vhf MMSI number

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You could try checking the boat name through the MARS Database

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well thats good - I am actrually in there whoooohooooo and the details are correct - cheers!! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 
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I've just bought a (second-hand) boat with a fixed DSC VHF radio. Unfortunately I can't make any calls since it appears that I need an MMSI ( Maritime Mobile Service Identifier) number for it to operate. Previously I've used a handheld radio and so I don't know what I need to do to get this number. Can anyone advise me? Thanks

[/ QUOTE ]The radio will work perfectly without using DSC! You only need the MMSI for DSC calls which nobody uses for "routine" calls anyway. Its main function is for distress calls and really only of use if conntected to a GPS for a fix to be transmitted with the call.

If the vessel has a ships license you can ascertain the MMSI no and retain it. If you do not have a ships license, you can apply for one and then program the issed MMSI no into the set using the setup menu. Some sets have a limit of 2 or 3 times to program an MMSI no and if that is exceeded you will either need to bring the set to a dealer or manufacture for reset.
 
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You only need the MMSI for DSC calls which nobody uses for "routine" calls anyway

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actually it's really useful during a Mayday Selonce period - assuming you know the vessel you are calling of course. Especialy on the South Coast where 16 is closed down across a vast area by Solent CG!
 
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You only need the MMSI for DSC calls which nobody uses for "routine" calls anyway. Its main function is for distress calls and really only of use if conntected to a GPS for a fix to be transmitted with the call.

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I certainly agree that at the moment DSC is only used by most people for mayday/pan pan/securite messages but if I understand it correctly then DSC should be used for much more than just that.

It is a great way to contact another vessel for routine traffic. If you know their MMSI then it is as good as a phone call because it sets off their DSC alarm and if they are on decks and are out of good ear-shot of the radio then it bleeps at them and they know they are being called. It also automatically switches both radios to the selected working channel.

Also, the preferred method of contacting the coastguard for routine traffic is via DSC as it keeps CH16 clear for non-DSC calling and more importantly, clear for emergency traffic.

Does anyone use DSC regularly? Does anyone call the coastguard on DSC?

I am going to try to use DSC for all coastguard calls in future. I will let you all know how it goes /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Yes I'd agree with that, but then again DSC uses 1970s analog technology which is rather backward given modern digital comms. Coastal cruising I tend to contact other vessels using mobile phone rather than ch16 calls, unless we are crusing in company on a working channel (eg ch72). Good point about DSC during seelonce, but then again mobile phone is much better on coastal runs for private ship to ship chats and logistical arrangements. I do however always advocate use of VHF for distress, urgency and securatee calls rather than phones for obvious reasons (eg: open audience of other nearby vessels, hoaming, location, direct CG contact, etc).
 
I actualy do you it for general chit chats to my "buddies" - it avoids using ch16 and blocking that channel when calling them up as already said its like a telephone call - select their name from the contact list and hey presto - their set rings and sets both channes to the preferred channel automatically - very useful also on Navman sets if hooked up to a Navman chartplotter it can actually pinpoint your "buddie" on the chart - bit like AIS - quite nifty indeed
 
Arny - calling the Coastguard on DSC is fine, but their systems dont make it easy for the watch officers.

For instance, they receive your DSC call, position etc etc - but then have to use a secondary electronic means (ITU, CG66 etc) to find out your boat name and other details.

I guess that in time, DSC will be integrated into their systems so that its all dealt with in the one electronic signal, but presently it doesnt do that.
 
Sure I get that. My main groan about DSC is it can only initiate a call, once initiated, it is voice over a very limited no of analog channels. I would have thought by 2007 we would have a modern digital comms system using compression and multiplexing to allow quality voice and text transmissions over hundreds of virtual channels using the same VHF bandwidth. Basically the technology behind DSC is nearly 20 years out of date. Aviation is planning to go the digital comms route using text over digital for ATC, rather than voice in busy terminal areas where PTT over other aircraft transmissions is a pain not to mention a growing safety issue (eg contributed to Pan Am/KLM 747 runway disaster many years ago). Marine VHF as we know it is such ancient technology, at least for the moment DSC hooked upto GPS has been a safety improvement, especially for unskilled VHF operatores and crew who can just hit that red button quickly in an emergency.
 
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Arny - calling the Coastguard on DSC is fine, but their systems dont make it easy for the watch officers.

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Yes... I have heard that before... but when I called up the MCA helpline this morning to ask which they would prefer I use... DSC or a non-DSC call on CH16, the guy was very clear - they wanted and preferred us to use DSC.

I am sure that if enough of us used DSC that they would streamline their procedures to make it easier for them but you are right, at the moment, when most people are not using DSC, they are more geared up for CH16 calls.

If people fancy using DSC to contact the coastguard then we should go ahead... they seem to want us to use it /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.
 
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Aviation is planning to go the digital comms route using text over digital for ATC, rather than voice in busy terminal areas where PTT over other aircraft transmissions is a pain not to mention a growing safety issue (eg contributed to Pan Am/KLM 747 runway disaster many years ago).

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As a pilot I have always been amazed at how antiquated and simple the marine VHF system is. Aviation has had 25khz channel spacing for many years now allowing for a huge number of channels.

However, there are some fundamental differences in how these channels are used between marine and aviation that make a direct comparison difficult.

I am certain that the marine system could be significantly improved and I am a little disappointed that at the time of the switchover to DSC it wasn't completely overhauled. Instead, DSC seems to have been "shoehorned" into the existing system (using CH70 as a dedicated data channel) but we are still left with the existing channels and existing system.
 
It's amazing how a little bureaucrat sitting in a Whitehall office can make life so complicated, at the same time guaranteeing his job for life... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
Hurricane said:
If anyone is interested, I have the details to program a different MMSI into a Simrad Shipmate RS8400 (an early DSC set that was popular in a lot of flybridge boats) - involves setting a jumper inside the set.
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Hey i know this is old but can you still remember how to do this i have rs8300 that has a different boats number in it
I tried pming you but i doest seem to let me
Any help would be amazing
 
My tuppence worth .. you need to pursue sorting out whether the boat already has an MMSI number rather than going ahead and applying for a new one. I don't know how Ofcom works as to whether they would pick up the fact that the boat already had an MMSI number when you r]try for a new one (presuming you use the same name).. otherwise there's a danger you'll end up with 2 MMSI numbers attached to the boat although how much of a problem that would be I have no idea.
Use MARS as mentioned above and track it down that way. I did on my boat then contacted Ofcom and they swapped it over to me .. very helpful.
Incidentally, it is technically more than a day's course.. most centres get round that by having you do some reading before you get there.
No excuse for not having a ship or transportable licence as they're free. Getting a transportable licence for a handheld gives more flexibility as it allows use on vessels other than your own under its ships licence.
Apologies for the proverbial teaching granny to suck eggs etc etc:)
 
Hurricane said:
If anyone is interested, I have the details to program a different MMSI into a Simrad Shipmate RS8400 (an early DSC set that was popular in a lot of flybridge boats) - involves setting a jumper inside the set.
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Hi. Long long time ago …….

Just striped out my Ben from Y2K. Got a Shipmate RS8400 set up looking to Sell

Is this info still available please

Cheers
Andy
 
AMOREST said:
Hi. Long long time ago …….

Just striped out my Ben from Y2K. Got a Shipmate RS8400 set up looking to Sell

Is this info still available please

Cheers
Andy
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Sorry - I've just looked - that was a long time ago.
IIRC they were only scribbled notes on a scrap of paper.
I suggest that you look closely at the DSC Controller - remove the covers and look for a jumper.
Set the jumper and power it up again.
Then hope!!
 
AMOREST said:
Hi. Long long time ago …….

Just striped out my Ben from Y2K. Got a Shipmate RS8400 set up looking to Sell

Is this info still available please

Cheers
Andy
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I recently sold a Standard Horizon hand held and needed to clear the MMSI.
Dependent on the version number it’s either a back to factory job or fill in a website form. It took 2 weeks for SH to come back with a code but straightforward after that.
Maybe Simrad can do the same
 
Micky said:
The way i understand it is, and i might be wrong, so someone else may give a better understanding of it.

An MMSI number is allocated to one person only and who has passed the necessary Maritime Radio Operators course and obtained the required certificate, which will show a certificate number. Everyone that requires an MMSI number has to sit this one day easy to pass course.

You then apply to OFcom for a licence, which will eventually issue you with an MMSI number.
They will only contact you at your home address, but first you need to register on the OFcom site and give them your details.

Once you receive your MMSI number, you then enter it into your radio, that's providing someone has not already entered their MMSI number into it.
IF they have, you will need to get the radio decoded, because you can't put a new MMSI number into an old radio.

Your allocated MMSI number is unique to the owner/you at the time of it's issue. It's yours, you keep it forever, until you either surrender it, or OFcom takes it off you.
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That's not right. I recently fitted and MMSI and didn't need any licence details. Just a simple on-line process.
 
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