Every good skipper knows the value of a radio check not only at the dock but also at sea.
Here's a link that can help. It's not completely nationwide yet but......
http://www.seatow.com/boating_safety/ARC.aspLink supplied by Forum member John Jones
SeaTow not in your area????
This could work.
viewtopic.php?p=44809#p44809Edit: 23 January 2011 for DSC Check This doc was also supplied by Forum member John Jones
"You can also contact the coasties and tell them you are going to test your DSC, they should allow it..."Actually you are not supposed to do a "live" test. Causes too much confusion. When you set off the DSC it not only alerts the CG but sets off an alarm on every DSC radio in range.Here are a couple of ways to test the DSC function.
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Rescue Radio Rolls Out
BoatUS Magazine
September 2009 Update:
DSC Radio Automatic Test Feature Debuts
Since the lifesaving capabilities of VHF-Digital Selective Calling (DSC) marine radios have become more widely known,boaters with these radios have frequently asked how to place a “test” call — without setting off a false alarm or, worse, an unnecessaryrescue response from the U.S. Coast Guard.
Now that conundrum has been solved as many of the newer DSC radios have a “Test Call” feature that can provide automatic verification that the radio’s DSC hailing and communication functionsare operating. However, for the test call function to work, you also have to be boating in an area served by Rescue 21, the Coast Guard’s improved communications system that now covers about 28,000 miles of U.S. coastline. You also must register for your own Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number and encode it into your radio (see
http://www.BoatUS.com/mmsi).
By entering the nationwide Coast Guard MMSI number,003669999, into your radio’s calling memory and selecting the “Test Call” option from the radio’s list of individual DSC calls, you can then press the “Call” or “Enter” key. Your radio will silently hail the Coast Guard with a digital signal on Channel 70. If everything is working properly, your radio will almost immediately receive the Coast Guard’s acknowledgement of your call, providing assurance that both your radio and the Rescue 21 system are operating properly.
The proper operation of all DSC radios, regardless of whether they’re operated in an area covered by Rescue 21, can be verified by hailing a friend’s boat or the local TowBoatU.S. service provider in your area using their MMSI. This summer, BoatU.S. and its towers launched a service of DSC radio checks for coastal boaters from Mobile, Alabama, to Sandy Hook, New Jersey. Their fleetnumber is 0-338-04000 and any TowBoatU.S. within radio rangecan verify that your VHF-DSC signal is working. (The service will be expanded as more TowBoatU.S. operators get DSC radios.)
No matter where you boat, in an emergency your DSC mayday signal will be received by every DSC-capable radio in rangeand will sound a distinctive audio alarm, regardless of the radio’s volume control. Connecting the radio to a GPS or Loran can be critically important as everyone receiving your call for assistance will know your precise location and may be able to assist long before the Coast Guard.
“The safety and convenience provided by the combination of VHF-DSC radios and the Rescue 21 system are, in a word, ‘awesome,’” says BoatU.S. Foundation President Ruth Wood. “Now it’s up to the boating community to make the best possible use of DSC, for both routine communication and emergency alerts.”
http://www.boatus.com/gov/rescue21_update0906.asp_________________
Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he's too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.
Thanks JJ
