Using Your Marine Radio

A marine VHF (Very High Frequency) radio is aget assistance. One of your passengers may even
necessity for safety on today's ships and vessels.begin to have a medical problem while you are
These marine radios help ships communicate, andhundreds of miles away from any land source. There
keep people safe all over the waters. In some areasare so many what-ifs you face while on the water, so
you can even use your VHF radio as a telephone bybeing prepared with your marine radio will eliminate the
linking into the local telephone lines. This should only beworry of being helpless.
used in emergency because gossip, idle conversationSome VHF radios even have a "USA mode" where
and profanity are illegal.channels appear with letters (12A, 6A) that are not
In simple terms a marine radio is a high techlisted by the FCC or Coast Guard. These channels
walkie-talkie that operates on up to 104 channels. Mosttend to be used by local departments for land-mobile
VHF radios use simplex transmission which meanscommunication. Help and support is available for new
that communication can only take place in one directionmarine radio users and should be utilized.
at time. There are portable models of the VHF radioAlways remember that the transmission of a false
available and comes in very useful for people ondistress or emergency is illegal and could lead to
kayaks or emergency lifeboats. The fixed units tend tocharges or an arrest. Any obscene profanity is also
look more like CB radios in bulk with more featuresillegal and if approached by the Coast Guard, you
and buttons to choose from.could also face charges and losing your VHF radio. To
The Coast Guard monitors channels, like Channel 16obtain forms or additional information, contact the FCC
and 70, 24 hours a day so you can be sure you canat (202) 418-3676.