VHF Radio Pre-Course Information

ScotSail® RYA/MCA 1-Day VHF Radio Licence Course

  

Please Take The Time To Read This Important Information:

Table of Contents

Phonetic Alphabet
Phonetic Numerals
Figure Spelling
MIPDANIO & Basic Distress Call
Important Channels
Glossary

Home Page

 

 

 

Phonetic Alphabet

Letter
Word
Pronounced As
A
Alpha
AL FAH
B
Bravo
BRAH VOH
C
Charlie
CHAR-LEE
D
Delta
DELL TAH
E
Echo
ECK OH
F
Foxtrot
FOKS TROT
G
Golf
GOLF
H
Hotel
HOH TELL
I
India
IN DEE AH
J
Juliet
JEW LEE ETT
K
Kilo
KEY LOH
L
Lima
LEE MAH
M
Mike
MIKE
N
November
NO VEM BER
O
Oscar
OSS CAH
P
Papa
PAH PAH
Q
Quebec
KEH BECK
R
Romeo
ROW ME OH
S
Sierra
SEE AIR RAH
T
Tango
TANG GO
U
Uniform
YOU-NEE-FORM
V
Victor
VIK TAH
W
Whiskey
WISS KEY
X
X-ray
ECKS RAY
Y
Yankee
YANG KEY
Z
Zulu
ZOO LOO

Back To Top

 

Phonetic Numerals

Numeral
Pronounced As
1
WUN
2
TOO
3
TREE
4
FOW-ER
5
FIFE
6
SIX
7
SEV-EN
8
AIT
9
NYNE - ER
0
ZEE - RO

Back To Top

 

Figure Spelling

Numeral
Pronounced As
44
FOW-ER - FOW-ER
90
NYNE - ER - ZEE - RO
1478
WUN - FOW-ER - SEV-EN - AIT
7000
SEV-EN - THOUSAND
136
WUN - TREE - SIX
500
FIFE - ZEE - RO - ZEE - RO

Back To Top

 

MIPDANIO & Basic Distress Call

"MIPDANIO" is a mnemonic to help you to remember the correct

sequence to deliver a Verbal Mayday Distress Call via VHF Radio:

Letter
Meaning
Correct Use
M
Mayday (Distress Pro-Word)
"Mayday, Mayday, Mayday"
I
Identity (Who You Are)
"This Is: (Vessel, Callsign, MMSI)"
P
Position (Where You Are)
"My Position Is: (Position)"
D
Distress (Nature of Distress)
"I am: (Sinking, On-Fire etc)"
A
Assistance Required (Immediate)
"I require immediate assistance"
N
Number of Persons-On-Board
"There are (X) persons on-board"
I
Information (Anything Important)
"We are a 10-metre blue yacht"
O
Over (Requesting a Reply)
"Over"

Back To Top

 

Important Channels

Channel Number
Use
6
Ship-to-Ship
8
Ship-to-Ship
12
Port Operations
13
Bridge-to-Bridge Working for Navigational Safety
16
International Distress, Safety & Calling Channel
23
HM Coasguard Maritime Safety Information (Weather)
67
HM Coastguard Small Craft Safety Channel
70
DSC Reserved Channel. No Voice Communications.
72
Ship-to-Ship
77
Ship-to-Ship
80
Port Operations (UK Marinas / Harbours)
84
HM Coasguard Maritime Safety Information (Weather)
86
HM Coasguard Maritime Safety Information (Weather)

Back To Top

 

Glossary - Key Terms

Term
Definition
Call Sign
Short Alphanumeric Unique Identifier
Distress Situation
Vessel, vehicle, aircraft of person in grave and imminent danger, requiring immediate assistance
DSC
Digital Selective Calling
Dual Watch
Facility for radio to monitor two channels concurrently
Duplex
Two-way, two-frequency communication
EPIRB
Electronic Position Indicating Radio Beacon
GMDSS
Global Maritime Distress and Safety System
IMO
International Maritime Organisation
ITU
International Telecommunications Union
Mayday
Distress Call
MCA
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
MMSI
Maritime Mobile Service Identity
Navtex
Navigation Teletext for Weather & Navigation Warnings
OfCom
Office of Communcations
Pan-Pan
Urgency Call Requesting Assistance
Pro-Words
Procedure Words (Proper Phrases and Words To Use)
PTT
Press-To-Talk (The Switch Used To Transmit)
RYA
Royal Yachting Association
SAR
Search and Rescue
SART
Search and Rescue Transponder
Simplex Channel
One-Way. Single-Frequency Channel
SOLAS
Safety Of Life At Sea
Squelch
Control Regulating the Sensitivity of the Receiver
SRC
Short-Range Certificate
VHF
Very-High Frequency

Back To Top

 

 

 

RYA Interactive VHF Radio Course Quiz

Think You've Learned It? - Test Your Knowledge!

Launch RYA Interactive VHF Radio Quiz >

(opens in new window)

RYA Interactive - VHF Radio Pre-Course Knowledge Quiz - Test Your VHF Marine Radio Knowledge Now!

 

(Click HERE To Open The ScotSail® VHF Radio Licence Course Page)

The Above Information is A Simplified and Abbreviated Version of The Official Syllabus Content, and Should Not Be Relied Upon For Safety or Exam Purposes.

Always Refer To An Official Publication and Attend an Official RYA® Training Course Run By an Authorised RYA/MCA SRC Course Assessor.