Marine Communications
Safety at Sea Seminar
Your Host – A.J. ‘Doc’ Holub
Licensed Radio Officer, U.S.
Merchant Marine (ret)
Commercial Radiotelegraph
Operator License
Commercial Radiotelephone
Operator License
GMDSS Operator/Maintainer License
Amateur Radio License, Extra Class
Instructor, Marine Electrical Systems, Sailing
Academy, Orange Coast College
Why Do We Want to Communicate?
What Types of Communications?
• Emergency
• Personal
• Business
ISAF Required Equipment
VHF radio
VHF hand held
SSB transceiver or satellite phone
Suggestions Before You Depart
Locate communications equipment
Find out how to activate
Determine if there is a communications protocol
Be prepared for an emergency
If You Have Iridium Satellite Phone
Iridium does not have Operator Assistance.
Before departing, program into your Iridium critical
telephone numbers: Coast Guard station at point of
departure; Coast Guard in any intermediate points;
Coast Guard at destination point; medical assistance
numbers if you have assistance contracts; other
medical emergency numbers you might require.
A Few Other Words Before We Start
On February 1, 1999 all merchant vessels worldwide
were required to have GMDSS (Global Marine
Distress Safety System) installed aboard. This system
Automatically monitors VHF DSC (Digital Selective
Calling) channel 70 plus high frequency DSC channels.
Many private vessels also have installed at least VHF
DSC equipped radios. This is important in case of
emergency
GMDSS Continued:
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You must register your vessel and receive a free
MMSI (Maritime Mobile Service Identifier) number.
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Register on-line at Boat US or FCC.
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Follow setup instructions for your DSC VHF.
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More information later in this presentation.
These Vessels can be Your Friends
in Case of Emergency
Let’s Talk Emergencies
MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY…
Life, limb or ship in imminent danger.
PAN PAN PAN…
Houston, I’ve got a problem.
SECURITE SECURITE SECURITE…
Anyone around me, I’m going to do something.
Communications Options
VHF….. Close by
SSB/HAM….. World wide (maybe)
SATELLITE….. World wide, instant
O.K., We Have a Medical Emergency
• It’s 0300 and there is a medical emergency on
board.
• If in race, and doctor close by, try VHF.
• Otherwise, Iridium or other satellite telephone.
• Be able to describe the problem.
• Follow their advice.
Ship Emergency – Imminent Disaster
•
If you think there is help nearby, initiate VHF DSC
call (press the red button). It should wake up the
watch at the other end. Standby on Channel 16.
•
If no reply, pick up microphone and call Mayday on
Channel 16.
•
If still no reply, use Iridium or use EPIRB.
How Do You Broadcast a VHF Mayday?
Set your vhf radio to Channel 16.
“Mayday, Mayday, Mayday”
“This is the sailing vessel Morning Light, Morning Light, Morning
Light”
“Any vessel, please answer channel one-six”
(Listen for answer, repeat if necessary – but not too long)
(Watch your adrenalin!)
When/If You Receive an Answer
“Vessel Name” (answering vessel)
“Mayday, Mayday, Mayday”
“This is the sailing vessel Morning Light, Morning Light, Morning Light”
“We are taking on water and we’re unable to stop it.”
“We are located at 24 degrees 15 point 45 minutes north, 151 degrees 56
point 80 minutes west.”
“Morning Light is a 52 foot sailboat with a tan deck and blue hull.”
“There are 15 persons on board. We have an EPIRB and three life rafts.”
“This is the sailing vessel Morning Light, standing by on Channel one-six.”
If You Acknowledge a Mayday Call
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Listen carefully to see if other vessels answer. Do
not cause interference. If no other vessel answers:
Acknowledge that you are prepared to render
assistance.
If unable to render assistance, be prepared to relay
information to other vessels or appropriate
authorities.
Relay this information to the Mayday calling vessel.
You temporarily are in charge of the situation until
you are able to pass it off to another vessel or
authority.
You may be the relay vessel until assistance arrives.
Satellite GMDSS Procedure
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If you have not received an answer on your VHF
calls:
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If you are equipped with a satellite GMDSS certified
system (Inmarsat C), activate the red button.
•
Stand by for answer.
If No GMDSS Response
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GMDSS satellite system is worldwide but it could be
possible that you do not receive a response because
your own equipment is inoperative.
If you have an Iridium telephone, call
preprogrammed emergency numbers (USCG, etc)
Activate your 406 mhz EPIRB, hopefully equipped
with GPS.
Wait patiently.
Enough Emergencies Already…
On to Part Two:
Routine Personal Communications
•
We’ve been out for a week and I want to let my
family know our location and condition.
•
I want to check in with the daily ham radio network
and give location, weather and condition.
•
I just want to yack with other sailors.
•
I want to check in to a ship-to-ship network.
Business Communications
•
We need some replacement parts when we get
ashore.
•
Something has broken down and I have to speak
with a shore side technician.
•
Be aware of restrictions on business
communications.
So, How Do We Do This?
Before We Talk Equipment…
In case you are in charge of communications or
equipping a vessel, there are some questions:
Qualifying Questions
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How far do you want to communicate?
With whom?
How often will you use it?
How important is the message?
How much skill is reasonable to expect
of the operator?
How Far Do You Want to Communicate?
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Effective transmission distances range from line of
sight to worldwide.
What is propagation?
Communicating with more powerful devices may
interfere with other communications.
High power equipment will affect battery life.
What Kind of Communications?
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Voice
Data (e-mail)
Fax
Internet Access
Emergency
Portable or Fixed Mounted?
•
Portables:
Independent from ship’s systems
Convenient
•
Fixed mounted units:
May have better antenna installations
Higher power
With Whom Do You Want to Communicate?
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Coast Guard or other rescue agencies
Other vessels
Recreational
Commercial
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Telephone network
Internet
E-mail
Web Browsing
•
Land stations (bridge tenders, YCs)
How often Will You Use It?
•
Will impact total cost of operation
Battery sizes, generators, fuel
•
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Monthly charges
Familiarity, ease of operation
How Much Skill is Reasonable to
Expect of the Operator?
•
Ham, in particular, is difficult for non-Hams to
operate (and illegal)
•
SSBs have a lesser but still challenging operating
system.
•
Other systems are as familiar as a portable phone
Now Let’s Communicate
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VHF
Single Side Band (a misnomer)
Ham Radio
Email (commercial – ham)
Portable Satellite (Iridium)
Fixed Satellite (Inmarsat C - M)
EPIRB
A Word About Licensing
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VHF U.S. coastwise, no license.
VHF foreign – ship/operator license (ROP).
SSB worldwide – ship/operator license (MROP).
Ham – U.S. license and permission if foreign.
Satellite – no license but contract.
Contact www.fcc.gov for information and forms
Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit
Marine Radio Operator Permit (OCC classes)
Ship Radio Station License
Handheld
VHF Radios
Handheld VHF
Range:
Cost:
Best Uses:
Limitations:
3 miles (another boat) to 20 miles (CG
tower)
$100 to $300
Cockpit safety, ship to dinghy, small
boats (inflatables, kayaks)
Some uses are illegal but handy, short
range, few channels
Fixed Mount
VHF Radios
Fixed Mount VHF
Range:
Cost:
Best Uses:
Limitations:
20-60 miles (1.2 x sqrt H in feet)
$100 to $500
General boat to boat communications
Coast Guard; most cost-effective safety
item on board if within range
Probably Digital Selective Calling
Marine only, line of sight range
ISAF Special Regs for VHF
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Radio shall have 25W output
Masthead antenna
No more than 40% power loss due to cable
<50’
50-90’
90-140’
140-230’
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RG-8X
RG-8U
9913F
LMR600
Handheld VHF in addition to fixed mount
VHF Antenna Considerations
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Antenna height largely controls transmit range
Higher gain antennas can focus signal to increase
punch or power
Boats which roll require a wider transmission angle
to avoid “clipping”
Use the largest lead-in wire (coax) that can be used
ORC Regulations
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Use coax connectors for all terminations
VHF Antenna Considerations
Stable boats may be
able to use a narrowbeam high-gain antenna
Boats which heel or roll
may be better off with a
wide-beam low-gain
antenna
A Word About Digital Selective Calling
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New safety requirement
Free registration
Unique vessel identifier
Part of GMDSS (Global Marine Distress Safety
System)
Currently supplied on fixed VHF and some other
communications equipment
Not yet monitored by Coast Guard
Iridium 9555
Iridium
Range:
Cost:
Best Uses:
Limitations:
Worldwide
$1500-$2500 plus $1.49 per minute plus
$20 per month Also rental
Portable voice communications where
there is no cellular, or where phone calls
are expensive
Hard to know if they can afford to replace
LEO satellites
2400 baud for data,
9600 with compression
Icom 710 SSB/Ham Transceiver
SSB/Ham Combined Transceiver
Range:
Cost:
Best Uses:
Limitations:
Worldwide
$2,000-$3,000 plus installation
Long distance ship to ship voice
communications, Coast Guard, and Email
Rugged, marinized designs
Learning curve, complicated installation,
time sensitive
High current draw on Xmit
Ham/SSB Differences
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SSB (commercial) radios are “channelized”
Channel 802, 1206, etc by turn of knob
Specific channels set aside for specific uses.
Ship-to-ship; ship-to-shore
Ham radio has continuous coverage in specified
bands.
Used to require two separate radios.
Newer equipment (Icom 710) combines.
HF Antenna Considerations
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Two general types
23’ fiberglass whip antennas
Insulated wire antennas
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Requires an antenna tuner to match frequency to
wire length
Requires a “counterpoise” in contact with water or
coupled to water
Icom AT-130
SSB Tuner
E-mail via SSB or Ham
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Requires a radio, laptop, and TNC
(Terminal Node Controller, $650)
Slow transmission rates
Several non-profit services (Sailmail and WinLink)
Commercial WLO Radio (www.wloradio.com)
10 minute per day limit (Sailmail)
Very inexpensive compared to other options
HAM transmissions limited by non-commercial rules
Terminal Node Controller
Block Diagram of SSB E-mail
Printer
Laptop
TNC
SSB Radio
Antenna Tuner
Antenna
Counterpoise
Inmarsat C
Standard C/Inmarsat C
Range:
Cost:
Best Uses:
Limitations:
Worldwide
$2,500 plus $0.25 for 32 characters
Reliable messages worldwide
Emergency position reporting
Free text weather 4X per day for free
Small antenna, relatively simple
installation
Expensive if brevity is not your forte
Inmarsat Mini-M
Inmarsat Mini-M
Range:
Cost:
Nearly worldwide
$3,000 (non-stabilized to $6,000
stabilized)
$2.50 per minute
Best Usages: Reliable voice, fax and data
Foolproof
Limitations:
Expensive
EPIRBs
• 406 MHz Beacons
Category 1 (hydrostatic release)
Category 2 (manual release)
PLB
121.5 not monitored after 1 Feb 2009
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Unique encoding for each unit
Register it with NOAA (it’s free!)
World wide coverage
Available with GPS signal transmission potential
Waterproof, reliable, buoyant, rugged
West Marine
Keep Your Info Current
It’s free
West Marine
GMDSS
Global Marine Distress & Safety System
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Evolved from 1979 meeting of IMO (International Maritime
Organization)
Satellite- and terrestrial radio-based
Changed from ship-to-ship to ship-to-shore
Uses Rescue Coordination Centers
End of Morse Code
Enables automatic transmissions
Reduces need to monitor emergency frequencies
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Applies to ships over 300 gross tons
Cost me my job….
Additional Notes
• National Distress Response System (NDRS)
VHF based system, coastal and 30 miles out.
Digitally based system plus voice
Direction finding ability by Coast Guard using multiple towers or
GPS input
Automated broadcasts
Up to six emergency channels
RCCs connected to NDRS
Completion by end of 2007 or 2008 (hopefully)
The End
• Thank you for your attention
• This presentation available at
www.arholub.com