VHS radios.............

[finnlander]

i have vhs radios in both boats that i recently purchased. i have never used one before so do not know anything about them. in ontario do you need a licience to have or use these radio.s? does anyone on lake ont still use the old c.b, radio anymore? if i need a permit where and how do i get one, thanks all

[FSNmachine]

In Ontario you do require an ROC (Radio Operators Certificate (maritime)). A lot of folks do not have one though.

[Kuba]

isn't maritime HF and not VHF??? Also I heard that 5 km and less to shore you don't need one

[tlr426]

I looked online and found a course near my house it was two days can't remember the price. It was at the hailton sailing squad I think. As far as I know you need an operators card no matter where on the lake you are I have been checked out of 50 point once last year.

[Kuba]

Did they see you transmit? Yoy can always say its used for marine weather.

[TyeeTanic]

isn't maritime HF and not VHF??? Also I heard that 5 km and less to shore you don't need one

 

1) Marine is VHF.

2) You need a ROC(M) card to legal use one on the water.  Note technically if you listen only, you are not "using" it. But some enforcement officials consider having it "on" as using it.  So, I'd call this a grey area.

3) You cannot use a VHF anywhere on the water, on land or via a base station (fixed station) from land without a license. Note to use a fixed station on the marine frequencies the ROC(M) doesn't work, you need a special license.

4) CB is not used in marine.  CB definitions and terms like "10-4" and "come in dogfish, come in" are dead give aways that a person does not have a ROC(M) license.

5) You can take a ROC(M) course in 1 Sunday afternoon and you are done, or over 3 weeks during some night on a weekday. Go online to find a local course. It is great to have, and not really all that difficult to get. It is great to be able to talk to your fishing buds on the VHF and figure out where the fishing is happening.

 

Hope this helps.

[Kuba]

http://radioworld.ca/m802-p-506.html

Marine HF radio, that's what I thought. Vhf is pretty limited to distance due to vertical polatization.I remembered I've seen those before but wasn't sure since I had no interest in it.

Most big ships don't use vhf, only in ports.

[Kuba]

I have my ham radio licence issued by the canadian government and I operate everyday on vhf and hf. Most if the time on 2 meters which is slightly lower than the marine frequencies.I'm curious if hams are allowed on the marine part of the spectrum

[RTee]

Legally, you require a license.  In the past, I only carried a portable one except last year I sold my Lund Fisherman 1700 and upgraded to a Campion Explorer 552 that came with a VHF marine radio.  I intend to take it sometime this spring through a sailing club and then write the exam in time for fishing season.

 

Kuba...VHF Marine frequencies are different from HF frequencies (and VHF- if 2 meter set-up falls in the VHF category) and VHF frequencies used in the aviation world.  

[jimski2]

Your VHF radio will reach another radio through "line of sight" distances in good weather conditions. With eight foot antennas on each boat you are good for about thirty miles most of the time. Coast Guard stations have higher mounted antennas that reach almost everywhere. Cell phone coverage is almost good but there are dead areas. The USA system usually has three mile cell tower coverage but the Canadian systems are higher powered. A charging port for cell phone use is a very good idea. Your cell phone can be "pinged" to locate you. Your VHF radio can be traced with Radio Direction finders on most Coast Guard and Police rescue vessels. The newer VHF radios have GPS coordination to find you.

It is important to only use your Marine VHF radio for boating safety and navigation use, it is illegal to use it for "chatting" about personal issues.