I wish all recreational boaters knew this. I'm a radio operator for the coast guard in an area where most of the urgencies and distresses are from recreational boaters. Communicating can be very challenging sometimes.
My thanks go to the coast guard! Did my SRC (Short Range Certificate) a few years back and practice when I get the change and listening to the weather broadcasts and Maritime safety information. Always liked this one th-cam.com/video/6zkZ3f8DnKs/w-d-xo.html
Well done Cheri, I’m a sailor myself ( with both Navy’s ) and I know what you mean, however we know that you’re there and will do everything for all seafarer’s alike and it’s reassuring to know that. So I’d like to thank you and all the people for what you do for those you may never meet.
@@tamaslapsanszki8744 Here my laymans information: VHF is one of the components of the GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress and Safety System). I link the Wiki articel here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Maritime_Distress_and_Safety_System#Components_of_GMDSS More specific: www.gov.uk/government/publications/gmdss-benefits-of-digital-selective-calling-dsc A pleasure craft may not need a complete GMDSS package but I wouldn't like to be underway without a VHF DSC radio. If you or somebody else requires assistance (Distress or Urgency) or you want to notifiy others about a specific danger or situation or anything else (Safety or Routine) (not the football results), the VHF radio is the equipement to use.
I‘m in the Coastguard, and the most important thing to say after calling mayday is position (even if it’s approximate). This allows us to get rescue vessels/aircraft in the area ASAP .Remember the 3 P’s Position, Problem, People(s). Most vessels have a radio that is dedicated to channel 16 so if they hear your transmission but no reply from coastguard they will relay the message
@@kaikart123 say last port, next port, time left, due time of arrival. And the name of the ship you were on. The coast guard can calculate an approximate position by plotting the course and estimating how far along it you are. And if they have the ships data, possibly even more accurate than just halfway between here and here. It isn't ideal but basically even if you know you are on course from A -> B they can go along that course looking for signals.
I'll add, nit is not uncommon for these radios to have gps recievers in them these days too. Don't just randomly fiddle, but Coast Guard will likely tell you what buttons to press if need be.
@@EwanMarshall I bet your average Joe couldn't even answer any of that shit. The best you can hope is what city they are from and what city they want to get to.
Hi! Could you help me out with an information, please? I don't understand at 00:50 what saarts are... I understand what an EPIRB is, but not the other word... Thanks!
Good to know about this. But if I end up in a position where I am the one who has to use a vhf. Things have gone catastrophically wrong on so many levels.
You're on a ship. You get attacked by pirates. Heavy casualties are sustained. You and the rest of the crew fight back. Miraculously you are victorious but every other crew member and passenger are killed during the fighting. It's now up to you to call for help. Yeah that's pretty catastrophic.
It's still good idea to train and have a mind set of preparation when those days do come. Like CPR or emergency cases. Even if it's just you. You can never be too prepare as things that you can control and know what to do. Rather than nothing at all. 😁
You finally got a sponsorSHIP! Congratulations! I've been here for a good while now and it makes me happy to see that you've grown so much. Have a good day!
I was thinking the same thing about sponsorships. I’m glad he was able to get one. I don’t want him to sacrifice quality for quantity but maybe we’ll get videos more often. Congrats!
It probably makes sense nowadays anyway. TH-cam must be terrible at paying them. Most TH-camrs channel that I know, has been going this route for decade now. 😀
I wish I knew this 4 years ago when I was in a boat with an inexperienced captain. The engine died and we were stranded with no power or engine going out to sea. Pissed off and not wanting to end up on the news. I used my cell phone to get a GPS location and a multi-tool to extract a battery. I then hot wired the radio to call the coast guard. I got the radio working BUT the captain refused to call because, "someone will come bye soon and stop." I was like F-that and started with, Hey Coast Guard I sure hope you can hear me because we are stranded out to sea with no engine or power. Amazingly, they DID answer. I gave them the position and they sent Towboat US. While waiting the captain sat in his chair and whined about not knowing why his boat wasn't working, and was pissed at me for cutting & stripping wires to get the radio working. We did get rescued. He was not happy when Towboat US asked for $7000 for the recovery! We had 1 gallon of distilled water intended for the radiator between 5 people. I have never been on a boat again since that day.
This channel is so great! Your graphics are spot on (please don't every change or "update" them), your instructions clear, your voice relaxing and your information is, well _informative_ without being complex. Explained "in laymen's terms" to keep it simple and easily understood and remembered.
Excellent video. I'm a ham operator since 1982. I also am a GMDSS operator/maintainer, GROL and 2nd class radiotelegraph operator. I'm just the guy you want on board in an emergency. Chances are though that I or others like me won't be there. One important tip not in the video is power management for the radio. Transmitting uses up the battery at a rapid rate depending on the power level used. Modern radios have good squelch systems to keep the speaker from turning on when there's no signal present. Almost all vessels are required to keep a watch on channel 16. If you're in a life raft with a handheld radio, if you see a vessel or hear a helicopter, that's a good time to transmit. If you see no one, make a short mayday call about every 10-15 minutes to conserve battery. Guys my age grew up with walkie-talkies. The current generation, not.
In the United States, a license is required to operate in portions of the VHF spectrum, but not all portions. Specifically, the Marine channels (as defined in 47 CFR, Part 80) do not require a license to operate from a boat or ship provided that the ship is not of a class that requires them to have a radio by law. This certainly covers all recreational boats and boating. Thanks for the great content on this TH-cam channel!
@@sirBrouwer Thank you Captain Obvious . Hoist anchors & lower your sails Ladies and Gentlemen of TH-cam. We now set sail onto the sea of "Who tf asked" .
@@syaondri my first boat ride was down Mainstreet in Grafton Illinois at less than a year old during a "100 year flood event". John boat right down Mainstreet I'm told we even stopped at the spot where the 4 way intersection was as if we were in a car.
i am always fascinated with the ability that VHF signals of a smaller vessel can be received and re-transmitted to the shore by bigger ships. (and back) in such a way that the bigger ship is really just a massive radio tower. the ship in the middle does hear both ends and can react if needed but can give the brunt of the talking to the shore station directly.
Amateur radio does this quite commonly with UHF and VHF repeaters, usually by having an offset between the frequency you transmit on and receive on, which is handled by your radio if you’ve programmed it in.
I remember when we tried to introduce short range, hand held radios in my workplace. The biggest hurdle was to make the workers remember how the PTT button works. Then the next hurdle was to make them always ask for confirmation from the other side if they got the message or not. After using phones for decades people have an ingrained assumption how communication should work.
Best reason for not using your cell phone: on lakes, not to mention at sea, you have zero coverage. Plus, who do you want to call? Unlike a cell phone VHF is broadcasting, so anyone in your relative vicinity will hear your mayday. Let’s assume you stored the coastguard’s number in your phone and there’s enough coverage and you are sinking. During all the precious time you are on the phone, ships in your vicinity will have no idea about your distress. Take a course. Buy a VHF.
Where I live, if the issue is not a mayday (but pan pan or security), coast guards will prefer phone call if you have coverage. Then, they’ll transmit everything you need to other ships through vhf
You ask who you're going to call. You will call 112, 999 or, 911. Manufacturers now design phones so that any common emergency number dialed will get through to local emergency services. If ANY provider has even the slightest coverage in that area then the call will go through to the emergency services and you ask for the coast guard. Simple.
Ascdren In The Netherlands this does not work: the Dutch CG emergency phone number is 0900-0111. It is not toll free. Plus, the coverage problem. Plus nobody else hears you.
I’ve been using VHF's on my summer job as a ticket clerk and now as a traffic a traffic conductor at a ferry quay for many years, but I’ve never been required to do any training with it. It’s the same system as is used for fishing boats, so sometimes we can hear one of them if they’re using the same channel.
Not sure on the rules now but in the UK back in the day you could use the radio if you had permission from someone with a licence. At the same time you also had to have the radio owners permission. On one occasion when sailing with a mate on his boat with his radio, but he didn't have a licence but I did, officially he had to ask my permission to use his own radio and I had to ask his permission because he owned it. It was a bit strange.
I a commercial skipper and still I pick up little hints and reminders from your videos, well done for well thought out text, good narration and excellent presentation
If you are in need of assistance, but it is not an immediate emergency, you use the call sign "pan, pan, pan" instead of mayday. It is like the difference between calling an ambulance, and driving to clinic to see what's wrong. Both require medical assistance, but one is a lot more serious then the other
0:34 in US territorial waters you do not require a license to operate a marine VHF radio. Including that unnecessarily scares people from using a radio if they're in a emergency or near emergency scenario. look at aviation, a major source of fatalities are individuals not declaring an emergency soon enough because of external pressure.
@@tommihommi1 You're missing the point. Even trained pilots don't know when it's appropriate to declare an emergency. Your average person on the water is going to have even less of an idea. So to dissuade them by telling them that using a radio is illegal when their judgment is by definition compromised as an amateur only sets them up for further loss of human life. An emergency doesn't mean you're in a life raft, It could be anything from a medical issue, a suspected issue with the boat like pending keel separation or loss of navigational instruments offshore.
@@otm646 I'm not disagreeing with you. I think the US in General have the problem that people don't want to use emergency services because it costs them a lot of money in the end, that's a bigger systemic issue.
That's the issue with some of these HAM radio operators. They get all butthurt over technicalities and it scares people. Not only scares them away from participating in the hobby (like myself) but also makes it seem that you will get arrested if you make one small mistake. It's 100% fine to use a radio in an emergency.
I know the US isn’t the world, but I was quite disappointed to see the emphasis on getting a radio licence, especially given the sponsor (probably not an accident). The other videos on this channel are like “how to dock a cruise ship” and it doesn’t emphasise the need to have a captain’s licence
MIPDANIO MAYDAY Identification Position Distress (nature of) Assistance Number of crew Information (additional) Over. DSC is a great help nowadays as are PLB'S Garmin inreach and SART's /EPIRB's with GPS/GNS
Awesome video, please keep on making such content. One small detail, but it should be noted that if you press the Distress button, the receiver doesn't get the kind of distress you're in, as the video suggests. You need to go to the menu first and set the message accordingly before sending.
"I've just received a strange call, Captain!" "A strange call?" "Yes, Captain. So so, so so, so so, all the time." "Who is it?" "It's Titanic." "Ah, OK. Their wireless was acting up the other day, I suppose they're testing stuff. Did you reply?" "Yes, sir. So what? So what? So what?, all the time."
We used them on track at a car race with the team spread all over the place. People always started talking the moment they pressed the button and thew first bit of their sentence didn't come through.
Casual Navigation seaman is not my dream to be. But I really love to watch your videos. Your videos will not only be useful for us, but for the other people. Maybe not now, but I believe that it will be soon. Thank you for this educational video. Love your simplicity.
Now i want to learn all about it! Only problem is that I literally live in the furthest point from sea in my country so I won't find any VHF courses ;-;
Just to help with your curiosity, take an online Ham radio course. You can learn a lot at this moment and then, when you get the chance, register yourself on a Maritime VHF course!! I’m in the same boat as you, and that is what I’m doing!
Nice, Good solid information without all the technical things to overwhelm,, Without something like this many wouldn't have a clue about how to transmit an emergency message without falling back to the crud picked up from movies which is misleading at best many times.
I am a professional, and do inspections on ships, including these radios. First, channel 16 is only for emergencies, no one else should be using that except the Coast Guard. And DSC needs to be set up by the owner (many owners of smaller boats don't set it up, and it won't automatically work). If you have an EPIRB, just toss it in the water and tie it to the raft (they're made to be floating in water) and it'll work much better than your radio.
Since your video was based in a maritime environment, an aviation handheld radio is another way to be heard. Most likely the first responders are airborne units, since ships can take many hours, or days. I'm a sailor and have one to augment the marine radio. for that reason
If you have a ham radio license, you can use any frequency when no other means are available. Use your phone to get your coordinates using GPS, making sure that you at least had internet access before going afloat (you'll have some data that speeds up the aqcuiring of satellites where there is no internet). Then call mayday on 16. Unless there are no other means available, you cannot transmit on marine bands unless you have a MROP (or higher) or are exempt from needing one.
Just a tip to know your location: install app on your phone (before going to the sea of course) that can display your phone GPS status(in my android phone literally named "GPS Status"). It will show your latitude-longitude, speed, height etc. It doesn't need any internet, wifi or cellphone connection. You can use it anywhere as long as your phone get the GPS signals.
For anyone in an emergency situation using a radio get the three P’s sorted - position number of people and problem. With this we can model where you will be by the time we get there and how many people we are looking for. The problem descriptor is a bonus as we can have the necessary equipment on deck and primed eg fire pumps
KEEP MAKING THESE VIDEOS MATE.... I REALLY WANTED TO SEE. MY SELF WHEN I'VE BEEN ALLOWED TO STAY ON BRIDGE AND CREATE A NOSTALGY THEN WATCH YOUR VIDEOS BACK KEEP DOING A FAVOUR TO COMMUNITY MATE!! I'd STAY HERE. AS YOUR NAVIGATIONERS FOR A LONG TIME
Great vid! Can you maybe make a video about the Korean Ship "Sewol" who sunk 2014? I think it is very heartbreaking story and the worst ship sinking in the 20th century
WELL. IT IS A COMMON SENSE YOU HAD TO KNOW. MAYBE. EVEN THOUGH WONT BECOME A SAILOR. BUT IT IS GOOD TO INCREASING YOUR KNOWLEDGE ALSO LIKE THEY SAID. "WE DON'T HAVE TO BECOME A DRUNKER TO KNOW EVERYTHINGS ABOUT ALCOHOLIC
A shame he couldn't have included that information for all 190+ countries. /s Here's what you're trying to convey: www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/ship-radio-stations
I wonder how much of my military radio training would be applicable. Being former artillery, I got a whole 2 week dedicated class to radio communications which covered radio etiquette (things like saying over, break and out, and such). I notice there are some terms and code words which seam to be fairly universal.
In media is popular to end message with "Over and out." As far I'm aware it's wrong and MISSLEADING. "Over" means 'I finished message and expect answer.' while "Out" means 'End of coversation, no answer expected.' So they are mutualy exclusive. You should use one OR another, never together.
Moin, Hello, Ahoi and greetings from Germany, your channel is amazing and i got a question because of Radiotelephone Communication between Vessels and Aircrafts. Is it actually possible to get communicate under Radiotelephne between Vessel and Aircraft generaly and even with SRC/LRC? I heard that‘s been possible under communication between SAR and Vessels!? Best regards!
In aviation, any airman is allowed to disregard any rule setup up by any authority if the situation requires: _"In an in-flight emergency requiring immediate action, the pilot in command may deviate from any rule of this part to the extent required to meet that emergency."_ (14 CFR § 91.3 b). Now, there have been cases of guests or student pilots who are just starting out had to fly the plane after their instructor became incapacitated. In this case you'd be the pilot in command and thus covered under this law thus you are allowed to talk on frequency without any certificate. I assume a similar law applies to the seas. (this is quitesimplified. There are still rules that technically apply. but if you're emergency only allowed for a manneuver which is otherwise illegal, you may perform this manneuver. As an example: a barrell role won't resolve your emergency and will not be covered by this law. Landing on a highway, ship, beach, road whatever will. Using the radio without qualifications, yes. What I'm saying: don't declare an emergency and then be stupid. By 14CFR§91.3 c you still need to report why you needed to deviate from applying rules and regulations)
It's similar to when I learned about survival trapping game. Yes it's illegal. When the game wardens show up to fine you, ask for a ride back to safety.
I'm an amateur radio Operator. In a mayday call, do not jump immediately to the radio. take a deep breath, then transmit. Your information is inaccurate when you panic. Do not look at anything triggering, your hands will be shaky. But before you transmit, activate the EPIRB and transponders first, so that when you transmit, your mayday call will be taken seriously. If they are using a ham radio turning it on (on a baofeng for example) will go to channel mode. Scroll around until you see this frequency:156.8MHz That is channel 16 in marine radio. If you don't see that don't screw around with that. It's a waste of energy, focus on turning on the transponders because that will transmit in a much more larger area. Remember MayMayMayShiPaPo Mayday mayday mayday Ship name, Passengers on board, and position
I did the course (in Sweden) still think it wouldn’t be any harm if you made a more detailed video about this, memory of things you never do can be quite “challenging” 😂
A "Mayday" (distress call) must be send first by DSC (VHF, MF/HF) by pressing the red button on your device. If you have time, enter the menu and select the type of distress.
could someone develop an emergency VHF balloon? The transponder would be with the balloon with a thin wire to the ship. It could give you a couple hundred feet up off the ocean instead of transmitting at surface level.
That's actually a pretty good idea, similar to submarines dragging a small communication bouy. The only problem I can see would be the added weight and space requirements to hoist a large gas balloon with an antenna attached. If you mean using the wire as an antenna, I think most antennaa have to be tuned for a specific set of frequencies and that depends on the length of the antenna, but I may be wrong.
@David Holcomb Such setup was actually used for emergency radios back in the Morse code days on 500 kHz. Look up Gibson Girl radio. You'd have the hand-cranked transmitter, you'd have a piece of chain which you'd drop into water, to act as ground, and the "hot" antenna wire would be taken into the sky by either a balloon or a kite. Since the wavelength on 500 kHz is very long, you'd need a long antenna wire to get a useful antenna, and therefore the kite or balloon was needed to lift it up. Once you deployed the antenna, you'd crank the radio, and it would send a pre-programmed message, usually SOS, ship's call-sign, tone for radio direction finding and so on.
@@parkermonette5397 Yup, in general, the antenna length needs to be tuned for the frequency in use. The issue with modern VHF is, that we traditionally use coaxial cables with it, and they are relatively heavy. So you'd need a balloon to lift up the many meters of cable, and the antenna up high. You'd need to maintain the balloon, the antenna, the coaxial cable winch, the tank with the propellant gas for the balloon and so on, all of which takes time, energy and money. Also don't forget, this would probably be a safety-critical product, with testing and paperwork and such, which would also affect the price. On the other hand, EPIRB, which transmits to a satellite, seems to be much less complicated solution on the surface, but provides one way only communication, to a rescue center only, which then needs to verify the activation and so on, all of which causes a delay.
ive been in a sinking ship once but the microphone turned out to be broken so we were in a slowly sinking ship for 10 minutes trying to reach coast guard until we had to call the emergency number so we ended up getting saved but that was a scare and a half
The most important information is the position. Everything else is secondary. Vessels name and description are next. Then the nature of the problem and other information.
"Walkie Talkies" were one of our favourite toys as kids! You could say it was an example of how play in childhood equips you with vital life skills. This is a well known phenomena in biology, where play amongst infants is often practice for hunting or competing with rivals as an adult. But who plays with radios, now? If playing with a 2 way radio did nothing but teach kids to say "over" and then release the button, instead of holding it down, it would make a lot of emergencies easier to deal with!
I wish all recreational boaters knew this. I'm a radio operator for the coast guard in an area where most of the urgencies and distresses are from recreational boaters. Communicating can be very challenging sometimes.
Thanks Cheri. That was our hope when making this one
My thanks go to the coast guard! Did my SRC (Short Range Certificate) a few years back and practice when I get the change and listening to the weather broadcasts and Maritime safety information.
Always liked this one th-cam.com/video/6zkZ3f8DnKs/w-d-xo.html
Well done Cheri, I’m a sailor myself ( with both Navy’s ) and I know what you mean, however we know that you’re there and will do everything for all seafarer’s alike and it’s reassuring to know that. So I’d like to thank you and all the people for what you do for those you may never meet.
Would you mind sharing an experience or two for us to better understand the importance of these skills?
@@tamaslapsanszki8744 Here my laymans information: VHF is one of the components of the GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress and Safety System).
I link the Wiki articel here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Maritime_Distress_and_Safety_System#Components_of_GMDSS
More specific: www.gov.uk/government/publications/gmdss-benefits-of-digital-selective-calling-dsc
A pleasure craft may not need a complete GMDSS package but I wouldn't like to be underway without a VHF DSC radio. If you or somebody else requires assistance (Distress or Urgency) or you want to notifiy others about a specific danger or situation or anything else (Safety or Routine) (not the football results), the VHF radio is the equipement to use.
Great, now I know how to use a VHF for emergency calls. All i need now is a boat to be rescued from
Better to have something useful you don't need, than to need something useful you don't have.
@@grondhero haha rightly said
I can help. You get a boat, I can make it sink
Boat acquired now I need an ocean to sink it in too bad I’m in the wrong state
@@grondhero i would prefer to learn 1000 useless survival skills than be in 1 survival situation
I‘m in the Coastguard, and the most important thing to say after calling mayday is position (even if it’s approximate). This allows us to get rescue vessels/aircraft in the area ASAP .Remember the 3 P’s Position, Problem, People(s). Most vessels have a radio that is dedicated to channel 16 so if they hear your transmission but no reply from coastguard they will relay the message
What if you are a ship passenger and don't know where you are though?
@@kaikart123 say last port, next port, time left, due time of arrival. And the name of the ship you were on. The coast guard can calculate an approximate position by plotting the course and estimating how far along it you are. And if they have the ships data, possibly even more accurate than just halfway between here and here. It isn't ideal but basically even if you know you are on course from A -> B they can go along that course looking for signals.
I'll add, nit is not uncommon for these radios to have gps recievers in them these days too. Don't just randomly fiddle, but Coast Guard will likely tell you what buttons to press if need be.
@@EwanMarshall I bet your average Joe couldn't even answer any of that shit. The best you can hope is what city they are from and what city they want to get to.
Hi! Could you help me out with an information, please? I don't understand at 00:50 what saarts are... I understand what an EPIRB is, but not the other word... Thanks!
Good to know about this. But if I end up in a position where I am the one who has to use a vhf. Things have gone catastrophically wrong on so many levels.
same
You're on a ship. You get attacked by pirates. Heavy casualties are sustained. You and the rest of the crew fight back. Miraculously you are victorious but every other crew member and passenger are killed during the fighting. It's now up to you to call for help.
Yeah that's pretty catastrophic.
Generally speaking, if anyone has to use the VHF to call out a mayday, things have gone catastrophically wrong.
It's still good idea to train and have a mind set of preparation when those days do come. Like CPR or emergency cases. Even if it's just you. You can never be too prepare as things that you can control and know what to do. Rather than nothing at all. 😁
You finally got a sponsorSHIP! Congratulations! I've been here for a good while now and it makes me happy to see that you've grown so much.
Have a good day!
Thanks Great Canadian Moose. Glad to have you aboard
I was thinking the same thing about sponsorships. I’m glad he was able to get one. I don’t want him to sacrifice quality for quantity but maybe we’ll get videos more often. Congrats!
It probably makes sense nowadays anyway. TH-cam must be terrible at paying them. Most TH-camrs channel that I know, has been going this route for decade now. 😀
I wish I knew this 4 years ago when I was in a boat with an inexperienced captain. The engine died and we were stranded with no power or engine going out to sea. Pissed off and not wanting to end up on the news. I used my cell phone to get a GPS location and a multi-tool to extract a battery. I then hot wired the radio to call the coast guard. I got the radio working BUT the captain refused to call because, "someone will come bye soon and stop." I was like F-that and started with, Hey Coast Guard I sure hope you can hear me because we are stranded out to sea with no engine or power. Amazingly, they DID answer. I gave them the position and they sent Towboat US. While waiting the captain sat in his chair and whined about not knowing why his boat wasn't working, and was pissed at me for cutting & stripping wires to get the radio working. We did get rescued. He was not happy when Towboat US asked for $7000 for the recovery! We had 1 gallon of distilled water intended for the radiator between 5 people. I have never been on a boat again since that day.
Love it! A real life MacGyver
You fucking saved both your lives. Absolute legend.
What is your profession?
This channel is so great! Your graphics are spot on (please don't every change or "update" them), your instructions clear, your voice relaxing and your information is, well _informative_ without being complex. Explained "in laymen's terms" to keep it simple and easily understood and remembered.
Thanks grondhero. Glad you enjoy it
Excellent video. I'm a ham operator since 1982. I also am a GMDSS operator/maintainer, GROL and 2nd class radiotelegraph operator. I'm just the guy you want on board in an emergency. Chances are though that I or others like me won't be there.
One important tip not in the video is power management for the radio. Transmitting uses up the battery at a rapid rate depending on the power level used. Modern radios have good squelch systems to keep the speaker from turning on when there's no signal present. Almost all vessels are required to keep a watch on channel 16. If you're in a life raft with a handheld radio, if you see a vessel or hear a helicopter, that's a good time to transmit. If you see no one, make a short mayday call about every 10-15 minutes to conserve battery.
Guys my age grew up with walkie-talkies. The current generation, not.
In the United States, a license is required to operate in portions of the VHF spectrum, but not all portions. Specifically, the Marine channels (as defined in 47 CFR, Part 80) do not require a license to operate from a boat or ship provided that the ship is not of a class that requires them to have a radio by law. This certainly covers all recreational boats and boating. Thanks for the great content on this TH-cam channel!
Me: I will never need this information. I’ll never ride a ship.
My brain: You. Never. Know.
well you don't ride a ship. no one ever rides a ship. you can sail on it but riding does not really happen.
@@sirBrouwer Thank you Captain Obvious .
Hoist anchors & lower your sails Ladies and Gentlemen of TH-cam.
We now set sail onto the sea of "Who tf asked" .
Ajit Sen lol
@@syaondri my first boat ride was down Mainstreet in Grafton Illinois at less than a year old during a "100 year flood event". John boat right down Mainstreet I'm told we even stopped at the spot where the 4 way intersection was as if we were in a car.
@@syaondri I did not survive sadly. I am currently dead :/
Always remember...
The PTT (Push To Talk) button is also the RTL (Release To Listen) button. 😁
I love informative channels like this. Literally what youtube should have been solely consisted of
Love this channel 👍
i am always fascinated with the ability that VHF signals of a smaller vessel can be received and re-transmitted to the shore by bigger ships. (and back) in such a way that the bigger ship is really just a massive radio tower. the ship in the middle does hear both ends and can react if needed but can give the brunt of the talking to the shore station directly.
Amateur radio does this quite commonly with UHF and VHF repeaters, usually by having an offset between the frequency you transmit on and receive on, which is handled by your radio if you’ve programmed it in.
I love this channel, I love those videos, they are so relaxing, pls continue with this great work
Thanks Romanov
I make your words as my own. Keep doing best videos Casual Navigation.
I remember when we tried to introduce short range, hand held radios in my workplace. The biggest hurdle was to make the workers remember how the PTT button works. Then the next hurdle was to make them always ask for confirmation from the other side if they got the message or not.
After using phones for decades people have an ingrained assumption how communication should work.
"the nature of your distress" is a very nice wording for "I'm fucking drowning here"
You people dealt with this situation with tact. It was a marvel to watch.
"We have clearance, Clarance."
"Roger, Roger. What's our vector, Victor?"
"Tower's radio clearance, over!"
"That's Clarance Oveur, over."
"Roger."
"Huh?"
"Roger, over."
"What?"
"Huh?"
"Who?"
*Opens the door *
"Good Luck We're All Counting On You
"
*Closes the door*
Oh, I havent felt this bad since I saw the Ronald Reagan movie
But who's on first?
"I take it (coffee) black, like my man."
Seelonce .........
Best reason for not using your cell phone: on lakes, not to mention at sea, you have zero coverage. Plus, who do you want to call?
Unlike a cell phone VHF is broadcasting, so anyone in your relative vicinity will hear your mayday.
Let’s assume you stored the coastguard’s number in your phone and there’s enough coverage and you are sinking.
During all the precious time you are on the phone, ships in your vicinity will have no idea about your distress.
Take a course. Buy a VHF.
Where I live, if the issue is not a mayday (but pan pan or security), coast guards will prefer phone call if you have coverage.
Then, they’ll transmit everything you need to other ships through vhf
You ask who you're going to call.
You will call 112, 999 or, 911. Manufacturers now design phones so that any common emergency number dialed will get through to local emergency services. If ANY provider has even the slightest coverage in that area then the call will go through to the emergency services and you ask for the coast guard. Simple.
Ascdren In The Netherlands this does not work: the Dutch CG emergency phone number is 0900-0111. It is not toll free.
Plus, the coverage problem. Plus nobody else hears you.
Nasser Al Khelaifi You still need cell phone coverage.
@@HugeRademaker the Netherlands, if you're poor you die.
I’ve been using VHF's on my summer job as a ticket clerk and now as a traffic a traffic conductor at a ferry quay for many years, but I’ve never been required to do any training with it. It’s the same system as is used for fishing boats, so sometimes we can hear one of them if they’re using the same channel.
Not sure on the rules now but in the UK back in the day you could use the radio if you had permission from someone with a licence. At the same time you also had to have the radio owners permission. On one occasion when sailing with a mate on his boat with his radio, but he didn't have a licence but I did, officially he had to ask my permission to use his own radio and I had to ask his permission because he owned it. It was a bit strange.
Dan's Koi Pond Man that was a funny situation to visualize in my head.
@@DansKoiPond In US there are not VHF marine licenses.
So channel 16 is the 121.5/7700 of the sea; good to know. Your videos are always interesting!
I a commercial skipper and still I pick up little hints and reminders from your videos, well done for well thought out text, good narration and excellent presentation
If you are in need of assistance, but it is not an immediate emergency, you use the call sign "pan, pan, pan" instead of mayday. It is like the difference between calling an ambulance, and driving to clinic to see what's wrong. Both require medical assistance, but one is a lot more serious then the other
Brilliant video as always. Thank you for your service educating us about naval knowledge
Cheers Ihsan
This is the only TH-cam channel that makes me want to be stranded at sea
0:34 in US territorial waters you do not require a license to operate a marine VHF radio.
Including that unnecessarily scares people from using a radio if they're in a emergency or near emergency scenario. look at aviation, a major source of fatalities are individuals not declaring an emergency soon enough because of external pressure.
also, you don't need a license anywhere in the world for emergencies. All rules are basically suspended when the radio comms are for saving lives.
@@tommihommi1 You're missing the point. Even trained pilots don't know when it's appropriate to declare an emergency. Your average person on the water is going to have even less of an idea. So to dissuade them by telling them that using a radio is illegal when their judgment is by definition compromised as an amateur only sets them up for further loss of human life.
An emergency doesn't mean you're in a life raft, It could be anything from a medical issue, a suspected issue with the boat like pending keel separation or loss of navigational instruments offshore.
@@otm646 I'm not disagreeing with you. I think the US in General have the problem that people don't want to use emergency services because it costs them a lot of money in the end, that's a bigger systemic issue.
That's the issue with some of these HAM radio operators. They get all butthurt over technicalities and it scares people. Not only scares them away from participating in the hobby (like myself) but also makes it seem that you will get arrested if you make one small mistake. It's 100% fine to use a radio in an emergency.
I know the US isn’t the world, but I was quite disappointed to see the emphasis on getting a radio licence, especially given the sponsor (probably not an accident). The other videos on this channel are like “how to dock a cruise ship” and it doesn’t emphasise the need to have a captain’s licence
Lol u saying u need a licence reminds me of the “it crowd” with the fire extinguisher
Let's hope your licence isn't made in Britain
@@Kanbei11 what?
@@Stefan-jk5gx it's a running joke in that episode that anything made in Britain doesn't work
Ok, I need a yacht first then sink it to try this
MIPDANIO
MAYDAY
Identification
Position
Distress (nature of)
Assistance
Number of crew
Information (additional)
Over.
DSC is a great help nowadays as are PLB'S Garmin inreach and SART's /EPIRB's with GPS/GNS
Well done - as always. In my area we aren’t required to get a VHF license and well… it shows because many of us are not good at using it.
Awesome video, please keep on making such content. One small detail, but it should be noted that if you press the Distress button, the receiver doesn't get the kind of distress you're in, as the video suggests. You need to go to the menu first and set the message accordingly before sending.
Awsome :D Always great to get a refresher! I dig out my book every once in a while but it is nice to have a video reminder too, thanks!
What do you do?
@@jonathanpalmer228 I am a hydrographer / nautical cartographer
@@baileywright1656 someone is a smart cookie! Almost went into astro nautical engineering
I always do a little happy dance every time I see you’ve uploaded a new video.
As a pilot, I've never heard anyone say "over" at the end of an air traffic control transmission, but I am amused to learn that it is used somewhere.
"I've just received a strange call, Captain!"
"A strange call?"
"Yes, Captain. So so, so so, so so, all the time."
"Who is it?"
"It's Titanic."
"Ah, OK. Their wireless was acting up the other day, I suppose they're testing stuff. Did you reply?"
"Yes, sir. So what? So what? So what?, all the time."
"What's a 'sow hat'? Sows don't wear hats!"
Thank you for every information passed through this channel. I'm really enjoying it.
I feel old realizing how to use walkie talkie isn't a common knowledge anymore
Kid's nowadays probably think it's "That stuffs security guard uses"
@@scroogemcduckenjoyer Or the "old block phone" from stranger things
Kids still know what a walkie talkie is. But yeah it is becoming more obscure.
People that work in Forestry, Construction, and Trucking still know how to use radios.
We used them on track at a car race with the team spread all over the place. People always started talking the moment they pressed the button and thew first bit of their sentence didn't come through.
I love this channel.💕
I learn a lot.
-a consistent subscriber.
Great to have you here Aezra
Casual Navigation seaman is not my dream to be. But I really love to watch your videos.
Your videos will not only be useful for us, but for the other people. Maybe not now, but I believe that it will be soon.
Thank you for this educational video. Love your simplicity.
All I can say is EXCELLENT! Very well stated.
Thank you.
Now i want to learn all about it!
Only problem is that I literally live in the furthest point from sea in my country so I won't find any VHF courses ;-;
Just to help with your curiosity, take an online Ham radio course. You can learn a lot at this moment and then, when you get the chance, register yourself on a Maritime VHF course!! I’m in the same boat as you, and that is what I’m doing!
Nice, Good solid information without all the technical things to overwhelm,, Without something like this many wouldn't have a clue about how to transmit an emergency message without falling back to the crud picked up from movies which is misleading at best many times.
These kinds of videos are good for leating the baysics of surviving with radio.
Let's all agree that the 7-segment display at 1:38 shows 1b not 16.
Waiting for every new video, thanks!
Great Video!! Love this content.
Thanks Grant
I'm actually a qualified VHF operator as an airline pilot. I find it interesting that y'all use Channel numbers and we use frequencies.
We also use frequencies, but not when using vhf. Only on MF an HF. But VHF just has some set channels.
Your video is indeed accurate, it is the same as what in training school taught for GMDSS GOC.
Except you don’t need a license
I am a professional, and do inspections on ships, including these radios.
First, channel 16 is only for emergencies, no one else should be using that except the Coast Guard.
And DSC needs to be set up by the owner (many owners of smaller boats don't set it up, and it won't automatically work).
If you have an EPIRB, just toss it in the water and tie it to the raft (they're made to be floating in water) and it'll work much better than your radio.
I'm glad I have this information. I also hope I NEVER need to use it.
So I was about to get on a cruise and this just popped up in my TH-cam recommendations. TH-cam you trying to say something
There's still cruises running with COVID going?
Overplays AceKing ya but I had to be tested
Since your video was based in a maritime environment, an aviation handheld radio is another way to be heard. Most likely the first responders are airborne units, since ships can take many hours, or days. I'm a sailor and have one to augment the marine radio. for that reason
Hoping to get my VHF license next year. Taking an rya approved course. Love the content on your channel
Great videos got hooked a bit ago keep it up
Thanks
Eat your cereal
If you have a ham radio license, you can use any frequency when no other means are available. Use your phone to get your coordinates using GPS, making sure that you at least had internet access before going afloat (you'll have some data that speeds up the aqcuiring of satellites where there is no internet). Then call mayday on 16. Unless there are no other means available, you cannot transmit on marine bands unless you have a MROP (or higher) or are exempt from needing one.
Just a tip to know your location: install app on your phone (before going to the sea of course) that can display your phone GPS status(in my android phone literally named "GPS Status").
It will show your latitude-longitude, speed, height etc.
It doesn't need any internet, wifi or cellphone connection. You can use it anywhere as long as your phone get the GPS signals.
Most boats will have a gps you can read right off of while you’re standing at the radio it’s the top line on a gps
smh that sailboat at 0:28 just completed ignored the cruise ship sinking behind them. Absolute monsters
You are the best sir. 👌 I appreciate you
Good video! Never leave someone in the water.
For anyone in an emergency situation using a radio get the three P’s sorted - position number of people and problem. With this we can model where you will be by the time we get there and how many people we are looking for. The problem descriptor is a bonus as we can have the necessary equipment on deck and primed eg fire pumps
KEEP MAKING THESE VIDEOS MATE....
I REALLY WANTED TO SEE.
MY SELF WHEN I'VE BEEN ALLOWED TO STAY ON BRIDGE AND CREATE A NOSTALGY THEN WATCH YOUR VIDEOS BACK
KEEP DOING A FAVOUR TO COMMUNITY MATE!!
I'd STAY HERE. AS YOUR NAVIGATIONERS FOR A LONG TIME
Wow a video with a relevant sponsor.
Great vid! Can you maybe make a video about the Korean Ship "Sewol" who sunk 2014? I think it is very heartbreaking story and the worst ship sinking in the 20th century
"25°23' N 045°34,2' E" 🤔 Why is your yacht sinking in the middle of Saudi Arabia? 🤨
quicksand
EXTREMELY bad captain
what a legend. thank you sir!
Push to talk is also the standard procedure to talk on a video calling app with a lot of members, and if everyone has bad Internet/microphones
No idea why i watch these videos, closest i get to water is canal fishing lol, always good videos though mate keep it up.
WELL. IT IS A COMMON SENSE YOU HAD TO KNOW. MAYBE. EVEN THOUGH WONT BECOME A SAILOR. BUT IT IS GOOD TO INCREASING YOUR KNOWLEDGE
ALSO LIKE THEY SAID. "WE DON'T HAVE TO BECOME A DRUNKER TO KNOW EVERYTHINGS ABOUT ALCOHOLIC
@@nypzzgdh7712 why are you shouting in caps lock?
sirBrouwer Maybe he/she is replying from an old teletype…
(Check out the channel “CuriousMarc” and you’ll see what I’m referring to 😉)
Do a video explaining how the lift works on a ship if the speed is high
In the US, for pleasure craft under 50ft(?) don’t need a licence to use a marine radio
A shame he couldn't have included that information for all 190+ countries. /s
Here's what you're trying to convey:
www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/ship-radio-stations
grondhero the information I was “trying to convey” is that you don’t always need a licence to operate a marine radio
Excellent work sir🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🚢🚢🚢🚢👌
i think it would be helpful to also explain pan-pan and the USCG use of pon pon to your subscribers.
I wonder how much of my military radio training would be applicable. Being former artillery, I got a whole 2 week dedicated class to radio communications which covered radio etiquette (things like saying over, break and out, and such). I notice there are some terms and code words which seam to be fairly universal.
In media is popular to end message with "Over and out."
As far I'm aware it's wrong and MISSLEADING. "Over" means 'I finished message and expect answer.' while "Out" means 'End of coversation, no answer expected.' So they are mutualy exclusive. You should use one OR another, never together.
Moin, Hello, Ahoi and greetings from Germany, your channel is amazing and i got a question because of Radiotelephone Communication between Vessels and Aircrafts. Is it actually possible to get communicate under Radiotelephne between Vessel and Aircraft generaly and even with SRC/LRC? I heard that‘s been possible under communication between SAR and Vessels!?
Best regards!
@Casual Navigation If one has a hand-held HAM Radio but not a hand-held VHF Radio, would it make a difference?
Could u make video on rogue waves?
Correction you do not need a radio operator’s license to make calls because by law a vessel is required to be radio equipped
Oi, you got a license for that life saving distress call?
Oh you don't? *ignores life raft and rides away*
Love it, keep up the good work :)
Yayy a new video!
I love the idea of sailing to see but thinking about being stranded almost brings me to tears even now for some reason so I don't think about it
In aviation, any airman is allowed to disregard any rule setup up by any authority if the situation requires:
_"In an in-flight emergency requiring immediate action, the pilot in command may deviate from any rule of this part to the extent required to meet that emergency."_ (14 CFR § 91.3 b). Now, there have been cases of guests or student pilots who are just starting out had to fly the plane after their instructor became incapacitated. In this case you'd be the pilot in command and thus covered under this law thus you are allowed to talk on frequency without any certificate. I assume a similar law applies to the seas.
(this is quitesimplified. There are still rules that technically apply. but if you're emergency only allowed for a manneuver which is otherwise illegal, you may perform this manneuver. As an example: a barrell role won't resolve your emergency and will not be covered by this law. Landing on a highway, ship, beach, road whatever will. Using the radio without qualifications, yes. What I'm saying: don't declare an emergency and then be stupid. By 14CFR§91.3 c you still need to report why you needed to deviate from applying rules and regulations)
It's similar to when I learned about survival trapping game. Yes it's illegal. When the game wardens show up to fine you, ask for a ride back to safety.
I'm an amateur radio Operator. In a mayday call, do not jump immediately to the radio. take a deep breath, then transmit. Your information is inaccurate when you panic. Do not look at anything triggering, your hands will be shaky. But before you transmit, activate the EPIRB and transponders first, so that when you transmit, your mayday call will be taken seriously. If they are using a ham radio turning it on (on a baofeng for example) will go to channel mode. Scroll around until you see this frequency:156.8MHz
That is channel 16 in marine radio. If you don't see that don't screw around with that. It's a waste of energy, focus on turning on the transponders because that will transmit in a much more larger area. Remember MayMayMayShiPaPo
Mayday mayday mayday Ship name, Passengers on board, and position
Great video
great work sir
I did the course (in Sweden) still think it wouldn’t be any harm if you made a more detailed video about this, memory of things you never do can be quite “challenging” 😂
A "Mayday" (distress call) must be send first by DSC (VHF, MF/HF) by pressing the red button on your device.
If you have time, enter the menu and select the type of distress.
Very nicely done
could someone develop an emergency VHF balloon? The transponder would be with the balloon with a thin wire to the ship. It could give you a couple hundred feet up off the ocean instead of transmitting at surface level.
That's actually a pretty good idea, similar to submarines dragging a small communication bouy. The only problem I can see would be the added weight and space requirements to hoist a large gas balloon with an antenna attached. If you mean using the wire as an antenna, I think most antennaa have to be tuned for a specific set of frequencies and that depends on the length of the antenna, but I may be wrong.
@David Holcomb Such setup was actually used for emergency radios back in the Morse code days on 500 kHz. Look up Gibson Girl radio. You'd have the hand-cranked transmitter, you'd have a piece of chain which you'd drop into water, to act as ground, and the "hot" antenna wire would be taken into the sky by either a balloon or a kite. Since the wavelength on 500 kHz is very long, you'd need a long antenna wire to get a useful antenna, and therefore the kite or balloon was needed to lift it up. Once you deployed the antenna, you'd crank the radio, and it would send a pre-programmed message, usually SOS, ship's call-sign, tone for radio direction finding and so on.
@@parkermonette5397 Yup, in general, the antenna length needs to be tuned for the frequency in use. The issue with modern VHF is, that we traditionally use coaxial cables with it, and they are relatively heavy. So you'd need a balloon to lift up the many meters of cable, and the antenna up high. You'd need to maintain the balloon, the antenna, the coaxial cable winch, the tank with the propellant gas for the balloon and so on, all of which takes time, energy and money. Also don't forget, this would probably be a safety-critical product, with testing and paperwork and such, which would also affect the price.
On the other hand, EPIRB, which transmits to a satellite, seems to be much less complicated solution on the surface, but provides one way only communication, to a rescue center only, which then needs to verify the activation and so on, all of which causes a delay.
Love it
ive been in a sinking ship once but the microphone turned out to be broken so we were in a slowly sinking ship for 10 minutes trying to reach coast guard until we had to call the emergency number so we ended up getting saved but that was a scare and a half
I’ve used a VHF to summon help, wont be here had I not had it.
tell us a bit more please
What frequency is channel 16? Because it maybe able to be picked up by aircraft as well
Is there any use of HF for longer range ships to be able to communicate beyond the horizon?
Is it hard to get a VHF certificate? I kinda wanna get one if it isn't too costly and difficult.
The most important information is the position. Everything else is secondary. Vessels name and description are next. Then the nature of the problem and other information.
Position, people, problem. Anything else is not nearly as important if the boat is gone it more important to know where and how many people
Great information
"Walkie Talkies" were one of our favourite toys as kids! You could say it was an example of how play in childhood equips you with vital life skills. This is a well known phenomena in biology, where play amongst infants is often practice for hunting or competing with rivals as an adult. But who plays with radios, now? If playing with a 2 way radio did nothing but teach kids to say "over" and then release the button, instead of holding it down, it would make a lot of emergencies easier to deal with!
Ch. 16 tells me nothing. What frequency is ch. 16?
you don't actually need to know that. Possibly it's even 2 frequencies for one channel, at least it's like that for the radio devices we use.