RYA VHF Marine Radio (SRC)

A Marine VHF radio on board a boat as well as being useful for routine communication is an essential piece of safety equipment, however to legally have one on board, there has to be at least one person with the VHF SRC Operators Certificate. Successful completion of this one day RYA VHF SRC Radio Course which can also be completed online,will provide you with this certificate and will also allow you to supervise untrained people in its use on board your vessel. During the course where you will use real marine VHF radios rather than computer simulators you will be taught: Hands on operation of marine VHF/DSC (digital selective calling) equipment The phonetic alphabet Basic radio language Use of correct channels Making calls to other stations Sending a distress alert and distress Mayday message Sending an urgency alert and Pan Pan message Sending a safety alert and Securité message Making routine alerts and calls Automatic Transmitter Identification System – ATIS Radio Rules and regulations The DSC element of the radio falls within the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) and as such you will also be taught about other equipment which falls within this scheme such as Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs) and Search and Rescue Transponders (SARTs). In addition to the theory, by the end of the day you will have practiced making mayday calls, learnt about Pan Pan and securite calls as well as general ship to shore communications using both the voice and DSC elements of the radio. Throughout the course each student will be allocated a real VHF DSC radio to practice radio procedures in the classroom environment. The VHF Radio Course is completed over one day from 8.30am to approximately 7.30pm and there will be both a practical assessment on the use of the VHF DSC Radio and a written assessment after the training which will be conducted by an external assessor. Prior to attending you will need to complete 3 hours self study. On booking the course you will be issued with a pack including the RYA Handbook and instructions on what areas you need to learn before the course. On successful completion of the VHF SRC Radio course we will forward your application form to the RYA together with your £60 examination fee, who will then forward your certificate to you. We realise that not everyone wants to attend a classroom based course so we also offer the online RYA VHF SRC Radio Course.