E-26
West Marine VHF75 Radio Owner’s Manual
regulations anD saFetY Warnings
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 pages
E-23 through E-29 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.
x
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.
x
If you hear a distress call, wait a few minutes to let a
shore station or Coast Guard vessel respond. If no other
WARNING! Read this information before using the radio.
