Q&A: VHF Basics
by Mike Harrison

I just purchased a 30-foot cruiser that’s equipped with an older VHF radio. I’ve never used a VHF before. Can you help me get started?

Mike Harrison responds:
You’ll love having a Very High Frequency (VHF) radio on board, even though it’s not required equipment on boats less than 65.5 feet in length. You’ll find that it’s a critical safety item, used for distress and emergency messages, weather bulletins and marine advisories, and a valuable tool for communication with other boats, bridge tenders and lock tenders. 

VHF radios became more popular when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1996 eliminated the licensing requirement for recreational vessels. You are required, though, to follow the same procedures and courtesies as licensed operators. Let’s start with some of the basics of radio communications. These might seem obvious, but once you start monitoring transmissions, you’ll find there are lots of folks using the radio without a clue.

Probably the most common mistake is that people rush and start speaking before they’ve fully depressed the transmit (push-to-talk) key on the microphone. That results in a lot of miscommunication with messages like,"... and we’ll be there at 8" or "...in a few minutes." The other frequent problems are holding the microphone too far away or too close – about an inch from your mouth is perfect— or just
speaking too quickly. The quality of modern radios is high, but it isn’t THX digital, so talk slowly and enunciate carefully. You must also avoid the use of any indecent or profane language at all times.

The most frustrating and dangerous errors made by inexperienced boaters occur when they transmit emergency messages incorrectly, use the wrong channels for their communication, or tie up frequencies with casual conversation. Here's rundown of the channels you'll probably use most often.

Channel 16 is the most important channel on your VHF, since it’s constantly monitored by the US Coast Guard for emergency and distress calls. As a VHF radio owner, you are mandated to monitor this frequency whenever you are underway, so you can assist if an emergency is near. This is the channel used to transmit a Mayday
(immediate assistance in a life-threatening emergency), Pan-Pan (safety of a boat or person is in jeopardy) or Securite message (navigation information or weather warning). This is also the channel you will use to initiate contact with another boat (with restrictions we’ll discuss later), although you must shift to another frequency
(channels 9, 68, 69, 71, 72, 78) to carry on a conversation.

In some places, including the First Coast Guard District (New Jersey, New York, New England) and USCG Group Grand Haven, Milwaukee and Sault Ste. Maria (Lake Michigan) channel 16 has become so congested that boaters are urged to use Channel 9 to hail other vessels. The Coast Guard also announces urgent marine information
broadcasts and storm warnings on Channel 9 in those areas. That’s a bit problematic if your radio is an older one without dual or tri-scan capabilities that allow you to monitor Channel 16 and 9 simultaneously. 

While there are many more channels with specific uses, the following list is of special interest to recreational boaters:

Channel 22A – This channel is the primary working channel of the Coast Guard for communications with recreational and commercial boaters. In non-emergency situations, the Coast Guard will often ask you to switch to this channel. You will also
find severe weather and other safety warnings on Channel 22A.

Channel 13 and Channel 67 – This is the bridge-to-bridge or piloting channel, used for communicating navigation information between ships. It’s also used to communicate with locks and drawbridges in most locations, although 67 is for the Lower
Mississippi River only.

Channel 6 – This is the ship-to-ship frequency for safety related communications and for search messages for ships and aircraft of the USCG.

According to an Office of Boating Safety publication, here’s the procedure for making an emergency call in a situation where life is in imminent danger.

1.Repeat the word Mayday three times followed by your boat name three times. 
2.Repeat the word Mayday, followed by your boat’s name and report your position. 
3.Give the the nature of the emergency (fire, collision, sinking). 
4.Report the number of people on board and the condition of any injured. 
5.Provide a description of the boat and its seaworthiness.

Hopefully, that's enough to get your started. For a more complete primer on the use of VHF radios, you can visit: http://www.boatingsafety.com/vhf1.htm