VHF Radios~Boat Frequencies

keninaz

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Dec 15, 2010
Messages
448
It's been years since I had a boat with a VHF radio and then in was in salt water where the radio was much busier.
I have a smaller boat now in AZ and will go onto larger lakes and for safety I picked up another radio recently.
If I understand the manual correctly These are the only frequencies for boat to boat chat now? I note that 16 is for distress a and monitored by the CG (which I don't think I will find in the lakes in AZ)

It's been over 20 years since I had a radio in the boat but I thought I remembered more channels available then. Maybe people just did not pay attention to the rules then?
[FONT=Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Channels Available for Recreational Boats [/FONT]​
[FONT=Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Distress, Safety, Calling...................................16 [/FONT]​
[FONT=Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Calling..........................................................................9 [/FONT]​
[FONT=Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Recreational Use...........................68-69, 71-72, 78 [/FONT]


 

keninaz

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Dec 15, 2010
Messages
448
No locks or bridges on any lakes in AZ that I know of and no commercial traffic either.
 

alldodge

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
40,581
No locks or bridges on any lakes in AZ that I know of and no commercial traffic either.

Sorry my bad, thought you wanted to know the new rules for the coast along with AZ. That said, where I'm at there are several marinas here and they use 16, 14, 74, 9 and some others. They never leave the channel, and most don't use 16 or 9 to call other then to call that marina. Boats just use the public channels and most do change either.
 

jhebert

Ensign
Joined
Jul 24, 2005
Messages
902
...72 is now for low power intership only

I don't find any regulations that require only low power, that is, 1-watt, must be used on CH-72. Please point to some citation of a federal regulation that requires that in the USA.
 

lmuss53

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Sep 9, 2008
Messages
1,227
We monitor 16 and use 68 for fishing talk, 72 for recreational talk. I also don't know of any low power reg for 72 and we don't use low power on 72 here in Central PA on Lake Raystown, a Corps of Engineers lake.
 

gm280

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Jun 26, 2011
Messages
14,585
Never using any VHF radio system before, does their usage require a test and license? I remember the Citizen Band radios going crazy back in the days. But even the CB radios had to have a license to operate legally. And the linear amps were everywhere to get that extra mile or two operation range. Now it seems smartphones have taken up that niche quite readily! Makes one wonder what will be the next generation of communication yet to come... :noidea:
 

dingbat

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 20, 2001
Messages
15,414
Never using any VHF radio system before, does their usage require a test and license?
No...
Smart phones are useless for on water emergencies....your taking on water... 911 is useless except to contact search and rescue to collect the bodies
 
Last edited:

alldodge

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
40,581
I'll recant the low power for 72 with a caveat: My CG training years ago always impressed on using lowest power required, so seeing that 72 is for intership only, which tells me that a fiberglass non-commercial craft would only need that amount of power
 

jhebert

Ensign
Joined
Jul 24, 2005
Messages
902
I'll recant the low power for 72 with a caveat: My CG training years ago always impressed on using lowest power required, so seeing that 72 is for intership only, which tells me that a fiberglass non-commercial craft would only need that amount of power

I believe the federal regulations suggest low power be used, but use of full power is not prohibited on CH-72.

As far as I can tell, there are only two channels on which only 1-Watt can be used: 75 and 76. Those channels are adjacent to CH-16 and low power is mandatory in order to not cause interference on CH-16.

See Title 47 Part 80
?80.215 Transmitter power.
 
Last edited:

alldodge

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
40,581
The marine radios do not have channel 75 or 76 to select, also channels 13, 17 and 67 are set at low power and cannot be raised
 

jhebert

Ensign
Joined
Jul 24, 2005
Messages
902
The marine radios do not have channel 75 or 76 to select, also channels 13, 17 and 67 are set at low power and cannot be raised

CH-75 and CH-76 are VHF Marine Band Channels and are available on most every radio. They're used in international water.

It is best to base your use of a radio on federal regulations. I don't consider that some manufacturer's implementation of a radio is authoritative. Please read the federal regulations I cited above.
 

jhebert

Ensign
Joined
Jul 24, 2005
Messages
902
Never using any VHF radio system before, does their usage require a test and license?

All VHF Marine Band radio transmitters must be licensed. For USA recreational boaters, who equip their boats voluntarily with a radio, and do not make international voyages, and do not make radio contact with shore stations in foreign countries, the ship transmitter is licensed by rule, and the ship owner does not need to obtain an individual ship station license. If you do not qualify for license-by-rule, you must obtain an FCC ship station license

Operating a VHF Marine Band radio must always be done in compliance with all regulations, but if the transmitter is licensed by rule, the operator does not need an operator's license. Misuse of a VHF Marine Band radio can result in federal prosecution, imprisonment, and fines. I strongly recommend you study the regulations before operating a radio.

As a result of the license-by-rule provision, except for recreational boaters in border regions (such boaters in the Great Lakes who might visit Canada), an FCC-issued individual ship station license is generally not needed nor is an operator's license needed. Your transmitter will be licensed by rule.

There are specific requirements for compliance with equipment, and in general older VHF Marine Band radios are no longer permitted to be imported, manufacture, sold, or installed.

An excellent summary of VHF Marine Band radio requirements, licensing, equipment, and installation is given in

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/ref...tallation.html

and also leads to nine further articles that explain those aspects in greater detail.
 
Last edited:

alldodge

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
40,581
CH-75 and CH-76 are VHF Marine Band Channels and are available on most every radio. They're used in international water.

It is best to base your use of a radio on federal regulations. I don't consider that some manufacturer's implementation of a radio is authoritative. Please read the federal regulations I cited above.

From those links at least I can see why your so passionate about it, you wrote them. There is very few hear which will read the Regs and match their new radio to them. While there could be ch 75 and 76, they are not found on radios over the last several years, at least not on the 5 I have. Also these channels are not listed by the Coast Guard (see post 2 link).

People do things without reading the Regs, and as long as they do not interfere nothing will ever be said. Case in point, folks use marine radios in their homes, do not monitor Ch 16 or 9.
Have a great radio day

Sorry for going a bit off topic keninaz, as others may or may not agree, folks don't follow all the rules and being in AZ my guess is there will not be much scrutiny in your location either.
 

keninaz

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Dec 15, 2010
Messages
448
I suspect you are correct. With no license required for recreational boaters in most cases now I will assume that people don't bother to read the rules either and treat the VHF radios much like a CB. The last radio I had was on the Pacific Coast in my 24" Cuddy that I had at the time in the late 80s and early 90s.
But there the CG would let you know if you screwed up.
I suspect that nobody with any authority monitors the radio here in AZ. I just got the radio for safety reasons in case I need help on the bigger lakes. I pulled a jet ski in a few months ago that had been setting in the middle of Lake Pleasant for over an hour dead in the water. They had nothing other than their bodies to get someone's attention and were very happy l that we pulled them to their campsite on the lake. They said many boats passed them up while they attempted to wave to them to get help but nobody stopped.
 

jhebert

Ensign
Joined
Jul 24, 2005
Messages
902
From those links at least I can see why your so passionate about it, you wrote them.

I did not write the federal regulations that govern use of stations in the Maritime Radio Service. I simply cited them and gave a link to them, and I am quite dispassionate about federal regulations. They tend to be rather dull and often are difficult to read. Here is the link, again, to the federal regulations about transmitter power in the VHF Marine Band radio service:

See Title 47 Part 80
?80.215 Transmitter power.
 
Last edited:
Top