Anyone Use DSC Recreationally?

[Rick D]

I just got a SH HX870 that has all the bells and whistles including selective calling. Primary use is on one of the dinghies with occasional use aboard the big one. (Since it can store waypoints and routes, it thought it would be handy.)
Anyhow, about a quarter of the manual is setting us DSC for group calling, position location, and many other applications. My eyes glazed over quickly and it occurs to me that I only know one person who actually uses these features. I'm thinking I got "feature fixation" when I brought it.
So, anyone else? Attributes? Utility (in practice)?

 

[JohnShannon]

No, So far as I am concerned the "mommy button" is the only reason for the DSC. Broadcasts your GPS coordinates to the coasties (and others). Although recently I use the DSC "test call" to verify that my VHF system is working. This beats the call on Ch16 followed by a chorus of "you can't do that"

 

[Head Sail]

No haven’t used it to call. I haven’t used VHF except to call marinas. Your right is “feature fixation” for the occasional user. Kind of like the popcorn button on the microwave.

 

[HMT2]

Kind of like the popcorn button on the microwave.

Not sure what your saying here that button gets a workout on my microwave!

 

[Head Sail]

Not sure what your saying here that button gets a workout on my microwave!

I tried it once. Popcorn never completely finished. Better to press 4 min. and finish by ear but I digress. With DSC you have to know the other party’s mmsi number.

 

[JohnShannon]

I use VHF all the time, scanning 12,13,14,16 gives me a good idea of what is happening with the commercial traffic in my sailing area. I don't talk a lot.

 

[Pizzazz]

I believe DSC (both on VHF and HF) was deliberately designed not to be easy for recreational use. It would be far too easy to select a target from the AIS list and call them via DSC. For some reason, the regulatory bodies made this incredibly difficult. You have to manually enter the MMSI.

On HF, there are better ways to go, such as Selcall or ALE. On VHF just use 16. Too hard to change all habits.

SV Pizzazz

 

[dlochner]

I tried it once. Popcorn never completely finished. Better to press 4 min. and finish by ear but I digress. With DSC you have to know the other party’s mmsi number.

Popcorn tastes better cooked the old fashioned way.

I have a SH Matrix 2200 with all the bells and whistles. Haven't used DSC yet, however the radio had features that I wanted, like AIS and GPS. The advantage with the integrated AIS is calling another boat or ship directly with DSC. Also serves as a backup to the other navigation systems.

 

[All U Get]

Yep we used the feature while cruising. We had a group of six boats all enter respective numbers so we could call each other without other boats lurking on messages. We then made a group call number so everyone would get the tone at a single alert. The advantage for us was more privacy on calls and fewer boats anchoring at our rendezvous island.

 

[smokey73]

We had a group of six boats all enter respective numbers so we could call each other without other boats lurking on messages. We then made a group call number so everyone would get the tone at a single alert.

Use the VHF frequently, always monitor 16 as required and hail when necessary, but not the DSC calling. However, as noted above, it seems like its primary use would be for this "group call" feature when you were cruising with another (or several) boats.

 

[jssailem]

Yes I have used it.
We tried it in the marina to see if it worked. It did. The ring is an alarm. The alarm is not always recognized. Need to try it a few times before the party your calling picks up the radio.
Tried it to reach other boats both commercial and recreational. Learned the MMSI number from the AIS data. Hit and miss success. Just easier to call on 16. Sometimes even then they don’t answer.

 

[Jackdaw]

We've set a a DSC group for a bunch of friends on Minnetonka. Seemed like a neat way to see if anyone else is out, and where they are. In practice however we use it almost never. Maybe its a habit/practice you need to build. Because in tests it works great.

 

[capta]

A lot of the cruisers down here seem to use it a lot. One nice feature is that you can have the volume off on the radio when sitting in an anchorage and still receive a call from someone through the DSC.
I can not stand to listen to the VHF when at anchor, so this would have been a great thing for us to stay in touch with our friends, without the incessant chatter from the VHF. Unfortunately, our DSC is full from the PO and we can not program a new number into it (nobody down here can clear it) and I'm not willing to buy a new radio when this one works perfectly well for everything except DSC.
I guess I'll have to stay 'old tech' and use either a cell phone or the internet for now.

 

[Calif. Ted]

I thought the selective calling feature would be great,tried once with a friend, I put the MMSI numbers in both our radios, warned him I was going try calling him around 2. When I asked him later why he didn't answer he said he didn't know why his radio was beeping so he turned it off. I can't seem to get any buy in from my friends, but then some still have flip phones too.

 

[Jackdaw]

A lot of the cruisers down here seem to use it a lot. One nice feature is that you can have the volume off on the radio when sitting in an anchorage and still receive a call from someone through the DSC.

That's probably the best use for it. At 11pm in a crowded anchorage, not everybody needs to hear your desperate calls for a spare bottle of rum.

 

[All U Get]

Or where you're skinny dipping.

 

[LeslieTroyer]

As @jssailem said you need to try while you can yell between to each other’s boat. It makes it like a phone.

 

[dlochner]

Just reread the thread topic and my first thought was, "Nope, I use it for medicinal purposes."

 

[chuckwayne]

We've used it on Flotillas, but you have to train everyone on how to use it...and then train them again the next year. most prople seem to just hail on channel 9 or the fleet freq we're using

 

[Gunni]

Too many boaters can’t be bothered to keep their VHF radio watch, pretty certain they’ll never learn how to use DSC. But it doesn’t matter, when the USCG built out Rescue 21 they created a radio capability that has awesome range and all you need to know is how to make an emergency call and talk.
https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=mtNds