Marine radio qualifications (SRC + LRC)

What?

Once in a while Teekkaripurjehtijat offers its members a possibility for marine radio recaps and marine radio exams. The occasions have been organized in cooperation with The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom. It has been possible to participate in occasions that aim at Short Range Certificate (SRC) and Long Range Certificate (LRC).

Marine radio qualifications entitle people to use VHF and/or MF/HF -radio devices, which are important when it comes to communication and safety at sea.

Registration for 2023 SRC and LRC days has been closed.

Short Range Certificate (SRC)

SRC exam prepares you for radio communication in sea areas that are located maximum approximately 30 nautical miles from the coast. It is possible to use VHF radio close to the shore, or even while moored, but it comes truly handy in areas where mobile networks don’t work. These kinds of areas are eg. in the outer archipelago of Finland and on a trip to Tallinn.

During the day the plan is to cover eg. the matters listed below:

general things about marine radio traffic (background, internationality, mandatory documents)
the seafaring emergency and safety system (GMDSS system)
starting the emergency radio communication in an emergency (VHF)
DSC-system (digital selective calling) + DSC-simulation
international emergency and safety calls in radio traffic
VHF channel system (principals, using the channels in different situations)
requirements for devices
exercises

The SRC recap will be organized on Sat 28.10. from 10 to about 18 in the premises of Traficom in Kumpula. The plan is to rehearse the learning material (also available in English for those who register), which participants have already read before. The SRC exam will be held in the end of the day.

Long Range Certificate (LRC)

LRC exam prepares you for radio communication in the sea areas 30-150 nautical miles from the coast. In the Baltic Sea, you will encounter these kinds of areas eg. in the Bothnian Sea and on a trip to Gotland (dependent of the route choice).

The LRC recap focuses more on the internationality of marine radio traffic. Basics, which are the same as in VHF traffic, won’t be covered per se.

basic concepts (wavelength of frequency, the structure of sending (modulations) and corresponding international abbreviations
the seafaring emergency and safety system (GMDSS system)
requirements, devices, sea areas, SRR areas (sea rescue responsibility areas), satellite systems, NAVAREA/MSI
MF/HF frequencies and progression of radio waves in different frequency ranges of seafaring
DSC-system -> the differences in the use of DSC, VHF <-> MF/HF -> international MF/HF/DSC-program charts
DSC testing procedures on different frequency ranges
starting the emergency radio communication + canceling procedures in case of an unnecessary emergency call (MF/HF)
ITU-publications (List of Ship Stations / List of Coast Stations) and interpreting them

The LRC recap exam will be organized on Sat 25.11. from 10 to about 18 in the premises of Traficom in Kumpula. The plan is to rehearse the learning material, Avomerilaivurin radio-opas (only in Finnish), which participants have already read before. The LRC exam (in Finnish or English) will be held at the end of the day.

Reference: Viestintävirasto 2012: Rannikkolaivurin VHF-radio-opas, page 19

Why?

Marine radio qualifications entitle you to use VHF and/or MF/HF devices of a vessel.
A connection to other vessels and coast stations is possible via radio frequency devices even though mobile phones wouldn’t work anymore (eg. because the vessel is outside of the mobile phone network reach, the battery is empty or the phone has ended up overboard).
Knowing the marine radio system and using the devices in a proper way increases safety at sea.
Passing the SRC exam is a requirement for being accepted as TRIP captain, therefore skippering the coastal sailboat.
It is good that several people on board are familiar with the marine radio system and the usage of devices, in case something unexpected happens.
If you and eg. your friend are crossing the Gulf of Finland and mobile phones don’t work, it is possible to talk with your friend for free via marine radio on the correct channel if you have the qualification to do so.
Marine radio certifications never expire.

For who?

Marine radio training is for everyone – you can be either a beginner or already a more experienced sailor or something in between. Knowing the marine radio system increases safety on board and it’s better if more than one sailor is aware of the system. In the context of TRIP, Short Range Certificate SRC is mandatory for those skippering the coastal sailboat, therefore for captains.

There are some matters and limitations to take into consideration before registration:

Registering for the marine radio recaps and exams via TRIP is only possible for our members.
The main language of both occasions will be Finnish and recaps will be in Finnish, but it is of course alright to ask questions in English.
The SRC -exam can be done in Finnish, Swedish or English, and the language will be chosen when filling out the registration form.
The LRC -material is available only in Finnish at the moment, but the exam is possible to do also in English.
In order to participate in the LRC exam, you should have successfully done the SRC -exam before. In case you have done the SRC exam more than two years before, you have to answer a few VHF/DSC related questions in the LRC exam.
You can only participate in the event if you are doing the exam on the same day.

What does it cost?

The SRC -exam costs 45,40 € /exam and LRC 67,30 € /exam. The price for a certificate is 43,75 € per each. It is not mandatory to have the certificates right away and it is possible not to have the SRC certificate/diploma at all in case LRC will be done in the near future. Only the exam fee and possible certificate fee will cause expenses for the participants if you already have a papery passport photo. On top of photography studios, you can get a passport photo from a photo booth. You can find the nearest photo booth on this website.

How to prepare and what to take along?

The material for SRC is publicly available on Traficom’s website, but only in Finnish and Swedish. The material in English will be provided for those registering for the event. The year 2023 channel table will replace the attachment number 1 in the SRC material. You will find the updated channel table here (in Finnish). An example of SRC exam is available here (in Finnish). The LRC material is available only in Finnish and will be separately provided to those, who register. It is highly recommended to make oneself familiar with the material before the exam day, despite the recap before the exam. During the recap, it is possible to ask about the unclear points in the learning material, so it’s a good idea to make notes during reading. In the SRC exam participants will have SRC learning material’s attachments 1, 2, and 4. On top of these, it is allowed to use map images of emergency and safety radio network together with their channels.

For the exam you will need:

a pencil, an eraser, and a ballpoint pen
one formal papery passport photo (it cannot be more than a year old and it can’t have any marks or previous stamps)
an ID document (check below):
- for those, who are Finnish citizens: some kind of ID document, that has social security number and a picture on it. For example an ID card with a picture, a passport, or a driver’s license.
- for those, who are not Finnish citizens: a homeland passport or copy of passport page/pages, that have personal data

Where to get more information?

More information about marine radio traffic is available on Traficom website here. On the website of the International Telecommunication Union ITU there you will find information about telecommunications on a broader and more international scale.

In case you are very interested in the radio theme, you could get acquainted with radio amateur activity. You can click to the Finnish Radio Amateur League’s website from here.

If you have something to ask about the education activities of the association, you can send an email to the Head of Education (theory courses) Emmi to address emmi.nevalainen@teekkaripurjehtijat.fi.

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