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Equipment Requirements and Certification

Any transmitter used aboard a U.S. vessel has to be certified by the FCC for Part 80 operations. Coast Guard approval doesn't count. Neither does IMO approval or the manufacturer's own testing. Unless the rules carve out a specific exception, only FCC-certified gear is allowed.

Standard VHF marine radios transmit F3E (FM voice), and their carrier power is capped at 25 watts. That's the limit for the VHF sets you'll find on nearly every recreational and commercial boat.

MF transmitters on compulsorily fitted vessels go the other way: the FCC sets a minimum, and it's at least 60 watts PEP (peak envelope power).

Extra Equipment the Farther You Go

A small passenger vessel that sails 20 to 150 nautical miles from the nearest land needs an MF-HF SSB transceiver on top of its VHF. VHF only reaches to about the horizon, so a boat that far out needs MF or HF to reach a shore station.

Digital Selective Calling (DSC)

The DSC controller is the equipment you program to send distress alerts and to call individual stations. Press the distress button and it sends a formatted digital alert with your vessel's identity, plus your position if it's connected to GPS. It takes most of the work out of raising the alarm.

Don't mix it up with NAVTEX. NAVTEX only receives maritime safety broadcasts. It can't send a distress alert.

Commercial Radio Operator Licensing

The FCC issues several kinds of commercial operator licenses, and the exam expects you to know which one covers which job.

Ship RADAR Stations

You don't need any operator license to run a fixed-tuned ship RADAR with external controls. Shipboard RADAR operation isn't licensed at the operator level.

Aircraft Communications

To operate on frequencies below 30 MHz that aren't reserved exclusively for aeronautical mobile service, you need at least a Marine Radio Operator Permit. In practice, this means the HF frequencies that maritime and aeronautical users share.

GMDSS Operator Requirements

A passenger ship with a GMDSS installation must carry two operators who each hold a GMDSS Radio Operator License or a Restricted GMDSS Radio Operator License. Which one depends on the sea areas the ship sails in.

Great Lakes Radio Agreement

Ships covered by the Great Lakes Radio Agreement need an operator holding at least a Marine Radio Operator Permit.

Eligibility and Displaying Your License

If you can't send and receive spoken messages correctly in English by telephone, you can't be issued a commercial radio operator license.

When you're on duty and in charge of a transmitter, your original license or a photocopy must be posted or on you, ready for inspection.

Radio Watch Requirements

Channel 16 Watch

Every compulsory-equipped vessel must keep a continuous watch on VHF Channel 16 while underway at sea. Channel 16 (156.800 MHz) is the international distress, safety and calling channel.

The Channel 16 rules break down like this:

• •The watch is required at all times at sea, unless the vessel is in a VTS system.
• •In sea area A1, a vessel that falls under the Bridge-to-Bridge Act and is in a VTS system can skip Ch-16, as long as it monitors both Ch-13 and the VTS channel.
• •In sea areas A2, A3 and A4 there are no exceptions. The watch is always required.

2182 kHz Watch

Compulsory-equipped cargo ships navigating outside a harbor or port must keep a continuous radiotelephone watch on both 2182 kHz and Channel 16. The exceptions are ships operating under GMDSS rules and ships in a VTS.

Whenever you're required to watch 2182 kHz, you must also observe the 3-minute silent periods starting at 00 and 30 minutes past each hour. You don't transmit during them. You listen for anyone in distress.

DSC Watchkeeping

The DSC watch covers these bands and channels:

• •VHF Channel 70
• •2 MHz MF DSC
• •8 MHz HF DSC
• •1 other HF DSC frequency

Station Logs

Compulsory radio stations are legally required to keep logs. You need to know what goes in the log, how to fix a mistake, and how long to keep it.

Who Keeps the Log

• •Entries are made by the operator responsible for operating or maintaining the station.
• •Responsibility for keeping it properly is shared by the station licensee and the radio operator in charge of the station.

Where the Log Is Kept

During a voyage, the ship station log stays at the principal radiotelephone operating position. The GMDSS radio log stays at the GMDSS operating position.

What Goes in the Log

Every entry needs:

• •The station, date and time
• •The name of the operator on duty
• •The call signs of the stations you communicated with

You also have to record:

• •A summary of all required Distress traffic heard, and any Urgency traffic affecting your own ship
• •Safety traffic affecting your own ship, except on VHF
• •Pre-voyage, pre-departure and daily equipment tests
• •The vessel's daily position
• •When each radio operator goes on and off watch

That VHF exception matters. Tests, Distress traffic and Urgency traffic always get logged, but VHF Safety (SÉCURITÉ) calls specifically don't have to be.

EPIRB tests are normally logged once a month.

You're allowed to use key letters or abbreviations in a GMDSS Radio Logbook, as long as their meaning is written down in the log.

Correcting a Log Entry

If you make a mistake in the log:

1. 1.
   The person who made the original entry strikes it out
2. 2.
   They initial the correction
3. 3.
   They write the date of the correction

Never erase anything. No white-out, and no rewriting the page. The original entry has to stay readable with a line through it.

How Long to Keep Logs

Regulations and Control

Which Rules Apply

A U.S. ship station in international waters is governed by Part 80 of the FCC Rules plus the international Radio Regulations and agreements the United States has signed, such as the ITU Radio Regulations and international treaties.

Who's in Charge

The master of the ship has final say over the ship's radio station. That authority outranks any radio operator or officer aboard.

A licensed operator can let an unlicensed person talk on the radio, but only while the licensed operator supervises. The licensed operator is still responsible for the station the whole time.

Where the Radio Goes

The principal radiotelephone operating position must be in the room the ship is normally steered from at sea, or the room next to it. That's usually the wheelhouse or bridge, so whoever is conning the ship can reach the radio.

Which Ships Must Carry Radio

Under the SOLAS Convention, these ships must carry radio equipment for safety of life at sea:

• •Cargo ships over 300 gross tons
• •Vessels carrying more than 12 passengers

Cross either line and compulsory radio carriage kicks in.

GMDSS Inspection

To get a ship's GMDSS radio station inspected, apply to the Engineer-in-Charge of the FCC District Office closest to where the inspection will happen.