"Dave" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:05:41 -0700, "claus" said:

Are "Call Signs" ever used in VHF communications to/from/between boats? I
know they are part of the FCC radio license - but is they just a
"leftover"
from land based radio stations?

Back in the dark ages when VHF recreational users had to get a license,
the
rule (only sporadically observed) was that on initiating transmission you
were to give the name of the vessel followed by its call sign. (I'll
probably never forget "this is "Queequeg" whiskey Romeo Zulu 2187").
Current
recommendation I believe is that you do the same, using your registration
or
documentation number to identify the vessel.

In practice, at least on LIS, one is lucky if the first transmission he
hears isn't something like "Hey Joe, you out here?"

huh? ("this is "Queequeg" whiskey Romeo Zulu 2187").
In the phonetic alphabet... Quebec stands for 'Q'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet