Stop Radio Checks

[Derek ide]

Why in the Solent and South Coast is there a plague of yachtsmen who find it necessary to call for a radio check every time they go out on their yacht?
You almost never hear professionals asking for such a check unless it is on newly installed equipment.
French yachtsmen have not been afflicted by this habit. In the Solent it only needs one boat to request a check and a succession of calls are made.
Can we please persuade all our boating friends and acquaintances to call a marina or a friend if they really doubt if their radio is working.
The National Coastwatch Institution on Ch 65 will respond if you really must make a call.

I no longer routinely monitor Ch 16 or 67 because of the constant demands for radio checks.

 

[wonkywinch]

I thought of starting a name & shame thread here as it is very distracting for the CG. I heard one a few seconds after a "Mayday Silencee" call from the CG last week proving the operator just switched on and pressed the button without listening out first. I guess the habit must stem from old habits and/or RYA courses when you had to check if the valves had warmed up and hadn't gone microphonic.

Unless you switch to low power and call a distant station, you're not really checking anything as 25 watts down a wet piece of string will be received by Solent CG's antenna a quarter of a mile away.

Any aviator will be familiar with the "guard police" and I'm surprised the radio checkers aren't corrected by others.

 

[Sandy]

Why in the Solent and South Coast is there a plague of yachtsmen who find it necessary to call for a radio check every time they go out on their yacht?
You almost never hear professionals asking for such a check unless it is on newly installed equipment.
French yachtsmen have not been afflicted by this habit. In the Solent it only needs one boat to request a check and a succession of calls are made.
Can we please persuade all our boating friends and acquaintances to call a marina or a friend if they really doubt if their radio is working.
The National Coastwatch Institution on Ch 65 will respond if you really must make a call.

I no longer routinely monitor Ch 16 or 67 because of the constant demands for radio checks.

Oh thanks! If I put out a MAYDAY you won't hear it yet might be only 10 minutes away.

I strongly suspect that UK radio practice started in the military where a radio check is routinely done, after all if you are being shot at then knowing that you can call for help is useful, and this has past into maritime leisure practice.

Calling the marina while in the marina is a complete waste of time and effort as you are far to close to the receiving station to prove anything.

NCI are the go to place to go for a radio check, but are only open during daylight hours, not ideal if you are leaving at 0300 UTC to cross to France.

I really do feel I must do a radio check, I use the lovely people at NCI Rame Head when they are operational - they enjoy a wee chat and will confirm that they can see you on AIS and Radar. Departing Plymouth in that bitter cold snap during December 2022 for Essex we had lots of jokes about long johns. If it is an early morning departure I ask Falmouth CG once I am out of Plymouth Sound. The reason is simple, Sod's Law and having been in a position where lives depend on it, I prefer to know the kit worked when tested.

p.s. I can't even get a mobile signal at the boatyard.

 

[jlavery]

Agree - I do a check once after mast is back in or after something else which might affect antenna/radio installation. Up in Scotland this summer, hardly any radio checks heard (then again, hardly any radio traffic anyway because hardly any yachts compared with the Solent).

Also interesting to hear the different response by the CG. The less well practised sailor making a long-winded "request for a radio check" gets quite a pointed reply. A snappy, professional, short request gets a more professional reply!

 

[dunedin]

You almost never hear professionals asking for such a check unless it is on newly installed equipment.

Actually I have quite often heard the Coastguard themselves doing radio checks - both the Irish stations and Stornoway Coastguard (the latter seem to do a very brief “1,2,34,5,5,4,3,2,1”)
I do agree excessive radio checks are irritating (mostly seem to be charter boat visitors in our waters).
The only thing more so is the MCA preceeding routine announcements with a DSC alert which, at least in our set, sets off a very loud alarm which if unable to leap to the radio to cancel, blocks entirely hearing the actual message.

 

[rotrax]

We regularly use the NCI on 65.

Passing Swanage a week ago I shouted them to say hallo and check our handheld unit.

I also thanked them for their voluntary work on behalf of boaters.

 

[Daydream believer]

The only thing more so is the MCA preceeding routine announcements with a DSC alert which, at least in our set, sets off a very loud alarm which if unable to leap to the radio to cancel, blocks entirely hearing the actual message.

Annoyingly so, if one just ignores it- because one is on deck etc- it changes the channel on the radio. That means one has to go below to put the radio back on 16.
If I can get below in time, my usual response is to turn the radio on & off. I just cannot recall what buttons to press to read the call etc & I would have to change my glasses to read the VHF screen, then bend down to get proper line of sight.
So usual response is-- off/on/ignore, get back on deck before I get sea sick

 

[wombat88]

We keep our boat in a marina with a lock. To lock out we are instructed to call them up on the radio.

In this simple way the radio is checked before every departure. Simples.

 

[Rappey]

Never requested a radio check, yet my vhf still works ?
If i can hear yachts calling for radio checks then it's highly probable i can also transmit.
Solent cg request people use nci for a radio check and within a minute someone will call the cg for a radio check followed by a "over and out"
I just cant find my ship to ship missile quick enough. !!
Few weeks ago the cg and a broken down boat off cowes were in communication. The cg asked the lady which they were drifting, to which she replied "sideways"
It can be quite entertaining listening in the solent area.

 

[Plum]

Why in the Solent and South Coast is there a plague of yachtsmen who find it necessary to call for a radio check every time they go out on their yacht?
You almost never hear professionals asking for such a check unless it is on newly installed equipment.
French yachtsmen have not been afflicted by this habit. In the Solent it only needs one boat to request a check and a succession of calls are made.
Can we please persuade all our boating friends and acquaintances to call a marina or a friend if they really doubt if their radio is working.
The National Coastwatch Institution on Ch 65 will respond if you really must make a call.

I no longer routinely monitor Ch 16 or 67 because of the constant demands for radio checks.

I completely agree regarding radio checks (although they are very rare here on the east coast) but we should all routinely monitor Ch16 to listen out for each other when needing help and persuade all others to do the same.

 

[Boathook]

Never requested a radio check, yet my vhf still works ?
If i can hear yachts calling for radio checks then it's highly probable i can also transmit.
Solent cg request people use nci for a radio check and within a minute someone will call the cg for a radio check followed by a "over and out"
I just cant find my ship to ship missile quick enough. !!
Few weeks ago the cg and a broken down boat off cowes were in communication. The cg asked the lady which they were drifting, to which she replied "sideways"
It can be quite entertaining listening in the solent area.

My radio was very happy receiving Joberg? radio in Poole Bay but wouldn't transmit more than a mile even on high power. Aerial and wire both badly corroded. New fittings and back to a decent transmit range, so don't rely upon just receiving transmissions.

 

[footsoldier]

It is a peculiarly Solent (and the wider South Coast to a lesser extent) phenomenon, that simply does not occur anywhere else in the world I have visited.

The problem is therefore obviously something unique to the psychological and sociological profile of the Solent boater - I have my own views on that, best not expressed here.

The solution is surely quite simple and lies with the Coastguard who could put a stop to this nonsense in a short space of time. When some pathetic dribbler asks for a radio check, just ignore them. Never respond to them. Simples!

 

[Rappey]

so don't rely upon just receiving transmissions.

I was not suggesting that.
I use a 10mm silver plated coax and plug-in antenna . They are extremely well waterproofed. Im fairly confident i can transmit. If i cant there is always the handheld.

Speaking of solent phenomenon, at the eastern end of the solent i hear a lot of french radio traffic, i hear cherbourg, dover and even falmouth coastguard. Ive also heard the cg helicopter at some crazy distance away. How is this possible ?

 

[Rappey]

The problem is therefore obviously something unique to the psychological and sociological profile of the Solent boater

Haha. Were people many many years ago taught to check their equipment? Old habits die hard?

 

[Boathook]

Speaking of solent phenomenon, at the eastern end of the solent i hear a lot of french radio traffic, i hear cherbourg, dover and even falmouth coastguard. Ive also heard the cg helicopter at some crazy distance away. How is this possible ?

Aerials high up and transmitting a lot more than 25 watts I suspect.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

We keep our boat in a marina with a lock. To lock out we are instructed to call them up on the radio.

In this simple way the radio is checked before every departure. Simples.

In much the same way as our mooring requires us to transit a swing bridge. No VHF, no bridge opening.

 

[boomerangben]

I was not suggesting that.
I use a 10mm silver plated coax and plug-in antenna . They are extremely well waterproofed. Im fairly confident i can transmit. If i cant there is always the handheld.

Speaking of solent phenomenon, at the eastern end of the solent i hear a lot of french radio traffic, i hear cherbourg, dover and even falmouth coastguard. Ive also heard the cg helicopter at some crazy distance away. How is this possible ?

Atmospheric conditions can affect range and high pressure generally means you can hear transmissions from a long way away

 

[laika]

The solent is hardly a place people go for quiet and relaxation. We regularly get entire threads about radio checks and people turning their radios off in protest. Am I the only one who regards this as a trivial annoyance in the grand scheme of things? Easier to ignore than red faced shouty guffawing idiots in xxxl mustos in just about every pub in summer.

Fwiw I tried to do a radio check with nci gosport after rewiring my radio last year. No answer after several tries. Thought it wasn’t working until I got a reply from calshot who’d noted the lack of response from gosport.

 

[doug748]

Haha. Were people many many years ago taught to check their equipment? Old habits die hard?

I don't recall it being taught in days of yore, nor do I remember seeing it recommended in print. It has to some from somewhere Maybe it is learned behaviour from peers, like orcas attacking sailing boats. Baffled really.

 

[Rappey]

75% of englands leisure boats are based in the solent area.
Can't remember where i read that but it was a credible source. Stands to reason there will be a lot of radio traffic.
There is certainly a huge reduction in small boat to small boat communication . Maybe that's down to the mobile phone .