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7.1 VHF MARINE CHANNEL USAGE GUIDE AND LICENSING
REQUIREMENTS
Most of the information found in this section is reprinted in whole or in part from
FCC Information Bulletin No. 2 February 1991 and FCC Fact Sheet PR-5000 March
1990.
REMEMBER:
• Maintain a radio watch on Channel 16. C hannel 16 is for d istress and purposes
only.
• Use VHF Channel 70 only for Digital Selective Calling (DSC), It may be for gen-
eral-purpose calling using DSC. Your cooperation in not using C hannel 70 for
intership communications is necessary to prevent interference.
• Your VHF transceiver has a high-low power switch. Use low power whenever
feasible. Unnecessary high-power operations can interfere with other important
communications
• Always use your radio call sign at the beginning and end of each transmission.
• Be sure only qualified persons operate yo ur rad io. You are res pons ible for co ntro l
of your radio. Know the rules.
• Limit calls to other vessels to 30 seconds. If you receive no reply, wait 2 minutes;
then try again. Keep communications brief and avoid chit-chat.
• Never trans mit false dis t ress and neve r use profan i ty on the air.
OTHER REMINDERS
“The FCC has revised its policy on radio licensing requirements for certain ships and
stations in the 1996 Telecommunications Act Maritime Provisions (FCC96-145).
This new rule eliminates the individua l licensing requireme nt for recreational s hips
and private aircraft operating domestically which are not required by law to carry a
radio. But, the operator is still bound to abide by the FCC rules governing the
operation of a marine VHF transceiver and is subject to the penalties for non-
compliance. Even though the station license is now not mandatory for recreational
boaters, we still strongly recommend that one be obtained. The FCC station license
application fee is $75.00 and the license term is 10 years. If you plan to dock in a
foreign port or leave a foreign port to dock in a U.S. port, however, you w ill need a
station license as well as a radio operator license to operate a VHF marine radio.”