Sport skippers should inform themselves carefully, because certain channels should soon no longer be able to be used for analog voice transmissionsĪs a result, channels 25, 25, 26 84 85 & 86 should then no longer be available on the device when ATIS is in operation, says Werner Ober. Work on VDES has been going on “for a long time,” said Ernst Cerny of the Austrian telecommunications authority, but in Austria “nothing will probably change here for a while longer.” However, it is “particularly in Germany, Holland and Belgium to follow the development closely”, because: some channels would be converted to digital in the ATIS range, and also the frequencies of RX & TX would be moved. At the European level, the necessary conversions should already be completed by January 1, 2023”, says Werner Ober. “Germany, Holland and Belgium have already adopted the directive and have set a deadline of Janufor vessels flying the relevant flag to make the switch. This would affect channels 24, 84, 25, 85, 26, 86, 27 and 28 important to know: these channels may then no longer be used for analog voice transmission. The new digital data exchange system VDES is on the rise “It was decided that certain VHF channels of Annex 18 of the Radio Regulations should be used exclusively for VDES in the future”, says yacht electronics specialist Werner Ober, who runs a company of the same name in Lustenau. Through the 20 World Radiocommunication Conferences of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), it was determined that the conditions should be created to introduce a new digital data exchange system on VHF channels (VHF Data Exchange System, or VDES for short). SeaHelp spoke about the upcoming changes with yacht electronics specialist Werner Ober. However, certain channels are to be used exclusively for VDES in the future.

This will continue to be the case in the future, because the radio is clearly superior to mobile radio, especially in maritime emergencies or when logging on at marinas.

VHF radio (marine radio) has been one of the most important communication means on yachts for many years.

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