Standard Horizon HX400IS, Owner'S Manual

Page: 9 / 48

Page 9 HX400IS
1. Press the PTT (Push-To-Talk:
) switch and say “
Mayday , Mayday , May-
day . This is _____, _____, _____” (your vessel’s name).
2. Then repeat once: “ Mayday , _____” (your vessel’s name).
3. Now report your position in latitude/longitude, or by giving a true or mag-
netic bearing (state which) to a well-known landmark such as a navigation
aid or geographic feature such as an island or harbor entry.
4. Explain the nature of your distress (sinking, collision, aground, fire, heart
attack, life-threatening injury, etc.).
5. State the kind of assistance your desire (pumps, medical aid, etc.).
6. Report the number of persons aboard and condition of any injured.
7. Estimate the present seaworthiness and condition of your vessel.
8. Give your vessel’s description: length, design (power or sail), color and other
distinguishing marks. The total transmission should not exceed 1 minute.
9. End the message by saying “ OVER ”. Release the PTT (
) switch and
listen.
10. If there is no answer, repeat the above procedure. If there is still no re-
sponse, try another channel.
3.6 CALLING ANOTHER VESSEL
(
CHANNEL 16 OR 9
)
Channel 16 may be used for initial contact (hailing) with another vessel.
However, its most important use is for emergency messages. This channel
must be monitored at all times except when actually using another channel.
It is monitored by the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards and by other vessels.
Use of channel 16 for hailing must be limited to initial contact only. Calling
should not exceed 30 seconds, but may be repeated 3 times at 2-minute inter-
vals. In areas of heavy radio traffic, congestion on channel 16 resulting from its
use as a hailing channel can be reduced significantly in U.S. waters by using
Channel 9 as the initial contact (hailing) channel for non-emergency communi-
cations. Also hailing on channel 9, the calling time should not exceed 30 sec-
onds but may be repeated 3 times at 2-minute intervals.
Prior to making contact with another vessel, refer to the channel charts in this
manual, and select an appropriate channel for communications after initial
contact. For example, Channels 68 and 69 of the U.S. VHF Charts are some of
the channels available to non-commercial (recreational) boaters. Monitor your
desired channel in advance to make sure you will not be interrupting other
traffic, and then go back to either channel 16 or 9 for your initial contact.
When the hailing channel (16 or 9) is clear, state the name of the other vessel
you wish to call and then “
this is ” followed by the name of your vessel and
your Station License (Call Sign). When the other vessel returns your call, im-