Quote:
Originally Posted by dave777
Can we initiate contact to a known MMSI number, from OpenCPN?
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The Transponder Initialize function is indeed part of NMEA183, but all the implementations I know (at least, I knew at the time of programming DSC feature into OCPN) have been proprietary, i.e. they worked only between a
chartplotter and VHF of the same manufacturer (and there were not many). By radio
regulations a call can only be initiated manually, so the
software can offer only some help (presetting MMSI), but a few buttons still have to be pressed on the radio. I do not know the situation today, but I think it is pretty much the same.
Quote:
When we hear any talk on a marine VHF with DSC, do we automatically see an icon for their boat (assuming their radio has DSC)?
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Hearing a voice
transmission does not say anything whether the call was initiated by DSC or not... I may be wrong now, but I think initiating a standard individual call does not carry any position information, so even monitoring ch 70 by special
equipment will not reveal caller's position and the working channel is still open to all...
Quote:
What must happen in order to have a boat identified by DSC appear on our OpenCPN screen?
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Receiving a DSC/DSE message over
NMEA, which the radio outputs when decoding a
Distress or Position Report in response to a
Poll from the air.
Quote:
Is there a command that would "zoom to display" the location of a boater?
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The DSC and Buddy targets appear on the
AIS Target List and are subject to all the functions available there, e.g. JumpTo.
I hope this helps...