West Marine 14078562 manual Regulations and Safety Warnings, Maritime Radio Services Operation

Regulations and Safety Warnings

WARNING! Read this information before

using the radio.

Maritime Radio Services Operation

Warning! This transmitter will operate on channels/frequencies that have restricted use in the United States. The channel assignments include frequencies assigned for exclusive use of the U.S. Coast Guard, use in Canada, and use in international waters. Operation on these frequencies without proper authorization is strictly forbidden. See page E-31 for tables of the available channels and their uses. If you are still not certain which channels to use, see the FCC maritime radio page at the FCC website (http://wireless.fcc.gov/marine/) or contact the FCC Call Center at

1-888-CALL-FCC. For individuals requiring a license, such as commercial users, you should obtain a license application from your nearest FCC field office (for US users) or Industry Canada (for Canadian users).

Basic Radio Guidelines

You should familiarize yourself with the rules on marine radios and be aware of which rules apply to your boat. Complete guidelines for all ship and marine radio types can be found at the US Coast Guard website under the topic Radio Info for Boaters (the direct link is http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/marcomms/boater.htm). Here are a few guidelines that affect nearly all boaters.

If you have a VHF radio on your boat, you must maintain a watch on channel 16 (156.800 MHz) whenever the radio is not being used to communicate. Starting in 2004, if a radio is carried, it must be on and set to channel 16. Whenever your boat is underway.

If you hear a distress call, wait a few minutes to let a shore station or Coast Guard vessel respond. If no other station has responded after 5 minutes, you must respond to the distress call.

E-38 West Marine VHF160 Radio Owner’s Manual