As an electronic engineer and radio ham I am often asked for advice on the use of radio in small boats. Before explaining the types of radios and technical details, I had better give my opinion on the controversy which surrounds safety aids such as radios and flares in certain DCA circles. I have had both on my boat for over thirty years and never had to use the flares or the radio for calling for help. It is very useful for letting my wife know that I am still OK if a little late and perhaps avoiding a call from a worried wife to the coastguard. My friends in the Lifeboat Service and the coastguard tell me that if they do have to rescue somebody they would rather that the somebody can be easily found.

Now for the technical stuff. There are basically three options for a small boat radio:

1) Marine VHF 2) CB 3) Ham — it should be called Amateur — Radio

MARINE VHF

This is the only approved rescue type of radio and can communicate with both the coastguard and the lifeboat. It has, however, other more mundane uses, such as making a link telephone call to a worried wife, or anybody else. It has one advantage over the telephone in that you can switch it off! However, strictly speaking there is a legal requirement for any vessel fitted with VHF to monitor channel 16.

It can also be used for ship to ship working — usually channel 6 — and could be useful in arranging a meet of DCA boats. However, this use has to very carefully used, especially in crowded waters like the Solent where the VHF channels are congested. In quieter waters like Loch Creran you will probably wonder if anyone else has a radio as it’s so quiet.

Marine VHF is a channelised service. That means that specific frequencies are allocated for specific uses. The most important channel is 16 which is the emergency and calling channel. This means that you can use it to call for help and also to set up a call on another channel. This latter use is causing problems in the Solent where channel 16 is becoming over used and there has been a recent suggestion to separate the emergency and calling uses. This is possible with modern dual-watch equipment which can monitor two channels at the same time and latches onto whichever one on which it finds a signal.

The other channels of interest are the ship to ship — channel 6 is the most used — and port operations, channels 12, 14 etc. It is quite useful listening to channel 12 in the Solent because you can then be warned of the movement of big ships and keep clear.

Marine VHF comes in two forms: one is designed for fixed use in vessels which have a 12 volt supply and the other for hand held use with its own internal supply. For most DCA members the hand held variety is probably the best.

If you are buying a hand held VHF then get one with 5 watts output and make sure that there is a socket for connecting an external aerial. This is because the little whip aerial on the rig is not very good and you should put an aerial at the top of your mast with a coaxial cable down to the cockpit where you can plug it into the rig. All modern VHF radios cover all the channels but some cover marina channels as well. What — me use a marina? For use in a dinghy it would be useful to get a waterproof cover and even then to keep the radio in a Tupperware box when not in use.

You need a license to operate a marine VHF and also a certificate of competence to operate. Ho-ho-ho, regulations! The license is easy, just costs you money — about £25 actually. You just send off the form with details of your boat and radio and you get a silly little sticker to stick in the cabin window of your dinghy! There are two types of licenses, a fixed set in a specific boat and a portable for use in any boat. It sounds better to have the portable, however it is limited because you cannot make link telephone calls. I personally prefer the fixed license even though my radio is portable. The license allows the radio to be used by anybody with a certificate of competence or under the supervision of any such person.

The certificate of competence is a bit more difficult to get because you have to take a test. The actual test is a doddle and involves knowledge of procedures and such things as the correct phonetic alphabet. You can take it at most boat shows on the RYA stand or you do what I did and attend a winter of evening classes. It was good fun and the after class pub visit was the best part of the evening.

CB

This form of radio communication has come a long way since the craze of a few years ago when every schoolboy wanted to know “What’s yer handle my good buddy?” It is now used sensibly by truck drivers, mountaineers and many sailors.

There are two forms of CB, legal and illegal. At one time the only form was illegal and it was very popular with the aforementioned good buddies. It was made legal and all the fun went out of breaking the law and so they gave it up. However old CB sets use a different form of transmission — they were AM not FM — and are now illegal. A legal CB is marked with the symbol CB 27/8 1 and uses FM. If you buy a CB then make sure it is legal.

CB also comes in fixed or hand held forms and again I think the hand held is the more useful. You should also use a mast top aerial.

CB is not of much use in calling for help unless you can contact someone ashore near a telephone but it is useful for reassuring a worried wife and for inter boat chat. There are absolutely no regulations about what you use it for and which channels you use although there are some conventions as you will find out if you use the trucker’s channel.

The only license required is a simple one which costs a quid or two in the post office. No certificate of competence is required.

HAM RADIO

This is really for the enthusiastic radio user and provides a whole range of different frequencies and modes of working. I have a high powered HF radio on my Signet 20 with which I can while away the hours at anchor in chatting to another sailor at anchor in Los Angeles or anywhere in the world. I also have a small hand held VHF set which has a range of about 50 miles.

As with CB you cannot use ham radio to call for help and unless your worried wife is also a ham it is illegal to call her. The license is difficult to get. You need to sit a technical examination which will involve a year of study unless, like me you studied electronics at college. To operate the high power worldwide type of set you also need to pass a Morse test at 12 words per minute — not easy.

Prices of equipment: Marine VHF about £200 or less; CB about £100; Ham radio the sky is the limit, say £1,000 to £2,000.

CONCLUSION

For the DCA sailor CB has a lot to offer. If you are a DCA diehard then CB will avoid the temptation to call for help but it will let you talk to your spouse or other boats. This could be useful at DCA rallies. It is not bound about with regulations and the license is easy to get.