SSB Licence

[gerald n.]

Is there anyone who fills out the paper work to get this lic. Thanks, Jerry

[ErikFinn]

Yes, if you not too keen dealing with FCC direct, then Dockside Radio can help:

One page FCC Marine/Aeronautical License Intro

[gjordan]

My boat (recent purchase) is state registered, but I plan to document it. If I get the station license before I document, will I have to go thru the paperwork and cost again to be legal as a documented vessel? ______Grant.

[Lars_L]

A SSB license is personal a do not have any connection to your boat.

[sck5]

Actually, the above info is not correct. To have an SSB on your boat you need a ship station license. That goes with the boat and if you sell the boat it does not transfer. To just listen on SSB you dont need any personal license at all. To transmit you need a restricted radiotelephone operators license. Fees on all of these things have been going up in recent years but for the most part they are one-off expenditures, at least until you sell your boat and buy another in which case you need a new ship station license.

One exception to needing the RRO license to transmit - In an emergency anyone can call for help in any way they need to on the SSB.

The above applies to the marine bands (i.e. ssb). To use ham frequencies you need a ham license, which comes in three grades. The lowest grade doesnt get you access to the frequencies most commonly used for marine radio nets, but the intermediate (General) ham license does. Ham licenses are useful if you want to talk on the ham frequency radio nets (again, to just listen you dont need any license) or if you want to use ham frequencies to do emails. Ham licenses are for individuals, not boats but again, in an emergency you can do whatever you need to do in order to get help.

All of the above is to the best of my knowledge, having had to go through it again when I bought my current boat a couple of years ago.

[Lars_L]

When I took my SSB license I did not have to register it to my boot, it is just registered to me.
VHF license is another ting. That is connected to the boat and usually to an MMSI number and follows the boot.

[sck5]

maybe you are confusing an "SSB license" with a ham license? It seems that my understanding of the requirements are for US flagged boats sailed internationally. There may be fewer requirements if you stay in US waters but I am not sure about that. In any case, here is the official info on ship station licenses for a US flagged boat.

FCC: Wireless Services: Ship Radio Stations: Licensing

Here is the info for an RRO

https://wireless.fcc.gov/commoperators/index.htm?job=rr

Here is for a ham license

FCC: Wireless Services: Amateur Radio Service: Amateur Home

[Lars_L]

I was wrong. I don’t not have any SSB licence, there do not exist. The licence I was thinking about is named amateur radio licence.
SSB is a transmission technique that is often used when you sending on the amateur radio frequencies. I do not remember if it is used on the VHF.

[Uricanejack]

I have an ancient radio telephony licence. from around 40 years ago. As far as I know its not much use nowadays 2182kh coast stations having all closed down decades ago along with the demise of wireless telegraphy on 500 kh.
All replaced by GMDSS which I just haven't got enough time to waste on.
Ham radio is and always has been different.

[btrayfors]

Here we go again.

All this angst and mis-information derives from a misunderstanding of the term, "SSB".

Popularly -- and incorrectly -- it is often used to refer to a marine SSB transceiver for use on the MF and HF marine bands. Problem is, "SSB" is a type of emission, not a type of or specific radio. Ham radios and aircraft radios and military radios and emergency land radios and dozens of others all typically use single-sideband emission (SSB) types.

There is no "SSB license". Rather, there are many types of licenses which allow operation on specific portions of the radio spectrum. For boats, the licenses required under international treaty are:

1. a ship station license, good for 10 years and issued to a specific vessel, covering not only marine SSB radios but several other types of transmitting gear (radar, satellite, EPIRB, etc., etc.); and

2. an operators permit, good for life, issued to every person who intends to transmit on the radio.

In an unusual exception to the worldwide practice, in the US only neither of these is required for marine VHF radios which are not used to communicate with foreign vessels or stations. But, if you go abroad or if you regularly communicate with foreign vessels you need BOTH a ship station license and an operators permit exactly the same as required for marine SSB operation.

All radios for use on the marine bands must be "type certificated" by the FCC for marine band operation. This is for both VHF and MF/HF radios. Though often done, use of ham radios modified to transmit in the marine bands is illegal.

For operation on the amateur bands (ham), all you need is a ham license and you can use ANY radio you like, the rationale being that if you know enough to obtain the amateur license you know enough to not cause harmful interference.

Bill
WA6CCA