Best way to program vhf marine freqs in a scanner?

[FoeHammer]

Hi sorry if its allready been discussed , but I am bringing some radios out of retirement & would like to try programming in all the vhf marine channels , I would like the channels numbers on the scanner to match what you would also see on a true marine radio , but when I look at frequency & channel assignments Im not sure I understand how to best do this , for example I was thinking to begin by programming the freq for marine chan one into the scanner channel one & so on,...but many channels seem to have a "a" & "b"
& some list ship freq & shore freq for the same channel.,
& when you get to chan 28 there is a gap & then it picks up again at chan 60...to 80something , so I was thinking to go ahead & program just the normal chans till chan 28 then fill in with the "b" freqs or shore freqs until I hit the chan 60 in the scanner then continue with the normal chans till they end , then the rest of the the "b" or shore chans ,...then pretty much all my scanner channels will match the marine channels
Anyway if I am making any sense at all ...what would you say is the best way to program a scanner for vhf marine & have the channels match , what has been successful for you guys
thanks

[RKG]

If you want to program all of the channels available in the US, use this guide:

U.S. VHF Channels - USCG Navigation Center

Ignore 24-28 and 84-87, as they are not presently used, and ignore the AIS channels, as they are data.

In general, the "A" refers to the input side of what would be a duplex channel in the International channel plan, which is used simplex in the US channel plan.

In real life, you'll hear 95% of what's worth listening to on the following short list:

6, 9, 12, 13, 16, 21A, 22A, 23A, 68, 69, 71, 72, 81A, 82A and 83A.

[ecps92]

Since you are up in Canada [International] I would suggest you program them all. The A and the B as they do get used in Canada [Duplex] and you will only hear One Side of the Conversation. Enter the Ship side as the Channel #'s, then enter the Land Side into your open channels.
Sounds like you have a good plan.

Try this list Marine VHF radio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia from Wikipedia

Personally, I have them ALL [even tho I am in the US] as they do get used [Legally and Illegally] and others are also duplicated as they are in-use by my Local Police & Fire Depts.

As you listen, you might begin to delete some of them, as they might be used by someone other than the VHF Maritime purposes.

Originally Posted by FoeHammer

Hi sorry if its allready been discussed , but I am bringing some radios out of retirement & would like to try programming in all the vhf marine channels , I would like the channels numbers on the scanner to match what you would also see on a true marine radio , but when I look at frequency & channel assignments Im not sure I understand how to best do this , for example I was thinking to begin by programming the freq for marine chan one into the scanner channel one & so on,...but many channels seem to have a "a" & "b"
& some list ship freq & shore freq for the same channel.,
& when you get to chan 28 there is a gap & then it picks up again at chan 60...to 80something , so I was thinking to go ahead & program just the normal chans till chan 28 then fill in with the "b" freqs or shore freqs until I hit the chan 60 in the scanner then continue with the normal chans till they end , then the rest of the the "b" or shore chans ,...then pretty much all my scanner channels will match the marine channels
Anyway if I am making any sense at all ...what would you say is the best way to program a scanner for vhf marine & have the channels match , what has been successful for you guys
thanks

[RKG]

Thanks, Bill; I missed the Canada address.

[FoeHammer]

thanks for the replies guys , helpful as always : )

[ecps92]

Now, I don't know how close to any PORTS you might be, but there is also a set of Frequencies for On-Board Ship traffic that can range from the Cargo Ship, LNG's, Fuel Tankers to Cruise Ships and Yachts.

The Frequencies are [on paper] regulated and controlled, but not all are programmed properly and many conflict with the USA GMRS channels and the USA FRS Channels.

457.5000 457.5250 457.5500 457.5750 457.6000 457.6250
467.5000 467.7500 467.7750 467.8000 467.8250
467.5250 467.5500 467.5750 467.6000 467.6250

any of them could be used Simplex or Pair'd [columns] into a Repeater.

Good luck and welcome to Maritime Monitoring

Originally Posted by FoeHammer

thanks for the replies guys , helpful as always : )

[thomas724]

Foe:
Google RBR-2 and look for Spectrum Canada. Then get the Pdf doc This has all the channels and thier usage laid out there. And, being your in Windsor must be good listening there as ships will use both Us and Can Marine channels. Happy monitoring !

[FoeHammer]

awesome info ! yes Im close to coast guard station Detroit & have casually scanned across the marine bands from time to time & usually hear the det coast guard , belle isle & sarnia also hear people calling marinas ahead for fuel & a meal as well as recreational boaters I have a scanning gmrs radio as well & from time to time have picked up what I had assumed was vessels equipped with gmrs , didnt realize some of those freqs were used on board ,..always .interesting stuff in the great lakes , im currently using a couple of really old scanners I dug out of a closet & a really old marine handheld set on the calling channel (which seems to dig out the further signals much better than the scanners of course) all to external homemade antennas , the performance is reasonable , but one day if I ever get some money to burn I would consider an actual marine radio with scanning ability , Im sure would perform much better
thanks again for all the info & replies !