dmr coastguard

[everton72]

Does any of the coastguard use dmr or are they still analoge

[G4RMT]

You did realise you posted the same thing three times?

They don't use anything other than VHF marine for practical reasons - they have access to channel 0 156.000MHz. This is in effect, private as it isn't fitted to any approved marine radio, plus they need to always monitor 16 - so having one radio rather than two makes sense for them. They have a well organised linked VHF system, with radio sites around the coast landline linked to the MRCCs around the country - so they can listen and transmit on a number of frequencies from multiple sites. No real need for any frequencies analogue or digital outside the marine band. Marine band itself is unlikely to go digital for a fairly long time as it's a legacy band.

[thelad]

Coastguard do use Tetra Airwave

[m0lsx]

The MCA certainly used Tetra Airwave during the London Olympics. And I believe they use them for MCA to MCA comms.
And Tetra is involved in the offshore network too in some areas..
http://tetra-applications.com/19461/news/a-vhf-airwave-solution-for-the-the-royal-national-lifeboat-institution

[G4RMT]

Oddly - a few areas do have Airwave, but on a different system from the other emergency services - a VHF system, and the to talk to other services in emergencies, they use a back to back VHF to UHF device to get into the Government system. They do use the emergency service Airwave system on the Thames. I'm pretty sure (but 18 month old info) that they don't have any Airwave terminals them selves, but could use the sets of Police held emergency issue ones in certain circumstances.

I suppose one big issue is that Coastguard comms are designed for coverage outwards from land, and the Airwave system the reverse.

[m0lsx]

I suppose one big issue is that Coastguard comms are designed for coverage outwards from land, and the Airwave system the reverse.

Although thinking about that post I made with the dodgy sales information on it. If some offshore wind farms are going to start having repeaters onboard. Then maybe VHF or even UHF, Tetra could give coverage in areas where conventional pmr systems don't. I am thinking of locations like the North Norfolk coast, where pmr/ mobile phones etc have always limited coverage. Yet now, potentially, windfarms could give those areas better coverage.

[Snapey75]

Ireland have a national tetra system similar to our airwave system and i have seen a case study showing the Irish coastguard switching to use that system for their private communications between boats and helicopters,

Neil