VHF Marine Radio,  SRC,  DSC,  GMDSS - What does it all mean and how does it affect you?

It has always struck us as the ultimate irony that to use a high powered sportsboat no qualification or experience is required by law yet if you wish to use the VHF radio on board to call for assistance and there is no 'qualified operator' on board or you do not possess a licence for the radio then technically you are breaking the law. In practice if you are ever in trouble do not hesitate to use the radio as no action would be taken against you as your safety is paramount. The article below by David Robson of Aquapower addresses the changes in VHF licencing and exams. The Coastguard Agency have indicated that they will continue to monitor Channel 16 at least til c2005 therfore DSC will run in parallel until this time.

 If you use any marine band VHF Radio equipment (including hand-held radios), you are required by law to have an operators certificate, obtained from the RYA, which authorises you to use a VHF radio. There have been major changes lately, so hopefully this article will answer any questions.

The Operators Licence

Until recently, the operators licence was called ‘The VHF Restricted Certificate’. To comply with the new Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) a new operators certificate, the Short Range Certificate (SRC) is now being issued to include the use of Digital Selective Calling (DSC) equipment. Previously when you wanted to call someone you had to call them, by voice on channel 16. The new DSC radio set calls the other station using a digital signal, rather like a pager, on a special calling channel. The other stations radio set will then bleep and show who is calling, on a screen. All distress and safety messages will also be sent and acknowledged using the Digital system.

So how does all this affect you?

 It is very simple really. From January 2001 it is planned to phase out standard VHF radios and to only sell DSC compatible sets. This is because in the future, vessels and Coast Guard Stations will no longer be required to keep a listening watch on channel 16. They will all use DSC radio. From September 2000 the old restricted VHF licence has ceased to  be issued. It has been replaced by the Short Range Certificate (SRC), which authorises you to operate the new DSC radio sets, as well as the ‘standard’ sets we use now. So if you use an old style VHF your old operators certificate will still be valid, but if you use the new DSC radios, or you don’t have an operators certificate, you will need a Short Range Certificate.

 Obtaining your radio operators licence or upgrade your old one to a SRC

 You have three options:

(1)   For those that have never held an operators certificate, you attend a full course (normally one day) run by a Recognised Teaching Establishment, during which an assessment will be carried out and if successful a Short Range Certificate can then be applied for.

(2)   For those with an old style restricted VHF certificate, you can attend a shorter course run by a Recognised Teaching Establishment, during which an assessment will be carried out and if successful you can apply for your certificate to be upgraded to the new SRC.

    (3)   If you do not want to do a course, you can apply to an examination centre to sit a SRC exam.