mmsi number

[john m]

I have just bought a handheld s radio can I just program in the same number that came with the boat and do I need to contact of com to update the details and a new number

 

[Lucky Duck]

Portable VHF radios need their own MMSI number as it might not always be used on the mother ship, the Ofcom website should be able to sort you out with one

 

[Binman]

Hi, if you haven,t passed a VHF coarse, you won't be able to use it,the mmsi number on you boat, is a separate thing. I'm sure that's right.

 

[prv]

Each VHF needs to be covered by a license. With a non-DSC handheld you have a choice, you can either add it to the main Ship Radio License alongside the fixed VHF, or you can put it on its very own Ship Portable License. Back when each license cost money, the former made sense, but now that they're free you might as well put handhelds on their own licenses as you can then use them anywhere whereas on a combined license they technically have to be used in connection with that vessel.

When DSC handhelds first came out it was a bit of a grey area - in fact they arguably weren't even legal in the UK. It was sometimes recommended that you put them on the Ship Station license and used the same MMSI, on the grounds that the MMSI theoretically identifies the vessel not the radio (you use the same for a VHF and an HF radio on the same boat) and the handheld would be part of the boat's equipment.

Then Ofcom got its act together and worked out a specific set of rules for DSC handhelds (they sent these rules to the rest of Europe as a recommendation, but they still haven't been adopted yet, so technically your UK-licensed DSC handheld is only valid in UK waters). These rules override the theoretical "MMSI is boat not radio" idea on practical grounds - for example, some people will take their Ship Station licensed handhelds on a charter or a mate's boat, and whereas before DSC this was just a technical licensing breach that nobody really gave a damn about, now it might result in the RNLI searching for the wrong boat. So they decided that all DSC handhelds have to be licensed on their own Ship Portable license, which will come with its own MMSI number in a special range assigned to handhelds.

So in summary, you need to go to the Ofcom site, log in to your existing account which has your Ship Station license for the main boat VHF, and take out a new Ship Portable license as well. It's free, it just takes a few minutes, and it will assign you a new number to program into the radio.

Pete

 

[Cardo]

Each VHF needs to be covered by a license. With a non-DSC handheld you have a choice, you can either add it to the main Ship Radio License alongside the fixed VHF, or you can put it on its very own Ship Portable License. Back when each license cost money, the former made sense, but now that they're free you might as well put handhelds on their own licenses as you can then use them anywhere whereas on a combined license they technically have to be used in connection with that vessel.

When DSC handhelds first came out it was a bit of a grey area - in fact they arguably weren't even legal in the UK. It was sometimes recommended that you put them on the Ship Station license and used the same MMSI, on the grounds that the MMSI theoretically identifies the vessel not the radio (you use the same for a VHF and an HF radio on the same boat) and the handheld would be part of the boat's equipment.

Then Ofcom got its act together and worked out a specific set of rules for DSC handhelds (they sent these rules to the rest of Europe as a recommendation, but they still haven't been adopted yet, so technically your UK-licensed DSC handheld is only valid in UK waters). These rules override the theoretical "MMSI is boat not radio" idea on practical grounds - for example, some people will take their Ship Station licensed handhelds on a charter or a mate's boat, and whereas before DSC this was just a technical licensing breach that nobody really gave a damn about, now it might result in the RNLI searching for the wrong boat. So they decided that all DSC handhelds have to be licensed on their own Ship Portable license, which will come with its own MMSI number in a special range assigned to handhelds.

So in summary, you need to go to the Ofcom site, log in to your existing account which has your Ship Station license for the main boat VHF, and take out a new Ship Portable license as well. It's free, it just takes a few minutes, and it will assign you a new number to program into the radio.

Pete

I went through this exact thing a couple of months ago. The above is spot on.