Great Video ...lots of important topics that most of people ignore, because most of people do summer boating and nothing else. Safety of of your crew as well as other vessel must be a priority.
The FCC and the U.S. Coast Guard encourage the use of the minimum power necessary for radio communications. Always start your call in low power and only go up if needed.
Channel 16 turns on at high power by default on all marine VHF radios sold today. It is the responsibility of the user to switch down to low power unless High power is needed when monitoring 16 before you ever need to answer a hail. Most boaters on the water have never even thought or heard about this.
Running Full-power on 16 is the number one newbie VHF mistake. Also, power boaters do not NEED to touch fingers with EVERY SINGLE boat they need to pass. Many experienced boaters on slower boats already saw you and will slow down for a slow pass when you get there. If you drop down off wake behind someone and they don't power down for a slow pass THEN call them. If they won't reply at that point then do what you need to do to get by. It's their problem for not paying attention or monitoring the VHF.
In the U.S it’s called self responsibility, if you don’t take enough responsibility on yourself it’s your own fault. Unlike the UK where the gov tells you what you have to do.
The Coast Guard actually has a good reason for not having a repeater on it. They need the signal to come directly from the vessel making the call on 16 so they can triangulate the original location of the call and provide assistance if a location is not given.
Sure there is, only GPS requirement would be that it shares data via NEMA 2000 network and be able to communicate with your VHF radio. There are several models that are budget friendly both chart plotters and also VHF radios. You can also get GPS data from the VHF radio itself if you use one of those models. I have Icom radios now but I have used Standard Horizon in the past and they work great and are budget friendly!! Apprecieate the comment! Happy searching.
![How to use a Marine VHF RADIO [Capable Cruising Guides]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Y6yn0Bmr748/mqdefault.jpg)
![How to use a Marine VHF RADIO [Capable Cruising Guides]](/img/tr.png)
![How to Build the Best VHF RADIO [Capable Cruising Guides]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ALuKTUG6bHo/mqdefault.jpg)
Learn more about VHF radios, click the link ua-cam.com/video/ffK9GJsL1Yg/v-deo.html
Great Video ...lots of important topics that most of people ignore, because most of people do summer boating and nothing else. Safety of of your crew as well as other vessel must be a priority.
Well said! Thank you for the comment!
informative and well presented, thanks skip
Greatly appreciate the comment and feedback!
The FCC and the U.S. Coast Guard encourage the use of the minimum power necessary for radio communications. Always start your call in low power and only go up if needed.
Good advice! Thanks for the comment
Channel 16 turns on at high power by default on all marine VHF radios sold today. It is the responsibility of the user to switch down to low power unless High power is needed when monitoring 16 before you ever need to answer a hail. Most boaters on the water have never even thought or heard about this.
Running Full-power on 16 is the number one newbie VHF mistake. Also, power boaters do not NEED to touch fingers with EVERY SINGLE boat they need to pass. Many experienced boaters on slower boats already saw you and will slow down for a slow pass when you get there. If you drop down off wake behind someone and they don't power down for a slow pass THEN call them. If they won't reply at that point then do what you need to do to get by. It's their problem for not paying attention or monitoring the VHF.
You make some excellent points! Understanding VHF etiquette is crucial for everyone on the water. It’s all about safety and communication!
Cole Prairie
This is why in the UK a license is required to use a marine VHF…..there’s a simple exam to make sure you know the basics (in everyone’s interest)
In the U.S it’s called self responsibility, if you don’t take enough responsibility on yourself it’s your own fault. Unlike the UK where the gov tells you what you have to do.
Thank God we fixed this problem in 1776, and again in 1812.
I wished channel 16 had a repeater on it so I could hear everything on it
The Coast Guard actually has a good reason for not having a repeater on it. They need the signal to come directly from the vessel making the call on 16 so they can triangulate the original location of the call and provide assistance if a location is not given.
Very aggravating there is no retail options to get gps to work with VHF without buying a high end plotter.
Sure there is, only GPS requirement would be that it shares data via NEMA 2000 network and be able to communicate with your VHF radio. There are several models that are budget friendly both chart plotters and also VHF radios. You can also get GPS data from the VHF radio itself if you use one of those models. I have Icom radios now but I have used Standard Horizon in the past and they work great and are budget friendly!! Apprecieate the comment! Happy searching.