Note: The situation has improved since I posted this in early 2020. See updates at the end.
I recently bought a fancy new Standard Horizon HX890 handheld VHF radio. It has most of the bells and whistles you can cram into a small, portable piece of equipment. Our old West Marine handheld still works, but the rechargeable battery is weakening and I can’t find a replacement anywhere.
We use our handheld VHF to communicate with the “big boat” when aboard a dinghy, either when taking Priorities cruising during the summer or when we happen to be chartering every few winters. We think it’s good from a safety standpoint to have a VHF radio to call for help while on excursions with the dinghy.
Since we may also buy a small runabout powerboat in the near future (in addition to our cruising sailboat and dinghy… life’s tough!), I wanted a capable, portable radio with a built in GPS.
In addition to the integral GPS, one of the “bells and whistles” is DSC capability. A DSC capable radio with GPS data has a “Distress” button that allows the user to call for help while transmitting a real time GPS position… a valuable feature when the person calling for help might not have the time or knowledge to call for help with an accurate position. The fixed mount VHF aboard Priorities has had this capability for a long time, but having it on a handheld would be new for me.
Another cool thing about DSC is the ability to do “Auto Position Polling,” where one boat can obtain the position of another boat, set it as a waypoint, and then provide navigation data to get to that waypoint. This could be useful when trying to find our boat (or a charter boat) from the dinghy in the dark in a crowded anchorage.
Any DSC functions on a VHF radio, including use of the “Distress” button, requires the radio to be programmed with an MMSI number (Maritime Mobile Service Identity). The MMSI is a unique number registered to a vessel, sorta like how a landline phone number is unique to an address. Various authorities have access to the registration data, including the boat name and physical description, to aid with search and rescue. To prevent abuse of the DSC system by knuckleheads, VHF radios can only be programmed with an MMSI number once or twice ever. Any further changes to a radio’s MMSI are a pain, requiring a reset code from the manufacturer or even a return to the factory.
So I wanted an MMSI number for my new handheld, but I had to get it right the first time!
Looking at the USCG website regarding this issue doesn’t help much:
A handheld VHF transceiver with DSC and an integral global navigation satellite system (e.g. GPS) not intended for dedicated use on a particular ship… should be assigned a unique 9-digit number… While currently means do not exist within the U.S. to assign such identities, the Coast Guard has been in discussions with the Federal communications Commission and others on implementing them.
USCG Website
Well that’s annoying! Stupid government!
It goes on to suggest:
In the interim, VHF handhelds used in the United States should use the MMSI assigned to the ship to which the handheld is primarily associated, even if another radio on that ship uses the same MMSI.
USCG Website
Based on the above, if we planned on using the new handheld only for operations associated with Priorities… including aboard the dinghy if we wanted… we could use Priorities’ existing MMSI. However, using it for other things, like aboard a charter boat or our future runabout, could have weird consequences if we had an emergency. So I looked into other options.
There’s a few ways for Americans to get MMSI registrations. A Ship Station License from the FCC is expensive (over $200, though it’s good for 10 years), and is associated with a boat’s documentation or registration number that can’t easily be changed. The paperwork is messy, too. However, it’s the only legal means for registering radios associated with a US flagged vessel used outside the US. Since we sail Priorities to Canada frequently, with more ambitious future plans, we use an FCC Ship Station License on Priorities for her fixed mount VHF radio and AIS.
Another way to get an MMSI is via BoatUS. BoatUS MMSIs are free for members, but are only authorized for use within US waters. However, BoatUS makes changing the registered boat’s data… including changing the entire boat while keeping the same MMSI… very easy online. Since I wanted a separate MMSI from Priorities, I chose this option.
We don’t actually own a third boat yet, so I registered our dinghy (which we had to name… we chose “Waterbear”) with BoatUS so it would have its own MMSI. If our primary use of the handheld VHF changes to a third boat, it’s easy enough to change the registration data to the new boat… even back and forth several times a year. When we take the dinghy to Canada, or use the handheld aboard a charter boat, we won’t be fully legal, but I’m betting no one will care for now. If/when we sail to more ambitious destinations, I’ll have to get the MMSI changed on the handheld… but maybe the FCC will have its act together by then!
UPDATE February 1, 2021:
Well, the FCC might have gotten its act together! While the USCG website remains the same, it was pointed out to me that FCC Form 605 has been updated as of October 2020 to include a “Portable” radio provision. Navigating the FCC’s forms are a challenge, but I’ll probably begin the process of getting an FCC Ship Station License for my handheld since I use it out of the country every once in a while. I may write about how it goes in a separate post, which I’ll link to from here eventually.