Marine Radio FAQ's

The “Ships Wheel”, or “Wheelmark” as it is officially called, is an accreditation that is required for equipment placed on board ships for which safety certificates are issued by, or on behalf of, Member States of the European Union.

The Wheelmark is granted once a product has been demonstr...

They are conditionally waterproof. For example, the IC-M31can withstand being submerged in one metre of water (about 3ft) for 30 minutes with no water intrusion. If the radio ever goes overboard, you should retrieve it as soon as possible. Remember that even submarines will get crushed if they subme...

The failure to manage rechargeable batteries correctly can result in a gradual decline in performance. This decline very often goes unnoticed by the user and can lead to the failure of the equipment at a critical point, resulting in the battery being returned to the supplier as defective. Here are s...

The DSC button on an ICOM radio is covered by a red flip-up cover. This cover must first be lifted before the button can be pressed (so accidental depression is difficult). The distress button needs to be pressed and held for five seconds before it will send a DSC distress message. During this five-...

In general it depends on how far away the radio is that you are trying to communicate with. There are some channels that automatically require the high or low power setting. Keep in mind is that the lower wattage, the less power used, thus the longer the batteries will last.

There is no question that GMDSS has a big part to play in improving safety at sea.

Firstly a vessel’s position and the time are automatically included in distress and urgency alerts if a DSC radio set is interfaced with a GPS navigator (if it isn’t, the position can be manually input). Second...

From 1 February 1999 SOLAS vessels are no longer required to monitor the 2182kHz MF distress frequency.

From 1 February 2005 they will no longer need to monitor the Ch16 VHF distress channel. On the same date, Coastguard rescue centres will cease to keep a dedicated headset watch on Ch16, and...

The GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress and Safety System) is an integral part of SOLAS and is a radio-based communications system designed to support the implementation of search and rescue (SAR) plans. The GMDSS provides for automatic distress alerting and locating in cases where a radio operator does...

Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) numbers are a series of nine digits, which are used to uniquely identify a radio station or group of radio stations. When sending a DSC message the MMSI is automatically included, and you can address messages to specific vessels or groups using their MMSIs. Th...

A DSC controller is a unit that encodes and interprets DSC messages. In some radios this is built-in and in others it is an external ‘add-on’. DSC controllers have the facility to alert another vessel or rescue centre directly and exclusively to the fact that you want to talk, before opening voice c...

DSC uses digital data, rather than voice, to transfer information between radios. Using this mechanism provides several important benefits including increased volume and accuracy of data and the ability to direct the information to specific addressees (hence selective call).
The effective range o...

Today, many people have access to the Internet and whilst browsing US sites, may see what they perceive to be a good deal on radio equipment. However, what looks great in cyberspace has many pitfalls and implications for the user considering buying marine radio equipment from the US (aside from deli...

HF email is the method of using HF frequencies to send data transmissions. One of the most obvious benefits is that, being a wireless system, it is possible to utilise this method in environments where normal telephone-line based E-mail systems cannot be used. (E.g. the middle of the ocean, remote j...

As electrical and electronic equipment systems become ever more complex, there is a need to check and correct the safe operation of an installation at regular intervals. These inspections will be carried out by trained engineers specialising in Marine Systems and can provide peace of mind to owners....

This behaviour is caused by an insufficient power supply, or a bad electrical connection somewhere between the battery (or a power supply) and the transceiver. Check your electrical connections and battery. Pay special attention to the in-line fuse holders and power cord terminals on the battery sid...