NZ MVOC (VHF Radio) common mistakes
NZ MVOC (VHF Radio) · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Transmitting a MAYDAY without first switching to channel 16 and confirming the set is on high power, then repeating the call on a working channel while still using the distress format.
Candidates rehearse the words of the distress call but not the physical sequence of controls, so under exam pressure they skip the channel and power check and default to wherever the dial happens to sit.
What to do instead
Drill a fixed pre-transmission checklist: select channel 16, high power, confirm the set is switched on and volume/squelch set, then press PTT and pause a beat before speaking. State the checklist aloud in practice until it is automatic.
Giving a MAYDAY that omits one or more of the required elements, most often the position, the nature of distress, or the number of persons on board.
Candidates memorise the call as a block of prose and lose elements when distracted; position is the hardest because it requires converting a GPS readout or bearing and distance into a spoken format on the spot.
What to do instead
Learn the elements as a numbered list (MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY; station identity; MAYDAY; identity again; position; nature of distress; assistance required; persons on board; any other information; OVER). Practise writing positions in spoken form, e.g. latitude and degrees/minutes and a bearing-and-distance from a named landmark.
Using MAYDAY for situations that are not grave and imminent danger, such as a breakdown, running out of fuel, or a request for a tow.
Candidates conflate 'serious problem' with 'distress' and have not internalised the three-tier distinction between distress, urgency and safety.
What to do instead
Anchor each category to a test question: is there immediate danger to life or vessel (MAYDAY), is there a serious problem but no immediate danger (PAN PAN), or is it a navigational or weather warning (SECURITE)? Work through borderline scenarios and justify the category before checking the answer.
Calling PAN PAN but then using distress language, or failing to cancel the urgency message once the situation is resolved.
The urgency call is under-practised relative to MAYDAY, so candidates borrow distress phrasing and forget the closing cancellation procedure.
What to do instead
Practise the full urgency cycle: PAN PAN three times, station addressed, identity, position, nature of urgency, assistance required, persons on board, then ALL STATIONS or the specific station, OVER. Rehearse the cancellation message separately, including the phrase indicating the urgency no longer exists.
Failing to impose radio silence on stations interfering with a distress traffic, or failing to acknowledge and then relay a distress call from a station not heard by a coast station.
Candidates focus on being the distressed vessel and never practise the third-party roles of acknowledging, relaying, and controlling distress traffic.
What to do instead
Learn the MAYDAY RELAY format and the silence instruction (SEELONCE MAYDAY, and the reduced-distress-traffic SEELONCE DISTRESS). Practise scenarios where you are a nearby vessel: acknowledge, relay to the coast station, stand by, and log times.
Misstating channel capabilities, for example assuming all channels are duplex, that channel 16 can be used for routine chat, or that low power is appropriate for a distress call.
Channel plans are learned as a table to memorise rather than as operational facts, so the simplex/duplex distinction and the purpose of each channel blur together.
What to do instead
Build a working channel map: 16 for distress, safety and calling; 6 for ship-to-ship; 13 for bridge-to-bridge; the duplex channels used through a coast station; the prohibited or restricted channels. For each, write one sentence on when you would actually use it and whether it is simplex or duplex.
Transmitting without a valid operator certificate or station licence, or assuming a certificate issued overseas is automatically valid for a New Zealand vessel.
Candidates treat licensing as paperwork separate from operating and do not check the conditions attached to their own certificate or the vessel's station licence.
What to do instead
Learn what the MVOC authorises, who must hold it, how it relates to the vessel's radio licence, and the conditions covering visiting foreign vessels and overseas certificates. Confirm the current requirements from the issuing authority rather than from memory.
Leaving the DSC controller or the radio in a state that blocks distress alerting, such as an unassigned MMSI, an alarm that has been silenced without being read, or a watch not maintained on the correct channel.
Candidates study DSC as a concept but never think about the set-up and watchkeeping duties that make it work, so they cannot answer questions about readiness or about responding to an incoming alert.
What to do instead
Learn the MMSI structure and how it is programmed, the difference between a distress alert and a distress relay, how to acknowledge or relay an alert, and the requirement to keep a continuous watch. Practise describing exactly what you would do on hearing a DSC distress alarm.
Giving positions that are ambiguous or unprofessional, such as a street address, a vague 'off the coast', or a latitude and longitude read without degrees and minutes stated clearly.
Candidates underestimate how hard position is to convey by voice and have not practised converting a chart or GPS display into speech.
What to do instead
Rehearse spoken positions daily: latitude then longitude, degrees and decimal minutes, with the hemisphere letters spoken. Also practise bearing and distance from a named charted feature, and know which format rescue coordination prefers when time is short.
Not knowing the correct procedure for a MAYDAY that turns out to be a false alarm, or for a distress situation that resolves before rescue arrives, and so failing to send the proper cancellation.
Candidates learn how to start distress traffic but not how to end it, and fear of embarrassment leads them to go quiet rather than transmit a correction.
What to do instead
Learn the false-alert and cancellation wording, including identifying the station, the time, and the instruction to cancel the distress message. Remember that a prompt cancellation protects lives by freeing rescue resources, and that failing to cancel is treated far more seriously than the original error.