Marine radio tech gets friendlier, more capable in cellular age

For more than a century, marine radio has been a boon to all who work on the water, providing first for improved safety and, over time, becoming an indispensable operational tool. In recent years, it may not have experienced the “mobile revolution” that smartphones have brought to life ashore, but it has acquired many new capabilities.

- Alan R. Earls

So, despite competition from newer technologies, radio remains a bedrock tool for vessel operators.

“For our organization, we live and die by radios — all our ship communication to and from helicopters, boats and dispatchers all comes via VHF radio,” said Brian Junes, vessel and facility director for the Columbia River Bar Pilots. “As the technology has advanced so has the signal clarity, and some of the radios have features and functions that simply weren’t available 20 years ago.”

The type of vessel helps drive the nature of the radio communications implemented. Domestic and international agreements further frame choices. Larger oceangoing vessels must be equipped with long-range radio communications, while smaller passenger vessels used on coastal and nearshore routes require less powerful equipment. Both are categorized as compulsory. Some vessel types — recreation and pleasure craft, for instance — have far more latitude and, since no specific equipment is required, they are categorized as voluntary.

Adding features and functions

Smaller commercial vessels have come to depend on very high frequency (VHF) handhelds for internal and external communications. The VHF maritime mobile band encompasses the frequency range between 156 and 174 MHz.

Beyond that, the name of the game is cramming more features and functions into the basic transceiver design. For example, some now include both marine and land mobile frequencies, as well as programmable channels for navigation and communications.