Garmin 196 Manuale Utente

Non-commercial users, such as recreational users, who remain 

in United States waters and only carry VHF, EPIRB (Emergency 

Position Indicating Radio Beacons), and Radar are not required to 

have a FCC ship station license. The FCC and Coast Guard have 

authorized some second and third party vendors to assign MMSI 

numbers. This service is limited to registering recreational vessels 

only. To receive information on how to obtain a recreational MMSI 

number contact 

Commercial users, or those who travel outside the United States or 

Canada, must apply for a ship station license or an amendment to a 

ship station license. To find out if you require a Ship Station license 

requires licensing by the FCC, a MMSI is assigned to you during 

the application/licensing process when you file FCC Forms 159 and 

605.

Federal users can obtain MMSI assignments from their agency 

radio spectrum management office. These procedures are currently 

under review by the National Telecommunications and Information 

Administration (NTIA).

Users can obtain an MMSI assignment from their telecommunications 

authority or ship registry, often by obtaining or amending their ship 

station license.

Industry Canada is responsible for assigning MMSI numbers to 

commercial and recreational vessels. Information is available at the 

following Web site:

.

To receive Distress Calls or Position Reports, you must have a DSC-

equipped chartplotter as well as a VHF radio with DSC support. 

During normal, non-emergency Position Report communication, 

Channel 70 (156.525 MHz) has been set aside as the VHF/DSC 

digital call channel. 
For a Distress Call, press the MayDay button on the VHF radio. 

The call transmits on an emergency channel with the MMSI number 

attached to the call, if the receiver has DSC support. Any DSC-

equipped mariner (on sea or land) within range can receive the call.
When the Garmin GPSMAP 296 is connected to a VHF with DSC 

support, the GPS unit shows a Call List, Log, and a Directory. Basic 

wiring is required for the Garmin unit and VHF radio to send and 

receive NMEA data from each other.

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