VHF radio transmissions are monitored by ships worldwide. Additional support is provided in the USA by a network of powerful coastal and major inland waterway receivers.

Discussion

• Radio Use in Big Conditions (Monday Madness) 2006
• VHF Radio Selection & DSC Use 2013
• 2013 Bellingham Bay Incident w/ Radio Used - Discussion
• VHF Radios, DSC, Radio Use, etc. 2017
• Another VHF Option Discussion 1/06/2020
• Additional Online Discussion Search

Use

• How To Use
  • USA Coast Guard Use Instructions
  • Video - Emergency Paddler Protocol Interview
  • How to Call Mayday
  • Test how you are going to wear and use your radio. Make sure it is secure and easily accessible on the water. If you wear it on the front of your PFD make sure it does not interfere with your remounts
    • Discussion - Where to Carry VHF Radios 2016
  • Clearing water from the mic - some radios have a vibrate function/button that will vibrate the radio to help clear water that can interfere with the understandability of your voice via a wet mic.
  • Practice - can you effectively use it?
    • Canada has a required 2 day course before you can legally use VHF
    • Don't keep squelch too high
  • These radios can be used to call fellow paddlers independent of any local rescue entities that may be or may not be reachable via VHF. But they will be of little use to your paddling partners if you do not turn yours on at the beginning of your paddle outing.
• Training
  • if you want to increase your competence and confidence in your ability to use your VHF, consider taking and completing a course.
    • New Zealand Boating Ed VHF Certification approx. 30 hrs (both in-person and online options)
    • BoatUS Foundation
    • FCC MROP – Marine Radio Operator Permit (MP) – Element 1 Online Course and Exam
      • iNARTE
      • Marine Learning System
• Line of sight - effective limitation of VHF radio communication range on water (maybe only a couple of miles from surfski to surfski). But coastal radio rescue networks or ships may pick up signals from a greater distance.
  • US Coast Guard Distress Network Coverage these maps assume your signal is 2 meters above water level - the reception of your signal from a surfski may not reach as far although sometimes reception occurs over surprisingly longer distances.
  • Alaska Network Disrepair
• Channel 16 is the internationally reserved channel for distress calls
• Additional US information
  • Homeland Security VHF Navigation Reference
  • Rescue 21

DSC

• DSC Digital Selective Calling - automatic broadcast of your GPS location (another reason to turn radio on at beginning of paddle - it can take a minute or two for radio to initially lock on GPS satellites)
  • Registration (getting MMSI numbers for handhelds in foreign countries seems sometimes a bit unclear or confusing on some websites. It may be that some foreign countries require a license for recreational paddlers just as they do for ship/boat owners with radios)
    • Requires MMSI (Maritime Mobile Service Identity) a nine-digit number, to identify ship (and other maritime radio) stations and DSC radio equipment
      • Canadians - can obtain MMSIs from Industry Canada / Industrie Canada
      • Europe The use of DSC (VHF Ch. 70) is in most countries restricted to coastal waters and DSC transmissions should not be made when navigating the inland waterways.
        • France ANFR
        • Germany BSH ?
        • UK ofcom licensing create login and follow to option for registering MMSI for handheld radio?
        • Sweden PTS
      • USA If your plans include travels to foreign ports (including Mexico, the Bahamas, and, yes, Canada), you'll need to get a Ship Station license and MMSI from the FCC.https://transition.fcc.gov/Forms/Form605/605.html Mariners not required to carry a marine radio (e.g. recreational boaters) and who remain in U.S. waters can obtain an MMSI through approved organizations such as BOAT US 1-800-563-1536 ($25), U.S. Power Squadron (free/donation), and Shine Micro (free as far as we can tell).
  • ContinuousWave discussion of DSC Worth for Kayakers 2018
  • DSC Test Calls
  • Using in US AND Canada
  • Rescue Stories
    • Discussion of Use During Incident 2014
    • 12/11/2022 Rescue Using DSC

Maintenance

• Charge - the better VHF radios have good battery lives. But you should always check your level of charge before outings.
• Extra Batteries - you may want to use a radio for which you can swap in extra batteries, particularly if you will be camping or not be able to recharge your radio.
• Salt water/Corrosion - as with all of your metallic gear, if you paddle in salt water:
  • You can use a waterproof case - make sure sound works well through the case - they can make it easier to mount your radio where and how you want to. Make sure your radio fits the case you are considering.
    • Aquapac
    • Volare
    • Overboard
  • rinse them off with fresh water afterwards if they got wet during your paddle
  • some use “Salt Away” to remove recent salt stains and protect against further accumulation. But don't expect it to remove long standing salt deposits/rust
  • some use vasoline to protect against corrosion - don't use on charging/conducting elements (use dielectric grease instead if you go this route)
  • VHF Corrosion Discussion
• “Waterproofness” - the weak point on some VHF radios can be the covering over charge ports (make sure they are completely closed and if you need to - cover the closure with tape). Trouble has been reported with some models that have a cover (possibly due to forgetting to make sure the cover is on correctly). Some models like the Horizon HX40 have solid exposed pins for charging which may provide a more reliable water tight seal.

See Electronics water resistance ratings

Sealed charging pins will lose their connection over time for charging due to corrosion on the radio pins and/or the connections in the charging cradle. You can restore good connections by rubbing the connectors with a fine abrasive. Eventually you may not be able to restore the charging via the cradle. Cradle replacements can be expensive but another alternative is to use the rechargeable battery pack that some manufacturers like Horizon include with your radio. Typically the AAA batteries you use in such a pack will not hold as much charge as the original single battery, but you should easily be able to keep fully charged batteries of this type ready to go with your radio.

• Jeff Hegedus <jhegedus@…>11/06/11 #11683 “I rinsed my IPX7 rated waterproof handheld after every paddle, and the two copper electrodes between the gasketed snap-in rechargeable battery pack and the main unit still fully corroded (they are spring loaded for a good connection, and the spring failed). Its something that you wouldn't normally notice until failure occurs; I had it serviced, and now keep the radio in a dry bag when in my pfd pocket. The dry bags can be purchased at West Marine. Handhelds are not really designed for daily immersion, but rather for boaters that occasionally get them wet…”
  • Followup 2012
    Caution: Toasted VHF Radio
    Jeff Hegedus
    10/14/12 #13446 GEAR CHECK TIME. Crap, my waterproof IPX7 rated VHF radio, always carried in a dry bag in my PFD pocket, was destroyed. The dry bag had a pin hole leak; I end each paddle with a swim, and the bag stored the unit in water. The bag was three years old and had a ton of wear, not its fault. The radio is not designed for continuous immersion, not its fault. Glad I checked.

Brands

• Horizon
• Icom
• Garmin
• Uniden
• …