"Doug Dotson" dougdotson@NOSPAMcablespeedNOSPAMcom wrote

So being chewed out by the CG is their form of a response to a request
for a radio check? Isn't that sweet. That certainly encourages folks to
check to see if their rig is working.

Doug,

Unfortunately that's correct. Although the boating public often disagrees,
it is not the USCG's responsibility to provide a means of testing their
radio equipment. A reasonable person will understand that the boater is
responsible and normally capable of making such equipment checks without
interfering with a life-saving and homeland security service. 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!

Channel
9 is allocated for both calling/hailing and as an alternate distress
frequency (ship-to-ship only) in most areas now. This was done to
alleviate
the congestion in busy areas on Ch-16. It is also part of an experiment
to
move ALL calling/hailing from Ch-16 to Ch-9, leaving Ch-16 for urgency
and
distress only. Ch-9 is where ship to ship or ship to shore radio checks
should take place.

That's good. Ch9 is where radio check should be made.

Radio operating procedures for VHF-marine do state that
no "any station" type radio checks should ever be made.

You just said that Ch9 is now intended for that purpose!

Indeed. That doesn't provide an excuse to ignore proper marine radio
operating procedures, in which routine calls to unspecific stations are not
permitted. This is not Amateur Radio! we do not "CQ" to chat or see how far
anyone might hear us over the VHF or HF marine bands.

If that activity is going to happen, and certainly it does, it should never
be over the distress/hailing channel (16). I said the Coast Guard always
answers radio checks. Let me be more specific. Over the years the policy on
answering radio checks has changed at least a couple of times. It is current
policy to discourage any vessel from using channel 16 to make radio checks.
They should however be answered, and the sometimes inconsistent results are
simply unfortunate.

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.

See "This is not amateur radio!" above.

Now if you called a SPECIFIC Coast Guard Group or Station,
asking to switch to their wkg frequency for radio check, they should
accomodate you in a courteous fashion, unless something else urgent is
going
on with their unit.

Fair enough.

I understand a boater ( I am one too btw) wants to know that the ones who
would be called to help them should be able to hear them. It's also ignorant
of the fact that it must be policy to discourage calling the Coast Guard
anytime this emotional desire gets triggered (getting underway, tinkering
with radio system, bored, etc). There are other more practical ways to test
a radio when it is appropriate to do so, which do not interfere with
life-saving and homeland security communications of the USCG.

On HF: Since HF duplex calling channels are no longer guarded
(Jan-1-2005),
and instead the associated simplex voice channels for 4,6,8, and 12 meg
DSC-GMDSS are, I am not sure if that makes them the place for a radio
check
with USCG. It hasn't happened to me yet and I have not seen guidance on
this.

So, if I am heading offshore, how do I find out if the USCG can copy me?

As above, this is not a question that any indivdual vessel operator has a
right to verify with the USCG
directly. They can of course check their systems with any specific station
(no "Any Station" calls) and if the USCG is able to answer, they might. USCG
is not a marine telephone operator, and it would be purely the disgression
of a watchstander, based on other priorities and guided by local command and
service-policies, to respond to a radio check made specifically to his unit
or station. I hope you find this helpful.

Best regards,

Jack Painter
Virginia Beach, Virginia