Poll: Is your radio DSC enabled?

Most of us probably have VHF radios and many of those radios are DSC capable when properly connected and MMSI registered. In discussing this with others, I am learning that many don't take advantage of the radio capabilities to send position and vessel data and tune to Ch 16 with the push of a single, prominent button.

What capability does your primary VHF radio have?

(Enter your radio's condition in the poll above.)

My VHF is dsc enabled, and is hooked up to broadcast my location.

I also have a Class B AIS transmitter going 24X7.

Mine is enabled and is networked with my GPS position.

Mine is all connected an registered with a MMSI number but the service is not yet operational in NZ.

At least I am prepared for it.

My VHF is not DSC capable, but if it was I'd have it all connected up and ready. We do have the system up and running in Oz now.

Mine has been up and running fully functional for a few years now.
Cheers
Benn

Yup, both boats, DSC, self deploying epirb, and self deploying life raft. The deep and remote waters of the ICW can be a dangerous place.

Ted

Enabled with MMSI and GPS location. Also AIS receiver.

VHF and HF radio have MMSI and GPS location and are working.

Mine has the capability but is not wired up.

BDofMSP said:

Enabled with MMSI and GPS location. Also AIS receiver.

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+1

We don't cruise with many friends so have not used the radio's DSC capabilities.

I have the vhf and ais operational and MMIS registered with Boats US. When I got the Mmis from Boats US I didn't realize that the number isn't any good outside US waters. Had I known I would have gone another route. I don't think my icom vhf or raymarine ais can be reprogrammed without sending back to the factory. ?

I just got a new VHF and have the MMSI but have not programmed it into the radio yet.

Both of my VHF radios are not DSC capable. So far, DSC radio has not lived up to it's potential due to owners not bothering to register them. I do have an EPIRB that is registered though.

Mine is tied to GPS and has an MMSI loaded. Never heard a DSC emergency call, but two of us do have each other's MMSI loaded to call each other. The first time my radio rang I almost fell out of the helm. The Coast Guard doesn't have Rescue 21 deployed in Alaska yet but has some plans to deploy a modified system by 2017. DSC is a good concept poorly implemented.

ancora said:

Both of my VHF radios are not DSC capable. .............

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Do they also use vacuum tubes?

New DSC capable marine radios are cheap. Having one connected to a chart plotter and registering the radio is cheap insurance. Of course, just like flares or a PFD, you may never need it. I kind of like the thought of rescue people knowing where to look for me.

My GME brand VHF is. The radio bleats a warning if I turn the GPS off first, shows "DSC disconnected" How it works in practice I`ve yet to discover.

ancora said:

Both of my VHF radios are not DSC capable. So far, DSC radio has not lived up to it's potential due to owners not bothering to register them. I do have an EPIRB that is registered though.

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Which is just as good if not better in some ways...my primary radio is also not DSC capable but is so good (compared to all but the high end radios now) that I'm having difficulty parting with it.

In my assistance tow boat...of course the new, DSC capable radio has been giving me problems for years and this fall it finally stopped transmitting while the 15 year old Icom M-59 still blows the socks off mot of the new radios all around me.

Yep hard to give up good radios now for the cheap stuff when an EPIRB does much the same for emergencies...just not the other wiz-bang DSC stuff that so few use anyway.

Ais

I love the built in AIS feature of my current radio. This last weekend I was in the thick of some fog about 1/3 to 1/4 mile visibility, with the radar and AIS I felt pretty comfortable. Granted I was only moving about 6 knots but then who is counting.

I don't know what DSC means and I hate acronyms.

It would be nice if the OP stated in his first post what DSC means!

manyboats said:

I don't know what DSC means and I hate acronyms.

It would be nice if the OP stated in his first post what DSC means!

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It's been there, Eric. Click the link in post #1.

Trawler Forum - View Single Post - Poll: Is your radio DSC enabled?

manyboats said:

I don't know what DSC means and I hate acronyms.

It would be nice if the OP stated in his first post what DSC means!

Click to expand...

Eric,

DSC is the acronym for Digital Selective Calling, a feature built into most, if not all recent VHF marine radios.

Pressing a single button automatically sends a distress call to all DSC equipped ships, boats and shore stations within range. The call automatically includes your identity, your position (if a GPS receiver is connected) and the nature of your distress. The call is automatically repeated until stopped by an acknowledgment message.

In addition to distress signaling, DSC calling makes regular communication as easy as making a telephone call. To call a vessel or shore station simply select a working channel, enter the Maritime Mobile Station Identity (MMSI) of the station you want to call and press the enter button. Your DSC call tells the station you are calling who you are (your MMSI) the working channel you wish to use and your position (optional for routine calls).

There's more, like polling, but I think distress calling and selective calling are the two most important features for most pleasure boaters.

Larry
m/v Boomarang

Larry and FlyWright,
OK good I frequently don't click on links. Kinda like not checking my e-mail. I dislike my e-mail. Seems a bit of a waste just talking to one person.

Actually I think my MR (marine radio) has that feature. Probably read the manual and stuck it away. How does one link the MR w the CP (chart plotter). A cable? That's something I need to get in place July or August when I go back in the water.

The MMSI sounds too complicated to me.

The MR and CP mentioned above was to make a point. Using the language of the activity speeds up communication in the area of activity your'e involved in IF everyone knows the short hand. But anyone that dosn't is left out. And on TF that usually means (on TF) people new to boating. I make a special effort to make my posts clear for the many newbies we have and for those that aren't that familiar w the specifics. And there's lots and lots of lurkers and a lot of them probably aren't even be boaters. I know ... sometimes people say they don't understand what I'm saying. But I do try.

Sorry FlyWright you're right I should check the link. And thanks Larry for the good explanation. Who knows this thread could save our lives. I'll get the DSC hooked up.

Usability

This is my second radio with DSC, and much like early cell phones, there have been a lot of improvements with usability. With the first radio, even if I had their MMSI number the process to make a DSC call to a friend was horribly complicated and could certainly never be performed while underway. With my new radio, they have added an easily accessible "phone book" type feature where you can pre-program everything. Making a DSC call is simple(r) now.

I think that a big part of adoption will come with more improvements in usability and easy interfacing with other components.

BD

On The Rocks said:

I don't think my icom vhf or raymarine ais can be reprogrammed without sending back to the factory. ?

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Most of the ICOM radios can be reprogrammed one time without sending them to the factory (i.e. they allow for one "mistake" to be made). I was lucky and was able to reprogram my ICOM radios with a new MMSI number when I bought Sea Eagle. The Menu Item to reprogram them is hidden.

I recently installed a Simrad AIS transceiver to replace a flaky AIS receiver that came with the boat. It works much better and makes running in the fog much less stressful.

Boydski said:

Most of the ICOM radios can be reprogrammed one time without sending them to the factory (i.e. they allow for one "mistake" to be made). I was lucky and was able to reprogram my ICOM radios with a new MMSI number when I bought Sea Eagle. The Menu Item to reprogram them is hidden. I recently installed a Simrad AIS transceiver to replace a flaky AIS receiver that came with the boat. It works much better and makes running in the fog much less stressful.

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Just curious how did change the MMSI on the VHF? We have an M-602. We're replacing our Simrad NAIS 300 for the NAIS 400 since the 300 would only show the names on class a targets. Plus they're N2K capable.

N4712 said:

Just curious how did change the MMSI on the VHF? We have an M-602.

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Hi Oliver,

I changed the MMSI number on our M-602. You need to hold the Menu button down while you power on the unit. That will display the hidden menu item for programming the MMSI number.

See page 18 of the M-602 Manual for screen shots and details.

Good Luck,

manyboats said:

I don't know what DSC means and I hate acronyms.

It would be nice if the OP stated in his first post what DSC means!

Click to expand...

Way more info about how it works and why if you Google "Digital Selective Calling" or similar... but the following excerpt from NAVCEN describes the timeline for roll-out. (Emphasis added.)

-Chris



About Digital Selective Calling

Because of the safety problems that lack of communications interoperability would cause between SOLAS-regulated vessels (mostly cargo ships) and other vessels (recreational boaters, commercial fishing vessels, etc.), the Coast Guard petitioned the Federal Communications Commission in 1992 to require all marine radios made or sold in the U.S. have a DSC capability. The Coast Guard had also asked the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM), a non-profit professional organization, to develop a standard which would allow incorporation of DSC in a marine radio without affecting the low-end market price of that radio. The FCC solicited comments on that petition in 1992 and 1993, and prepared a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on that and other maritime radiocommunications matters in early 1994. The FCC requested comments concerning that rulemaking from May to November 1995. On 27 June 1997, the FCC adopted a Report and Order requiring radios type accepted on or after 17 June 1999 to include this minimum DSC capability.

manyboats said:

I don't know what DSC means and I hate acronyms.

It would be nice if the OP stated in his first post what DSC means!

Click to expand...

Acronyms and other code words (like so often used by some on this forum) can be a PITA (Pain In The Ass), but this one, DSC (Digital Selective Calling), has been around boats and boating for over ten years so I'm a little surprised you haven't heard of it.

One function, the ability to call your friends without hailing them on a common channel, I wouldn't give two cents for, but the ability to push a single button and have emergency responders know who and where you are and that you need help is priceless.

Three or four years ago, at my marina, I noticed a USCG (United States Coast Guard) RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) heading up the river towards my marina at high speed with ten people on board and lights flashing.

It slowed and pulled into a slip at the marina. They all jumped out and started talking to the owner of the boat in the adjacent slip.

It seems he had just finished connecting his VHF (Very High Frequency) marine radio to his GPS (Global Positioning System) and decided to test the emergency button (he claims his daughter did it).

It turns out, it worked very well.

Mine is connected and registered. Just like the seatbelts and airbags in my car and the PFDs (Personal Flotation Devices), I hope to never have the need to use it.