Daily Archives:August 29,2022

The distress call should only be used if your vessel is threatened by grave and imminent danger and you are requesting immediate assistance. It has absolute priority over all other transmissions and may only be transmitted on the authority of the skipper or the person responsible for the safety of your vessel. Repeat the distress call as often as necessary until you receive an answer. If no answer is received on distress frequencies  ...

There are three types of marine radio available. 27 MHz marine radios, commonly called 27 'meg', are popular for use on recreational boats and provide short-range communications, but not the range or performance of a VHF radio. VHF marine transceivers provide better short-range communications than a 27 MHz radio. MF/HF marine transceivers offer medium to long-range communications.  ...

Waterproofing has increased with many of the best handheld marine radios now able to float for sustained periods of time without any damage to the internal electrics. Many of these floating handheld VHFs also offer some form of automatically activated strobe to help you find it in the dark if it has been dropped in the water. RM40 is a feature-rich, top spec handheld VHF, with impressive functionality.  ...

Significant improvements in a number of areas in recent years have seen handheld VHF marine radios move from being purely portable communications devices to something altogether more useful. As technology has shrunk, battery life improved and screens become clearer, handheld VHFs can now offer many of the safety features that used to be available only on fixed marine radios. As a sailor who often uses marine aircraft, you should know some of its technical terms.  ...