Hello. I was just appointed to be the Communications Staff Officer for
a USCG Auxiliary Flotilla.

I need to know a few things, and I am hoping someone on this group may
be more knowledgeable on the subject than I am.

1. I am inclined to believe that I may need a marine VHF shore station
to take part in Auxiliary radio nets. If this is the case, how do I
apply for the proper license? Do I need to pass the GROL, or should I
just take element 1 and get the marine radio operators permit. From
what I can see, the GROL includes element 1 (marine radio operators
permit) plus one more element - and the GROL is good for life. I hold a
FCC amateur radio extra class license already, so passing the GROL
should not be a problem, even with the radar endorsement.

2. Are there auxiliary news on HF, or just VHF? As I mentioned before I
hold an amateur extra class license, so taking part in HF nets is not a
major problem.

Thanks in advance for any information that will be useful to me.

" wrote in
ps.com:

Thanks in advance for any information that will be useful to me.


Why not ask "them"?

http://www.auxodept.org/telecoms.htm

"Radio Facility
An Auxiliary radio facility does not require a Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) license when operating while assigned to duty or
performing a mission directed or scheduled by the U S Coast Guard.

A radio facility may be offered for use by an Auxiliarist and, if it meets
requirements for that type of facility, it will be accepted by the Director
of the Auxiliary. The facility owner must arrange for an initial
inspection of the facility and, thereafter, a re-inspection every three
years from the date of acceptance for use. Radio equipment used on a
surface or air facility is considered and inspected as part of that
facility. In general, the operator of a radio facility must maintain radio
logs and formal message logs. Under ordinary conditions, Auxiliary radio
facilities operate according to the Telecommunications Manual, COMDTINST
M2000.3. "

By the way, I typed into my Google search box:

USCG Auxiliary Communications

and this was the second of 390,000 webpages on the subject. Type it into
your google and you'll have more information on USCG Aux Comms that you
have lifetime left to digest it....

Be very careful volunteering your ham station/towers/equipment to the
government bureaucrats, any government bureaucrats. Once you have done
that, they feel free to come take it all for their own use at a moment's
notice...any excuse will do if some jealous ******* in the Aux wants it.
NEVER sign anything over to them...NEVER! You could LOSE IT ALL! If they
give you a hard time about it, simply tell them you understand and will
drop out of your VOLUNTEER position. I always found that stops the
confiscations... They tried to steal an airplane from our little CAP
squadron, back then, we had worked hard to fund. Fortunately, for us at
least, the plane in question was TITLED to one of our members, to prevent
such bull****. We were forced to remove CAP markings from the squadrons
plane, but the plane remained in OUR hangar, not theirs. CAP didn't have
many brand new Cessnas with STOL kits and full IFR suites of toys...(c;

CG comms are not subject to FCC regulations and bureaucracy. None of the
military stations are...MARS, CAP, CG Aux, etc. The various comm
bureaucracies of each service operates the system. It looks like you need
to take the CG Aux Ecom course online:
http://www.auxetrain.org/ecom.htm

I used to be "Kiddie Kar 20", a long time ago in Middle East Region CAP
comms in the SC Wing. HF was on 4585 USB, mostly with old Heath HW-18 kit
transceivers. I must have built the SC Wing a hundred kits in the 60's and
70's. Late at night, the Hawaii Wing's 4585 net control would ask for
other checkins. Using "minimum power" from my pair of 4-1000A tetrodes
running 6500VDC at 950ma plate current, I had no trouble checking in from
my 1/4 wave vertical sitting over 120 buried radials, series fed. CAP
comms were great fun and a great service to the pilots lost. I had a
complete kilowatt HF and a VHF repeater built into my motorhome that would
serve as net control for SARCAPs and REDCAPs setup right along the runways
where the search originated. I usually beat the planes there by a few
hours.

What freqs are CG Aux comms on HF? I'd like to listen in....

73,
Larry W4CSC alias 4 other calls since 1957....(sigh)
No Code Extra Class...(c;
You don't need a GROL, either....hardly anyone does, these days.

--
Extremely intelligent life exists that is so smart they never called Earth.

What is the general purpose of these AUX stations? To provide marine
coverage in those areas where the CG doesn't have a station, backup or
what? I agree that this would be a nice thing to volunteer for to
help to create for more relevance for us ham ops before we all just get
grey and bald and disappear.

But of course if you have some non-type accepted equipment such as 2
meter handies modified to work on marine vhf you may be inviting help
that you don't really want.

It would be good to make it official so that they know that you're just
not another ambulance chaser.

Don

wrote in news:1168627500.487767.85030
@l53g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

What is the general purpose of these AUX stations? To provide marine
coverage in those areas where the CG doesn't have a station, backup or
what? I agree that this would be a nice thing to volunteer for to
help to create for more relevance for us ham ops before we all just get
grey and bald and disappear.


Same idea as the CAP USAF stations.....backup. The more ears the better.
If there were regular AUX comm stations on HF, for instance, especially
now that the commercial operators have gone dark like WOM, AUX HF
stations could provide a much larger virtual antenna than CG can provide,
the reason ham nets are so successful at getting a message through in
poor conditions. Every station adds itself to a network of combined
receivers, one of which is bound to hear "something" of a distress signal
that may pass over a small number of official stations.

A secondary reason isn't important to comms, but is to the mission.
Volunteers, in any organization, need to feel part of the action, whether
they are important or not. It's the recognition of volunteering why
they're there. A military radio net of the AUX volunteers is a very
valuable tool in making more senior, less physically-capable members have
a useful function to the mission as a whole. Not all AUX volunteers have
a yacht to play Coastie in. Many have no boat at all, just an interest.
Operating a radio system in the middle of the action is a great way to
get them involved in the action they cannot physically participate in.
The same thing goes on the Maritime Mobile Service Net on 20M. A bunch
of house-ridden old guys with nothing more to do than monitor the
frequency and feel useful, to themselves with the recognition of the
maritime community, that are always listening with that link to help when
anyone needs it. All this "service" costs CG one or two frequencies in
military bands that are mostly empty on HF these days. The cost is zero,
its utility great. Everyone wins....

Larry
--
Extremely intelligent life exists that is so smart they never called
Earth.

wrote:
2. Are there auxiliary news on HF, or just VHF? As I mentioned before I
hold an amateur extra class license, so taking part in HF nets is not a
major problem.

It's my understanding that cross band communications between Amateur
Radio stations (non-type accepted) and Marine (type accepted) stations
is not allowed.

In an emergency, any means of communications is allowed.

Is this not correct?

Only an Advanced Class. To lazy to pass the test again. Couldn't do the
20 wpm part.

KJ5DL

In article . com,
"Leonard" wrote:

wrote:
2. Are there auxiliary news on HF, or just VHF? As I mentioned before I
hold an amateur extra class license, so taking part in HF nets is not a
major problem.

It's my understanding that cross band communications between Amateur
Radio stations (non-type accepted) and Marine (type accepted) stations
is not allowed.

Well not exactly true. A Licenced Amateur may use any Marine Radio to
transmit on Part 97 frequencies that his License allows. Modifying a
Marine Radio to transmit on frequencies outside those allowed under
Part 80, may, or may not, violate the Type Acceptance for that Radio,
depending on just what is done to the radio to open it up. Radios
such as the SEA MF/HF Marine models, that have a "Test Mode" that is
not documented in the User Manual, but is documented for Service Tech's,
and can be activated from the Front Panel, without any modifacation
to the circuits, under the covers, would be legal to use on Ham Bands,
by Licensed Amateur Radio Operators. If one has to take the covers off
the radio and cut a diode or solder bridge a trace, this would violate
the Type Acceptance of the radio and isn't allowed, EXCEPT if it is done
by the OEM, at the Factory.

Non-Type Accepted equipment may NOT be used on Part 80 Frequencies,
EXCEPT when Safety of Life or Property Commincations are being passed.



In an emergency, any means of communications is allowed.

Is this not correct?

Only an Advanced Class. To lazy to pass the test again. Couldn't do the
20 wpm part.

KJ5DL


Bruce in alaska also an Advanced Class, for many, many, years.....
--
add a 2 before @

"Leonard" wrote in news:1168702731.758983.323110
@q2g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Only an Advanced Class. To lazy to pass the test again. Couldn't do the
20 wpm part.

KJ5DL




Get off your ass, Leonard! The code test has been eliminated! You can be
a "No Code Extra" if you'll just memorize the stupid test questions...(c;


73 de Whisky4CharlestonSouthCarolina
Larry (No Code Extra)
--
Extremely intelligent life exists that is so smart they never called Earth.

Not until the middle of February at the earliest. The code elimination will
be effective until 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register and
that hasn't happened yet that I know of.

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

"Larry" wrote in message
...
"Leonard" wrote in news:1168702731.758983.323110
@q2g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Only an Advanced Class. To lazy to pass the test again. Couldn't do the
20 wpm part.

KJ5DL




Get off your ass, Leonard! The code test has been eliminated! You can be
a "No Code Extra" if you'll just memorize the stupid test questions...(c;


73 de Whisky4CharlestonSouthCarolina
Larry (No Code Extra)
--
Extremely intelligent life exists that is so smart they never called
Earth.

In article ,
Bruce in Alaska wrote:

In article . com,
"Leonard" wrote:

wrote:
2. Are there auxiliary news on HF, or just VHF? As I mentioned before I
hold an amateur extra class license, so taking part in HF nets is not a
major problem.

It's my understanding that cross band communications between Amateur
Radio stations (non-type accepted) and Marine (type accepted) stations
is not allowed.

Well not exactly true. A Licenced Amateur may use any Marine Radio to
transmit on Part 97 frequencies that his License allows. Modifying a
Marine Radio to transmit on frequencies outside those allowed under
Part 80, may, or may not, violate the Type Acceptance for that Radio,
depending on just what is done to the radio to open it up. Radios
such as the SEA MF/HF Marine models, that have a "Test Mode" that is
not documented in the User Manual, but is documented for Service Tech's,
and can be activated from the Front Panel, without any modifacation
to the circuits, under the covers, would be legal to use on Ham Bands,
by Licensed Amateur Radio Operators. If one has to take the covers off

just a followup note here.....ANY Marine Radio would be Legal to use
on the Ham Bands.... The question here is, if the radio was "Modified"
in some way, would that modification, violate the "Type Acceptance" , and
thus make the modified radio not Legal, to use on the Marine Bands......

the radio and cut a diode or solder bridge a trace, this would violate
the Type Acceptance of the radio and isn't allowed, EXCEPT if it is done
by the OEM, at the Factory.

Non-Type Accepted equipment may NOT be used on Part 80 Frequencies,
EXCEPT when Safety of Life or Property Commincations are being passed.



In an emergency, any means of communications is allowed.

Is this not correct?

Only an Advanced Class. To lazy to pass the test again. Couldn't do the
20 wpm part.

KJ5DL


Bruce in alaska also an Advanced Class, for many, many, years.....

Bruce in alaska
--
add a 2 before @

Bruce in Alaska wrote:
Well not exactly true. A Licenced Amateur may use any Marine Radio to
transmit on Part 97 frequencies that his License allows. Modifying a
Marine Radio to transmit on frequencies outside those allowed under
Part 80, may, or may not, violate the Type Acceptance for that Radio,
depending on just what is done to the radio to open it up.
Bruce in Alaska wrote:


I don't believe the Marine SSB frequencies (Channels) fall within the
approved Amateur bands.
Any modification of a type accepted radio voids it's certificate and
can no longer be used on the Marine SSB Channels.

Can you even modify an Amateur radio to "Transmit" on the Marine
Channels? My Icom can't transmit on Marine SSB Channels, but I can
receive them.

I believe the older Marine radios operated under crystal control. I
don't know about the new Marine SSB's.

Icom and others make dual use radios, Amateur Radio and Marine SSB.

Wasn't the original question/statement that he was going to use his
Amateur radio to join in on the Marine SSB nets?

Maybe I missed something.