Should all my VHF channels work?

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Polly1

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I have a Cobra VHF radio mounted in the boat and a hand held set, they are both quite new.
Yesterday I tried communicating from one radio to the other. It worked on some channels but not on others.
I didnt try them all out but channels 6,7,8,9,10 worked and 3,4,5,7 didnt.
I havent checked if I can receive from other sources on those channels yet.
Any ideas
Cheers
Guy
 
May I suggest a course is your next step? Not all of the channels are allowed to be used and the fact you don't know that means you are not legally allowed to operate the equipment unless on channel 16 in an emergency.
Cheers
Dave
 
I should add, a course is probably less expensive than you think, look on the ray website for further details.
 
Polly1 said:
I have a Cobra VHF radio mounted in the boat and a hand held set, they are both quite new.
Yesterday I tried communicating from one radio to the other. It worked on some channels but not on others.
I didnt try them all out but channels 6,7,8,9,10 worked and 3,4,5,7 didnt.
I havent checked if I can receive from other sources on those channels yet.
Any ideas
Cheers
Guy
Click to expand...

6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 are all simplex channels - transmit and receive are the same frequency.

But 3, 4, 5 and 7 are duplex channels - ship to shore is one frequency, and shore to ship is another. So you won't be able to communicate between two ships radios.

But you really do need the course (about £50) or at the very least read the RYA book. To be legal you should have the course & user certificate/licence.

Hope that helps
 
Ok
Bit embarrassed now!

In my defence I did just press the transmit button once to test for a click or hiss.
I also see that I have listed channel 7 twice.
I did do a course but it was some years ago and I havent used the radio and have forgotten.
Whilst I shall refrain from further testing I am still curious as to why those channels gave no response.
 
Sorry didn't mean to embarrass you. When you do the testing, even that click and hiss is enough to block real communications so you should be careful.

Seem of the channels are duplex and your radio can't receive them. This is covered on the course which I recommend you take again. The fact you have done it means you may technically be legal but at the least a quick read of a VHF procedure book will help.
Cheers
Dave
 
For your information.

Some channels use a single frequency . Your two radios can communicate with each other as both transmit and receive on the same frequency

Others use two frequencies. The ships radio transmits on one frequency and the shore station on another. Two ships radios cannot communicate with each other on these channels.

You should learn all this on the course but I recommend you get the RYA booklet G22

Or the RYA VHF Handbook G31

The booklet G26 give the course syllabus.

BTW you also need a Ship licence to legally Install the radios on your boat . This can be obtained free on-line from OFCOM
 
Last edited:
I have not done a VHF course either, but plan to do so before I launch my boat later in the year.
I have a handheld unit and a (quite old) fixed unit in the boat. How can I test them?
Might i add I'm also close to an airport if thats relevant as I dont want to affect their transmissions. I'm also about as far from the sea as you can get in England!

I'm trying to get everything on the boat tested well before she gets to the sea
 
SteveTibbetts said:
I have a handheld unit and a (quite old) fixed unit in the boat. How can I test them?
Might i add I'm also close to an airport if thats relevant as I dont want to affect their transmissions. I'm also about as far from the sea as you can get in England!
Click to expand...

In theory your marine VHF license doesn't allow you to use the radio on land. In a boatyard before launching might be stretching a point, but in a back garden in the Midlands is definitely out. Also means there's unlikely to be another marine station in range to test with. You will not, however, have any effect on aeroplanes as their band of frequencies is separate.

In practice, I'd suggest leaving someone in the boat, then taking your handheld a mile or so away and have a quick chat on, say, channel 06. The odds of inconveniencing (or even being noticed by) anyone else are pretty minimal.

Pete
 
SteveTibbetts said:
I have not done a VHF course either, but plan to do so before I launch my boat later in the year.
I have a handheld unit and a (quite old) fixed unit in the boat. How can I test them?
Might i add I'm also close to an airport if thats relevant as I dont want to affect their transmissions. I'm also about as far from the sea as you can get in England!

I'm trying to get everything on the boat tested well before she gets to the sea
Click to expand...

If you do as PRV suggests you will have to test using one of the intership channels or one of the other single frequency ( simplex) channels for the reasons already given.
 
SteveTibbetts said:
I have not done a VHF course either, but plan to do so before I launch my boat later in the year.
I have a handheld unit and a (quite old) fixed unit in the boat. How can I test them?
Might i add I'm also close to an airport if thats relevant as I dont want to affect their transmissions. I'm also about as far from the sea as you can get in England!

I'm trying to get everything on the boat tested well before she gets to the sea
Click to expand...

Just for interest the chances of you interfering with aircraft radios are very slim.
Aircraft use the band 108 to 136 megahertz with amplitude modulation.
Ships use a band around 160mhz with frequency modulation so very different. olewill
 
Something Pete alluded to but didn't actually say is that there's no point in testing your fixed unit with a handheld next to it. This usually works even with no working antenna. Walking a mile solves this problem :)
 
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