Distress Frequency Change for North America

Offshore sailors make note: Effective Wednesday, August 1, the US Coast Guard will no longer monitor voice frequency 2182 kHz for International distress and safety. They will also drop 2670 kHz for marine information and weather broadcasts, and they will discontinue monitoring the International Digital Selective Calling (DSC) distress frequency 2187.5 kHz .

"This termination decision was made after a review of Coast Guard medium frequency (MF) communications sites revealed significant antenna and infrastructure support degradation that put the Coast Guard at risk of not being able to receive and respond to calls for assistance on the 2 MHz distress frequencies," said a Coast Guard spokesman.

Radio guru Gordon West responds, "This is actually a good call. Atmospheric noise on 2 MHz causes even the best of radio systems to not hear much beyond 30 miles ground wave, and 30 miles to shore is the typical maximum range of the Coast Guard’s  excellent Rescue 21 VHF channel 16 coverage.

"U.S. Coast Guard Communication Stations (COMMSTA) and Communications Area Master Stations (CAMS) will continue their guard of the following High Frequency safety frequencies: 

         VOICE                  DSC

   4125.0 kHz                4207.5  kHz

   6215.0 kHz                6312.0  kHz

   8291.0 kHz                8414.5  kHz

  12290.0 kHz               12577.0  kHz

                                     16804.5  kHz

 "VHF Channel 16, 156.800 MHz, will CONTINUE to offer the Coast Guard’s  Rescue 21 fabulous coverage throughout boating areas of the United States from Coast Guard units, on land, at sea, and in the air. VHF Channel 70 will CONTINUE to be the DSC call up channel to the Coast Guard.

"Only Medium Frequency 2 MHz, here in the U.S., is being dropped by the Coast Guard for a continuous radio listening watch.

"Internationally, 2182 kHz remains the International distress and calling channel. It will still be an on scene distress working channel, and will continue to be an authorized calling channel," writes Gordon.

source: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2013/08/01/distress-frequency-change-this-week/

Maritime VHF Channels

U.S. VHF CHANNELS

Channel Number	Ship Transmit MHz	Ship Receive MHz	Use
01A	156.050	156.050	Port Operations and Commercial, VTS. Available only in New Orleans / Lower Mississippi area.
05A	156.250	156.250	Port Operations or VTS in the Houston, New Orleans and Seattle areas.
06	156.300	156.300	Intership Safety
07A	156.350	156.350	Commercial
08	156.400	156.400	Commercial (Intership only)
09	156.450	156.450	Boater Calling. Commercial and Non-Commercial.
10	156.500	156.500	Commercial
11	156.550	156.550	Commercial. VTS in selected areas.
12	156.600	156.600	Port Operations. VTS in selected areas.
13	156.650	156.650	Intership Navigation Safety (Bridge-to-bridge). Ships >20m length maintain a listening watch on this channel in US waters.
14	156.700	156.700	Port Operations. VTS in selected areas.
15	--	156.750	Environmental (Receive only). Used by Class C EPIRBs.
16	156.800	156.800	International Distress, Safety and Calling. Ships required to carry radio, USCG, and most coast stations maintain a listening watch on this channel.
17	156.850	156.850	State & local govt maritime control
18A	156.900	156.900	Commercial
19A	156.950	156.950	Commercial
20	157.000	161.600	Port Operations (duplex)
20A	157.000	157.000	Port Operations
21A	157.050	157.050	U.S. Coast Guard only
22A	157.100	157.100	Coast Guard Liaison and Maritime Safety Information Broadcasts. Broadcasts announced on channel 16.
23A	157.150	157.150	U.S. Coast Guard only
24	157.200	161.800	Public Correspondence (Marine Operator)
25	157.250	161.850	Public Correspondence (Marine Operator)
26	157.300	161.900	Public Correspondence (Marine Operator)
27	157.350	161.950	Public Correspondence (Marine Operator)
28	157.400	162.000	Public Correspondence (Marine Operator)
63A	156.175	156.175	Port Operations and Commercial, VTS. Available only in New Orleans / Lower Mississippi area.
65A	156.275	156.275	Port Operations
66A	156.325	156.325	Port Operations
67	156.375	156.375	Commercial. Used for Bridge-to-bridge communications in lower Mississippi River. Intership only.
68	156.425	156.425	Non-Commercial
69	156.475	156.475	Non-Commercial
70	156.525	156.525	Digital Selective Calling (voice communications not allowed)
71	156.575	156.575	Non-Commercial
72	156.625	156.625	Non-Commercial (Intership only)
73	156.675	156.675	Port Operations
74	156.725	156.725	Port Operations
77	156.875	156.875	Port Operations (Intership only)
78A	156.925	156.925	Non-Commercial
79A	156.975	156.975	Commercial. Non-Commercial in Great Lakes only
80A	157.025	157.025	Commercial. Non-Commercial in Great Lakes only
81A	157.075	157.075	U.S. Government only - Environmental protection operations.
82A	157.125	157.125	U.S. Government only
83A	157.175	157.175	U.S. Coast Guard only
84	157.225	161.825	Public Correspondence (Marine Operator)
85	157.275	161.875	Public Correspondence (Marine Operator)
86	157.325	161.925	Public Correspondence (Marine Operator)
87	157.375	157.375	Public Correspondence (Marine Operator)
88A	157.425	157.425	Commercial, Intership only.
AIS 1	161.975	161.975	Automatic Identification System (AIS)
AIS 2	162.025	162.025	Automatic Identification System (AIS)

VHF Maritime Spectrum Chart

NOAA Weather Radio Frequencies

Channel	Frequency (MHz)
WX1	162.550
WX2	162.400
WX3	162.475
WX4	162.425
WX5	162.450
WX6	162.500
WX7	162.525

Channel numbers, e.g. (WX1, WX2) etc. have no special significance but are often designated this way in consumer equipment. Other channel numbering schemes are also prevalent.

The order of channels shown is the order they were established and is slowly becoming less "popular" over time than a numerical ordering of channels.

See NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARINE PRODUCTS VIA NOAA WEATHER RADIO and the NOAA Weather Radio Homepage for more information.

Additional Information, Frequencies, & Charts

Frequencies are in MHz. Modulation is 16KF3E or 16KG3E.

Note that the letter "A" indicates simplex use of the ship station transmit side of an international duplex channel, and that operations are different than international operations on that channel. Some VHF transceivers are equipped with an "International - U.S." switch for that purpose. "A" channels are generally only used in the United States, and use is normally not recognized or allowed outside the U.S. The letter "B" indicates simplex use of the coast station transmit side of an international duplex channel. The U.S. does not currently use "B" channels for simplex communications in this band.

Boaters should normally use channels listed as Non-Commercial. Channel 16 is used for calling other stations or for distress alerting. Channel 13 should be used to contact a ship when there is danger of collision. All ships of length 20m or greater are required to guard VHF channel 13, in addition to VHF channel 16, when operating within U.S. territorial waters. Users may be fined by the FCC for improper use of these channels. See Marine Radio Watch Requirements for further information.

Also available are International VHF Maritime Radio Channels and Frequencies, Narrowband VHF Maritime Channels and Frequencies, Radio Information for Boaters , and U.S. Coast Guard VHF Distress and Safety Coverage Charts.

source: http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=mtvhf

HAM MARITIME FREQUENCY

Ham Maritime Mobile Nets

Time (UTC)	Freq (MHz)	Name	Days	Area	Notes	Contact
1600-0200	14.3	Mar. Mobile Service Net http://www.mmsn.org/	D	CAR,PAC		K4EDX
0100	3.925	Gulf Coast Hurricane Net	D	GC	wx, tfc	WD5CRR
0130-0300	28.313	10M MM Net	D	EPAC,Haw		N6URW
0130	7.126	MM Fast CW Net
0200	21.402	Gerry's Happy Hour	M-F	PAC, Baja	soc
0200	14.334	Brazil/East Coast Net	D	EC, ATL	wx, tfc	K3UWJ
0200	3.932	Great Lakes Emergency	D	GL	wx, tfc	WD8ROK
0200	7.126	MM Slow CW Net
0300	14.3	Pacific Seafarer's Net Warmup	D	PAC, WC	WU	KH6RC Randy
0325	14.3	Pacific Seafarer's Net Roll Call	D	PAC	MM	KH6RC Randy
0330	7.294	Sandia Net	D	WC, Baja	soc	KA6HFG
0400	14.115	Canadian DDD Net	D	PAC	also 1730Z	VE7DB
0400	14.318	Arnold's Net	D	SPAC	MM, wx	ZK1DB
0500	21.2	UK/NZ/African Net	D	PAC, IOC	MM	VK3PA
0630	14.316 first 5-10 mins, then moves to 7.120	S. African Maritime Net; zs5mummnet@mweb.co.za; zs2abk@intekom.co.za	D	SATL, IOC, SAF, SA, AUS	wx, also 1130Z, in operation >30 years.	Alistair Campbell ZS5MU, QTH: Umzimbe Lower South Coast KZN. Graham Griggs ZS2ABK, QTH: Bushman's River Mouth East Cape
0700	7.235	HHH Net http://www.hhhnet.net/
0700-0000	7.085	MED, SEA Cruisers Net	D	MED, SEA	MM
0715	3.82	Bay of Islands Net	D	NZ, AUS, PAC	MM	ZL1BKD
0800-0830	14.315	Pacific Inter-Island Net	D	SPAC, SEA	tfc	KX6QU
0800	14.303	UK Maritime Net	D	ATL, MED	also 1800Z	G4FRN, Bill
0900	14.313	MED, SEA MM Net	D	MED	MM	5B4MM
1000	14.32	South China Sea Net	D	SPAC
1030	3.815	Caribbean Weather Net	D	CAR	wx,+1045,2230Z	VP2AYL
1045	7.163	Caribbean WX Net	D	CAR	wx,+1030,2230Z
1100	3.77	Mar Provinces WX Net	M-Sa	NE Canada	wx	VE1AAC
1100-1200	7.241	Caribbean MM Net; http://users.isp.com//kv4jc/	D	CAR	MM	KV4JC
1100	14.300/313	Intercon Net	D	NA, CA, SA	tfc, also 2200Z	K4PT
1100	14.283	Carribus Traffic Net	D	EC, CAR	tfc	KA2CPA
1110	3.93	Puerto Rico WX Net	D	PR/VI	wx, also 2310Z	KP4AET
1115	14.316	Indian Ocean MM Net	D	WPAC, IOC		VK6HH
1130	14.316 first 30 mins, then moves to 7.120	South African MM Net	D	SATL, IOC, SAF, SA, AUS	wx, see also 0630Z net info	ZS5MU, ZS2ABK
1130	21.325	South Atlantic Roundtable	D	SATL	tfc, also 2330Z	PY1ZAK
1200	28.38	Maritime Mobile Net	D		novice ok
1200	14.1225	Mississauga Net; http://www.tormarc.com/	D	E Canada	ATL wx	VE3NBL
1200	14.32	Southeast Asia Net	D	SEA, SPAC		WB8JDR
1230	7.185	Barbados Info Net	D	CAR	tfc	8R6DH
1245	7.268	East Coast Waterway Net; http://www.waterwayradio.net/	D	EC, CAR	MM	NU4P
1300-1400	21.4	Trans Atlantic MM Net	D	NATL, CAR	rc, wx	8P6QM
1300	7.083	Cen. Am. Breakfast Club	D	CA	MM, soc	AB6HR
1445, 1430 early chkins	3.968	Sonrisa Net; http://sonrisanet.org/	D	Baja, So. Calif.	MM, wx	XE2/KF6IL, Rick
1400-1600	7.263/268	Rocky Mtn RV Net	D	Mid West	tfc	K5DGZ
1415	7.192	Chubasco Net	D	Baja, So. Cal	wx
1430	7.192	Chubasco Net	D	Baja, So. Calif.	MM	XE2/N6OAH
1515	7.2335	Baja Calif. MM Net; http://www.bajanet.jackclarke.net/	D	Baja, So. Calif.	wx
1600	7.2335	Baja Calif. MM Net; http://www.bajanet.jackclarke.net/	D	Baja, So. Calif.	MM	N6ADJ
1600	7.200/268	Taco Net	D	Baja
1600-2200	14.300/313	Maritime Mobile Service Net	D	ATL, CAR, PAC	also 2400Z	KA8O
1600-1800	7.263/268	Pacific RV Service Net	M-F	Western U.S.	tfc	K6BYP
1630	14.303	Swedish Maritime Net	D	MM	also 0530, 2030
1630	14.313	INTERMAR eV, German Maritime Mobile Net; www.intermar-ev.de	D	MM		DL0IMA
1700-1800	14.308	RV Service Net	D	U.S.	tfc	KB1Z
1700	14.323	US/Canada Power Sqdn Net	Sa	U.S./Canada	tfc	W7LOE
1700	14.34	Cal Hawaii Net	D	EPAC	tfc	K6VDV
1700	7.24	Bejuka Net	M-F	CA	tfc	HP3XWB
1700-1900	14.28	Inter Mission RA Net	M-Sa	CA, SA	tfc	WA2KUX
1730	14.115	Canadian DDD Net	M-F	PAC	MM, also 0400Z	VE7CEM
1800	14.303	UK Maritime Net	D	ATL, MED	MM, also 0800Z	G4FRN, Bill; G4YZH,Bruce
1800	7.076	South Pacific Cruising Net	D	SPAC	MM, wx	informal
1830	14.34	Manana Net Warmup	M-Sa	WC, EPAC	MM, WU	KB5HA
1900	14.2975	Italian Amateur Radio Maritime Mobile Net; http://www.qsl.net/ik6ijf/	D	MM		ON6BG, AA3GZ
1900	14.285	Kaffee Klatch Un-Net	MWSa	Hawaii, Tahiti	MM, news	KH6S
1900	14.305	Confusion Net	M-F	PAC	tfc	W7GYR
1900	7.285	Hawaii AM Net	D	Hawaii	tfc, wx	KH6BF
1400 ET	21.39	Halo Net (2:00 PM Eastern Time)	D	NA, SA	tfc	Don WA4PXR
1900	14.329	Bay of Islands Net	D	NZ, SPAC	MM	ZL1BKD
2000	7.08	New Zealand WX Net	D	NZ	MM, wx	ZL1BTQ
2000	7.095	Harry's Net	D	WPAC, SPAC	MM	KL7MZ
2000	14.26	Partyline Net	D	CAR, CA		N3QVW
2000-2200	21.39	Inter-American Traffic Net	D	NA, CA, SA	tfc	WD4HAY
2030	14.303	Swedish Maritime Net	D	ATL	MM,0530,1630Z
2030	14.315	Tony's Net Warmup	D	NZ, SPAC	MM, WU	ZL1ATE
2100	14.261	Ben's Friends MM Un-Net		EC	MM, soc	K3BC
2100	14.315	Tony's Net	D	NZ, SPAC	wx, 2130Z	ZL1ATE
2100	14.113	Mickey Mouse Connection	D	SATL, SPAC	MM	CX9ABE
2100	21.412	PAC Maritime Mobile Service Net; Early bird call. Net at 2200z	D	PAC	MM	W1VDE, WA4PVZ
2130	14.29	EC Waterway Net		EC, U.S.	MM
2200-2230	3.963	EC Recreational Vehicle Net	D	EC, U.S.	also 1300Z	KB1Z
2200	21.402	Pacific Maritime Net (has not been active for the past year)	M-F	PAC, Baja	MM	KB7DHQ
2200-2400	21.412	PAC Maritime Mobile Service Net; (Early bird call at 2100z); http://pmmsn.aboutus.tc/	D	PAC	MM	W1VDE, WA4PVZ
2200-2400	14.300/313	Intercon Net	D	NA, CA, SA	also 1100Z	K4PT
2230	3.815	Caribbean WX Net		CAR	wx, also 1030Z	VP2AYL
2310	3.93	Puerto Rico WX Net	D	PR, VI	wx, also 1110Z	KP4AET
2330	21.325	South Atlantic Roundtable		SATL	tfc, soc
0000-0200	14.300/313	Maritime Mobile Service Net	D	CAR, Baja, PAC	MM
0000	3.968	Happy Hour Net	D	Baja, W. Mexico	MM, soc
0000	14.32	Southeast Asia MM Net	D	PAC, SEA	MM
variable	14.325/275/175	Hurricane Watch Net		ATL, CAR, PAC	hurr. track	K0IND
Updated 26May10

Ham Radio HF Emergency Net Frequencies (USB or LSB as appropriate)

Name / Description	Freq (kHz)
Alabama	3965
Antigua / Antilles	3815.0, 7165.0
Antilles Net	3818
Southern Louisiana	7245
Baja California	7235
Belize	3935
Bermuda	14275
Caribus Net	14283.0 +/-
Caribbean Emergency	14185
Caribbean Maritime Mobile	7115.0 (1200Z)
Caribbean WX	3808.0 (1030Z)
California WX	3948.0 (1400Z)
Georgia	3975
Gulf Coast Central Hurricane	3935.0, 7245.0
Gulf Coast Western Hurricane	3845.0, 7260.0
Gulf Coast (outgoing only)	3967.0, 7283.0
Gulf Coast WX	3995.0, 7290.0
Gulf Coast Health and Welfare	3993.5, 7264.0
Hurricane Watch Net (Nat. Hurr. Center)	14325
Interamericas Health and Welfare	21390
Inter-Island 75 meter (24 hr watch)	3815
Inter-Island 40 meter (24 hr watch)	7165
Lake Charles, LA	3993.5, 7264.0
Louisiana	14340.0 (1900Z)
Manana	7070
Mexican National	3987.5
Mississippi ARES	3923.0, 3910.0
North Carolina	3915
Red Cross (IARN)	14275
South Carolina Emergency Net	3915.0, 7232.0, 7243.0
South Texas Emergency	3955
Texas Emergency	7240.0, 7250.0
Texas Traffic / Health and Welfare	3691.0, 7290.0 (day), 3910.0 (night)
Transatlantic Maritime Mobile	21400
Waterway	7268

Marine HF Maritime Mobile Nets (all USB)

Time (UTC)	Freq (MHz)	Name	Days	Area	Control
0000	16.534	WX Questions		NPAC, SPAC	wx
0145	4.054	Southbound Net	D	Baja, CA	Mark Schneider, S/V SolMate WDE2635, KI6UPS,
					www.inoneday.cawx
0500	8.188	Puddle Jumpers Eastern Fleet	D	ATL, CAR	wx
1000-1200	6.215	Eastern Caribbean Net		ECAR	uncontrolled
1215	4.003	Mistene	D	CAR	wx
1230	8.104	Mistene	D	CAR	wx
1330	8.152	Cruisetimers	D	CAR
1400	13.55	Chat Net	D
1415	8.122	Amigo Net
1530	12.359	WX Questions			wx
1545	16.534	WX Questions		NATL, NPAC, SPAC	wx. Alternate frequencies: 18.840, 22.165, 25.115
0800 Local	6.209 +/-3kHz	Northwest Caribbean Net	D	MM
1830	8.188	Puddle Jumpers Western Fleet	D	PAC, EPAC, CAR	wx
1920	12.359	Weather Check-In	D	CAR, ATL, EPAC
2000-2300	12.359	Southbound II	D	CAR, ATL, EPAC
2300	4.033 / 4.045	Gossip Net	D
2345	12.359	WX Questions

Abbreviations:

ATL - Atlantic, AUS - Australia, Baja - Baja California, CA - Central America, CAR - Caribbean, D - Daily, EC - East Coast, ECAR - Eastern Caribbean, EPAC - Eastern Pacific, GC - Gulf Coast, GL - Great Lakes, IOC - Indian Ocean, MED - Mediterranean, MM - Maritime Mobile, NA - North America, NATL - North Atlantic, NZ - New Zealand, PAC - Pacific, PR - Puerto Rico, rc - roll call, SA - South America, SATL - South Atlantic, SEA - Southeast Asia, soc - socializing, SPAC - South Pacific, tfc - traffic, VI - Virgin Islands, WC - West Coast, WU - Warmup session, check-in, wx - weather

Special thanks for information and corrections submitted by:

Tom VE3II, Assistant Net Manager, Maritime Mobile Service Network
Bill G4FRN, Net Control, UK Maritime Mobile Net
Rolf DL0IMA, INTERMAR eV
Charles VE3CFL, Mississarga Maritime Net
Jack WA4PVZ, Pacific Maritime Mobile Service Net

Data last updated November 24, 2012

SOURCE:

http://www.mayaparaiso.com/maritime_mobile_frequencies.php