the 4 ship to ship channels of 6,8,72 and 77! It really does get up my nose when they do that of a weekend in the Solent.

What's more, there is no need for an operators certificate to use M1 and M2
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If the clubs are using 6, 8, 72 or 77 from their club room they are definitely contravening the terms of their CSR licence. It is a requirement of the licence that these (and other channels not covered by the licence) are disabled in the equipment used.
 
Solitaire said:
DSC is just one small part of a much larger system known as GMDSS - Global Maritime Distress and Safety System - all commercial vessels over 300 gt are required to be compliant with it but it is not a legal requirement for leisure vessels. You don't have to have a DSC enabled set - your choice! But of course you can't now buy a class D VHF that does not have DSC enabled.

To say that it has been "sold to yachties" is as you say not why it was "invented". The whole GMDSS system covers sateliite communications, SSB, VHF and even Navtex falls under the umbrella. GMDSS
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I think we're in violent agreement here.

I was responding to someone who said that DSC was invented solely to provide the "red button" distress call and to stop people cluttering up 16. My point was that, while those are the two aspects that are most apparent to yachties, there's a far wider (and mostly commercial) world that they're part of and those aspects are not really at the heart of it.

Pete
 
RestlessL said:
If the clubs are using 6, 8, 72 or 77 from their club room they are definitely contravening the terms of their CSR licence. It is a requirement of the licence that these (and other channels not covered by the licence) are disabled in the equipment used.
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That I can't say, but the do when they are race coordinating on the water.
 
RestlessL said:
If the clubs are using 6, 8, 72 or 77 from their club room they are definitely contravening the terms of their CSR licence. It is a requirement of the licence that these (and other channels not covered by the licence) are disabled in the equipment used.
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Isn't this all just the land of bureaucracy and madness of too many unnecessary laws. If it is ok to broadcast from the club launch tied up to the clubhouse, why does it have to be so dangerous from the clubhouse itself. This stuff is a throwback to a previous world long gone

How mad that I wouldn't need a test or licence to get a new 10 ton powerboat and drive a speed at 40 knots through a crowded waterway, but do need them to use its radio
 
dunedin said:
Isn't this all just the land of bureaucracy and madness of too many unnecessary laws. If it is ok to broadcast from the club launch tied up to the clubhouse, why does it have to be so dangerous from the clubhouse itself. This stuff is a throwback to a previous world long gone
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But it is NOT ok to broadcast on ch 6, 8, 72 or 77. These are ship to ship channels, and not to be used to "broadcast (i.e. transmit without a reply being expected) messages ... Except for safety messages" (taken directly from the Ship Radio Licence and OF19a).

The point being made is that there are channels which have been allocated for marina and yacht club use.
 
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