How to register and use your VHF marine radio | Motor Boat & Yachting

When you are new to boating or the boat is new to you, one of the first things you need to do is license the VHF radio to you, the owner. Our resident boating instructor Jon Mendez explains how it's done...
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[@DrCrabfingers]

This guy is the bee's knee's...so clear and concise. He doesn't ever umm or err, never a word wrong....his information is so easily absorbed. Really first class tuition.

[@johningham4942]

This is the most important information that you need to know how to do if you are sailing on any vessel otherwise you are lost!

[@GonzoJamie]

Perfect timing as I’m currently on page 53 of the VHF handbook from RYA 😆😆😆

[@SeaCatch3]

I did my VHF SRC test yesterday.. very straight forward. Very good explanation of mayday in the video

[@pilotnelson4507]

Blessings to.John Mendez and MBY for this important training.

[@garethhughes9722]

I have not long completed the course and received my short range certificate, and I have to say that the way you presented that video was brilliant, just like we were told in the classroom. Thanks John

[@markearls8828]

Your videos are outstanding it has encouraged me to get back into boating. Keep the practical stuff coming. Please stop all the opening another empty cupboard. We just want know the practical stuff and you guys are the experts.

[@philelmes6967]

Fantastic explanation. I'm ready to sit my vhf exam and the voice calling has always been the bit I've dreaded. Watching this has made it clear to just slow down and relax. Thank you 👏

[@toolbox-gua]

This is the way to teach us the VHF thing. Will practice with the rest of the "gang". Thank you.

[@hughrobertson7242]

Fabulous John-I’m just working my way through the VHF SRC at the moment with exam lined up-this is a lovely clear demo of key elements for everyday use to pass on to family members going out with you on a day trip. 👍👍

[@michaelmiklosofficial]

So clear and concise. .Really first class tuition

[@brianunderwood3109]

Great stuff as usual Jon. Looking forward to many more "how to" videos in the future.

[@nickwebb9290]

Excellent advice 👍 These ‘how to’ videos are so well done

[@MrRipsaw1]

Plus... If DSC VHF is connected to Chartplotter on receiving vessel, the plotter can automatically read the casualty Lat and Long and indicate the casualty vessel position as a waypoint with range, heading and option to "Go To".

[@ribi4428]

Most vhf radios with dsc do not have to be connected to the chart plotter to give your position lat and longitude

[@micheldionne5882]

Well done 👍. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@olekristoffersen9298]

very well explained and VHF is a must at sea. I see the regulations in UK is similar to what we have in Norway, but at least we have our SRC License in a credit card size.

[@andrewwarren4206]

Thank you. A very clear explanation.

[@JamalHakimi-ig2nm]

Amazing video thank you 💙👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🍻

[@waynecummins9713]

Great video

[@SuperFlyfisher101]

Great content, I learned good information. Thank You!

[@daveengstrom9250]

This is a very informative video and very well done. Thanks for making it.

[@TheBlueOwl21]

Interesting and very informative video 👍🏻

[@andrewp634]

Excellent video, very useful i now have my MMSI number sorted and mayday procedure

[@MotorBoatYachting]

The short answer is, so long as you have either a ship's licence or a portable radio licence you should be fine to use a non-DSC handheld on another vessel so long as you use that vessel's call sign. This is the more formal long answer from the official guidance notes : Identities for handheld VHF radios See Section F of the Ship Radio Licence/Ship Portable Radio Licence application form 5.12 The radio equipment used under a Ship Portable Radio Licence is not tied to a single named ship and could, over time, be used on any number of ships. We do not therefore issue a unique ship call sign or MMSI. Instead, we issue a ‘T-number’. This identifies the licensee, rather than an individual ship. We also issue MMSIs for hand-held radios. These MMSIs are in a format15 that makes it instantly clear that the radio is a hand-held. 5.13 The T Number and MMSI identify the apparatus and the licensee. In practice, it is most unlikely that a T Number will be used to identify the ship (though they may be). Small ships, such as motor cruisers or dinghies often use the ship’s name as the radio identity. Where this is unambiguous, it is perfectly acceptable, as long as the identity of the station is clearly identifiable. 15 For the time being, MMSIs for hand-helds all start with ‘2359’. However, we propose to change this, to conform to international requirements. Of168a - guidance notes for ship radio licensing

[@diagorasmoustakas249]

Hey John awesome video . Question : icom or standard horizon for handled vhf ?

[@raykeogh1972]

Brilliant thank you bit scared of remembering the phone book all those numbers lol, especially if this as for me is just weekend stuff but I do realise all this for for my safety as well as others. Just as well people know I talk to myself because I will be practicing this all the time. Question on the serious note, 13 years ago I had a stroke, I am physically fine now but it left me with short term memory loss and I find it hard to learn new things . What I normally do is go onto KZbin and find kids who know what I am trying to learn and they are teaching other kids. I can take that in. To remember all this in one day I fear will be a nightmare and I am going through KZbin to pick up all different info I can. I will be replaying this video over and over but it’s not what is in the verbose test is it ? So I think I need to know a lot more. Thanks for sharing sorry my reply is long. Ray K. UK. YNWA.

[@gerhardvanwaltsleben8944]

Lekker man lekker

[@stanleybest8833]

In USA, radio devices without direct commercial privilege are license free. Boat radio licenses were unlicensed by the mid 1990's.

[@alexstubbins6298]

Great informative video. If my handheld radio hasn't got dsc capabilities and I plan on using it on other vessels, do I just need a T number rather than an mmsi ?

[@MotorBoatYachting]

P12 of this covers it in full: www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/112666/Ship-Radio-Licences-Guidance-notes-for-licensing.pdf In short, so long as you have either a ship's licence or a portable radio licence you should be fine to use a non-DSC handheld on another vessel so long as you use that vessel's call sign.

[@behzadzahraei7393]

Am i need to license for using radios in the boat?

[@jeffs9530]

I'm in the states. Do I have to license?

[@phimister78]

I have a VHF radio fitted to my boat for safety so what do I do now without a license just take it out and throw in the water ?

[@Jyock]

Can i register my DSC radio in Europe before i get a radio license?

[@bootybandy]

Great video and very informative. Should you not release the prestel until the very end of your message? You were releasing it after each bit of information you delivered. By doing that others can transmit and the rest of your message may not be sent.

[@ushi120]

Absolutely right! I will never release the button unless the complete message is transmitted. It doesn't matter if I'm struggling during my transmission, the most important is to hold the channel 16 open until you finished. Nobody will laugh on you, everybody will understand that struggling during this stressful situation is absolutely human. Regards from Germany Btw: I love all the John Mendez videos, he is absolutely amazing, but in this particular point, to release the button during transmission, I'm not agree.

[@richardbrady6908]

@Jon Mendez what life jacket are you using as it looks like it fits well

[@SoundzAlive1]

hi, it is explained in his life jacket how to video.

[@fredjones7307]

I have an almost pathological dislike of exams, I would not have the slightest problem sorting the actual radio out. What is the actual exam format ect..

[@kevinallwood2730]

Out of interest, is English the international language for vhf. Or if I were to cross the channel to France, or cruise around the Med, would I need to speak French/Spanish etc

[@thomaswood919]

Brixham ?

[@fluffyzafar]

👍👍

[@59patrickw]

do you still have a mayday relay or has that gone as i did my VHF in 1989

[@MrRipsaw1]

Yes, Mayday Relay is still a thing, both for reporting a scene that you are witness to, and for increasing range eg. for vessel to vessel to shore

[@59patrickw]

@@MrRipsaw1 thank you for the reply

[@rogerdinnis3816]

I have been advised that my 1984 cert. is no longer valid, all changed in 1999!

[@59patrickw]

@@rogerdinnis3816 Thank you I look into it

[@alanj9391]

@@59patrickw I have a "restricted marine radio license" issued by the board of trade in the early 90s, covering MF/HF as well as VHF, I then had to do a RYA VHF cert when I bought my boat a few years ago, as my existing qualification did not cover DSC, which is on all marine VHF sold since the early 00s.

[@jackofalltrades1206]

I’m sorry but that whole course and accepted procedures need a complete rethink. I have been on the end of and supervised others taking 999 emergency calls for many years. I can tell you that in a real emergency people panic and all the detail gets jumbled up and confused. You need a simple easy to remember initial call procedure without all those numbers and protocols. Surely something along the lines of “Mayday mayday, mayday. Boat name, Sinking, location” is all you need to transmit in the initial call. This should generate a deployment after which they can come back to you for whatever else they really ‘need’ and relay it to the deployed service(s) if necessary. ?

[@raydowley1038]

by the time you have said all that the fecking boat has sunk

[@bluenapalm123]

1:47m would seem an eternity if you have a distress.. I know it's important to get correct information across, but damn.. 1:47m to transmit.

[@59patrickw]

if you don't have time you can do it in the life raft of floating in the water that's if you want to get saved

[@jimdavids6708]

Agreed, vessel name, pob, position, nature of emergency and a brief description of the boat

[@r7boatguy]

I don't understand why you would verbally communicate your MMSI. a) it's error prone, b) if you've sent the Distress message, that information has already been sent. Clearly there is no way to correlate a DSC message and the verbal, however it's not as if there's likely to be much confusion and the MMSI gives the coast guard access to the vessel details anyway, so they can correlate the boat name.

[@ushi120]

@Anthony Roby ... Not every VHF has DSC integrated, the older ones f.e.. In an emergency situation you want help from everybody in your surroundings. The mmsi is more valuable then the vessel name. Especially for foreign speakers like me.

[@goatsinker347]

Really..... you think i'm going to register this thing?

[@FlesHBoX]

Interesting. In the US you don't need a license for a marine VHF in recreational boats. I wonder if that changes if I were to decide to take a sail across the pond and spend time in UK waters.

[@dannyarcher]

Don’t quote me mate but I believe it would. I have what’s called an ofcom license in the UK and recently enquired about using radios in Switzerland. Short answer, you can’t do it without a licence. Like the US we also have ‘free’ channels (called PMR446) such as low watts kids walkie talkie type stuff but to use a high powered marine radio etc - licence needed.

[@therealsharps]

I’d probably speed the mayday up a bit chap. Else you’d have sunk.

[@mohamedisdfk2224]

I have complain every time when u rec vedio for manuevering u didint putting focus on your clutches how learning trick of how to catch your boat and u not record the move by clutch for example if I want to go port side which engine use and how I control or catch my boat at aft if port side running how I catch the aft port for not going to stbd side just for me I want I control my boat aft and frw

[@robatkinson8581]

I find it ridiculous that you need a license, such an important safety equipment, should be easier to encourage people out on the water to have one, even jet skis.

[@gusrose14]

VHF licenses are the most pointless thing at sea. Important to know the basics of how to use it but by god don’t bother with all this pointless paperwork.

[@ushi120]

What does your boat cost? What is your life worth in comparison? The DSC system simplifies and speeds up safe communication with the people who will help you in an emergency. In 2015 I listened a live MAYDAY call in Croatia. An old skipper with his wife. The wife was on the VHF radio and tried in vain to communicate her gps-position to the emergency services. If she had had a DSC system, the gps-position would have been transmitted automatically and without error. The next day we learned that the rescue forces arrived too late because they did not have the exact gps-position. The skipper drowned, the woman was rescued. Do someone still want to know why a modern VHF radio with DSC should be installed on a boat?