Momac
Well-known member
I agree. Its one of those things where you get out more if you put some effort in.
VHF Radio licence
- Thread starter Seegull
- Start date
Chiara’s slave
Well-known member
Lusty is dead right. After a 2nd career in networking and IT security, few people really get hacked. It’s done by old fashioned sleight of hand, bribery or blackmail of staff.
diverd
Member
Society in one quote, i dont need to do it, i have no respect for it and both drunk and useless is acceptable. Sadly this is true for every course, every aspect of modern life. And then, when it all goes wrong its someone elses fault.
Thankfully i retired at 50 because of these attitudes in others. When it comes to education, or probably most things , think first why you would not do it, and then why you would do it. Suddenly life becomes so easy. As an example, why would i reef now? I have a cake, its raining, its tricky and i dont want to. In an hour, its way worse, this thing wont reef easily, its not my fault, i always find reefing difficult.
Back to the VHF, we have a boat, we use the radio, we have a simple low cost course to complete to use it with skill and confidence, we gain a certification confirming this, and we comply with the law. I am still yet to hear a compelling arguement for less training and ripping up my VHF cert!
Momac
Well-known member
Pleased its not just me who finds the same although I have manged to keep going and now well past 60. But I do have a retirement plan.
MADRIGAL
Active member
The International Telecommunications Union and the IMO require member countries (eg. UK) to make regulations requiring maritime radio operators to be certified and radios on vessels ("Ship Stations") to be licensed, so regulations most maritime countries are broadly similar .
I agree wholeheartedly with Sticky Fingers' comment that the training for the certificate could save your life some day. It will help make your VHF radio transmissions clear and effective, which will be a benefit to all mariners within range.
Mark-1
Well-known member
If we really care about 'quality' of VHF use I think "use it or lose it" is by far the biggest issue.
Before mobile phones people used VHF all the time, now we all just phone people up. (Despite the grumbling, Channel 16 is really quiet these days. It used to be that on a summer's day in the solent you literally had to wait 15 minutes for a gap to transmit to your own mates.)
In contrast in the last ten years I've barely used my VHF. When I was in a marina with a lock I'd using it going in and going out so that might have been as few as 20 times a year some years. Since then I haven't needed to do even that so I've barely touched it except club dinghy events where I use M1/M2 and use of correct voice protocol is near nonexistent. (In fact by far the most correct users are the juniors who *definitely* don't have a license.)
I "retook" my VHF to get the DSC component 20 years ago and since then I've used the DSC calling feature on one occasion and I certainly had no recollection of doing it on the VHF/DSC course! (Used it it initiate contact with a mate for fun. Tried it. We both thought we'd never do that again.)
In short I bet there are 10x more rusty VHF users than people who don't know how to use it, and I bet 95pc of people haven't used DSC to initiate a call to another boat this past season.
Thinking about it the very worst users of voice protocols/VHF are the military, fisherman and ferries and I'm pretty sure they all have more training and more practice than the rest of us. And they still manage fine.
My 2p's worth.
Before mobile phones people used VHF all the time, now we all just phone people up. (Despite the grumbling, Channel 16 is really quiet these days. It used to be that on a summer's day in the solent you literally had to wait 15 minutes for a gap to transmit to your own mates.)
In contrast in the last ten years I've barely used my VHF. When I was in a marina with a lock I'd using it going in and going out so that might have been as few as 20 times a year some years. Since then I haven't needed to do even that so I've barely touched it except club dinghy events where I use M1/M2 and use of correct voice protocol is near nonexistent. (In fact by far the most correct users are the juniors who *definitely* don't have a license.)
I "retook" my VHF to get the DSC component 20 years ago and since then I've used the DSC calling feature on one occasion and I certainly had no recollection of doing it on the VHF/DSC course! (Used it it initiate contact with a mate for fun. Tried it. We both thought we'd never do that again.)
In short I bet there are 10x more rusty VHF users than people who don't know how to use it, and I bet 95pc of people haven't used DSC to initiate a call to another boat this past season.
Thinking about it the very worst users of voice protocols/VHF are the military, fisherman and ferries and I'm pretty sure they all have more training and more practice than the rest of us. And they still manage fine.
My 2p's worth.
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Bobc
Well-known member
I totally agreeIf we really care about 'quality' of VHF use I think "use it or lose it" is by far the biggest issue.
Before mobile phones people used VHF all the time, now we all just phone people up. (Despite the grumbling, Channel 16 is really quiet these days. It used to be that on a summer's day in the solent you literally had to wait 15 minutes for a gap to transmit to your own mates.)
In contrast in the last ten years I've barely used my VHF. When I was in a marina with a lock I'd using it going in and going out so that might have been as few as 20 times a year some years. Since then I haven't needed to do even that so I've barely touched it except club dinghy events where I use M1/M2 and use of correct voice protocol is near nonexistent. (In fact by far the most correct users are the juniors who *definitely* don't have a license.)
I "retook" my VHF to get the DSC component 20 years ago and since then I've used the DSC calling feature on one occasion and I certainly had no recollection of doing it on the VHF/DSC course! (Used it it initiate contact with a mate for fun. Tried it. We both thought we'd never do that again.)
In short I bet there are 10x more rusty VHF users than people who don't know how to use it, and I bet 95pc of people haven't used DSC to initiate a call to another boat this past season.
Thinking about it the very worst users of voice protocols/VHF are the military, fisherman and ferries and I'm pretty sure they all have more training and more practice than the rest of us. And they still manage fine.
My 2p's worth.
lustyd
Well-known member
Military I find to be pretty good, probably because someone senior might be listening and will correct them. Commercial users I think just become more familiar with it so their main issue is never saying over or out because they can hear when it's their turn anyway. Other than that I rarely hear commercial users doing anything daft.
I've been trying to book an SRC course for my partner for a couple of weeks and (convenient) availability seems to be an issue these days. Not sure what's happened but I remember it used to be fairly easy to find a course on a Saturday around the Solent (we're not nearby!) but now it all seems to be midweek and many centres only offer the course once a month. Perhaps this is a side effect of people no longer bothering to qualify which may well turn into a cycle where the courses become extremely challenging to book after lower and lower uptake which will be partly down to how hard they are to book.
Alicatt
Well-known member
like @Mark-1 above for the locks and bridges you call them up on VHF to get the lock keepers to operate them - mind you they have been on strike this past week or so, lots of barges tied up last week. So VHF is used quite a bit.
Some locks and bridges can be contacted by telephone, the one nearest our haven can be, you are supposed to use VHF to open it but most of us use the GSM and call the security officer at the bridge and he opens it, that, however, is not recorded on the waterway register, I know I have been through it few times but they are not registered on the database as I used my mobile to get them to open it and only the VHF to the Vlaams Waterweg count.
Some locks and bridges can be contacted by telephone, the one nearest our haven can be, you are supposed to use VHF to open it but most of us use the GSM and call the security officer at the bridge and he opens it, that, however, is not recorded on the waterway register, I know I have been through it few times but they are not registered on the database as I used my mobile to get them to open it and only the VHF to the Vlaams Waterweg count.
finestgreen
Active member
I did mine with Solent Boat Training and they were good
lustyd
Well-known member
And they only run them on Wednesdays, which was entirely the problem I was describing. I don't live in Southampton or near Southampton, and I work on Wednesdays. We want to use our very limited holiday allowance to go sailing so we can call people on the VHF and do radio checks like the cool kids
finestgreen
Active member
One on their calendar for Sunday Jan 21st?And they only run them on Wednesdays, which was entirely the problem I was describing. I don't live in Southampton or near Southampton, and I work on Wednesdays. We want to use our very limited holiday allowance to go sailing so we can call people on the VHF and do radio checks like the cool kids
Mark-1
Well-known member
It *might* be sunny with a decent breeze on Jan 21st . Heck of a risk to commit to something.
justanothersailboat
Well-known member
That took a bizarre turn... nobody ever suggested that doing the test sincerely had no use... only that in practice it was a very weak guarantee of basic competence. RYA training seems quite hit and miss. My radio course was pretty good, taught by a nice guy but a bit rote and some errors in minor details. He passed me despite my being rubbish at the radio alphabet, but that's minor and I learned later... and haven't used it on the radio yet (I'd feel like a right charlie lima oscar whisky november, to be honest). I've been on a different RYA short course that was appalling. I don't think there's much corrective mechanism if a course or examiner is passing students who maybe shouldn't, or missing something out.
Mark-1 is dead right. There are a lot of people in circumstances where they can manage most communications just fine with a phone. I wonder if that's why we get the annoyingly high proportion of radio checks. How many people make more radio checks than actual communications?
Mark-1 is dead right. There are a lot of people in circumstances where they can manage most communications just fine with a phone. I wonder if that's why we get the annoyingly high proportion of radio checks. How many people make more radio checks than actual communications?
lustyd
Well-known member
As with others I spent some time in a marina with lock gates, and for VHF purposes I think this should be mandatory! Being forced to use the radio twice on every trip really takes away that nervousness of using it, and also removes the initial fear of "getting it wrong" after the course tells you the "very strict" protocols of use. In reality if you stop talking without saying over the other person will still start speaking back because they knew you had finished. The telephone voice syndrome disappears after a while too - you can usually tell new users as they sound artificially posh in a kind of "Solent Coastguard the Bouquet residence speaking" way
If you get the phonetic alphabet wrong it will still work. Clown Lady Owes Wendy Nandos is just as effective, it's just not the standard. The standard exists partly to be unambiguous, but mainly so people don't have to sit there thinking of words.
Bilgediver
Well-known member
Before Ofcom there was a radio regularity department and we often saw their local representative walking around the marina noting the details of all boats with a VHF antenna, Apparently records were checked and owners contacted where no licence details found.. The same chap dealt with television interference complaints. He was never seen again once Ofcom came on the scene.
Mark-1
Well-known member
That's an installation license. Those are currently free, available online and easy to check. I suspect very few people skimp on those.
Presumably the OP is asking about operator's licenses.
TwoFish
Active member
I believe the 16 minimum age requirement applies to the SRC certificate assessment, not the course that precedes that. When I did the course (@Solent Boat Training), one of the other course particpants was a young lad. He was too young to be allowed to take the assessment, but his father (also on the course) had brought him along on the very sensible grounds that he wanted his lad to be capable of using the radio effectively in an emergency situation.
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Mark-1
Well-known member
Yes, I was refering to the license, not learning how to use a VHF.
As you say you can use a VHF at any age (as long as you stick to the channels that don't require an operators license or have supervision) and learn whatever you want at any age, but you can only get a license in the UK at 16.
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MADRIGAL
Active member
And in the BVI.
