Inland VHF? It could be possible....

[Morat]

It seems that Ofcom are releasing some VHF spectrum and are asking people what they should do with it.

http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/call-for-input/

 

I reckon it is an ideal opportunity to get some VHF channels for public use. Some of them could be use by canal and river users without the restrictions and licensing required for Marine VHF. The equipment could have short, effective antennas like Marine VHF and massively outrange PMR.

 

I realise that not everyone shares my love of radios on the canals and I wouldn't want to make this compulsory but surely it would be great to have some channels that could be used by all parties on the canals - including CaRT, Lock keepers, Volunteers, and of course - us the punters?

 

Anyway, if anyone with any influence thinks this is a good idea, perhaps they might investigate?

[NB Willawaw]

I find it hard to believe that they will release it for free and that they would release it to such a small usage group. Certainly PBR etc is used as a revenue earner.

 

If there are no rules to it or channel discipline, it is likely to end up as a free for all with a comparitively long range of 5-10 miles over land, which takes inane chatter a long way.

 

If you have to use radio on the canals, why not just use the marine band, but do the course and use it properly/responsibly.

 

I have a Sailor 2048 fixed set on the boat, with an Icom portable handheld and an Icom scanning receiver, so I like my radio's too.

 

If I want to chatter, I just use PMR446 where virtually anything goes. If its out of range, I use a mobile phone.

 

Do we really need a dedicated canal band ??

 

I feel that the quickest way to get marine band used on canals is to encourage the marinas to fit it like coastal marinas do.

 

Certainly, I would use it to call them up to check if they have any visitors berths, the pump out is working etc.

 

At our last marina, we were put on the furthest pontoon from the office, which meant a long walk around the basin to find that the office was shut or the guy I wanted was out on a boat somewhere. You can phone them of course, but VHF would be useful in these situations as you go straight through to a marina control person and it saves looking up phone numbers etc.

 

I seem to recall using VHF with the Thames MDL marinas on the non-tidal river ??

 

I flicked through the recent topic on VHF and it occurs to me that AIS would be more useful than VHF, especially these days when we are trying to conserve water at locks and don't know when the next boat will be along. Of course, that's not going to happen, although we might see it becoming compulsory on the tidal Thames. Could be another hurdle to jump over for the humble narrowboater and a way of keeping sewer tubes off PLA waters.

Edited August 1, 2012 by NB Willawaw

[Morat]

It's a consultation, you can ask for whatever you want, including unlicensed use. I hold a technically assigned license, and it costs £70 for two years. I can't imagine it makes Ofcom any money at all.

 

5-10 miles over land is less than most people make with CB.

 

Marine band is highly unrealistic due to the strict rules and licensing - and I don't think we'd want to be interfering with people who are using it.

 

A band for Inland Waterways (licensed or not) would be an opportunity for everyone involved in canals (steerers, crew, lock keepers, CaRT volunteers, marinas, local shops/pubs even) to have a common frequency. Currently this isn't possibly since Marine band is tightly licensed, PMR has a short range, HAM is strictly for non-commercial use and CB isn't popular partly due to the long antennas and bulky(er) handsets required.

Edited August 1, 2012 by Morat

[NB Willawaw]

Nice idea but don't think it will ever happen.

 

Similar ideas have been discussed on here before and there just doesn't seem enough interest amongst inland boaters to make it happen.

 

You have to look at why the boaters who currently have marine VHF licences have them ? why do they bother considering the limited use that it affords on inland waterways ?

Edited August 1, 2012 by NB Willawaw

[Morat]

The difference this time is that there is spectrum available, and ofcom are releasing it.

 

As for the inertia of boat owners - yes I couldn't agree more

[NB Willawaw]

But what do you want to use it for ?

 

Calling shopkeepers up and asking if they have any sausages ? booking a table for dinner at the pub that night ?

 

It's such a sporadic occurence, you can use mobiles for that.

 

Who in those places will want to man a radio in their shop just in case a canal boater calls them ??

 

Chatting to boats ahead and behind you ??

 

As much as I like radio's, I wouldn't really want to be hearing non-stop chatter about this kind of stuff when I'm relaxing on my boat.

 

If I need to call a marina up on the marina channel to ask a question to save a wasted detour into their basin or call a bridge keeper on their channel - fine.

 

I quite like the discipline and structure of marine VHF as it keep senseless and inane chatter off the air (sometimes).

 

I'm not sure that I want to be maintaining a listening watch, with the speaker turned up high so I can hear calls over the engine - that's not what I and a lot of others signed up for and I think this is the main reason radio on canals will never catch on.

 

On salty water boats, you are generally some way away from others, so this only disturbs people onboard your own boat.

 

Just my opinion of course, but most of the boaters I have found who are interested in this sort of stuff like playing with radios generally and they are a very small minority (and it's always men - why is that ??)

Edited August 1, 2012 by NB Willawaw

[nb Innisfree]

It would go the way of CB, seemed such a novelty at the time to actually have two way radios for a small licence fee but it wasn't really practical, what it needed was a system of communication that could reach anywhere with really small handsets. And then we got it in the form of cell phones which makes everything else seem a bit clumsy, I think even Thames lock keepers and the like use them to keep in touch.

[OldGoat]

It would go the way of CB, seemed such a novelty at the time to actually have two way radios for a small licence fee but it wasn't really practical, what it needed was a system of communication that could reach anywhere with really small handsets. And then we got it in the form of cell phones which makes everything else seem a bit clumsy, I think even Thames lock keepers and the like use them to keep in touch.

 

 

I think they are just remotes ucing the lock office as the base.

[howardang]

I agree with Mark . I really can't see the use of VHF taking off on the canals.

 

Cheers

 

Howard

[Morat]

But what do you want to use it for ?

 

Calling shopkeepers up and asking if they have any sausages ? booking a table for dinner at the pub that night ?

 

It's such a sporadic occurence, you can use mobiles for that.

 

Who in those places will want to man a radio in their shop just in case a canal boater calls them ??

 

Chatting to boats ahead and behind you ??

 

As much as I like radio's, I wouldn't really want to be hearing non-stop chatter about this kind of stuff when I'm relaxing on my boat.

 

If I need to call a marina up on the marina channel to ask a question to save a wasted detour into their basin or call a bridge keeper on their channel - fine.

 

I quite like the discipline and structure of marine VHF as it keep senseless and inane chatter off the air (sometimes).

 

I'm not sure that I want to be maintaining a listening watch, with the speaker turned up high so I can hear calls over the engine - that's not what I and a lot of others signed up for and I think this is the main reason radio on canals will never catch on.

 

On salty water boats, you are generally some way away from others, so this only disturbs people onboard your own boat.

 

Just my opinion of course, but most of the boaters I have found who are interested in this sort of stuff like playing with radios generally and they are a very small minority (and it's always men - why is that ??)

 

You're making this far too complicated. I'm NOT proposing a separate set of channels with the same rules as Marine VHF. That is total overkill, and not at all fun. I'm proposing a cheap and effective way to make radio available for everyone on the canals IF they want it. "Maintaining a listening watch" c'mon stop the melodrama. All we need is a compromise between PMR with its nice small handsets and CB with its decent range and oversized antennae.

 

There's no need for anally retentive rules on who can call who when and how. There's no need for legislation to force people to use it and there's no need for Marine VHF with all its licensing and regulation on the vast majority of the inland waterways.

[geoffwales]

I'm all for it

[NB Willawaw]

Without some sort of structure, it will end up like PMR446, only with a much greater range. At the moment, we use PMR446 for locking and as we move through the different areas, most of the users I hear are children playing on it.

 

Radios are either toys for fun or serious boating tools - its hard to be both.

 

Interestingly, talking to boaters who have done the one day course, I think they all, without exception, found it fun to do.

 

If you take the DSC part out, which isn't really useful or relevant on the cut, the rules for marine VHF are pretty simple really - its just about an awareness of how to use a radio efficiently and clearly.

 

Sorry about the "continuous listening watch" bit, but I spent much of my working life doing just that and the expression is ingrained. No melodrama. Its just an expression meaning of course to listen to your radio.