colind3782
Well-Known Member
I've got a secondhand SH HX851E handheld and I was hoping that I could use the existing MMSI but Ofcom have issued a new one. Does anyone know a hack to change it without returning it to the dealer for £30+!?
SH HX851E MMSI change?
- Thread starter colind3782
- Start date
bert49uk
Well-Known Member
i think SH give you two chances to input MMSI have you tried to change it
Stork_III
Well-Known Member
Manual says "one " input only then factory reset required.
elton
Well-Known Member
The MMSI goes with the boat, not the radio.
maby
Well-Known Member
Can't you get an MMSI issued on a portable radio licence? I was going to check, but I've forgotten my login to the OFCOM web site - have it written down somewhere...
elton
Well-Known Member
Actually I could be completely wrong
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/ra/publication/press/2001/15mar01.htm
Hand held VHF DSC FAQs: http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/radiocommunication-licences/ships-radio/faq/vhf-faq/
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Stork_III
Well-Known Member
H/H DSC radios have their own MMSI number. Anyway OP says Ofcom have issued new number.
maby
Well-Known Member
Actually I could be completely wrong
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/ra/publication/press/2001/15mar01.htm
Hand held VHF DSC FAQs: http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/radiocommunication-licences/ships-radio/faq/vhf-faq/
Which then goes on to show that the MMSI can stay with the radio when it is sold :
"What if I sell my radio?
You must surrender your Ship Portable Radio Licence. Until you do, we cannot transfer the MMSI to the new owner. If the new owner makes a DSC distress call, the MCA will always respond but it may affect their efficiency if they dont have the correct contact details. "
So, the correct answer to the original question is that it is not necessary to erase the MMSI, as it the case when you take out a new Ship's Radio Licence, you should be able to specify the programmed MMSI number provided the previous owner has cancelled their licence. The OP should surrender the licence he has just taken out, then request a new one specifying the current MMSI.
colind3782
Well-Known Member
I'll try to make the question clearer. The radio came with an MMSI but I was obviously too slow in getting it re-registered in my name after the seller had cancelled it. Ofcom must have re-allocated the existing number to someone else so they have issued a new number and the only way I can change it is to send it back to the SH dealer for £32 plus postage.
Unless, of course, someone knows the hack to change it myself.
Unless, of course, someone knows the hack to change it myself.
maby
Well-Known Member
See my previous post - the OP should have specified the current MMSI on his licence application.
maby
Well-Known Member
I'll try to make the question clearer. The radio came with an MMSI but I was obviously too slow in getting it re-registered in my name after the seller had cancelled it. Ofcom must have re-allocated the existing number to someone else so they have issued a new number and the only way I can change it is to send it back to the SH dealer for £32 plus postage.
Unless, of course, someone knows the hack to change it myself.
Hmmm, strange - I thought they waited quite a long time before recycling MMSIs - oh well... Assuming, of course, that it was programmed with an officially issued MMSI - I have heard of people programming in the MMSI that was issued to the boat on which it is used. Of course you are not supposed to do it, but you are unlikely to get caught out...
prv
Well-Known Member
Are you sure the seller did cancel it? Perhaps you can't claim the number because they still have it, not because it's already been reassigned.
Since, notwithstanding Ofcom's practical advice above, the MMSI is logically an identifier for the boat and not the radio, if I bought a new radio and sold the old one I wouldn't cancel my license, I'd put my existing MMSI in my shiny new radio. I did exactly that back in the spring.
Pete
maby
Well-Known Member
The situation has got a bit muddied since they started to permit DSC handies - the licence for them goes with the person, not the boat.
prv
Well-Known Member
Yep, and it's so confused that such Ofcom licenses are valid in UK only - the international radio geeks' club hasn't figured out how to handle them yet.
Pete
mlines
Well-Known Member
I would contact standard horizon in the UK directly. I have always found them more than helpful. The service I have received from them has ensured my loyalty as a customer.
colind3782
Well-Known Member
l'escargot
Well-Known Member
Or does the licence (as in the MMSI number) stay with the radio, be it a handheld or one fixed in a boat?
maby
Well-Known Member
The licence never goes with the radio or boat - it is always in the name of a person. If you sell your boat, you are required to cancel the Ship's Radio Licence and if you sell your handie, you should cancel the portable licence. The new owner of the boat or handie should take out a new licence and there is provision on the application form to specify the MMSI if the radio in question has already been programmed.
This has always worked well until DSC handies came along - I guess people had got into the habit of not bothering to cancel the licence on a handie when they replaced it because it was impossible to distinguish between from the licencing point of view. That's not true any more for a DSC handie. There are probably others who just misunderstand the rules - for a long time I believed that it was permissible to use the same MMSI in both the ship's fixed radio and the handie.
l'escargot
Well-Known Member
That's why I did qualified it "as in the MMSI number". It stays with the handheld radio and does not need changing. In effect you change the name on the licence and all the radio details stay the same.
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colind3782
Well-Known Member
I eventually got hold of someone sensible at Ofcom today who sorted it out manually for me. Apparently, because hand held DSC radios are fairly new, their website isn't really set up for it and it gets confused by the nuances of transferring MMSIs etc.