Elements Watersports on the great watersports they provide, leading activity and industry news.
A sailing taster with us can be to get you into a life of sailing or simply a great way to explore the Harbour.
After this session we will tailor make a package of lessons and rental to get you into the type of sailing that works for you.What the hell is DSC anyway?
1/05/12 1:42 PM
DSC is probably the least understood yet widely available safety tool in marine electronics . The term DSC is an acronym of“Digital Selective Calling” and can apply to both SSB or VHF radios. To make matters more confusing, VHF DSC is split into 2 classes, Type A is for offshore ships and requires a bit more hardware, while type D is for regular boaties, which is what we are interested in. DSC can be used for a wide variety of things, however the most important job is that of the distress button, which is normally located under a little plastic flap. So what exactly happens when you push this little red button? We decided to find out.
Our test radio was a Nautilus Lifeline– a diving VHF which has an integrated GPS and DSC function. Its an amazing little package and is waterproof to 120m! It was set up with an MMSI number which is an essential step if you want to use your DSC radio for emergency purposes. MMSI numbers are issued when requested with VHF callsigns, which you should have by law. For more information see this page. For receiving we used a standard, unregistered Uniden UM380 radio, which was located inside our showroom and did not have a GPS input.
When the emergency button was pushed, the DSC radio in the shop started to make an alarming sound, and switched itself to channel 16. The noise was quite impressive coming out of the UM380 until we shut it up by pushing the cancel button. The coordinates of the distress radio were shown on the screen, as well as a flashing “distress”. The important part of this is the other radios changing to channel 16. Any mayday call then made will be recieved by a larger group of boaties.
Probably the most interesting part of our test was the reaction from other users. Firstly no authorities monitor VHF DSC (Maritime Radio do officially monitor SSB DSC). I also checked with the Coastguard after the test, and they confirmed they had not received any alarms at their station. This isn't a major however as Maritime Radio keep a constant watch on 16, and you should also put out a mayday anyway. The second user I had contact with was a commercial fisherman who asked me to get rid of the flashing message symbol on his VHF radio a couple of days later. This turned out to be the emergency messages from our test. To him, the alarms were no more than an annoying noise coming from the bridge.
So, is DSC worth the hastle of getting an MMSI number and the cost of a GPS input? Given that about half of the radios we sell have DSC I would say, yes it is. The button function by itself is not going to do you any good, and Maritime Radio does not officially monitor this, however it does is change DSC radios within range to channel 16, so any subsequent mayday calls will be received by a larger number of boaties, which is always a good thing when you're in trouble. However it is not a silver bullet, and should not be used without putting out some other source of mayday or distress call.
this info is forwarded on from http://baymarineelectronics.co.nz/latest_news/dsc/
http://bopwindsurfers.blogspot.co.nz/?m=1
Today the groups windsurf skills were challenged first with light and shifty winds and then judged as they windsurfed around a course.
The 42 students with us this week were assessed using the schools own criteria which after 14plus years is well refined.
We are also accredited to asses on the NCEA framework for the watersports we teach.
For full info email peter@elementswatersports.co.nz
Here we are on day 2 of 3. The group are now windsurfing happily around.
It's great to see them helping and encouraging each other along.
Their teachers have been great on the shore. Nudging them so each group is ready, fed and suncreamed up.
Loving all this windsurf tuition we are doing for local schools.
With three instructors for 10 students on the water we believe our ratios are not just amongst the safest but also allow for the best progression and learning curve as we have the staff with the experience to provide tailored tuition for all.
The international instructor student ratio is 1:6, we provide a better ratio and more kit for a better cost per group than other commercial and even charity based EOTC providers. Be sure to check what you'll be getting when you compare outdoor activity operators.
Give us a call and arrange a site visit and you'll soon see the lengths we naturally go to inorder to support particularly youth activities.Elements Watersports is New Zealands Premier Centre for Watersports Instruction and Equipment Hire. We offer courses for Sailing, Windsurfing, Paddleboarding and RYA Powerboat Training. We also run Outdoor Activity Programs for Schools and Groups, Sailing and Windsurf Instructor Training Programs and Maritime Commercial Qualifications. Dinghy, Paddleboard and Windsurf Rental and equipment hire is also available from our base at Kulim Park.
