DSC Distress Call and GP1971F

[pfrith44]

My SH GX1850 VHF and GP1971F are networked together via N2K. A DSC Distress Call was transmitting(accidentally it now appears) by another vessel while I was offshore trolling this past Tuesday. Just like the manual says, a hexagon with a "D" appears on my chart plotter with a notification combined with an alert on my VHF. I cancelled the notification. The CG soon began broadcasting on ch 16 for boaters to be on the lookout for a vessel in the vicinity of the LON/LAT embedded in the message and using the vessels MMSI. My question is, how long does the DSC icon remain on the chart plotter by default, or when does the icon age out?
Thank You

 

[Johnny Electron]

It will normally timeout and/or removed at next power cycle as long as the transmission is no longer being received. I think most would have plotted a GOTO to the DSC mark to assist the distressed boat especially after the Coast Guard call. Good to hear it was just an accidental transmission and not an emergency. Be safe out there.

 

[pfrith44]

Thanks Mr. Electron. I was informed by other vessels I knew near me, that their N2K networked chart plotters, indicated the source was over 106 miles near our general vicinity, and was an accidental transmission. The alarm actually startled me, which is the intent and I saw the icon, but never hoovered over it to obtain distance and LON/LAT data of the source vessel. This is an extremely import feature, and I witnessed first hand, how well it works on the GP1971F and my N2K networked VHF,

 

[Johnny Electron]

Yes, it is really great feature. I haven't tried it with the GP1971F but I know the NavNets have where if you have the Furuno FM4500 or FM4850 connected, you can touch a target and have it do direct calling to the targets radio using the reported MMSI. It is really nice how technology is helping people.

 

[Magnetron]

This is an extremely import feature, and I witnessed first hand, how well it works on the GP1971F and my N2K networked VHF,

For more information about your experience, I highly recommend you review the AIS/DSC features available in the plotter to better understand the symbols on the plotter. In this case, we distinguish a distress call from a position update request.



When looking at the plotter, the trained eye should notice a hexagon is bad and the square is normal.

See P.8-4: https://furunousa.com/-/media/sites/fur ... manual.pdf

Hope this clarifies, :sail

- Maggy