Using Your VHF Marine Radio

[Hotrod]

Written by Patrick Haggery For NJSWF 
Tuesday, 25 January 2011

A Fisherman's guide to VHF Marine Radios

Why VHF Marine Radios are important safety tools and their proper use.

 When you purchase your first fishing boat it is a landmark experience. Visions of future fishing trips with friends and huge catches begin playing in your mind. Typically the last thing you are thinking about when you first get a boat is how to efficiently communicate when you on the water. After all, there are too many fish to be caught and brilliant ways to find them. 

 
Normally it just takes one experience in rough water or dense fog to ask yourself the question "How exactly do I use that radio?". Throughout the years the VHF radio has been the primary communication tool for mariners and it is one of the most important safety tools on your boat. In the event of an emergency the VHF marine radio allows you to contact other boats for assistance, assist others in trouble, relay your exact coordinates and information, and coordinate with other vessels on the water.

 
Necessary VHF radio equipment

If your fishing boat does not come equipped with a VHF radio you will need to purchase one. VHF radios come in either handheld or fixed mount versions. Handheld radios are generally cheaper while fixed mount radios achieve greater range.  Respected manufactures of both handheld and fixed mount radios are Icom marine radios and Standard Horizon radios. If you purchase a fixed mount radio you will also need to purchase a VHF antenna and a mount. Respected antenna manufactures are Shakespeare antenna and Digital Antennas as their products are proven to perform and withstand harsh conditions.

 
Using your VHF Radio

In order to communicate with other vessels there is a protocol for speaking over the marine radio channels. Following is an outline of the process of using the VHF marine radio.

Monitoring radio communication

When you are on the water you should always have your VHF radio turned on and tuned to channel 16 (the primary emergency channel). Many VHF radios have a feature called tri-watch, which allows you to monitor channels 16 and 9 while communicating over another channel.

 
Channel 16 is the emergency and hailing channel. It is used to communicate urgent messages and emergencies.  Distress calls such as MayDay, Pan-Pan, and Securite are broadcast on Channel 16.

 
Radio Checks and other non-critical communication are often initiated on channel 9

 
Making a Distress Call

If the need arises for you to transmit an emergency call on channel 16 follow the proper communication process:

 
With the radio tuned to channel 16, key the mic, and repeat the necessary emergency prefix three times followed by the name and description of your boat, the nature of the call, and your location. The response by the Coast Guard and other vessels will depend on the nature of the call.

 
The Emergency Prefixes are:
 

MayDay

MayDay is the most serious emergency prefix and means that there is imminent danger to life or that the viability of the vessel is compromised. This is a call for rescue and receives an immediate rescue dispatch.
 

Pan-Pan

Pan-Pan is used to signify that there is a urgent matter on board the ship but that there is no immediate threat of death or of the ship sinking. This will inform rescuers that a safety problem exists but doesn't warrant the same response as MayDay.

 
Securite

Securite alerts mariners of important safety information. The most common use is to report navigational warnings or severe weather information. This could also be used if harmful debris was spotted in the water.

 
Responding to a Distress Call
 

If you hear a distress call while monitoring channel 16 the first thing you should do is record the information in the distress call on a piece of paper and then wait and listen for the response from the Coast Guard.

 
If you do not hear a response from the Coast Guard after two minutes then you should repeat the information in the distress call while clearly communicating that you are relaying the message.

 
Standby channel 16 and wait for instruction from the Coast Guard.

 
Be prepared to assist the vessel in distress if you are able.

 
Using DSC Technology

 
Many of the newer VHF Marine radios come with a feature called Digital Selective Calling (DSC). In a distress situation DSC is used to quickly communicate who you are, where you are, and what channel you wish to communicate on. DSC is a more efficient method of sending distress calls as it removes the need for you to verbally communicate your information over channel 16. Because DSC is a digital coded signal the communication cannot be blocked by another vessel that is communicating on the same VHF channel.
 

DSC works in conjunction with your GPS and enables you to broadcast your exact location to the Coast Guard and any other ships in your area that are also equipped with DSC. DSC is a common feature on both fixed mount and handheld vhf radios and has helped increased the response time of the Coast Guard to distressed mariners and to ultimately save lives.

 
So as you are pursuing your fishing dreams be sure that you know how to operate your VHF radio as it will help to ensure that you can continue pursuing that perfect catch for years to come.

[Scott G.]

    Great Info. Thanks   

[IrishAyes]

 

[Bucktail]

 

[Hunter 2]

Good info Rod, I did not know about the securite Hale,, I often fish at night and have heard many distress calls from our area. Most of the captains I have fished with from NJSWF.com have the radio on TRI-Watch,  Sometimes it does get annoying to listen to all the chatter but it is a life saving device.

You never know when one of us will be in need of help.

[PeggyLee]

Always good info.

[Bucktail]

You mean when you use a VHF you're not supposed to just start talking, cursing and blathering incessantly about stuff nobody but you cares about?

 

[Hunter 2]

 ,,  The Jets game would have created chatter this week.

[Maritime Matt]

Good post. They should mandate all boats have a working vhf and that you know how to use it. I personally have 2 fixed and 1 h/h on my Maritime and one is always on. I can't count how many boats I've worked on and the radio's and/or antennas are in dire need of replacement. And when I tell them, they say Oh, I got my cell phone. Yup, and when you make that call, the CG and all the others monitoring their cell phones will here ya.
Matt 

[paul-e]

Great info.

[IrishAyes]

Matt, let's not forget the limited range there is with a cell phone. Go out further than about six miles and you loose service rendering the cell phone useless.

[jigsawx]

good info

in addition the uscg aux also has decals to apply on your boat on operating your radio, when i had my boat inspected they gave me one

[ped579]

Good info, I carry one on my kayak as well.  If nothing else you can communicate with other kayaker's on the water as well.