About This Radio; About The Vhf Marine Band; About Water Resistance; Distress And Hailling ( Channel 16 ) - Standard Horizon HX290 Owner's Manual

3. ABOUT THIS RADIO

3.1 ABOUT THE VHF MARINE BAND

The radio frequencies used in the VHF marine band lie between 156 and 162
MHz. The marine VHF band provides communications over distances that are
essentially "Line of sight" Actual transmission range depends much more on
antenna type, gain and height than on the power output of the transmitter. On
a fixed mount 25 W radio transmission expected distances can be greater
than 15 miles, for a portable 5 W radio transmission the expected distance can
be greater than 5 miles in "Line of sight".
The user of a Marine VHF radio is subject to severe fines if the radio is used on
land. The reasoning for this is you may be near an inland waterway, or propa-
gation anomalies may cause your transmission to be heard in a waterway. If
this occurs, depending upon the marine VHF channel on which you are trans-
mitting, you could interfere with a search and rescue case, or contribute to a
collision between passing ships. For VHF Marine channel assignments refer
to section "9".
This radio is capable of transmitting on Marine VHF.
The FCC allows the use of VHF Marine band on water areas only. How-
ever the FCC does not allow the use of the VHF Marine band when on
land. If persons use the VHF Marine Band on land and interfere with
others communicating, the FCC will be notified and search for the inter-
ference. Responsible parties found to be transmitting on the VHF Ma-
rine Band on land could be fined up to $10,000 for the first offense.

3.2 ABOUT WATER RESISTANCE

Water resistance of the transceiver is ensured only when the battery pack is
attached to the transceiver and MIC/SP cap is installed in the MIC/SP jack.
3.3 DISTRESS AND HAILLING CHANNEL 16
Channel 16 is known as the Hail and Distress Channel. An emergency may be
defined as a threat to life or property. In such instances, be sure the trans-
ceiver is on and set to "Channel 16". Then use the following procedure:
1. Press the PTT ( Push-To-Talk:
day. This is _____, _____, _____" (your vessel's name).
2. Then repeat once: "Mayday, _____" (your vessel's name).
3. Now report your position in latitude/longitude, or by giving a true or mag-
netic bearing (state which) to a well-known landmark such as a navigation
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WARNING
) switch and say "Mayday, Mayday, May-
HX290