Glossary

Automatic Identification System

Admirality List of Radio Signals: six volumes covering all maritime communications

Automatic Transmitter Identification System: for use in European inland waterways (opp: RAINWAT)

Sending a message without specifying a recepient

British Summer Time: daylight savings time, GMT+1

Coastguard Operations Center

Any maritime radio station ashore, including coastguard stations

Cenre Régional Opérationnel de Surveillance et Sauvetage (French equivalent of a British CGOC)

The facility on a radio to monitor two channels at the same time (usually set to Ch 16 and another)

A channel which transmits on one frequency and receives on another

Digital Selective Calling: direct call of another radio via the MMSI

Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon

Estimated Time of Arrival

Estimated Time of Departure

Frequency Modulation

Greenwich Mean Time

Global Positioning System

International Maritime Organization

Inmarsat plc, a UK company (originaly the international mobile satelite organization)

International Telecommunication Union: an agency f the UN responsible for issues concerning information and communication technologies

Long Wave

Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Maritime Mobile Service Identity

Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (old term for CGOC)

Maritime Safety Information

Geographic areas for which governments are responsible for navigation and wather warnings (UK government is responsible for Navarea 1)

Navigational Telex: for navigation and weather warnings and forecasts

National Maritime Electronics Association: standard interface for connecting electronic devices suc as GPS, radar and chart plotters

National Maritime Operations Centre

UK’s office of communications

Personal Locator Beacon

Press to transmit (button)

Regional Arrangement on Telecommunication Service on Inland Waterways: applicable on the continent

Rigid Inflatable Boat

Abbreviated form of “Receive”

Royal Yachting Association

Search and Rescue

Search and Rescue Transponder

Setting on a VHF radio to monitor several (or all) channels. Can be set to scan all selected channels in turn (“memory scan”) or to monitor Ch 16 between each selected channel (“priority scan”)

The radio uses one aerial to switch between two frequencies on one channe

A channel which transmits and receives on the same frequency

Safety of Life at Sea

Suppresses background interference

Like dual watch but monitoring Ch 16 and two other channels

Abbreviated form of Transmit or Transmission

UK Coastguard

Coordinated Universal Time or Universal Time

Very High Frequency

Vessel Traffic Service