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2-1
2. DSC OVERVIEW
2.1 What is DSC?
DSC is an acronym meaning Digital Selective Calling. It is a digital distress and gen-
eral calling system in the VHF band used by ships for transmitting distress alerts and
general calls and by coast stations for transmitting the associated acknowledgements.
For DSC distress, safety and urgency callings in the VHF band, the channel is 70.
2.2 DSC Messages
DSC calls are roughly divided in two groups: distress messages and general (safety,
urgency and routine) messages. Below are the types of DSC messages.
*SPECIAL MSG: To send these messages, set [SPECIAL MSG] to [ABLE]. See
section 5.17.
Call Description
DISTRESS ALERT Your ship sends distress message.
DISTRESS RELAY
ALL
Your ship relays distress call to all ships.
DISTRESS RELAY
INDIVIDUAL
Your ship relays distress call to a coast station or all ships.
MEDICAL MSG* Inform areas that your ship is carrying medical supplies.
NEUTRAL MSG* Inform areas that your ship is not a participant in armed conflict.
INDIVIDUAL MSG Call to a specific address.
PSTN MSG Call over Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
TEST MSG Send test signal to a station to test your station's functionality.
GROUP MSG Call to a specific group.
ALL SHIPS MSG Call to all ships.
POSITION MSG Your ship requests position of other ships.
POLLING MSG Confirm if your ship is within communicating range with other ships. (Re-
ceive and answer only)
TRANSCEIVER
UNIT
Distress, Safety, Urgency and Routine DSC Calls
Distress, Safety, Urgency and Routine DSC Calls
ANT
CH70 RX ANT