I've finished intstalling and programing my new DSC capable VHF. I'm reading
through some of the features and find mention of MariTEL DSC Telephone Call,
send and receive.. What is this??

I understand that the old High Seas Marine Operate service went away about 8
years ago.. I used that service a couple times when cruising in Baja and in
the San Juans. Now with cell phone I haven't bothered to keep up with what
ever might have replaced the Marine Operator..

Or is this MariTEL another 'pie in the sky' that is only a concept and may
never be a reality..

I would expect that it would be more expensive than cell phone, even if you
outside your service providers area..

I could see it being used by family ashore if they aren't able to reach me
by cell phone or for someone who doesn't know my cell phone number.. I
always have the VHF on when underway but the cell phone though on, might be
put out of the way to protect it while underway.

One problem that I use to have with the Marine Operator in the past was
answering calls for another vessel that had the same name as mine.. The DSC
SSID should resolve that.

Anyone have any thoughts or experiences with this??


Steve
s/v Good Intentions