Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Portsmouth Herald Local News: A maritime call for help is better made by radio

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Date: Sat, 18 Jan 2003 14:10:20 -0500

http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/01172003/news/8060.htm

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A maritime call for help is better made by radio

By Michelle Firmbach

[email-masked]

Fishermen in trouble on the high seas can dial *CG on a cellular phone to call for help, but the U.S. Coast Guard is encouraging boaters to use a marine band VHF radio as the primary way to report distress.

*CG is a system that has been implemented by individual cellular phone companies as a means of contacting the Coast Guard in case of emergency. Using this system, boaters in distress can dial *CG on their cellular phones to contact a local Coast Guard operations center.

The Coast Guard, however, doesn’t guarantee cellular phone signal coverage on the high seas, nor does it force or encourage cellular phone companies to set up a *CG program for their network.

"*CG was never meant to replace the established VHF marine radio," said Chief Warrant Officer Matthew Pickard, frequency manager for the First Coast Guard District. "That’s why we stress to everybody that it’s a secondary system."

When considering emergency communication options, boaters should keep in mind that a VHF radio has the capability to broadcast to multiple listeners and stations, whereas cellular phones limit communication to point-to-point contact.

Rescuers can track the direction of a VHF radio transmission; they cannot, however, isolate the direction of a cellular signal.

VHF radios allow mariners to receive emergency broadcasts, weather information and other potentially life-saving messages, whereas cellular phones are not capable of receiving these broadcasts.

Additionally, cellular phones often have weak signals offshore.

"You can’t beat a VHF radio for communication," said Al Johnson, boating safety coordinator with the Coast Guard.

The international VHF distress frequency, 156.8 MHz, is found on Channel 16 and is monitored 24 hours a day. This channel cannot be monitored or used by cellular phones.

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