MMSI usage

My question stands.On the vid I saw,the MMSI number was given, on a spoken Mayday,before the vessel's position.Is this now the correct procedure? Or had the director got it wrong?

According to a recent thread (and my DSC course a few years ago), this is the official correct procedure. However, many people do not think it is a useful procedure, and do not intend to adopt it should the need ever arise.

Mcframe's idea of sending the last four digits seems a reasonable compromise.

Pete
 
It is a requirement that you include the callsign of the station called,and your own callsign,in any* radio transmission.IIRC this is a 'legal' requirement.

No, the callsign is not necessary, and in any event you are unlikely to know the callsign of the vessel you are calling. What is required is that you identify yourself and (obviously) the station being called, and the easiest way of doing that is to use the vessels' names.
 
The photo button is under the red flip-up cover and you have to press it down for 6 seconds! :D

I tried that and it does not seem to work as I eplained to the kind gentleman who came on the radio trying to help me. He asked if I was "playin games" but as I told him, you had only told me how to take photos and had not explained yet how I get the games facility up ;);)
 
According to a recent thread (and my DSC course a few years ago), this is the official correct procedure. However, many people do not think it is a useful procedure, and do not intend to adopt it should the need ever arise.

Mcframe's idea of sending the last four digits seems a reasonable compromise.

Pete

This is maybe the thread to which you refer - http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=296139

This was put forward under international edict and ratified by the ITU in 2010. It is now correct procedure to include both the Call sign and MMSI number - twice!
 
As far as I'm concerned,the vessels position is much more important to me than the MMSI number.

Fair point, but you did say you also wanted the call sign. Is this just to disambiguate between boats that might have the same name and coincidentally be in the same area ?

Boo2
 
Is this just to disambiguate between boats that might have the same name and coincidentally be in the same area ?

Boo2

If people could stop calling boats 'aquaholic' or 'wind rider' and think of something a little more original, we could forget call signs and mmsi numbers!
 
If people could stop calling boats 'aquaholic' or 'wind rider' and think of something a little more original, we could forget call signs and mmsi numbers!

Wind Rider is not so bad there are only 4 of those on the Mars database.

62 Aquaholics :mad:
 
Third attempt.
Solitaire-thanks for the link.The new procedure states that you repeat your MMSI number and your call sign a total of 4 times before you send your position in a spoken Mayday.
I asked to be educated,and got it.I should have remained ignorant and blissfull.:o
How the hell was this passed by the 'important people'?Did the RYA or anyone else have any input?

I shall not be adopting the new procedure. I will soon press my Digitaly Selective Memory Loss button, and pretend that I've never seen the video,or have read this thread.God forbid,but if I send a Mayday, I'll want to be rescued.I won't give a tinker's cuss about MMSI numbers.The same applies to any Mayday I respond to.
Alan_d-Thanks for clearing my confusion,it is a long long time since I did my VHF/MF/DSC.
Boo2-as above
OP-I apologise again for the thread drift and hope you get your DSC sorted,but,I've got to ask,where do you get the Rainyface Smiley?I laughed out loud at 'I only asked':D
Cheers
 
Outside the UK, -au konteenong, they have a thing called ATIS which automatically sends a data string consisting of your MMSI preceded by another digit (9 I think), when you release the PTT key. This lets the receiving station (and the playground monitors) know 'who said that'.
Its similar to the 'roger bleep' we used to have on CB sets, and of course the moon-landers.
I can't think why UK vetoed its use here as it would seem to be a fix for some of the problems described previously in this thread.
I believe it is used to trace improper use of the airwaves, which could on occasion benefit us here.
As to the OP, I believe the question has been answered by the "S" brothers - but which one?

G'aun yersel' Vic.
MPTYE
 
. . . . . The new procedure states that you repeat your MMSI number and your call sign a total of 4 times before you send your position in a spoken Mayday. . . . . .

So the weekend sailors who come down to the Solent on the weekend will now call the coastguard on channel 16 for a radio check only to be told to move over the channel 67. Then, if they are really diligent and concerned that their precious VHF set is working correctly, they should now test the workings of the DSC button and thence to proceed on to activate the 'ring-pull' on the EPIRB and then the PLB before they sit in the cockpit for the weekend supping G & T's, not sailing anywhere :p

I know most weekend sailors who put to sea don't even listen to their VHF marine receivers anyway or certainly can't hear them tucked away in the depths of their saloon/chart-room area.

Oh, I know, they turn on the hand-held on channel 16, adjust the volume to a nice level and pop the H/H in their pocket. When safely out of the marina they sit down at the helm in the cockpit area and this then promptly squeezes the PTT switch and they sail on oblivious to the fact that they are jamming the Distress & Calling channel for the next 30 minutes or so. :eek:
 
Mcframe's idea of sending the last four digits seems a reasonable compromise.

Not really my idea - CG asked for the last four digits when I did a DSC test (just a routine call) a while back - plus it's stolen from aviation† see:
http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP413Supplement.pdf
and
http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/AviationGuideFinal20090917_LOCKED.pdf

I also tend to 'read back' e.g. berthing directions to marinas.

† Not that I'm a pilot††, but I've read some of the books.
†† 'tho I do turn on the landing lights when going upstairs :->
 
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