Marine Radio Operators Handbook 2024

Page 1

© Australian Communications and MediaAuthority 2002.

ISBN 978-1-922708-64-9

First publishedfor the Postmaster-General's Department 1969

Revised edition 1971

Published for the Department of Communications 1978

Revised editions 1981, 1984

Revised edition for the Department ofTransport and Communications 1987

ReprintedApril, June 1988

Reprinted 1990

Reprinted 1991

Revised edition 1992

Revised edition for the Spectrum ManagementAgency 1993

Revised 1993

Revised 1996

Revised edition for theAustralian CommunicationsAuthority 1998

Revised Dec 1998

Reprinted June 1999

RevisedApril 2000

Revised edition for theAustralian Maritime College 2002

Reprinted September 2003

Revised edition for theAustralian Maritime College 2006

Revised 2008

Reprinted 2012

Revised 2012

Revised 2013

Reprinted 2013

Revised 2015

Reprinted 2017

Revised 2018

Revised 2020

Revised 2022

Revised 2024

work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be produced by any process without prior writtenpermissionfrom theAustralianMaritime College (AMC). Requests and enquiries concerningreproductionand rights should beaddressedto the Manager, Office of MaritimeCommunications, Australian Maritime College, Locked Bag 1394, Launceston Tasmania 7250. Produced by the Office of Maritime Communications, Australian Maritime College as the delegate of the ACMAfor the purposes of issuing Marine Radio Operators Certificates of Proficiency. AUSTRALIAN MARITIME COLLEGE
This

3.CANDIDATE ELIGIBILITY AND REPLACEMENT OF OPERATORS CERTIFICATES

3.1 Current legislation does not permit the issue of a certificate of proficiency to a candidate under the age of sixteen. Candidates must be sixteen years of age before being accepted for examination.

3.2 Certificates of proficiency and endorsements will be issued to successful candidates.

3.3 All candidates are required to produce proof of identity and age at the time of examination.

3.4 If an operator’s certificate or endorsement is lost, mutilated or destroyed, or a change of name has occurred, the holder may obtain a replacement by submitting a Replacement Application form (refer www.amc.edu.au/i st c ce ti icates).

3.5 Where issue of a replacement certificate or endorsement is required because of damage or change of name, the original certificate or

endorsement should accompany the application. In the case of change of name, documentary proof of the change should be included: for example, a marriage certificate or deed poll document.

3.6 A fee will be charged for the replacement of a certificate or endorsement.

3.7 It is in the interests of candidates applying for a replacement for a lost certificate or endorsement to provide information regarding the place and approximate date of original issue.

4.APPLICATION FOR EXAMINATION

4.1 An application to be examined for a certificate or endorsement can be made to the OMC.

4.2 Examinations for the marine radio operator qualifications are conducted by appointment and may be held at any location suitable for examination purposes. Many marine rescue organisations, boating clubs and colleges of technical and further education (TAFE) conduct examinations on behalf of the OMC. In special circumstances examinations may be held at ACMA offices.

4.3 Examinations for the Marine Satellite Communications Endorsement cannot be conducted at an ACMA office and are only available at organisations with suitable Inmarsat equipment available for training.

4.4 Examination fees are charged.

5.OPERATOR TRAINING

5.1 Many marine rescue organisations, boating and fishing clubs, maritime colleges and some colleges of technical and further education (TAFE) provide training courses leading to the marine radio operator qualifications

5.2 Some maritime and TAFE colleges provide training courses leading to the Marine Satellite Communications Endorsement.

5.3 The ACMA or the OMC may be able to provide information about local training organisations.

5.4 Persons using this handbook as a study guide should note that much of its content is non-examinable. Careful reference should be made to the detailed examination syllabi shown in Appendix 1

4 MARINE RADIO OPERATORS HANDBOOK

RCC R C

Co ti o s to at d at o H C r i s H H H H H

to ati broad asts o at r or asts a d ar i s or oasta a d i s as ar as

C s at i a a d C ar i

or bot statio s Ca si RCC stra ia C or bot statio s

t d d o ra oasta a d o a ar as t di to t i its o stra ia s ar a d R s R io P o a ai r a sa o a

RCC R R PH

Co ti o s Radiot o at o H istr ss a d a t r i s

H

H H

H

H a i atio ar i s broad ast o H

43.3 Services provided by these stations include 24 hour listening watches on H H H H a d H or distr ss a d sa t sit atio s and thebroadcast of navigation warnings on 8176 kHz.

43.4 H is s d or a o i sa t tra rior to tra s itti t sa t tra o a or i r t is i orta t to r stri t radio traffic on these frequencies to distress, urgency and safety calls. The operator must not use 8291 kHz for routine or general calling. Radio checks or calls of a general nature should be directed to volunteer marine rescue groups or other service providers.

43.5 o o i d a d si radiot o or i a s ar a ai ab or o i atio s it C ar i i a d i a a t r t t i itia a H H H si H H si H H si H H si

43. Coast Radio Hobart

Coast Radio Hobart o itors a d H d ri t o rs o o a ti or d tai s at tt s tas ariti o a

43. Coast Radio P rt a d Port H d a d

Coast Radio P rt a d Port H d a d o itor a d H o ti o s a s

43. Navigation warnings will be broadcast on 8176 kHz in accordance with a schedule commencing 3 minutes prior to the hour (UTC). Navigation warning broadcast schedules can be obtained from the State/NT marine authorities.

20 MARINE RADIO OPERATORS HANDBOOK
WA Marine Wiluna Radio Charleville Radio Coast Radio Perth Coast Radio Hedland Coast Radio Hobart WA Marine HF DSC Coast Stations Limited Coast Stations TasMar Radio for MAST

68. VHF M ARIN E R ADIOEQUIPM E NT

68.1VHF marine equipment offers:

-a communications range between vessels of up to 20 km (10.8 nautical miles) and between vessel and shore of 50 km (27 nautical miles), and occasionally significantly greater;

-a safety service provided by imite Co t t tion operated by marine rescue and other organisations;

-the advantages of being relatively inexpensive, of providing the highest quality signal, of suffering least from interference caused by atmospheric or ignition sources, and of providing access to a shore telephone service; but

-the disadvantage of suffering blind spots behind cliffs, sand hills and heavy vegetation.

68.2 VHF marine equipment is suitable for small vessels remaining relatively close to the coast and within range of imite Co t t tion ope tin on VHF channels.

68.3 VHF marine radio equipment fitted with digital selective calling may offer a single-button distress facility and automated watchkeeping (see Chapter 6).

S ECTIO N 12 C OMPON E NT PARTSOF M ARIN E R ADIO EQUIPM E NT

69. TH E M AJOR PARTSOF R ADIOEQUIPM E NT

69.1Marine radio equipment, whether operating in the MF/HF, 27 MHz or VHF bands, is made up of three major parts:

-the power supply;

-the transmitter and the receiver (transceiver); and

-the antenna or aerial.

69.2 Each part is dependent on the other . A fault in any one of the parts will not allow the equipment tofunction correctly.

70. TH E P O WE R S UPPLY

70.1The power supply has to provide electrical energy to the transmitter and the receiver to enable them to perform their functions.

70.2The most convenient form of power supply for small vessels is the lead-acid battery.

70.3 Fuses located in the wiring between the battery and the transceiver protect the vessel and equipment against damage should a malfunction occur.

32 MARINE RADIO OPERATORS HANDBOOK

Frequency Band Purpose

5755 kHz Frequencies used by Maritime Communication Stations to broadcast weather forecasts and warnings. The broadcasts are generated by the Bureau of Meteorology and automatically transmitted on these frequencies.

Table 15. Units of Frequency. Sub division of the radio frequency spectrum

www.acma.gov.au

www.amsa.gov.au

www.bom.gov.au

tt cospas-sarsat.int

www.imo.org

www.inmarsat.com

www.itu.int

www.painswessex.com

www.admiraltyleisure.co.uk

Australian Communications & Media Authority

Australian Maritime Safety Authority

Bureau of Meteorology

Cospas Sarsat

International Maritime Organisation

International Maritime Satellite Service

International Telecommunications Union

Pains Wessex

British Admiralty/Products/Publications/Maritime Communications

96 MARINE RADIO OPERATORS HANDBOOK
Table 14. Broadcast of Weather and Ocean charts via Radio Fax from VMW Australia Weather West at Wiluna (WA)
kHz 10 555 kHz 15 615 kHz 18 060 kHz
7535
Units of Frequency The kilohertz (kHz)=1,000 hertz The megahertz (MHz)=1,000,000 hertz The gigahertz (GHz)=1,000,000,000 hertz Spectrum –
frequency
Very Low Frequencies (VLF) 3 to 30 kHz Low Frequencies (LF) 30 to 300 kHz Medium Frequencies (MF) 300 to 3000 kHz (or 3MHz) High Frequencies (HF) 3 MHz to 30 MHz Very High Frequencies (VHF) 30 to 300 MHz Ultra High Frequencies (UHF) 300 to 3000 MHz (or 3 GHz) Super High Frequencies (SHF) 3 GHz to 30 GHz Extra High Frequencies (EHF) 30 – 300 GHz
The radio
spectrum is sub-divided into eight bands, as follows:
Table 16. Internet websites for general interest

Relay I am passing a message for vessel....

Go ahead

I am ready/not ready to receive your message

I do not have channel.... Please use channel....

Repetition If any parts of the message are considered sufficiently important to need particular emphasis, use the word ‘repeat’, e.g. ‘Do not repeat do not overtake’.

Acknowledgement

Acknowledgement of a message should be by the word 'Received'.

Position When latitude and longitude are used, these should be expressed in degrees and minutes (and decimals of a minute, if necessary), north or south of the Equator and east or west of Greenwich.

When the position is related to a mark, the mark shall be a well-defined charted object. The bearing shall be in the 360-degree notation from true north and shall be that of the position from the mark.

Courses

Bearings

Courses should always be expressed in the 360-degree notation from true north (unless otherwise stated). Whether this is to, or from, a mark can be stated.

The bearing of the mark or vessel concerned is the bearing in the 360-degree notation from true north (unless otherwise stated), except in the case of relative bearings

Bearings may be either from the mark or from the vessel.

Distances Distances should be expressed in nautical miles or cables (tenths of a nautical mile), otherwise in kilometres or metres. The unit should always be stated.

Speed Speed should be expressed in knots (without further notation meaning speed through the water). ‘Ground speed’ meaning speed over the ground.

Numbers

Geographical names

Numbers should be transmitted by speaking each digit separately, for example one five zero for 150.

Place names used should be those on the chart or Sailing Directions in use. Should these not be understood, latitude and longitude should be used.

Time Time should be expressed in the 24-hour notation indicating whether UTC, zone-time or local shoretime is being used.

104 MARINE RADIO OPERATORS HANDBOOK
112 MARINE RADIO OPERATORS HANDBOOK
N OTES

Maritime Operations and Coastal Seafaring

Maritime Operations and Coastal Seafaring

INDUSTRY-FOCUSED COURSES

INDUSTRY-FOCUSED COURSES

AMC provides world-class vocational education and training for students wishing to pursue a career in the maritime industry. Located in Australia’s picturesque island state of Tasmania, AMC offers a wide range of industry-focused courses at all levels.

AMC provides world-class vocational education and training for students wishing to pursue a career in the maritime industry. Located in Australia’s picturesque island state of Tasmania, AMC offers a wide range of industry-focused courses at all levels.

GPH, Coxswain, Master 24, Master 45 and many more.

GPH, Coxswain, Master 24, Master 45 and many more.

For additional information contact us via email:

SMO.administration@utas.edu.au or visit our website amc.edu.au/study/coastal

For additional information contact us via email: SMO.administration@utas.edu.au or visit our website amc.edu.au/study/coastal

CRICOS Provider Code 00586B | RTO ID 60131
AMC’s training vessel, Reviresco, docked at Beauty Point wharf.

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