VHF radio

[Jess--]

2 hours ago, Heffalump said:

To be honest my UV-5R+ is a very good HT, especially given that it only cost me £30, and has all the functionality of my Dad's £200 iCom HT.  It seems to be generally accepted that it has sort of low enough emissions to be used on amateur frequencies, and the frequencies I currently use have no restrictions.  It even has an FM receiver built in!

I can't ever see them making a type accepted marine radio, their focus seems to be purely on "affordable ham radio".  I think they have done a fantastic job at getting more people on the air.

I use a couple of uv-5r radios between boats on 70cms, yes we're all licensed (ham not marine)

As a cheap no-frills radio they work well and are seen as cheap enough that if one is lost overboard it's no big deal, for some of my other handsets a replacement battery costs more than a complete baofeng radio.

the only thing I wonder about with them is whether someone on a foundation license can actually use them without breaching their license as the radios are designed as general coverage and are not restricted to operate only on ham bands,
Foundation Licence holders are limited to built commercial equipment designed for the Amateur Radio market only.  This excludes any PMR (Private Mobile Radio) equipment of any kind, whether already modified / reprogrammed or not.

(M6VBR - 2E0VBR - M0VBR and repeater keeper for GB7DL in case you were wondering)

[Heffalump]

8 minutes ago, Jess-- said:

I use a couple of uv-5r radios between boats on 70cms, yes we're all licensed (ham not marine)

As a cheap no-frills radio they work well and are seen as cheap enough that if one is lost overboard it's no big deal, for some of my other handsets a replacement battery costs more than a complete baofeng radio.

the only thing I wonder about with them is whether someone on a foundation license can actually use them without breaching their license as the radios are designed as general coverage and are not restricted to operate only on ham bands,
Foundation Licence holders are limited to built commercial equipment designed for the Amateur Radio market only.  This excludes any PMR (Private Mobile Radio) equipment of any kind, whether already modified / reprogrammed or not.

(M6VBR - 2E0VBR - M0VBR and repeater keeper for GB7DL in case you were wondering)

Interesting point, although I know that essexham actively encourage the UV-5 range to new foundation licensees.  As I'm not an amateur (although there are a couple in the family) I'm not completely au fait with the license conditions at foundation level, I think I knew those foundation licensees weren't allowed to build their own transceivers but I'd not heard about them being designed purely for the ham market. 

(MRA25)

Edited August 5, 2017 by Heffalump
speeling

[blackrose]

I've just bought one of these for £180 (brand new) on ebay.

http://www.standardhorizon.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=100040

It's meant to be the Rolls Royce of handheld VHF - probably far too fancy for my use but the next spec down wasn't much less and this has DSC. 

I think my current handheld is registered to the boat so presumably I will need to change that? I got this from the Ofcom site:

You must have a separate Ship Portable Radio Licence for each hand held VHF DSC radio. This is because each individual radio is given a separate identity. The apparatus must not be used outwith UK territorial sea. So, it cannot be covered by a normal Ship Radio Licence, as this does not impose any territorial restrictions. If you already have a Ship Portable Radio Licence, you should ensure that it includes hand held VHF DSC. If it does not, you can change it online, free of charge.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/manage-your-licence/radiocommunication-licences/ships-radio/vhf-faq

Edited August 7, 2017 by blackrose

[Graham Davis]

On 8/5/2017 at 12:41, Jess-- said:

the only thing I wonder about with them is whether someone on a foundation license can actually use them without breaching their license as the radios are designed as general coverage and are not restricted to operate only on ham bands,
Foundation Licence holders are limited to built commercial equipment designed for the Amateur Radio market only.  This excludes any PMR (Private Mobile Radio) equipment of any kind, whether already modified / reprogrammed or not.

(M6VBR - 2E0VBR - M0VBR and repeater keeper for GB7DL in case you were wondering)

Can only go on my experience when I considered doing my Foundation exam, but both local radio clubs recommended buying a Boafeng as a starter unit, and one will even lend you one until you do buy something of your own. 

EDIT: The Essex Club's on-line course for the Foundation is excellent.

 

Edited August 7, 2017 by Graham Davis

[Jess--]

3 minutes ago, Graham Davis said:

Can only go on my experience when I considered doing my Foundation exam, but both local radio clubs recommended buying a Boafeng as a starter unit, and one will even lend you one until you do buy something of your own. 

EDIT: The Essex Club's on-line course for the Foundation is excellent.

 

I know most clubs / users recommend the baofengs (or similar) radios for foundation users due to their cheap and cheerful nature (and how many new licensees equipment end up gathering dust after the 1st couple of months) without thinking about what exactly the radios are.

for example My yaesu FT-60 handheld is manufactured as an amateur radio and will only transmit between 144-146 Mhz and 430-440 Mhz

the baofeng uv-5re is manufactured as a general purpose vhf/uhf handheld and will transmit anywhere between 136-174 Mhz and 400-520 Mhz

ham licensing and equipment can be a bit of a minefield...
Foundation licensees are meant to be restricted to manufactured equipment or kits that are unable to transmit outside ham bands, modified or reprogrammed equipment is not an option.
this is because they are expected to have minimal skills for ensuring that their transmissions are within legal frequencies, therefore their equipment should ensure it for them

Intermediate licensees can use whatever they want but any modified equipment must have been modified by the user (they are not allowed to use equipment modified by someone else)
the reasoning behind this is that if the licensee has the skills required to modify their own equipment they are also expected to have the skills needed to prove that it is operating within legal limits

Full licensees are pretty much unrestricted as to the type of equipment they can use as long as they can demonstrate that the equipment is operating within their legal frequency and power limits.

 

[LadyG]

Is there much chat on the canals, I ll get a cheapo vhf for emergency use, but like to listen in  to find out what s going on

 

[Alan de Enfield]

2 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Is there much chat on the canals,

 

No - None.

If you just want to listen to 'chat' get a CB

[LadyG]

20 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Is there much chat on the canals, I ll get a cheapo vhf for emergency use, but like to listen in  to find out what s going on

 

I;m not sure I am a CB person, is it obligatory to say "good buddy"

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, LadyG said:

I;m not sure I am a CB person, is it obligatory to say "good buddy"

10:4, I'll ask the seatcover if there is a bear in the air, rubber duck.

[blackrose]

24 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I;m not sure I am a CB person, is it obligatory to say "good buddy"

Breaker 9, looks like we got ourselves a convoy...

[Iain_S]

Someone on tickover, perhaps?

 

[Heffalump]

Breaker on the side, just seen Kojak with a Kodak

[blackrose]

I'm giving my Silva S12 away if someone wants to use it for listening? But you'll have to collect or send me a PM and work out a way to pay for postage. 

[LadyG]

44 minutes ago, blackrose said:

I'm giving my Silva S12 away if someone wants to use it for listening? But you'll have to collect or send me a PM and work out a way to pay for postage. 

me me me

[blackrose]

4 minutes ago, LadyG said:

me me me

Send me a PM please

[Trevor Lyons]

I've just acquired a new Standard Horizon GX2200E VHF marine transceiver. It cleverly includes AIS, ATIS and GPS. (I've got an SSR number but I still need to get an ATIS ID number).I've yet to install the unit and try it out, but the GPS doesn't seem to be more than giving Lat & Long and storing waypoints.The instructions talk about linking a plotter; has anyone done this, please?

Edited December 27, 2019 by Trevor Lyons

[Momac]

30 minutes ago, Trevor Lyons said:

I've just acquired a new Standard Horizon GX2200E VHF marine transceiver. It cleverly includes AIS, ATIS and GPS. (I've got an SSR number but I still need to get an ATIS ID number).I've yet to install the unit and try it out, but the GPS doesn't seem to be more than giving Lat & Long and storing waypoints.The instructions talk about linking a plotter; has anyone done this, please?

SSR number is the small ships register number and not related to a marine VHF.

 

You need to get a ships radio license and mmsi number from ofcom

You may not operate ATIS in the UK .

The AIS will not work until the MMSI number is entered

What do you expect from GPS other than lat and long?

 

 

 

 

[Alan de Enfield]

1 hour ago, MartynG said:

SSR number is the small ships register number and not related to a marine VHF.

 

You need to get a ships radio license and mmsi number from ofcom

You may not operate ATIS in the UK .

The AIS will not work until the MMSI number is entered

What do you expect from GPS other than lat and long?

 

 

 

 

I think someone has got dazzled by a bit of 'tech' without knowing what it does, how it does it, or what licences he needs to operate it.

 

Pretty useless for the Inland waterways except for channel 74 on (some) Rivers.

 

You would link it to your plotter for the AIS so you can see where other AIS equipped ships are, unfortunately at present it is not compulsory for leisure boats to be AIS equipped so you cannot see 100's of boats that could be in your path, (think Southampton / Isle of Wight, Plymouth etc) only commercial boats and fishing vessels over (I think) 10 metres need to be equipped.

Edited December 27, 2019 by Alan de Enfield

[Momac]

3 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

I think someone has got dazzled by a bit of 'tech' without knowing what it does, how it does it, or what licences he needs to operate it.

 

Pretty useless for the Inland waterways except for channel 74 on (some) Rivers.

Maybe the OP has a lumpy water  boat ?

 

And yes there is  also the matter of the short range certificate for someone on board  to be able to legally operate the radio.

 

[john6767]

2 hours ago, Trevor Lyons said:

I've just acquired a new Standard Horizon GX2200E VHF marine transceiver. It cleverly includes AIS, ATIS and GPS. (I've got an SSR number but I still need to get an ATIS ID number).I've yet to install the unit and try it out, but the GPS doesn't seem to be more than giving Lat & Long and storing waypoints.The instructions talk about linking a plotter; has anyone done this, please?

Are you certain that it is a UK spec radio?  I think I am right that ATIS would be used on some European waterways, and I think my Icom set can support it but you need to send it to Icom to reprogram it, effectively to a European spec device as it is not available on a UK spec device.

 

As to GPS, I would say the main reason for it is if you transmits a mayday using the red button then it will send your location as part of the message.  The set would be identified by the boats MMSI number.

[Momac]

26 minutes ago, john6767 said:

Are you certain that it is a UK spec radio?  I think I am right that ATIS would be used on some European waterways, and I think my Icom set can support it but you need to send it to Icom to reprogram it, effectively to a European spec device as it is not available on a UK spec device.

UK and european spec is the same thing.

ATIS may be switched on/off by the user.

I have ATIS availability  it on my vhf radio. If I should go to France  in my boat , which is possible, it would have a use .

 

USA channels are different to UK/EU .

 

 

Edited December 27, 2019 by MartynG

[john6767]

1 hour ago, MartynG said:

UK and european spec is the same thing.

ATIS may be switched on/off by the user.

I have ATIS availability  it on my vhf radio. If I should go to France  in my boat , which is possible, it would have a use .

 

USA channels are different to UK/EU .

 

 

I am certain that icom have a different spec for UK and Europe,  I will have a look in the book tomorrow.

 

Ehilst UK and Europe both use the international channels as opposed to the US channels, I thought that channel 80 and a couple of others were UK specific.

Edited December 28, 2019 by john6767

[Trevor Lyons]

Thanks you for the responses. Yes, I do have a VHF licence, having taken a course some twenty years ago. I've lost the certificate, so I need to get a copy. I haven't bought the VHF for the UK; I got it for my barge that I propose to take to Europe. ATIS is required in the EU, so I need to get a number to enter into the radio. Is this available from the RYA or the MCA (or from someone else)? Is the ATIS number the same as the MMSI number?

 

(I've been on boats with SSB, but I don't have an SSB licence yet).

2 hours ago, MartynG said:

The AIS will not work until the MMSI number is entered

I was not aware of this. I thought an AIS receiver would show AIS vessels without any input. Please advise.

2 hours ago, MartynG said:

What do you expect from GPS other than lat and long?

 I'm aware that the GPS function is there primarily for emergency location and for informing the AIS display. I wondered if it might offer any more functions (the unit does permit waypoints). When I've been at sea I've used a nice Garmin EchoMap GPS that was very impressive and, although one might argue that it's hard to get lost on a canal, it seems that detailed map chips of some European waterways are available for the EchoMap.

 

 

[Alan de Enfield]

8 hours ago, Trevor Lyons said:

I was not aware of this. I thought an AIS receiver would show AIS vessels without any input. Please advise.

The MMSI number allows you to use DSC on the VHF.

If you intend to 'listen' only (watch) ASI then you do not need an MMSI, but if you VHF is DSC enabled then you MUST have an MMSI number.

 

If your VHF has the 'RED BUTTON' then you must (legally) apply for an MMSI number.

Now when you fill out your OFCOM boat licence application the new requirements mean that an MMSI is automatically issued.

 

Your ships licence is different to your operators licence - both you and your ship need to be licenced.

 

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/manage-your-licence/radiocommunication-licences/ships-radio

 

You will also need to apply (separately) to be granted an ATIS number

 

ATIS

If you require an ATIS number, this can now be added to your Ship Radio licence. All you need to do is amend your licence and add one or more pieces of ATIS equipment.

 

Play around with the link - it does not allow links to individual pages, but everything you need to know is on there (somewhere)

 

Edit to add :

I lost my Operators Certificate (taken 30+ years ago) and what a hassle to get a new one issued.

The RYA have no records before the system was computerised so I had to give them the dates when I did the course, where I did the course and who the examiner was - not easy when it was that long ago - eventually convinced them to issue a replacement.

You need to complete a 'lost licence' application form and send in photographs of your self - its all on the RYA website

 

This was what I got back after requesting an application form :

 

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for advising us of the loss of your Certificate of Competence in Radiotelephony for VHF/SRC. Please complete the declaration on the reverse and sign it in the presence of one of the officials listed below, who should be requested to witness your signature and sign in the appropriate space:-

 

a)    Official of a Mercantile Marine Office

b)    Ship’s Radio Inspection Office

c)     Flag Officer of an RYA affiliated Club

d)    A Principal of an RYA Recognised Training Centre

e)    The Master of the vessel in which you are serving

If any of the options above are not possible the signature of a doctor or local policeman or solicitor is acceptable.

 

Please could you forward the completed statement and declaration, together with a passport-size photograph (signed), and the certificate replacement fee of £25.00 (cheques should be made payable to “The Royal Yachting Association”) to:-

 

Certification Department

RYA House

Ensign Way

Hamble

Southampton, Hampshire.SO31 4YA

Please note: The RYA do not issue the Long Range Certificate and Radio Licence. The contact Details are below for the issuing authorities for these:

Long Range Certificate                               Radio Licence

Wray Castle                                                Ofcom Licensing Centre

AMERC NAC                                              Riverside House   

Bridge Mills                                                 2a Southwark Bridge Road

Stramongate                                               London

LA9 4UB                                                     SE1 9HA

Tel: 01539 742745                                      Tel: 0207 981 3131

E-mail: training@wraycastle.com               E-mail: licensingcentre@ofcom.otg.uk

Website: www.wraycastle.com                   Website: www.ofcom.org.uk/licensing

                                                            

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Yours Sincerely

Certification Department

Direct Line: 0844 556 9520

E-mail: certification@rya.org.uk

 

Edited December 28, 2019 by Alan de Enfield

[frangar]

8 hours ago, Trevor Lyons said:

Thanks you for the responses. Yes, I do have a VHF licence, having taken a course some twenty years ago. I've lost the certificate, so I need to get a copy. I haven't bought the VHF for the UK; I got it for my barge that I propose to take to Europe. ATIS is required in the EU, so I need to get a number to enter into the radio. Is this available from the RYA or the MCA (or from someone else)? Is the ATIS number the same as the MMSI number?

 

(I've been on boats with SSB, but I don't have an SSB licence yet).

I was not aware of this. I thought an AIS receiver would show AIS vessels without any input. Please advise.

 I'm aware that the GPS function is there primarily for emergency location and for informing the AIS display. I wondered if it might offer any more functions (the unit does permit waypoints). When I've been at sea I've used a nice Garmin EchoMap GPS that was very impressive and, although one might argue that it's hard to get lost on a canal, it seems that detailed map chips of some European waterways are available for the EchoMap.

 

 

I think you might possibly need to do a new licence to encompass DSC. There is info about it on the RYA website.