I have been trying to interest people into connecting their DSC capable VHF radios to a GPS for several years. My web site on the subject is www.rontrossbach.com. Part of the DSC Primer has been posted on the T&T site before. Recently another series of instruction videos have come out at http://www.icomamerica.com/en/media_events/videos/dsc/default.aspx I agree with the posted comments that praise this technology and would add that this is probably the greatest safety advancement we have seen in years and the cost is minimal. I think the reason we shy away from it is that it sounds complicated if you try to learn everything at once. Connect it and try one feature and the rest will fall in place. Even if it doesn't, when you need to call for help all you will need to do is press and hold one button for 5 seconds to tell all boats and CG within VHF range who you are, where you are and that help is needed. When I show and tell couples this I often either hear "I want that" or "Why don't we have that?" You do, if your radio was purchased in the US after 17 June 1999. Comments are invited, if you have any other ideas how to encourage people to try this or if you see errors that should be corrected. Ron Trossbach safety@bermudarace.com ashore for the winter

Some of the comments on this thread seemed to indicate confusion on how mmsi numbers are assigned. The following paragraph concisely summarizes how the numbers are assigned. Rockpopper New Brunswick Canada -12 C great weather for a walk. MMSI An MMSI number is a unique identifier assigned to a boat. Only one number is assigned for all applicable electronics on the vessel, such as an AIS transponder, DSC Radio, and EPIRB. MMSI registration includes contact information to be used in case of an emergency. All vessels operating on the high seas require a Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number to participate in the Global Maritime Distress & Safety System (GMDSS). In addition to GMDSS participation the MMSI number also serves as a unique identifier of the vessel for all communications. As the international governing body for telecommunications the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has set the international conventions for the use of MMSI numbers. MMSI number is a 9-digit code issued by the host country agency for use in VHF marine radio equipment, AIS transponders, EPIRB's, and all INMARSAT satellite terminals. By international agreement, the ITU sets the rules that determine how MMSI's are assigned and used. In the United States the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and in Canada Industry Canada (IC) are responsible for actually assigning MMSI's to commercial and recreational vessels. (See MMSI and AIS Transponders for more.) Further detail on the format for US MMSI numbers can be found on the USCG website On Wed, Jan 13, 2010 at 10:11 AM, Ron Trossbach <rontrossbach@msn.com> wrote: > I have been trying to interest people into connecting their DSC capable VHF > radios to a GPS for several years. > My web site on the subject is www.rontrossbach.com. > > Part of the DSC Primer has been posted on the T&T site before. > Recently another series of instruction videos have come out at > http://www.icomamerica.com/en/media_events/videos/dsc/default.aspx > > I agree with the posted comments that praise this technology and would add > that this is probably the greatest safety advancement we have seen in years > and the cost is minimal. I think the reason we shy away from it is that it > sounds complicated if you try to learn everything at once. Connect it and try > one feature and the rest will fall in place. Even if it doesn't, when you > need to call for help all you will need to do is press and hold one button for > 5 seconds to tell all boats and CG within VHF range who you are, where you are > and that help is needed. When I show and tell couples this I often either > hear "I want that" or "Why don't we have that?" You do, if your radio was > purchased in the US after 17 June 1999. > > Comments are invited, if you have any other ideas how to encourage people to > try this or if you see errors that should be corrected. > > Ron Trossbach > > safety@bermudarace.com > ashore for the winter > _______________________________________________ > http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/listinfo/trawlers-and-trawlering > > To unsubscribe or modify your subscription options (get password, change email address, etc) go to: http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/options/trawlers-and-trawlering > > Trawlers & Trawlering and T&T are trademarks of Water World > Productions. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010, 6:11:31 AM, Ron wrote: RT> I have been trying to interest people into connecting their DSC capable VHF RT> radios to a GPS for several years. RT> My web site on the subject is www.rontrossbach.com. RT> Part of the DSC Primer has been posted on the T&T site before. RT> Recently another series of instruction videos have come out at RT> http://www.icomamerica.com/en/media_events/videos/dsc/default.aspx RT> I agree with the posted comments that praise this technology and would add RT> that this is probably the greatest safety advancement we have seen in years RT> and the cost is minimal. I think the reason we shy away from it is that it RT> sounds complicated if you try to learn everything at once. Connect it and try RT> one feature and the rest will fall in place. Even if it doesn't, when you RT> need to call for help all you will need to do is press and hold one button for RT> 5 seconds to tell all boats and CG within VHF range who you are, where you are RT> and that help is needed. When I show and tell couples this I often either RT> hear "I want that" or "Why don't we have that?" You do, if your radio was RT> purchased in the US after 17 June 1999. Perhaps I'm being a bit pedantic, but I believe that any new fixed-mount radios type-approved after June 1999 had to have DSC capability, but manufacturers could continue to sell existing non-DSC models for several years after that date. RT> Ron Trossbach RT> safety@bermudarace.com RT> ashore for the winter -- Peter Bennett, VE7CEI Vancouver, B.C., Canada Ennos 31 "Honeycomb" GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca