# breaking radio silence



## Eric Farrelly (Jul 10, 2010)

Have many of us have broken silence periods for valid reasons.

Often at Southampton College we all had a go at being in distress and the instructor (Ron Moody...I think) let us get on with it.

But at sea...(British Robin GFHY)
Personally only once in real earnest entering Persian Gulf on run from Japan with XXX medico. 1st mate had run out of Asthma medication and a point came when the old man said "get help". (2nd & 3rd mates doing 12 on/off with old man helping out).

Always remember (at the height of the "cold war")...first response after finishing keying was ruskies.

Then a stream of qsl xxx.

It would be interesting to hear experiences.

Regards

BP Sparks

Eric Farrelly


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## M29 (Apr 20, 2007)

Yes
Anchored on Atlantic side of panama Canal when a seaman went down with a suspected heart attack. The bridge tried lamp and VHF for assistance to the signal station that was well visible but could not raise a reply. Captain called for me and gave me an XXX to send. Sent immediately in the last minute of the silence period and when finished got a bollo--ing from NBA for breaking the SP. They eventually sent a doctor who came on board and pronounced the poor fellow dead.

Best wishes

Alan


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## Naytikos (Oct 20, 2008)

I worked straight through the MF R/T silence periods a couple of times. Once responding to a fishing boat in distress in the Southern Irish Sea and once QSPing medical advice to a yacht in the South Atlantic with a female crew-member severely dehydrated by sea-sickness. 
(This, perhaps, does not count for the purposes of the thread as MF R/T never had the significance or usage in the rest of the world that it did around Northern Europe.)

One of the bits of advice from CIRM was 'rectal saline injection' and we were heading for a rendezvous with the yacht in order to administer the same when the young lady miraculously recovered!!!


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

Naytikos said:


> .....
> One of the bits of advice from CIRM was 'rectal saline injection' and we were heading for a rendezvous with the yacht in order to administer the same when the young lady miraculously recovered!!!


What a bummer!

John T


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## Vital Sparks (Sep 19, 2007)

Crew member observed going over the wall at night, immediate XXX transmitted but no acknowledgements received. Waited until end of next silence period and then transmitted auto alarm signal followed by repeat XXX. That woke them up.


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## reefrat (Nov 4, 2007)

A Question Is it true that there is no silence period on VHF, and if so whats the point of the silence period


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## Moulder (Aug 19, 2006)

I've never heard of Silence Periods having to be observed on VHF - although some of the broadcasts from CRSs after the Silence Period at H+03 and H+33 on 2182kHz were also 'ganged' to Channel 16.

However, when watching recent programs concerning Customs Cutters and Coastguard I have noticed clocks in the wheelhouse with Silence Period markings - one of them on a current Customs vessel had the WT periods marked as well. 

In today's digital and automated satellite world the need for a Silence Period would be questionable.

Steve.
(Thumb)


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

SP no longer exist.

On any marine channel.


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## keithsparks (Sep 1, 2009)

if anyone transmitted Mayday nowadays half of the weekend sailors would think it was another bank holiday.Yes i have worked thru silence periods whilst on salvage tugs quite a few times and had nothing but admiration for the help and attitude of the coast stations in those horrible situations everywhere in the world but you always got at least one shipboard ****** who obviously hadnt a clue what was happening telling you to QRT SP.


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## hawkey01 (Mar 15, 2006)

If my memory serves me correctly if you had an XXX and it was proceeded by the alarm signal then the SP would be the time to send it. 
I had occasion to send a Medico XXX out east and I certainly repeated it during the SP. 


Hawkey01


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

Troppo said:


> SP no longer exist.
> 
> On any marine channel.


That is because under GMDSS all distress alerting (and hence all watchkeeping for alerts) is fully automated. You push the button, your equipment sends the distress alert and another equipment ashore (or on another vessel) receives and decodes it to initiate an alarm. The signalling methods used are all digital so they are either acceptable (and result in an alarm) or are unreadable and are rejected. No weak or fading analogue signals as in the days of yore.

So there is no need for silence periods (such as observed on the MF distress alerting frequencies 500kHz and 2182kHZ) which were intended to provide a listening environment where all routine calling ceased and only distress related signals would be sent. Against this reduced level of interference, people would be more likely to overhear weak distress alerts from distant vessels or from low-powered survival craft radios.

VHF Channel 16 was a general calling channel which never achieved full distress alerting status and there was no mandatory watch kept on it in the same way that there was on the MF frequencies. So there was never a requirement for silence periods.


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## Hugh Ferguson (Sep 4, 2006)

I remember in an American escorted convoy c. Oct. 1944 bound to the Meddy from departure point off Hampton Roads.
From being lead ship in one of the columns we had, all day long, been losing out to all the Liberty ships which comprised most of the shipping in that convoy.
Now, late P.M. we were well astern when the Petty Officer gunlayer got shot in an artery in a leg by one of his fellow gunners.
Having failed to attract the attention of any escort, or ship, the master decided to break radio silence completely. That brought the senior escorting U.S Navy destroyer alongside of us in double quick time and, in a heavy swell, and with superb ship-handling they shot us a line and the poor chap was whisked away in a breeches buoy-away they went and we were left to our own devices.
We survived the night and next day put into Horta where we waited for an escort for onward passage to Gib..

I've often wondered how the P.O. RN gunner fared-I could give his name if anyone thought there was a chance of tracing him.


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## charles henry (May 18, 2008)

About a day from San Francisco we were rammed by a ship which almost sheared our bow off. I did all the necessary things including sending the auto alarm signal and waiting a loooong three minutes prior to sending the SOS.

Later when watchkeeping time came around it was obvious who did NOT have the auto alarm on. There were 15 ships in our area that could have been of IMMEDIATE assistance. I REPORTED EACH ONE.

de Chas


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