In article .net,
"Doug" wrote:

"Bruce in Alaska" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Doug Dotson" dougdotson@NOSPAMcablespeedNOSPAMcom wrote:

I've never heard anyone ask for a radio check from the USCG. Usually
they
are asking for a response from anyone that can hear them.

Actually, it is REQUIRED during a SOLAS Inspection that a "Radio Check"
be preformed with the nearest USCG Station, and that it be "Logged" in
the Radio Station Log of the Vessel, for each piece of Gear aboard.

Also SOLAS Required vessels are also REQUIRED to Log one complete
Communication every 24 hours, while navigating.


Bruce in alaska who actually does SOLAS Inpsections on occasion.....
--
add a 2 before @

I don't recall right now where I read it a couple years ago, either in an
FCC or CG Publication, where they said it was illegal to contact the Coast
Guard on VHF FM for routine radio checks, with the exception being a
licensed commercial radio technician testing a ship's radio and he was to
indicate in the initial call or after the first response from the CG that he
was a radio technician performing a check or adjustment. The local CG
Group in Portland, OR seems to vary their responses depending upon who is on
watch, time of year (boating season or not), time of day, etc. Sometimes I
hear repeated calls for a CG radio check go unanswered, other times they
answer immediately and move to channel 22A, and other times when they
respond directing a move to a recreational boat channel for radio tests as
channel 16 is a calling and distress channel. I have visited the Group
station several times and often there is only one person on watch, covering
4 remote marine VHF FM radio sites along the Columbia River, plus HF SSB,
local marine police and fire boat channels. There is usually a rash of "10-4
good buddy" or "anybody got a copy?" calls after Christmas presents are
hooked up or at the start of the seasonal recreational boating season.
Common sense would indicate a single CG operator may not be relied upon to
answer all calls for "radio checks", as he may be coordinating an actual
distress with helicopters, police, CG and/or fire boats on scene, plus
divers in the water on a frequency other than the local channel 16 coverage.
73 Doug K7ABX




Back a few yers there was a Big Infight between the FCC and USCG
concerning this very issue. The FCC rules REQUIRRED a Logged
Radio Check for each piece of equipment, during a SOLAS Inspection,
and the USCG wanted to get out of doing them, because they said their
operators were to busy. Since the SOLAS Requirement was an International
Requirement, the USCG had to backdown, and all District Communications
Officers were informed that these would be the ONLY Radio Checks that
their CommSta's would conduct.
At the time I was the FCC Field Inspector for Southeastern Alaska and
was the liason to District 17, and had many discussions with the
Commander for District Communications, about this and other issues of
mutual interests. this issue never was a problem here in District 17,
but some of the other districts had issues with the policy. Puget Sound
was one of those places, and it took the Region X FCC Director a while
to get the Admiral to come around.
It was ALWAYS very hard to get the USCG to answer up on 2182 Khz for
these checks, even after setting up the check via the VHF Check, and
most of the Southeast Alaska, and Puget Sound, Checks were done with
Canadian Coast Guard, as these guys ALWAYS Kept their 24/7 Watches on
2182 Khz, ALWAYS. The Canadians have always been better at comm's that
our own USCG, and their Wx Transmissions are used thruought the North
Pacific extensivly.

Bruce in alaska
--
add a 2 before @