Fowey Maritime Centre RYA Marine Radio Short Range course summary

RYA Marine Radio Short Range course syllabus - practical

VHF radio is an invaluable tool in the unlikely event of a life threatening disaster whilst on the water. It is also useful for routine communications with marinas, Coastguard, harbour authorities and other boats.

There are some legal requirements covering the equipment and licences and certificates to be obtained.

This course, run by the RYA under the authority of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, is designed to provide you with the Certificate of Competence and will enable you to become familiar with the VHF - DSC system. For those of you who hold the Restricted VHF Certificate, an update is available.

Restrictions

Under 16’s are able to gain the certificate but will have to wait for their 16th birthday for the authority to operate. The holder of the Certification can operate the set or a member of the crew under their control.

Course Length

1 Day / Update ½ Day (although we prefer you to attend the full day on an update price.)

Previous Experience

None

Ability after the course

• You will be able to define Distress, Urgency, Safety and Routine alerts and initiate such.
• You will be able to send the appropriate call and message by voice.
• You will be able to respond correctly to all calls.
• You will know the procedures for cancellation of messages sent in error.
• You will have a basic understanding of EPIRB’s, SART’s and NAVTEX.

Syllabus – Theory

• Background to GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress Safety System)
• Explanation of DSC (Digital Selective Calling) and MMSI (Maritime Mobile Service Identity)
• Radio Regulations
• Channels to use
• Explanation of EPIRB (Emergency Positioning Indicating Radio Beacon), SART (Search and Rescue Transponder) and NAVTEX

Syllabus – Practical

• Introduction to VHF DSC equipment (Simulator. Silva S10 DSC VHF and Navman DSC VHF)
• Phonetic Alphabet and Procedure Words
• Distress Calling & Receiving
• Urgency Calling & Receiving
• Safety Calling & Receiving
• Routine Calling & Receiving