"Breaker, Breaker. Hey Fred, you got your ears on?"
"10-4 good Buddy, come on back!"
"Well, eenie, meenie, miney moe, can you hear my ra-diddy-oh?"
"Are the fish biting? What's your 20?"
We frequently hear this kind of communication when monitoring Channel 16 on a VHF marine radio. If it lasts longer than thirty (30) seconds, the Coast Guard often breaks in and warns the offending parties that Channel 16 (Channel 9, in some areas) is a hailing and emergency channel only and they must switch to a working channel. The vast majority of boaters using the marine radio do not want to sound foolish, they just don't know any better.
The following is a short list of proper terminology and procedures to use on your VHF marine radio.
Proper use of your radio is not a snob issue! If you ever get into real trouble out there on the water, using your radio correctly could save you, your crew and your boat! So, here goes:
- Brevity is important: Most of today's terminology used on the marine radio has been passed down from the military. They discovered long ago that a single word instead of a long phrase is much easier to understand.
- "Roger": Means only that "I understand your transmission." It does not mean that I agree or disagree with what you said.
- "Wilco": Means "I understand your transmission and I will comply with your request." (WIL = will, CO = comply)
In spite of what you may have heard in old war movies, there is no such thing as "Roger Wilco"! It is either one (Roger) or the other (Wilco), but not both.
- "Affirmative": Means "Yes". Do not use words like "Un- Huh", "Yup" or "Al-righty".
- "Negative": Means "No". Do not say "Negatory"; there is no such word.
- "Niner": The number nine (9) is very difficult to understand over the radio, so we use the word "Niner" in its place.
- "Over": Means "I have completed my statement and am awaiting your reply." Just say "Over", not "Do you copy?" or "Come on back!".
- "Out": Means that "I have completed my communication and I am returning to the hailing channel."
As with "Roger Wilco", there is no such thing as "Over and Out". It's either one (Over) or the other (Out).
Now let's look at what should be said when you hail or talk to another boat in a non-emergency situation.
- First listen to your radio to make sure that no one else is using it.
- Next, you say, "Sea Dog, Sea Dog (repeat the name of the boat you are trying to reach) this is Rambler (use the name of your boat) over".
- The entire transmission, including a second call if necessary, should not take more than thirty (30)seconds. If Sea Dog does not answer, you must wait two (2) minutes before trying to call him again.
- If Sea Dog hears your hail (call), it should then go like this:
- Sea Dog says, "This is Sea Dog, switch and answer on 72". (See my previous article entitled "Navigation Equipment - Marine Radiotelephone" for the correct numbers of all legal working channels.)
- Your reply should be, "Roger Sea Dog, 72". "Roger" means "I understand", and "72" means "I am switching to channel 72 to talk to you."
- After you have finished your transmission/conversation, say "Out".
- Finally, to conclude the transmission you say, "This is Rambler (your boat) back to channel 16."
Pretty neat, isn't it? This has been a brief description of how to properly use your radio in a routine or non-emergency/ non-distress situation. It really isn't complicated, and becomes easy to do once you know just why it's done this way.
