Boating and Sailing.pdf - Moja ladja

The Lingo of VHF
Chapter 14: Nautical Radio Gear and Procedures and Your First Longer Cruise
There’s a routine format for speaking on the VHF, primarily because you can’t both talk
at once as on a telephone. You can only transmit when you key your microphone (push
the button on the side of the part you hold in your hand), and you can’t hear any incoming
message while your mike is keyed. So radio conversations are a sort of dance, a timed
pattern of communications that keeps everybody from getting stepped on.
You no longer need to register or license a VHF radio used in U.S. waters. There are
some requirements for radios used internationally; check with the FCC for details (1-800-
322-1117).
Standard operating procedure is to always begin
your hail with the name of the vessel you’re trying
to contact. Identify your vessel secondly, so
a typical conversation with your buddy aboard
the nearby “Done Rovin’” may go like this:
“Done Rovin’, Done Rovin’, Done
Rovin’, this is the Busted Flush, come back.”
Or for a sailboat it might be:
“Race Committee, Race Committee, this is
Twilight Zone. Over.”
You repeat the name of the boat or place (if you’re calling the marina) you’re trying to
reach three times to make sure they hear you. The “come back” is the sign you’re done
speaking for the moment and will listen for the reply. (Some people say “over.”)
If you get no response after 30 seconds or so, repeat the hailing call. If the other boat
hears you, the reply is likely to be:
“Busted Flush, this is the Done Rovin’, come back.”
Now you know you’re connected, so it’s time to get off the hailing channel to a working
channel where you won’t interfere with other people trying to reach each other:
“Charlie, let’s go to 72, come back.”
“Roger, going to 72, over.”
You both now switch your channel selectors to 72 and get on with your conversation. At
the end of the communication, it’s normal to identify your boat name again and indicate
you’re finished by saying “out.”
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Boat Bytes
You don’t have to keep
your radio turned on at all
times, but if you do have it
on, you’re supposed to
monitor channel 16. If you
try repeatedly to call another
boat and get no response, his or
her radio is probably off.