Elemental
Well-known member
Except that the marina is only permitted 1W so they may hear you just fine, but you may still not hear them. It's no guarantee of a lack of range on your part.
Radio checks
- Thread starter MrB
- Start date
Bru
Well-known member
Actually, in the case of a certain local marina that I call up quite often I suspect it shows up that the Harbour Master's hand held VHF is a pile of poo!!!!
(ANd indeed that was the cause of the last radio check I made to the CG when I couldn't raise them and there was no traffic on air)
Bru
Well-known member
This has been stated a couple of times now so out of curiousity I went looking and I cannot find any official documentation to verify the assertion. Indeed, quite the opposite as material associated with a Coastal Station Radio Licence mentions "up to 5W" in relation to a handheld and "normally up to 25w" in relation to a base station and similar phrases.
Of course, limiting ship to marina traffic to 1W is excellent practice by the operators, particularly in busy areas where several nearby marinas are operating on M1/37 and 80 but as far as I can see they are not limited to doing so????
pvb
Well-known member
I wondered too, and came to the conclusion that the claim that marina transmissions are limited to 1W is nonsense. I routinely hear a marina around 6 miles away, with land in between, so I don't think they're using 1W. It is a good idea for boats to use low power when calling marinas.
Robin
Well-known member
I don't know theanswer but do know that our YC marina when the office was closed whilst the duty HM was on his rounds used a handheld to answer calls so confusing the issue again.
sailorman
Well-known member
Some do not have dsc
JumbleDuck
Well-known member
Years ago I was trying to call the coastguard from the Sound of Islay, with very little success. Weak and inaudible. Then something happened, and I made a Pan-pan call. At once we had a very, very strong and clear signal. Perhaps a coincidence, but I suspect that when things are urgent they can throw a lot more dB and W at it ...
Bru
Well-known member
About time they upgraded then!
I'm only half joking, given that a perfectly serviceable new DSC VHF can be purchased fur the cost of a decent meal and a couple of bottles of fine vino
sailorman
Well-known member
Theres nothing wrong with my Icom Euro 56 i aint changing it
Bru
Well-known member
Elemental
Well-known member
Uggh. You're right. I don't know where I picked this up from - probably just idly cloning stuff I read somewhere without verifying it first. My apologies.
alan_d
Well-known member
The print is a bit small for my eyes, but I can read the top and bottom lines so I think I've got the gist of it - if you want to check that your radio works, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
Bru
Well-known member
FishyInverness
New member
Ok, I get that you don't agree - but i'm kayaking Solo - if I get into any trouble my VHF is there, to call the coastguard, so I want to make sure the coastguard can hear me, that's surely logical, right?
What I do currently is call Aberdeen coastguard, after 10 seconds they tend to reply, I ask them to confirm my signal, they are usually very enthusiastic and happy to do so - end. But this leaflet says "Oooooh, don't do that" - I suspect if I made a generic call on 16 without addresing coastguard the silence i'd get back would be disconcerting..anyway, what's the protocol, do I make an "all stations" call to make a radio check? Sounds overkill!
Again the response of "learn DSC" is not the global panacea - a lot of small craft will not use fixed VHF because of space or lack of onboard electricity. A handheld then suffices - *most* handheld VHF do not have DSC.
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lustyd
Well-known member
Simple answer, call the coast guard, ask for a channel, once on that channel tell them you missed the weather broadcast and would they mind repeating it please. CG will then read you the weather and as a by product will verify signals. I'm sure there are many other good reasons to call them for a chat, and outside the solent they are almost certainly bored anyway
awol
Well-known member
As a kayaker of some note prior to his sailing career Blondie Haslar, when asked about safety and the need to carry a radio transmitter, merely replied "It would be more seemly to drown like a gentleman."
FishyInverness
New member
Sadly, of all the things I am, a gentleman isn't one of them...i'll scream and make a big fuss instead!
lusty, thanks for that, I like the idea, plus it has practical use for keeping me updated of potential weather change (over and above my weather app!
)
Fantasie 19
Well-known member
Barnacle Bill
Active member
I've yet to come across anyone who does use DSC regularly, or maintain a list of MMSIs - the Ch 16 congestion problem caused by people calling up their mates at the weekend seems to have been overcome by the mobile phone.
maby
Well-known member
I use DSC whenever possible and have the MMSIs of all friends and local coast guard stations programmed in. When we chose the electronics for the new boat, I selected a radio with a full numeric keypad so that I can make an ad-hoc DSC call in pretty much the same way you can dial a phone number.