Marine Rescue Narooma and Icom Australia Team Up for DSC Awareness

by Steven Cooke on 24 Jan 2011 Marine Rescue Narooma, with the help of Icom Australia, has recently conducted a two-day seminar regarding VHF radio use while boating. The event, which was held from the 10th to the 11th of January 2011, was targeted towards the public who make the trek over to the seaside town of Narooma for their holidays.

The seminar was the brainchild of Marine Rescue Volunteer Ian Noormets, who is very passionate when it comes to creating public awareness about Digital Selective Calling (DSC) and Distress functions on VHF radios. DSC allows the radios to initiate different calls, depending on the situation. The user can send an individual or group call to selected recipients only, or can ask a particular vessel for their current location. The Distress function creates an all ships call alerting anyone in the area about the emergency, and will continue to do so until the message is acknowledged. These tools can be invaluable when placed in a life-threatening situation. Also in attendance from Marine Rescue Narooma was Graeme (Divisional Commander), Stan, Caleb and Jim.

Icom Australia supported the event by supplying Marine Rescue with two VHF radio units to be used as training aids for the seminar. After the slide presentation was complete, attendees could see the radios in action, as they had been modified to only talk to each other, without affecting other transmissions. An Icom representative was on hand to assist with the DSC demonstration.

A number of local businesses also help to make the night a success, including Bob’s Bait and Tackle, who donated door prizes for the night, Woody’s Hardware, who supplied display materials for the training aids, and the Narooma Sports and Services Club, where the lectures took place.

You can find out more about Marine Rescue NSW at www.marinerescuensw.com, or about the range of Icom Marine Radios at www.icom.net.au.