VHF: what gets on your nerves?

[Poignard]

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Another thing is people who say "Nothing heard"


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As far as I can remember, it is correct radio procedure if you call another station and hear no reply.


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Ok fairy nuff.


[Still don't like it though!]

 

[fireball]

Ah come on..... the odd "Nothing Heard" call is no where near as bad as calling the marinas on Chl 16 ... or calling PS or Chi Marina on 16 for a Lock in ... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Major Catastrophe]

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Quote:
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Another thing is people who say "Nothing heard"


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As far as I can remember, it is correct radio procedure if you call another station and hear no reply.


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Ok fairy nuff.


[Still don't like it though!]

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There is always a reason for these things.

Let's say that you want to call someone, but before you do someone else makes a call to a particular station and just because you cannot hear a reply, that does not mean he is not getting one. To clear the air and to let everyone know he is abandoning his call, he says 'nothing heard, Out.'

The idea of radio procedure is to stop people making calls over the top of other peoples calls and just because you can't hear both sides of the transmission, doesn't mean that your call won't cut into their transmission - radio waves act in a very unpredictable manner.

By using Over, you are indicationg that your call has not finished and that you expect a reply. Out, tells everyone that you have completed your call and that the channel is free.

Many of you complain that there is constant chatter down in the Solent boat park. If you all used formal radio procedure - as taught on your VHF course, albeit inadequately - then there would be room for everybody to make and receive calls.

Wilco means that you 'will comply' and is a very important word when coastguards are dealing with frightened people and want them to understand and carry out an instruction.

Roger, is a simple way of saying 'I understand' and is very useful for passing on and receiving long and complicated instructions. This is done by the issuing station pausing part way through a long message and saying, "Roger so far?" The correct reply is to repeat, "Roger so far" which tells the control station that you understand the message.

The whole point of the correct use of radio procedure is that when the shlt hits the fan and there is a major emergency involving numerous rescue agencies and ordinary boaters and it is blowing a hoolie and people are in danger some discipline is brought to the airwaves. If you don't practice radio procedure on a warm sunny day, then how are you going to use it when the chips are down?

Call me old fashion (I prefer to call it well trained) but please don't mock me for wanting to guarantee that when I am in danger I can communicate and understand instructions from a remote station.

As to 'Professionals' not using correct procedure and cutting corners, that is the sort of thing that comes out in the enquiry after people have lost their lives and is a serious breach of standing instructions. If that happens, then they should be prosecuted. Cutting corners is no excuse and routine practice hones the skills for when they are really needed.

I have been in situations many many times when the use of correct radio procedure has a calming effect on all the people involved in an incident.

 

[Sixpence]

I was tempted to make light of your comment Chris , but no , I think that is about the best write up I've seen on why R/T procedures are important . Well said

 

[john_morris_uk]

[ QUOTE ]
Spell boat name: Willie Arthur Nero Kilo Everett Roger

[/ QUOTE ] I would have thought the more interesting question would be Arthur, Willie, Roger Everett?

On a connected note, there used to be a mock phonetic alphabet that started 'A' is for 'orses - and I can't remember any of the rest, but I suppose 'C' is for sailing on might be another?

 

[gandy]

[ QUOTE ]
Roger, is a simple way of saying 'I understand' and is very+ useful for passing on and receiving long and complicated instructions. This is done by the issuing station pausing part way through a long message and saying, "Roger so far?" The correct reply is to repeat, "Roger so far" which tells the control station that you understand the message.

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But rightly or wrongly "Roger" is not included in the VHF operators training. In fact our instructor explicitly said that it shouldn't be used, so no definition of its meaning or usage could be given. So when you do hear it, you don't actually know what the guy means. I have heard it used with at least three different meanings ...

(1) Instead of "Yes", in answer to a question
(2) To confirm a piece of information (rather than reading back, which I'd prefer)
(3) To express agreement with a suggestion or instruction.

Personally I'd rather avoid phraseology borrowed from different disciplines.

To give another example, "Standby" has a different meaning in aviation to the meaning given by Duncan in this thread.

 

[whipper_snapper]

My favorite is when dreadful procedure means that 2 boats fail to meet on a working channel. On ch16, one calls for a working channel, but the other doesn't acknowledge, so no-one knows what is happening. This is usually followed 5 minutes later by another attempt on 16 which includes extended discussions about who was waiting for who on which channel. Thus the capacity of ch16 is squandered.

 

[Koeketiene]

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On a connected note, there used to be a mock phonetic alphabet that started 'A' is for 'orses - and I can't remember any of the rest, but I suppose 'C' is for sailing on might be another?

[/ QUOTE ]

The person on the desk next to be can't get her head round the phonetic alphabet at all. A while ago she printed it out, had it laminated and put it next to her phone.

Every so often I print out a new one and change just one letter.

So far, we've got:

X: X-box
L: Limmo
O: Omega
C: Cat

 

[peterb26]

Minor one - but now I come to think of it - calling Solent on Ch16 for a radio check.

If I had a tenner for every time I had heard one of the Ops Room staff say "Call Solent Coastguard on Ch67 for Radio Checks" - I'd have a boat 10 feet longer.........

 

[Major Catastrophe]

Roger is an afirmative comfirmation answer and is used because it is unambiguous and can be heard over a poor signal. There is nothing wrong with saying 'yes'.

I thought I would look up "Radio Procedure" on the interweb and came up with this site.

Searching for 'Roger' I found this:

<span style="color:blue"> Humber Coastguard would reply: -

RIB EMILY THIS IS HUMBER COASTGUARD,
MESSAGE RECEIVED; CALL US ON YOUR RETURN TO AMBLE.
- OVER.

You would then reply with: -

HUMBER COASTGUARD THIS IS RIB EMILY, ROGER - OUT. </span>

Of course the correct reply should have been "Wilco - Out." but nevertheless, 'Roger' still conveys an understandable meaning.

To lighten up this thread, I will recount an anecdote.

Many years ago I was on a dreadfully boring exercise in Germany. In the early hours of the morning the battalion net crackled into life.

"Are there any friendly bears out there?"

After a pause, a reply was heard. "I'm a friendly bear."

After about five minutes the radio crackled again. "I'm also a friendly bear."

The first voice came back. "Do all the friendly bears want to meet for a picnic?"

The next transmission was a two minute tirade by the regimental signals officer castigating the offenders and reminding all that 'other ears' were listening and that any lack of discipline on the net would be met with dire punishments.

At least three minutes elapsed and the radio came to life once more.

"You're not a friendly bear, are you?"

I was that RSO and I couldn't reply as I was laughing too much.

 

[Dave_Snelson]

I just say "out" on channel X

But last year between Abersoch and Pwllheli there was this annoying bint on Ch16 calling for some boat or other from her boat, called "Fun To Fondle". All you could here for an entire day was this girl calling for her mate from Fun To Fondle.

Anyway, I made an assumption (wrong!) that FTF was some inexperienced stink-potter out on the pose, coz generally you yottie types are better on the VHF than us stinkies (runs for cover!). We pitched up at Llanbedrog for lunch, only to be followed in by a reasonable sized Beneteau called Fun To Fondle...

In summary, clutter and chatter on 16 is annoying.

 

[Hugh Foulis]

Sorry for the thread drift, these are the few I remember
A for 'orses
B for lamb
c for ships
d for dumb
e fer stinks
f fer vesence
g for a fag
h
I for Novello
j for van
k for potassium
L for leather
m fer sis
n
o fer the top
p for relief
q for a bus
r fer askey
s
t fer two
u fer mism
v for engine
w
x
y for girlfriend
z
Ivor Novello, Arthur Askey and J 4 van sadly show my age!!

HF

 

[Twister_Ken]

Friendly Bears

Thanks, Major Catastrophe. Loved it!

 

[LadyInBed]

The proword Wilco was replaced with Roger quite some time back.
Around about when the Phonetic Alphabet was changed from Able Baker Charlie Dog etc., I think.

 

[Twister_Ken]

I thought Roger Willkoe was an airline pilot until I discovered Smirnoff.

From Airplane (1980).

Roger Murdock: Flight 2-0-9'er, you are cleared for take-off.
Captain Oveur: Roger!
Roger Murdock: Huh?
Tower voice: L.A. departure frequency, 123 point 9'er.
Captain Oveur: Roger!
Roger Murdock: Huh?
Victor Basta: Request vector, over.
Captain Oveur: What?
Tower voice: Flight 2-0-9'er cleared for vector 324.
Roger Murdock: We have clearance, Clarence.
Captain Oveur: Roger, Roger. What's our vector, Victor?
Tower voice: Tower's radio clearance, over!
Captain Oveur: That's Clarence Oveur. Over.
Tower voice: Over.
Captain Oveur: Roger.
Roger Murdock: Huh?
Tower voice: Roger, over!
Roger Murdock: What?
Captain Oveur: Huh?
Victor Basta: Who?

 

[Major Catastrophe]

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I once sent:

"I've rolled the Rover over, Over."

While standing next to an inverted 1 Tonne Land Rover.

 

[Sans Bateau]

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rant]

For me it's people saying: Over and out.
I know they use the phrase in Yank movies, but that does not make it right.

Over = talk to me
Out = done talking now, shut up

You can't say "talk to me and shut up"

[/rant ]

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Makes me chuckle the radio operator whos says, something like:

"Yacht Spindrift, yacht Spindrift, this is Sand Piper, calling, do you read me?"

OR

"Yacht Spindrift, yacht Spindrift, this is Sand Piper, calling, come in please"

Always makes me think of some old 1950's B/W film! "Operation afterdark this is London calling"!!!!

 

[Dyflin]

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Slight side issue, but can anyone point to a definitive document on marine RT phraseology?

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Have a look here:
http://www.imo.org/Safety/mainframe.asp?topic_id=357

 

[Twister_Ken]

Thicko, Thicko, Thicko, this is Tosspot, Tosspot, Tosspot, on Channel 16. Over

That's just in case Thicko doesn't know what Channel his set it set to.

 

[Sans Bateau]

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Thicko, Thicko, Thicko, this is Tosspot, Tosspot, Tosspot, on Channel 16. Over

That's just in case Thicko doesn't know what Channel his set it set to.

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Dual watch?