DSC. Worth the money or not

Hey Guys. I'm looking to upgrade my VHF radio this season. I see that you can now get DSC on a handheld unit. What is that all about and is it worth the extra cash?

Thank you in advanced.

Vaughn

All about DSC (Digital Select Calling) VHF Radios

Hi Vaughn,

Thanks for your question about DSC radios. Here is an article written by one of our instructors all about the new option of digital select calling on a VHF radio. Enjoy!



DSC VHF RADIO It could save your life!

Are you thinking of a new VHF radio? If not maybe you should be. There have been substantial improvements made to the traditional analog VHF that could save your life! This article is focused on the life saving benefits of this technology and is not intended to cover all of the benefits of DSC VHF communications.

DSC stands for Digital Selective Calling. DSC allows for the digital communication of information. This method of communication is standard on all commercial vessels and common place among pleasure craft. As of 2009 this technology has made its way to select hand held VHF radios.

DSC is used as a method of establishing initial contact between stations on the dedicated VHF marine channel 70. Following a distress message by DSC, communications must be established by radiotelephony on a different channel to that used for the DSC call. Most radios manage this automatically for you by switching to channel 16.

To obtain the full functionality of a DSC radio you must obtain a MMSI (Marine Mobile Service Identifier) number from Industry Canada. This number is unique to you and your radio. There is no cost to obtain an MMSI number and by filling out the forms and filing your request you are establishing a file with the Canadian Coast Guard. This file contains vital information about you, your boat, and emergence contact information. Once you obtain your MMSI number you program it into your radio’s memory where it is permanently stored. You can think of the MMSI number as caller ID for your radio as it is transmitted automatically with all digital communications.

Most DSC radios also incorporate GPS technology. While they cannot be used for navigation purposes like a full GPS unit they will provide the GPS coordinates of your position. This GPS information is also transmitted with most digital communications and always incorporated into a distress call.

A DSC distress call is activated by a single button on the radio which automatically sends a distress call to all DSC equipped ships, boats, and shore locations within range. The call automatically includes your identity (MMSI), your GPS coordinates and the nature of your distress, which can be edited if needed. The call is automatically repeated until stopped by an acknowledgement message. In the event that you are separated from your boat and or radio this is a particularly useful feature. When received by the Coast Guard this message and the digital information is automatically recorded.

Because this message is transmitted to all vessels in the area there is a high likelihood that a commercial or pleasure craft in the area will be able to respond to your emergency in a much more timely manner than the Coast Guard. And since most of them will have GPS navigation equipment on board they will be able to determine and navigate to your location much more accurately than you are likely to articulate over the radio in an emergency situation.

There are many other benefits of DSC communications several of which are worth mentioning in this article. Once you obtain the MMSI number of a fellow boater you can directly contact them using this number. It can also be stored in most radios to create a directory much like your home or cell phone does. Another useful feature of this technology is that it allows Group Calling through via a Group MMSI number. In this case the number is not allocated to a specific person or radio. This number is used to communicate to all members of a specific group. An example of the use of this might be that you arrived late for a trip and wish to contact any member in the group with their radio on. In this case you would not need to know who is in the group as your call would be sent to all members.

Hopefully this article sheds some light on the new technologies available through DSC VHF radio communications.

Written by Ralph Gardave

DSC

Thanks for the article Ralph!

the technology sounds pretty cool