What is a distress Call?call
A distress call is a call given from a ship, aircraft or vehicle indicating that the caller is threatened by grave and imminent danger, which requires immediate assistance. In radiotelephony transmission, the distress signal consists of the word MAYDAY (pronounced as the French expression 'm'aider') spoken three times followed by the words THIS IS and the identification of the station seeking assistance. A distress message should be followed by the distress call.

It contains-name of the ship, aircraft or vehicle, position, type of distress and the type of assistance asked for including any other relevant information to facilitate rescue operation. In radiotelegraphy, the distress signal consists of the letters SOS sent in Morse Code characters . . . _ _ _ . . . (SOS). All these characters should be transmitted three times as a single signal where dashes are to be emphasized to enable distinguish them clearly from the dots. A typical distress message may look like: S0S SOS SOS CQ CQ CQ DE followed by the call-sign. When the distress traffic is over, the distress station should end its transmission with the Q-Code. It looks like: SOS CQ CQ CQ DE 'call-sign' QUM SK.

What action would you take if you hear a distress call?

• listen to the distress call and stop my transmissions if I was previously occupying that frequency;
• acknowledge receipt of the distress message if the station in distress can copy my signal.
• At the same time, it would be my duty to ensure that my transmission does not interfere with transmissions of other stations, which may be better situated to render assistance.
• Even if I cannot render assistance, I should direct the attention of other stations in the nearby frequencies, because they might be in a position to render immediate assistance.
• I shall also try to inform the appropriate authorities, who might be able to conduct a rescue operation.