Regulations And Safety Warnings; Maritime Radio Services Operation; Basic Radio Guidelines - Uniden UM425 Guide D'utilisation

Regulations and Safety Warnings

Regulations and Safety Warnings

Maritime radio services operation

Warning! This transmitter will operate on channels/frequencies that have
restricted use in the United States. The channel assignments include
frequencies assigned for exclusive use of the U.S. Coast Guard, use in
Canada, and use in international waters. Operation on these frequencies
without proper authorization is strictly forbidden. See pages 58 through 63
for a list of available channels and their uses. If you are still not certain which
channels to use, see the FCC maritime radio page at the FCC website (http://
wireless.fcc.gov/marine/) or contact the FCC Call Center at 1-888-CALL-
FCC. For individuals requiring a license, such as commercial users, you
should obtain a license application from your nearest FCC field office (for US
users) or Industry Canada (for Canadian users).

Basic radio guidelines

You should familiarize yourself with the rules on marine radios and be
aware of which rules apply to your boat. Complete guidelines for all ship
and marine radio types can be found at the US Coast Guard website under
the topic Radio Info for Boaters (the direct link is http://www.navcen.uscg.
gov/marcomms/boater.htm). Here are a few guidelines that affect nearly all
boaters.
• If you have a VHF radio on your boat, you must maintain a watch on
channel 16 (156.800 MHz) whenever the radio is not being used to
communicate. Effective from 2004, if a radio is carried, it must be turned
on and set to channel 16 whenever your vessel is underway.
• If you hear a distress call, wait a few minutes to let a shore station or
Coast Guard vessel respond. If no other station has responded after 5
minutes, you must respond to the distress call.
• Do not make false mayday or distress calls as a prank or to test your
radio. (This is essentially like making a false 9-1-1 call; you may be
subject to fines.)
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