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Hand held radio


Antony

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I know this isn’t a question most of you may not be familiar with as a lot of you have narrow boats and would probably never use one,but does anyone know what the name of the radio you need to go out to sea to keep in touch with the coast guards in case you may need help or suddenly become ill ?

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Marine VHF.

You need an Operators Certificate (licence) and your boat needs a radio licence.

 

If you just have a 'hand-held' radio then the boat does not need a licence as it can be used on any boat.

 

There are new frequency allocations for marine VHF that came into effect in 2017 & more coming in this month so it would be wise to wait and get one of the new ones.

 

There are some changes to the VHF channel numbers if you want to contact the UK Coastguard from September.

As a result of changes to Appendix 18 (Marine VHF) of the Radio Regulations, VHF channels 23, 84 and 86 will no longer be used for either Maritime Safety Information (MSI) or Radio Medical Advice. The channels to use from September 2017 will be VHF 62, 63 and 64. The use of VHF Channel 10 for MSI and pollution control (back up) is unchanged. Mark Lawson from the Maritime & Coastguard Agency said: “Although the change is not happening until September, when it happens the changeover will be absolute and we want to make people aware of this changeover in good time given our commitment to deliver maritime safety and wider support to the maritime community. The exact date of change will be announced as soon as possible. In the meantime, we suggest anyone who uses any type of vessel makes a careful note of these replacement channels so they are ready when it does happen.” Changes to Channels 19, 20, 78, and 79 Marine VHF Usage
Due to the increased need for marine VHF channels for commercial use, a recent ITU World Radio Conference authorised and developed a new channel plan for the following VHF marine radio frequencies. Channels 19, 20, 78, and 79, which were duplex have now been split into 8 simplex channels numbered 1019, 2019, 1020, 2020, 1078, 2078, 1079, and 2079. This new channel plan took effect January 1, 2017.

 

A couple of examples :

Channel 74 as used by C&RT lock-keepers is not affected, but if you are at Sea then channel 16 is no longer monitored by the Coastguard on constant watch.

 

2019 Changes :

 

xx. From 1 January 2019, the channels 24, 84, 25 and 85 may be merged in order to form a unique duplex channel with a bandwidth of 100 kHz in order to operate the VDES terrestrial component described in the most recent version of Recommendation ITU-R M.2092.

y. These channels may be operated as single or duplex frequency channels, subject to coordination with affected administrations.

z. Until 1 January 2019, these channels may be used for possible testing of future AIS applications without causing harmful interference to, or claiming protection from, existing applications and stations operating in the fixed and mobile services.

From 1 January 2019, these channels are each split into two simplex channels. The channels 2027 and 2028 designated as ASM 1 and ASM 2 are used for application specific messages (ASM) as described in the most recent version of Recommendation ITU-R M.2092.

zz. From 1 January 2019, channels 1027, 1028, 87 and 88 are used as single-frequency analogue channels for port operation and ship movement.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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Thanks for you help especially to you Alan De Enfield as once again you have put me in the right direction.I now have a boat license and third party insurance as a result from your advise earlier in December.

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Bear in mind  a handheld vhf has a limited range .

I use a handheld vhf regularly on the River Trent and it has proved to have adequate range for contacting lock keepers . Occasionally my transmission is not well received where the lock keeper is also on a handheld.  

Sea boats  have a fixed vhf which has a greater power output and the antenna can be at greater height , both of which enhance range considerably over a handheld vhf.

 

 

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Thanks MartynG,I will only be going out to sea about half a mile at any time but I want to make sure I am not breaking any laws by not going equipped.

Give us a wave if you ever pass me on the Trent ? 

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1 minute ago, Antony said:

Thanks MartynG,I will only be going out to sea about half a mile at any time but I want to make sure I am not breaking any laws by not going equipped.

Give us a wave if you ever pass me on the Trent ? 

Will certainly give you a wave . We wave at everyone - only the occasional boater doesn't wave back.

 

If going to sea , even half a mile, it would be better to have a vhf and no license to operate it rather than no vhf on board .

Training is available, including the VHF course ,  in the Lincoln area.

http://www.lincsboattraining.com/Lincolnshire_Boat_Training/Prices.html

 

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Using my hand-held I reached the VTS at Spurn Point when I was leaving Hull marina.

It is a combination of the height of both the TX and RX aerial that determines range.

 

You can always use a fixed aerial (at a high point on the boat) and connect it to your hand-held instead of the 'rubber-ducky' aerial.

Just make sure that it is a marine frequency aerial (you cannot just use any old aerial) and tuned (checking the SWR is within tolerance) 

 

On our NB I had a mag-mount aerial (it was an Ex-Taxi aerial tuned to channel 74 Marine band) that plugged into either my fixed set or the hand-held radio.

 

You can see it on this picture.

It could be put away when on the canals and taken out when on the Rivers.

 

 

IMG_20140428_124241.jpg

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2 minutes ago, MartynG said:

Will certainly give you a wave . We wave at everyone - only the occasional boater doesn't wave back.

 

If going to sea , even half a mile, it would be better to have a vhf and no license to operate it rather than no vhf on board .

Training is available, including the VHF course ,  in the Lincoln area.

http://www.lincsboattraining.com/Lincolnshire_Boat_Training/Prices.html

 

It is not good advice to carry a VHF without both a boat licence for the radio and having an operators certificate. Apart from anything else it is illegal, and it is also not sensible. Don't treat the subject lightly.

 

Howard

 

 

 

 

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5 minutes ago, howardang said:

It is not good advice to carry a VHF without both a boat licence for the radio and having an operators certificate. Apart from anything else it is illegal, and it is also not sensible. Don't treat the subject lightly.

It's only a £5,000 fine and/or six months in prison, so nothing too severe ...

 

... or about £140 for the course to get your licence.

  • Greenie 1
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12 minutes ago, howardang said:

It is not good advice to carry a VHF without both a boat licence for the radio and having an operators certificate. Apart from anything else it is illegal, and it is also not sensible. Don't treat the subject lightly.

 

Howard

 

 

 

 

The topic is 'Hand Held Radio' for which you do not need a boat licence.

 

Otherwise I completely agree - get your operators certificate and none of this 10:4 good buddy there is a smokey in the air and the seat cover is sweating. 77's & 88's - out !!!

  • Haha 1
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I  posted the link to the RYA  authorised training  company local to the OP.

 

I do agree the appropriate qualifications should be obtained .

 

However I still say it is better to have a vhf radio than to go to sea with none. 

 

Has anyone ever been fined for not having a vhf operators certificate ? I suspect not.

I also suspect there are a good many people with boats on the inland waterways with a vhf and no operators certificate.

 

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26 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

The topic is 'Hand Held Radio' for which you do not need a boat licence.

 

Otherwise I completely agree - get your operators certificate and none of this 10:4 good buddy there is a smokey in the air and the seat cover is sweating. 77's & 88's - out !!!

Sorry, you are right of course about not needing a licence for the radio if only a hand held vhf is carried,

and he keeps within UK territorial waters, which he said was his intention, but he must have at least a short range certificate.

 

Howard

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by howardang
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4 minutes ago, MartynG said:

I also suspect there are a good many people with boats on the inland waterways with a vhf and no operators certificate.

C&RT lock operators ?

I'm just guessing but I can only assume that C&RT get a 'bulk dispensation' and are supposed to train anyone on their books who uses a radio - if so they don't do a very good job.

 

The "I went out for a curry last night  blah, blah, blah, " that goes on amongst the lockies is renowned.

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26 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Using my hand-held I reached the VTS at Spurn Point when I was leaving Hull marina.

It is a combination of the height of both the TX and RX aerial that determines range.

Which can be a bit hit and miss if the station you are calling is also on a handheld - such as the lock keeper at Hull.

 

1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

C&RT lock operators ?

I'm just guessing but I can only assume that C&RT get a 'bulk dispensation' and are supposed to train anyone on their books who uses a radio - if so they don't do a very good job.

 

The "I went out for a curry last night  blah, blah, blah, " that goes on amongst the lockies is renowned.

To be fair most of the volunteer lock keepers on the non tidal Trent  (maybe not all)  seem better than they were  a few years ago. Yes  they can be a bit chatty but that's not a big issue.

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17 minutes ago, MartynG said:

Which can be a bit hit and miss if the station you are calling is also on a handheld - such as the lock keeper at Hull.

 

To be fair most of the volunteer lock keepers on the non tidal Trent  (maybe not all)  seem better than they were  a few years ago. Yes  they can be a bit chatty but that's not a big issue.

It is not only against the 'rules' of using VHF, but is potentially dangerous - with their 'high-up' antenna on the side of the building they are blocking out all transmissions for many, many miles. 

If you need to call an emergency no one will hear it.

 

I am also a licenced Aircraft band VHF operator - it is even more important to stick to the rules and keep messages short. VHF being 'line of sight' at (say) 5000 feet you are transmitting a 100 miles in every direction. If your receiving aircraft is also at 5000 feet then they will hear you 200 miles away (its all down to the curvature of the earth)

 

Edit for mis ing lett rs.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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3 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

It is not only against the 'rules' of using VHF, but is potentially dangerous - with their 'high-up' antenna on the side of the building they are blocking out all transmissions for many, many miles. 

Reminds me of "Philippino Monkey!" in the Gulf...

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7 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

It is not only against the 'rules' of using VHF, but is potentially dangerous - with their 'high-up' antenna on the side of the building they are blocking out all transmissions for many, many miles. 

If you need to call an emergency no one will hear it.

 

 

Do they block all channels while they are transmitting or just channel 74?

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5 minutes ago, Alway Swilby said:

Do they block all channels while they are transmitting or just channel 74?

They only block channel 74, but as that is pretty much the only one used on the Inland waterways it blocks out any chance of contacting anyone.

Once you get onto the commercial rivers (ie, Humber) there are channels for the VTS, coastguard etc etc. and channel 16 is viewed as the calling channel'

 

There is no inland waterway 'calling channel' which you then move off and onto a 'correspondence channel'

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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