Marine Radio

Marine Radio

Marine radio covers a number of areas, such as long range communications , on HF Frequency bands, to short range deck communications, using UHF and VHF handhelds.

atex

Atex Radio

A number of factors need to be considered when choosing suitable radio equipment for a Marine environment.

For example, when choosing handheld equipment, you need to ensure that it has a high enough IP (Ingress protection) rating, to cope with environmental conditions that the equipment will be used in.

Too low an IP rating will mean that dust and moisture can enter the radio, and damage it, ultimately costing you money.

The ability to seal out moisture is particularly important in a sea going marine vessel, as the salty corrosive atmosphere of the sea, will quickly damage the internal circuit board, of a low IP rated radio.

We have experienced first hand what a corrosive environment can do to a customers radio equipment, and it’s not pretty.

A layer of oxidisation , which looks like a white coloured crust, covers the radios internal PCB (Printed Circuit Board). This causes faults.

Another important consideration when choosing radio equipment, is whether you will be using it in potentially explosive environments.

ATEX, Intrinsically safe equipment is available for use in potentially explosive environments, such as ships battery rooms.

We would recommend you consult with an experienced company, such as Yesway Ltd, to help you purchase the right equipment for your needs.

We have been called out to ships in the past, whose owners bought good equipment, but from a non specialist commercial marine equipment supplier.

The customer initially saved money, but the equipment had not been expertly programmed and set up for their specific needs. This resulted in having to call out the Yesway professionals, to set the equipment up correctly.

For help and advice, give us a call: (01522) 740818

Quick Advice for Antibes Superyacht Radio Owners

For deck activities on an Antibes Superyacht,  a radio with a high ‘Ingress Protection’ rating is what we would recommend,

Ingress Protection, or ‘IP Rating’ means how much the radio will resist dust particles and water, entering the radio.

The salty atmosphere on deck, will shorten the reliability and ultimate lifespan of the radio, if the IP rating is too low.

A radio like the Entel DX series is a great choice for deckhands. It is an IP68 rated digital radio, so will survive being dropped in shallow water for a while.

For ‘Stews’ a small discreet, and easy to use radio is what we would recommend, such as the Hytera PD355

About Yesway the Antibes Superyacht Radio Supplier

We are able to supply all the two-way radio needs of Superyacht owners based in Antibes, and the wider French Riviera.

Our director is a former lecturer at South Shields Marine School, whose first job aged 17 (he’s now 48), was building and testing yacht power supply systems.

He moved to the radio communications industry as a repair & installation engineer, aged 19.

Our company’s skillset therefore is unrivalled in the Marine radio communications industry, as we have both experience of training ETOs, and working on marine systems.

And also both vocational and degree level qualifications in terrestrial and satellite communications.

We even have the MCA AEC (approved engine course) qualification.

Which Superyacht Radio?

There are many ‘tier 1’ manufacturers in the two-way radio industry to chose from.

Therefore it is fantastic when you find a capable company to advise you.

Our Recommendations for Superyachts are Motorola, Entel and Hytera.

These three manufacturers of two-way radio equipment offer everything a Super yacht user could need.

For example, the Entel DN series handheld radio offers industry leading IP68 level protection against water and particle ingress.

Having a high IP rating is important for use in an outdoor marine environment, and would be ideal for use by Deckhands or support vessels.

On the other hand, a Stewardess and other ‘front of house’ crew, needs a very discrete device.

For this we recommend a couple of the digital Hytera models, that offer discrete communications, and look stylish.

We are also able to offer specific engineering solutions including alarm and system monitoring that sends messages and alerts to a handheld two way radio.

SOLAS Regulation 11-2/10 – Firefighters’ communication

Who is affected by this Solas regulation?

Regulation II – 2/10.10.4 is applicable to all new SOLAS ships, newly constructed on or after the date of July 1st  2014.
Existing ships, built prior to that date should comply with this requirement no later than the first survey after July 1st  2018.

 Why was this regulation been introduced?

This regulation was proposed in the aftermath of an incident involving a fire,  in the engine room on board the
Swedish tanker ‘Ek – River’ ,while in dry – dock.
Following this incident  upgrades of radio-communication equipment for fire
fighters, including additional equipment such as smoke diver emergency alarm, PASS alarm and location lights
were proposed.
solas regulations compliant radios
Entel Solas Compliant Intrinsically Safe Radio

What does the regulation say?

MSC 91 adopted amendments to SOLAS Regulation II-2/10 to add a new paragraph 10.4 to clarify that a minimum of two two-way portable radiotelephone apparatus for each fire party for fire-fighters’ communication shall be carried on board.
These radio devices shall be of an explosion proof type or Intrinsically Safe (IS).
Which type of ships does this regulation apply to?

The regulation does not specify type of the vessel. All ships with firefighting teams on board need to comply.

What is Intrinsically Safe Equipment?
Intrinsically Safe (IS) is a term used to describe products designed for use in hazardous (explosive) locations.
These are areas where flammable liquids, vapours, gases or combustible dusts are likely to occur in quantities sufficient to cause a fire or explosion.
In normal use, electrical equipment can create tiny internal sparks and heat. Both of these can become a source of
ignition in a flammable atmosphere.
Intrinsically Safe (IS) radios will not create the sparks and/or heat sufficient to ignite an
explosive atmosphere.
IS products are tested by independent accredited labs under specific standards to qualify as an IS product. For
example, the standard applicable in Europe is called ATEX. Your supplier should be able to provide you an
approval certificate showing the brand and model number of the radio. Yesway can do this.
There are different types of IS approvals, and the required type depends on individual Flag of the vessel. For example, it is mandatory for European companies
and European-flag vessels to use ATEX certified equipment.
ATEX is an EU directive dealing with electrical equipment for use in explosive atmospheres.
It categorizes the hazardous environment into three Gas Groups: IIA, IIB, and IIC (II is a Roman numeral).
Group IIC is the most severe group, i.e. gases/vapours in this group can be ignited very easily.
Flammable materials are also categorized according to their ignition temperatures which are called temperature
classes.
Yesway are Entel dealers.  Entel radios have a temperature class of T4 or 135oC, i.e. the temperature of an Entel radio will not rise beyond 135oC  in event of an electronic failure.
The UK designed Entel range of IS radios conform to three standards:
  • ATEX Approved IIC – The HT900 range of ATEX certified portables meet IIC T4 – the most stringent ATEX ratings as per EU directive 94/9/EC.
  • ATEX Approval IIA – The HT800 range of ATEX certified portables meet IIA T4 with 4 watts RF power; for those users not restricted to the IIC 1 watt regulatory classification.
  • IECEx Approval – The HT500 range of IS certified portables are suitable for those users who do not need to comply with the European ATEX standard.

Yesway Communications are delighted to help your marine business comply with the regulations, by providing the proven high quality Entel range of Intrinsically Safe (IS) radios.

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Two-Way-Radio & Skills Training

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For UK based callers: (01522) 740818

For International Callers:   (+44)  1522 740818

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