Jack Painter wrote:

snip

This includes
following the regulated use of marine radios, which prohibit making calls to
a non-specific ("Any Station") unit or vessel for routine traffic, radio
checks, etc. In local VHF use, there are few exceptions to this. One example
could be in winter/heavy-wx, etc (imagine a condition when few pleasure or
commercial activities might be active) and there are no other observed
vessels or monitoring coastal stations available for a radio check prior to
departing. We would all agree a vessel's communications equipment should be
tested by any means available before such activity!



Hello again Jack,

It is the Federal Communications Commission, and not the US
Coast Guard, that promulgates and enforces rules regarding
communication by radio. (The FCC has delegated some
inspection functions to the Coast Guard.)

The FCC rules and regulations are available at:

http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/w...7cfr80_03.html

for anyone who is interested. While lengthy, they are quite
readable.

Regarding your assertion that "making calls to a
non-specific vessel or unit" for radio checks is prohibited,
it would be useful to consider Section 80.89:

Stations must not:
snip
(d) When using telephony, transmit signals or communications
not addressed to a particular station or stations. This
provision does not apply to the transmission of distress,
alarm, urgency, or safety signals or messages, or to test
transmissions.
snip

To some of us, it does matter that your advice and legal
opinions often bear dubious relation to reality.

Regards,

Chuck