This Short-Hand VHF Stuff is Driving me Insane

[cptratbag]

One thing I have resorted to, is using a handheld VHF at night in the cabin to guard 16.

I might not hear as much as on the main radio, but it is more pertinent to my location.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by Richard5

Gee Eric, why you sitting in the marina with the V on? Pray tell you go to the fabulous stupendous cruising ground (TM) which is Mexico yet you sit and stew about the others who follow behind you. Don't you have better to do? Hardly anything irritated me more than the dock mate with his VHF loud and breaking squelch. If you ain't leaving the dock in a few minutes turn the bloody thing down or better yet, off.

If you think it's awful on slow moving boats you should hear it in aviation. Same blasted crap. Many airports share the same freq and comms can be heard for miles (bleeding across multiple aprts) including busy aprts.

But get out and go do something or at least turn off the V. I've even turned off the comm radio in flight. I'm not about to drop the plane to pick up the radio.

My volume is low enough and the VHF is a great way to talk to boats all over the bay. There's a valuable net in the mornings, and it's the primary means of talking to other boats of which I have many friends in the area.

And regarding "get up and go", I've got a three year old with me and a boat I've put ~4k miles on this year with another 7k to go in 2014 so yeah, I've got a few things to knock out before I cross the Pacific that's keeping me on the dock (that we've been at for barely a month now). And regardless even in the dayhops around here you're still in VHF range.

[Horror Hotel]

Maybe I'm doing it wrong , but what is considered proper etiquette for hailing another vessel? I always try to be as brief as possible and switch to a working channel. The weekend warriors constantly doing radio checks is my biggest annoyance. I don't thing I've ever had to do a radio check.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by cptratbag

One thing I have resorted to, is using a handheld VHF at night in the cabin to guard 16.

I might not hear as much as on the main radio, but it is more pertinent to my location.

All the English speaking boats (basically: yachts) in Mexico are on 22a when not making way, and usually dual-scanning 16 and 22a underway. Some people are quick enough on the uptake to add 13 in the mix as well.

I kill the radio around dinner time but during the day there are usually a few people trying to get ahold of me or need some form of assistance. 16 is totally nuts and since barely any of the yachtistas down here speak Spanish it's no good to them anyway.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by Horror Hotel

Maybe I'm doing it wrong , but what is considered proper etiquette for hailing another vessel? I always try to be as brief as possible and switch to a working channel. The weekend warriors constantly doing radio checks is my biggest annoyance. I don't thing I've ever had to do a radio check.

The biggest ones for me are:

- Spelling out the channel you want to switch to, digit by digit. So "two one" instead of "twenty one".
- Confirming that you are switching to that channel. "Rebel Heart switching two three." I can't tell you how many times I've wondered if the person I asked "Can you switch and answer channel two three?" has actually done so or didn't hear me, or what.
- Dump the up one / down one nonsense.
- Using "over" at the end of any transmission when you want a response.
- Using "out" when you end a transmission and are not waiting around for a response.
- So "over and out" means two different things.
- Don't hail people every twenty seconds. Wait a few minutes between attempts.

- Don't be that guy who does the "Attention the fleet.... uh..... yeah.... I'm a ... . looking for the start time to the party at El Glumpos tonight.... yeah... uh... anyone know where that is.... over?"
"Oh yeah... it's a....... what is it.... I think maybe at 8.... yeah."

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

The biggest ones for me are:

- Spelling out the channel you want to switch to, digit by digit. So "two one" instead of "twenty one".
- Confirming that you are switching to that channel. "Rebel Heart switching two three." I can't tell you how many times I've wondered if the person I asked "Can you switch and answer channel two three?" has actually done so or didn't hear me, or what.
- Dump the up one / down one nonsense.
- Using "over" at the end of any transmission when you want a response.
- Using "out" when you end a transmission and are not waiting around for a response.
- So "over and out" means two different things.
- Don't hail people every twenty seconds. Wait a few minutes between attempts.

- Don't be that guy who does the "Attention the fleet.... uh..... yeah.... I'm a ... . looking for the start time to the party at El Glumpos tonight.... yeah... uh... anyone know where that is.... over?"
"Oh yeah... it's a....... what is it.... I think maybe at 8.... yeah."

All these except #3 , 8,9 are good practice

Dave

[DeepFrz]

I'm not sure if it is still required in Canada but I had to take a written and oral exam at Industry Canada office to get my Marine Restricted Radio Operators License, even though I had my Restricted Aviation Radio Operators License and my Ham License.

[donradcliffe]

Its all part of cruising, but now you understand why your boat name should be short, simple, easy to pronounce in several languages, non-offensive, and unique.

PLEASE don't name your boat Destiny or Quest--it takes 5 minutes on the calling channel to sort out which Destiny or Quest is being called.

The other thing you will learn is that the proper working channels vary from harbor to harbor, let alone country to country--try not to upset the locals.

Another newbie goof is to try to shift to a duplex channel, or to keep your radio on the US or Canadian channel settings.

[El Pinguino]

Shorthand is how it should be... nothing erks me more than some prat doing the full own name and station being called 3 times.... FMTT ... thats for distress working you wonker.

Wanting to work another station that may be expecting your call on 16?
'Wombat... Ferret'
'Ferret.. Wombat... 6'

Nada mas...


Back in the dreamtime when Noah was still a deckboy and VIS ( Sydneyradio VIS - Part of The Network of the Australian Coastal Radio Service ) was still on VHF as well as HF we were drifting outside Port Jackson waiting to go up to Gore Bay on the Monday to discharge a bit of crude.

Satdee morning.....
Ch 16... real name of boat as I remember it....
'Sea Hawk, Sea Hawk, Sea Hawk this is Sea Hawk'
repeated about 6 times over maybe 10 minutes...
VIS.. 'Seahawk this is Sydney Radio, can I help you?'
SH 'Sydney radio this is Sea Hawk, I want to send a mayday'
VIS' Permission granted to send your Mayday'
SH ' This is SH, Mayday Mayday, Mayday'
VIS ' SH, what is the nature of your mayday'
SH' We have broken down and need a tow to Paramatta'
VIS ' SH... what is your position'
SH ( high falsetto by now ) 'We are very close to the rocks................'

Brightened up my day... it was up there with other overheard VHF coms including the hot shot racer (Trump Card)( pre GPS ) coming home from Hobart calling up Lonsdale thinking he was anchored in Port Phillip when in fact he had arrived off Cowes in Western Port ... soorted by VIM... how they survived getting in there remains one of life's great mysteries.

And not to forget the 0400 Sunday one when a boat in Port Phillip called Lonsdale.... final response ... some minutes later... 'Spoken to the coast guard... you are in no danger... drop your anchor...they will be out after breakfast'....

El Ping

[twistedtree]

I still think the root problem, at least in the US, is that we don't ever teach operators how to operate. And if you want to learn on your own, there is no teaching material, at least none that I could find, instructing on proper use. The only way to learn in the US is to listen and emulate. So it's no wonder that operators are idiots, 'cause they aren't born knowing this stuff, and even those who want to learn proper use can't find any instructive material.

For those of you in Canada or anywhere else in the world where actual instruction is required, do you have any material you could point folks to that says how to do it properly.

[SimonV]

This should work it's international even the french use it. http://www.acma.gov.au/Citizen/Consu...rine-vhf-radio

[virginia boy]

http://www.boatus.com/foundation/dsc/

Radio Communications Protocol

http://www.armystudyguide.com/conten...nication.shtml

http://www.mita.org/files/pdf/mita_vhf_radio_skills.pdf

[AfterHoursNLCT]

From BoatUS...
BoatUS - BoatTech - VHF Basics by Don Casey

[colemj]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Shorthand is how it should be... nothing erks me more than some prat doing the full own name and station being called 3 times.... FMTT ... thats for distress working you wonker.

Wanting to work another station that may be expecting your call on 16?
'Wombat... Ferret'
'Ferret.. Wombat... 6'

Nada mas...

+1. If you have to hear hailing all day long, something like "Fox-Blue-switch" from boat Blue Screen of Death to boat Foxy Lady Bits to move to a predetermined talking channel is much preferred over "Foxy Lady Bits, Foxy Lady Bits, Foxy Lady Bits… this is Blue Screen of Death, Blue Screen of Death, Blue Screen of Death…Blue Screen of Death, Blue Screen of Death this is Foxy Lady Bits…Foxy Lady Bits this is Blue Screen of Death please switch to channel six eight…Blue Screen of Death this is Foxy Lady Bits switching to channel six eight"

All day long…

Keep in mind that this is not high seas hailing or communication. Most of this takes place on a locally determined non-hailing frequency that has been usurped by a cruising community to use as a party-line hailing channel. To continual to insist that communications here follow "proper international hailing and calling standards" is tilting at windmills, if not being just a bit pretentious.

Or at least I would not try to press that issue unless I was showing proper daytime anchoring signals in the proper places in the rigging, ditto for daytime motoring, raising and striking my ensign at the proper times each day, not using garden lights on deck at night, etc.

If everyone would learn to use their DSC, radio land would be a better place.

Mark

[twistedtree]

Originally Posted by AfterHoursNLCT

From BoatUS...
BoatUS - BoatTech - VHF Basics by Don Casey

This and other material on BoatUS is so rudimentary that it addresses none of the issues this thread identifies. Missing are things like

- Say "one three", not "thirteen", and an explanation of why. This would be a good place to talk about other things to NOT do, like "up one".

- When to issue a security call vs Pan Pan, vs Mayday.

- When to contact another boat and why, other than to arrange for cocktails.

- Channel monitoring strategies. Single channel monitoring, scanning, and monitoring across two or more VHFs.

The list goes on.

I'll drop BoatUS a note. This would be a great thing for them to take the lead on. A VHF operators handbook that's above the 3rd grade level would be great, like the Austrailian one.