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Marine VHF radio is a worldwide system of
two way radio transceivers on ships and watercraft used for bidirectional voice communication from ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore (for example with
harbormaster
A harbourmaster (or harbormaster, see spelling differences) is an official responsible for enforcing the regulations of a particular harbour or port, in order to ensure the safety of navigation, the security of the harbour and the correct opera ...
s), and in certain circumstances ship-to-aircraft. It uses
FM channels in the
very high frequency
Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves ( radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter.
Frequencies immediately below VHF ...
(VHF) radio band in the frequency range between 156 and 174
MHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...
, inclusive, designated by the
International Telecommunication Union
The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...
as the ''VHF maritime mobile band''. In some countries additional channels are used, such as
[ the L and F channels for leisure and fishing vessels in the Nordic countries (at 155.5–155.825 MHz). Transmitter power is limited to 25 watts, giving them a range of about .
Marine VHF radio equipment is installed on all large ships and most seagoing small craft. It is also used, with slightly different regulation, on rivers and lakes. It is used for a wide variety of purposes, including ]marine navigation
Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...
and traffic control, summoning rescue
Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or the urgent treatment of injuries after an accident or a dangerous situation.
Tools used might include search and rescue dogs, mounted search and rescue ho ...
services and communicating with harbour
A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
s, locks
Lock(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
*Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance
*Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lock ...
, bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
s and marina
A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.
A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
s.
Background
Marine radio was the first commercial application of radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
technology, allowing ships to keep in touch with shore and other ships, and send out a distress call for rescue in case of emergency. Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquis of Marconi (; 25 April 187420 July 1937) was an Italians, Italian inventor and electrical engineering, electrical engineer, known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based Wireless telegrap ...
invented radio communication in the 1890s, and the Marconi Company installed wireless telegraphy
Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimental technologies for ...
stations on ships beginning around 1900. Marconi built a string of shore stations and in 1904 established the first Morse code
Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of ...
distress call, the letters CQD, used until 1906 when SOS was agreed on. The first significant marine rescue due to radio was the 1909 sinking of the luxury liner RMS ''Republic'', in which 1,500 lives were saved. This and the 1912 RMS ''Titanic'' rescue brought the field of marine radio to public consciousness, and marine radio operators were regarded as heroes. By 1920, the US had a string of 12 coastal stations stretched along the Atlantic seaboard from Bar Harbor, Maine
Bar Harbor is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. During the summer and fall seasons, it is a popular tourist destination and, until a catastrophic fire i ...
to Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May is a city located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations, and part of th ...
.
The first marine radio transmitters used the longwave
In radio, longwave, long wave or long-wave, and commonly abbreviated LW, refers to parts of the radio spectrum with wavelengths longer than what was originally called the medium-wave broadcasting band. The term is historic, dating from the e ...
bands. During World War I amplitude modulation
Amplitude modulation (AM) is a modulation technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting messages with a radio wave. In amplitude modulation, the amplitude (signal strength) of the wave is varied in proportion to ...
was developed, and in the 1920s spark radiotelegraphy equipment was replaced by vacuum tube
A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric voltage, potential difference has been applied.
The type kn ...
radiotelephony
A radiotelephone (or radiophone), abbreviated RT, is a radio communication system for conducting a conversation; radiotelephony means telephony by radio. It is in contrast to ''radiotelegraphy'', which is radio transmission of telegrams (messa ...
allowing voice communication. Also in the 1920s, the ionospheric skip or skywave
In radio communication, skywave or skip refers to the propagation of radio waves reflected or refracted back toward Earth from the ionosphere, an electrically charged layer of the upper atmosphere. Since it is not limited by the curvature of ...
phenomenon was discovered, which allowed lower power vacuum tube transmitters operating in the shortwave
Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 me ...
bands to communicate at long distances.
Hoping to foil German detection during the World War II Battle of the Atlantic, American and British convoy escorts used Talk-Between-Ships (TBS) radios operating on VHF.
Types of equipment
Sets can be fixed or portable. A fixed set generally has the advantages of a more reliable power source, higher transmit power, a larger and more effective antenna and a bigger display and buttons. A portable set (often essentially a waterproof, VHF walkie-talkie
A walkie-talkie, more formally known as a handheld transceiver (HT), is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver. Its development during the Second World War has been variously credited to Donald Hings, radio engineer Alfred J. Gross, ...
in design) can be carried on a kayak, or to a lifeboat
Lifeboat may refer to:
Rescue vessels
* Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape
* Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues
* Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen
...
in an emergency, has its own power source and is waterproof if GMDSS
The Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) is a worldwide system for automated emergency signal communication for ships at sea developed by the United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO) as part of the SOLAS Convent ...
-approved. A few portable VHFs are even approved to be used as emergency radios in environments requiring intrinsically safe equipment (e.g. gas tankers, oil rigs, etc.).
Voice-only
Voice only equipment is the traditional type, which relies totally on the human voice for calling and communicating.
Many lower priced handheld units are voice only as well as older fixed units.
Digital selective calling
DSC equipment, a part of the Global Maritime Distress Safety System
The Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) is a worldwide system for automated emergency signal communication for ships at sea developed by the United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO) as part of the SOLAS Convent ...
(GMDSS), provides all the functionality of voice-only equipment and, additionally, allows several other features:
* The ability to call another vessel using a unique identifier known as a Maritime Mobile Service Identity
A Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) is effectively a maritime object's international ''maritime telephone number'', a temporarily assigned UID, issued by that object's current flag state, (unlike an IMO, which is a global forever UID).
...
(MMSI). This information is carried digitally and the receiving set will alert the operator of an incoming call once its own MMSI is detected. Calls are set up on the dedicated VHF channel 70 which DSC equipment must listen on continuously. The actual voice communication then takes place on a different channel specified by the caller.
* A distress button, which automatically sends a digital distress signal identifying the calling vessel and the nature of the emergency
* A built in GPS receiver
A satellite navigation device (satnav device) is a user equipment that uses one or more of several global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) to calculate the device's geographical position and provide navigational advice.
Depending on the ...
or facility to connect an external GPS receiver so that the user's location may be transmitted automatically along with a distress call.
When a DSC radio is bought new the user will get the opportunity to program it with the MMSI number of the ship it is intended to be used on. However to change the MMSI after the initial programming can be problematic and require special proprietary tools. This is allegedly done to prevent theft.
Automatic identification system
More advanced transceiver units support AIS. This relies on a GPS receiver built into the VHF equipment or an externally connected one by which the transceiver obtains its position and transmits this information along with some other details about the ship (MMSI, cargo, draught, destination and some others) to nearby ships. AIS operates as a mesh network and full featured units relay AIS messages from other ships, greatly extending the range of this system; however some low-end units are receive only or do not support the relaying functionality.
AIS data is carried on dedicated VHF channels 87B and 88B at a baud rate
In telecommunication and electronics, baud (; symbol: Bd) is a common unit of measurement of symbol rate, which is one of the components that determine the speed of communication over a data channel.
It is the unit for symbol rate or modul ...
of 9,600bit/s using GMSK
In digital modulation, minimum-shift keying (MSK) is a type of continuous-phase frequency-shift keying that was developed in the late 1950s by Collins Radio employees Melvin L. Doelz and Earl T. Heald. Similar to OQPSK, MSK is encoded with bi ...
modulation and uses a form of time-division multiplexing
Time-division multiplexing (TDM) is a method of transmitting and receiving independent signals over a common signal path by means of synchronized switches at each end of the transmission line so that each signal appears on the line only a fracti ...
.
Text messaging
Using the RTCM 12301.1 standard it is possible to send and receive text messages in a similar fashion to SMS
Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text ...
between marine VHF transceivers which comply with this standard. However, as of 2019 very few transceivers support this feature. The recipient of the message needs to be tuned to the same channel as the transmitting station in order to receive it.
Regulation
In the United States, any person can legally purchase a Marine VHF radio and use it to communicate without requiring any special license as long as they abide by certain rules, but in a great many other countries a license is required to transmit on Marine VHF frequencies.
In the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and some other European countries '' Short Range Certificate'' is the minimum requirement to use a marine VHF radio. This is usually obtained after completing a course of around two days and passing an exam. This is intended for those operating on lakes and in coastal areas whereas a '' Long Range Certificate'' is usually recommended for those operating further out as it also covers HF and MF radios as well as INMARSAT systems.
Automatic Transmitter Identification System (marine)
For use on the inland waterways within continental Europe, a compulsory Automatic Transmitter Identification System (ATIS) transmission conveys the vessel's identity after each voice transmission. This is a ten-digit code that is either an encoded version of the ship's alphanumeric call sign, or for vessels from outside the region, the ship MMSI prefixed with "9". The requirement to use ATIS in Europe, and which VHF channels may be used, are strongly regulated, most recently by the Basel agreements.
Channels and frequencies
A marine VHF set is a combined transmitter and receiver and only operates on standard, international frequencies known as channels
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
. Channel 16 (156.8 MHz) is the international calling and distress channel. Transmission power ranges between 1 and 25 watts, giving a maximum range of up to about 60 nautical mile
A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today ...
s (111 km) between aerials mounted on tall ships and hills, and between aerials mounted on small boat
A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats.
Small boats are typically found on inl ...
s at sea level. Frequency modulation
Frequency modulation (FM) is the encoding of information in a carrier wave by varying the instantaneous frequency of the wave. The technology is used in telecommunications, radio broadcasting, signal processing, and Run-length limited#FM: .280. ...
(FM) is used, with vertical polarization, meaning that antennas have to be vertical in order to have good reception. For longer range communication at sea, marine MF and marine HF bands and satellite phone
A satellite telephone, satellite phone or satphone is a type of mobile phone that connects to other phones or the telephone network by radio through orbiting satellites instead of terrestrial cell sites, as cellphones do. The advantage of a sa ...
s can be used.
Half-duplex channels here are listed with the A and B frequencies the same. The frequencies, channels, and some of their purposes are governed by the ITU
The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...
. For an authoritative list see. The original allocation of channels consisted of only channels 1 to 28 with 50 kHz spacing between channels, and the second frequency for full-duplex operation 4.6 MHz higher.
Improvements in radio technology later meant that the channel spacing could be reduced to 25 kHz with channels 60 to 88 interspersed between the original channels.
Channels 75 and 76 are omitted as they are either side of the calling and distress channel 16, acting as guard channels. The frequencies which would have been the second frequencies on half-duplex channels are not used for marine purposes and can be used for other purposes that vary by country. For example, 161.000 to 161.450 MHz are part of the allocation to the Association of American Railroads
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight Rail transport, railroads of North America (Canada, Mexico and the United States). Amtrak and some regional Commuter rail in North Am ...
channels used by railways in the US and Canada.
Operating procedure
Marine VHF mostly uses half-duplex non-relayed transmission. Ship to ship communication is over a single radio frequency, while ship to shore uses two frequencies, but typically only one of the parties can transmit at a time. (Not to be confused with simplex
In geometry, a simplex (plural: simplexes or simplices) is a generalization of the notion of a triangle or tetrahedron to arbitrary dimensions. The simplex is so-named because it represents the simplest possible polytope in any given dimension. ...
communication, for example radio broadcasting, where one party transmits always transmits.) The transceiver is normally in receive mode; to transmit the user presses a "push to talk
Push-to-talk (PTT), also known as press-to-transmit, is a method of having conversations or talking on half-duplex communication lines, including two-way radio, using a momentary button to switch from voice reception mode to transmit mode.
H ...
" button on the set or microphone which turns the transmitter on and the receiver off. Some channels, however, are " duplex" transmission channels where communication can take place in both directions simultaneously when the equipment on both ends allow it. Each full-duplex channel has two frequency assignments. Duplex channels can be used to place calls over the public telephone network
A telephone network is a telecommunications network that connects telephones, which allows telephone calls between two or more parties, as well as newer features such as fax and internet. The idea was revolutionized in the 1920s, as more and more ...
for a fee via a marine operator. When full-duplex is used, the call is similar to one using a mobile phone or landline. When half-duplex is used, voice is only carried one way at a time and the party on the boat must press the transmit button only when speaking. This facility is still available in some areas, though its use has largely died out with the advent of mobile and satellite phones. Marine VHF radios can also receive weather radio A weather radio is a specialized radio receiver that is designed to receive a public broadcast service, typically from government-owned radio stations, dedicated to broadcasting weather forecasts and reports on a continual basis, with the routine we ...
broadcasts, where they are available.
The accepted conventions for use of marine radio are collectively termed "proper operating procedure". These international conventions include:
* Stations should listen for 30 seconds before transmitting and not interrupt other stations.
* Maintaining a watch listening on Channel 16 when not otherwise using the radio. All calls are established on channel 16, except for distress working switch to a working ship-to-ship or ship-to-shore channel. (procedure varies in the U.S. only when calls can be established on Ch. 9)
* During distress operations silence maintained on ch. 16 for other traffic until the channel is released by the controlling station using the pro-word "Silence Fini". If a station does use Ch. 16 during distress operations controlling station issues the command "silence mayday".
* Using a set of international "calling" procedures such as the "Mayday
Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications.
It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organiza ...
" distress call, the "Pan-pan
The radiotelephony message PAN-PAN is the international standard urgency signal that someone aboard a boat, ship, aircraft, or other vehicle uses to declare that they have a situation that is urgent, but for the time being, does not pose an immed ...
" urgency call and "Sécurité
Sécurité (; French: ''sécurité'') (often repeated thrice, "Sécurité, sécurité, sécurité") is a procedure word used in the maritime radio service that warns the crew that the following message is important safety information. The most co ...
" navigational hazard call.
* Using " pro-words" based on the English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
such as ''Acknowledge, All after, All before, All stations, Confirm, Correct, Correction, In figures, In letters, Over, Out, Radio check, Read back, Received, Say again, Spell, Standby, Station calling, This is, Wait, Word after, Word before, Wrong'' (local language is used for some of these, when talking to local stations)
* Using the NATO phonetic alphabet
The (International) Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, commonly known as the NATO phonetic alphabet, is the most widely used set of clear code words for communicating the letters of the Roman alphabet, technically a ''radiotelephonic spellin ...
: ''Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, Zulu''
* Using a phonetic numbering system based on the English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
or a combination of English and Roman languages: ''Wun, Too, Tree, Fow-er, Fife, Six, Sev-en, Ait, Nin-er, Zero, Decimal''; alternatively in marine communication: ''unaone, bissotwo, terrathree, kartefour, pantafive, soxisix, setteseven, oktoeight, novenine, nadazero''
Slightly adjusted regulations can apply for inland shipping, such as the Basel rules ( :de:Regionale Vereinbarung über den Binnenschifffahrtsfunk) in Western Europe.
See also
* 2182 kHz
* Automated Maritime Telecommunications System
* Maritime mobile amateur radio
* Radio horizon
Line-of-sight propagation is a characteristic of electromagnetic radiation or acoustic wave propagation which means waves travel in a direct path from the source to the receiver. Electromagnetic transmission includes light emissions traveling ...
* Ship-to-shore
References
External links
US Coast Guard basic radio information for boaters
Coast Guard marine channel listing (with frequencies)
UK MCA advice on use of VHF at sea, including collision avoidance, effective ranges, and International channel usage
(Türkiye'deki VHF Deniz Telsiz Frekans Kanal Listesi)]
New Zealand VHF Radio Resource Center
{{Telecommunications
Navigational equipment
Maritime communication
Rescue equipment
Marine electronics
fr:Bandes marines#Bande VHF