Procedures and Practical Operation - VHF

DSC Distress, Urgency and Safety communication procedures

• Distress Procedures
• Urgency and safety communications via DSC

Protection of distress frequencies

• Avoiding harmful interference
• Transmissions during distress traffic 
• Prevention of unauthorised transmissions
• Test protocols and procedures
• Avoidance or transmissions in VHF guard bands
• Procedures to follow when a false or inadvertent Distress Alert is transmitted

Alerting, communication and locating signals

• 406 MHz Emergency Positioning Radio Beacons (EPIRBS)
• Search and Rescue Transponder and Transmitter (SART)
• Handheld VHF