Marine Communications Special: 2006

By Ben EllisonOn the one hand, Im sorry to report that the U.S. Coast Guard has made little visible progress toward implementing Rescue 21, the new search-and-rescue communications system that will, eventually, unleash the potential of DSC-VHF radios. On the other hand (this comes as a real surprise), the reappearance of coastal marine VHF operators just may induce a lot of sailors to

Author:: Sail Staff
Publish date:: Jun 28, 2006

MarineCommunications06

By Ben Ellison

On the one hand, I’m sorry to report that the U.S. Coast Guard has made little visible progress toward implementing Rescue 21, the new search-and-rescue communications system that will, eventually, unleash the potential of DSC-VHF radios. On the other hand (this comes as a real surprise), the reappearance of coastal marine VHF operators just may induce a lot of sailors to finally get their MMSI numbers and to properly interface their DSC-VHF radios with their GPS receivers. The new crop of reasonably priced full-feature Class D DSC receivers with big, easy-to-read LCDs and features like built-in fog horns are also very seductive. Of course, there’s
a lot more than just VHF modulating the air waves. This year we have live weather data coming down from Sirius radio satellites, several new short-range wireless products for man-overboard retrieval, and ever more clever ways to enjoy cellular, Internet, and TV service farther offshore.

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