VHF Radio Use

MarkB

Stodge, I have called the coast guard on 69 and 72 - no response. After asking my ROC instructor, he said it was ok to call on 16.  They switch you anyhow to another station (I think 24) to commence communication - so the actual radio check isn't done on 16, it's only the initial hail.  Not sure why it would be so different on St. Clair, your literally on 16 for about 30 seconds.

Stodge

Sorry I should have been more clear.  I recommend that boaters get a radio check from other boaters who are on one of the non-commercial channels, not the Coast Guard.  We have 3 U.S. Coast Guard boat stations and 1 U.S. Coast Guard air station around or very close to Lake St. Clair in radio range all monitoring channel 16.  Not to mention the Canadian stations in Windsor and Sarnia  We also have a fair amount of freighter traffic since they have to pass through Lake St. Clair to get from Huron to Erie.  I've heard the CG chastise boaters asking for a radio check on channel 16.  So in general I recommend boaters only use channel 16 to reach the Coast Guard and only when they have a good reason (not radio checks).

My_Dinghys_Dinghy

Stodge, good info...

MarkB

On Lake O I've hailed CG for radio checks on 16 for the past 4 years. They have always been polite to me. I wouldn't rely on a fellow boater, they may be getting reception of you in a short distance like 1 mile, but that won't help if you are out 15 miles in the lake.

Having said that, Florida has a great system. They have a channel dedicated to radio checks. Basically you call the channel, leave a message and it repeats your recording, so you can hear how clear your own recording is.

LaRea

Yes, there's a similar system near Annapolis for automated radio checks.  Great tool.  In areas that have them, they are on Channels 24, 26, 27 and 28.

julie4

Everything is right but most important to carry the vhf regardless of holding the license, whilst the licence will help you with use & etiquette. If you dont have the radio because you dont have the licence then your in a far worse situation than you would be in an emergency if you had a radio and not even a clue how to use it. If you scream help on ch16 someone will reply & if you are in danger no one will care that you didnt cry mayday mayday mayday rib clueless.........blah blah!
Read here from nrc website

A lot of folk are new to boating, especially this year & many will be clueless but we all started somewhere. Setting up a new boat is expensive and some items may be beyond the reach of some folks budgets. In my opinion if the choice was buy the radio & dont do the course till funds allow or do the course & save up for the radio later I'm afraid I'd always say buy the radio do some online research on basic use & save it for emergency use & do the course later.

Ian

License not required in the US

TonyG13

Ian said:

License not required in the US

I believe if you communicate with any foreign flagged vessel (freighter, cruise ship, etc.) in US waters, a license is required.

Ian

No, you can’t stop them replying to you on a hailing channel so how would you ever meet this requirement? We have ships up and down the Hudson and they dock next door at the Port of Coeymans.

TonyG13

There's been discussions about this on the Great Loop forum. I agree that there's nothing to stop ship-to-ship communications, regardless of license -- just that as the FCC law is written, if a pleasure craft is in US waters communicating with a foreign flagged vessel, the US vessel must have a VHF license to "legally" communicate. I never said laws made sense! :-)

Here's how the FCC says it:

"If you plan to dock in a foreign port (e.g., Canada or the Bahamas) or if you communicate with foreign coast or ship stations, you must have a RESTRICTED RADIOTELEPHONE OPERATOR PERMIT (sometimes referred to by boaters as an "individual license") in addition to your ship radio station license."

It's the "or if you communicate with foreign coast or ship stations" part that is supposedly applicable in US waters.

https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/ship-radio-stations

Ian

Further reading under Ship Radio Stations and Licensing also indicates voluntary ships operating domestically - ie not traveling to foreign destinations or calling foreign stations. A ship station wouldn’t be considered a foreign station no matter where they are, you can be on this side of the border on Lake Ontario and speak to a guy on the Canadian side and you are good - but Canadian law requires he is licensed.

Also I just noticed that @julie4 is from the UK (based on the URL reference) so the rules there are very different