THE ASSEMBLY,
RECALLING
Article 15(j) of the Convention on the International Maritime Organization concerning
the functions of the Assembly in relation to regulations and guidelines concerning
maritime safely,
RECALLING ALSO regulation III/6.2.1
of the 1988 amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea
(SOLAS), 1974, concerning radiocommunications for the global maritime distress and
safety system (GMDSS), which requires that ships be provided with survival craft two-way
VHF radiotelephone apparatus and that such apparatus shall conform to appropriate
performance standards not inferior to those adopted by the Organization,
RECOGNIZING the need to prepare performance standards
for survival craft two-way VHF radiotelephone apparatus to be used in the GMDSS in order
to ensure the operational reliability of such equipment and to avoid, as far as
practicable, adverse interaction between such equipment and other communication and
navigation equipment on board ship,
HAVING
CONSIDERED the recommentation made by the Maritime Safety Committee at its sixty-fifth
session,
1 ADOPTS the Recommendation on Performance
Standards for Survival Craft Portable Two-Way VHF Radiotelephone Apparatus and the
Recommendation on Performance Standards for Two-Way VHF Radiotelephone Apparatus for
Fixed Installation in Survival Craft set out in annexes 1 and 2. respectively, to the
present resolution;
2. RECOMMENDS Governments to
ensure that survival craft two-way radiotelephone apparatus for use in search and rescue
operations which form part of the GMDSS:
(a) if installed on or
after 23 November 1996, conform to performance standards not inferior to those specified
in annexes 1 and 2 to the present resolution;
(b) if installed
before 23 November 1996, conform to performance standards not inferior to those
specified in annexes 1 and 2 to resolution A.762(18);
3. REQUESTS the Maritime Safety Committee to keep these Performance Standards under
review and to adopt amendments thereto, as necessary.
Annex 1 Recommendation on performance standards for survival craft two-way VHF radiotelephone apparatus
01 Introduction
The survival craft portable two-way VHF radiotelephone, in
addition to meeting the requirements of the Radio Regulations, the relevant ITU-R
Recommendations and the general requirements set out in resolution A.694(17), should comply with the following
performance standards.
02 General
2.1 The equipment should be portable and capable of
being used for on-scene communication between survival craft, between survival craft
and ship and between survival craft and rescue unit. It may also be used for
on-board communications when capable of operating on appropriate frequencies.
2.2 The equipment should comprise at least:
.1 an integral transmitter/receiver including antenna and
battery;
.2 an integral control unit including a
press-to-transmit switch; and
.3 an internal microphone and
loudspeaker.
2.3 The equipment should:
.1 be capable of being operated by unskilled personnel;
.2 be capable of being operated by personnel wearing
gloves as specified for immersion suits in regulation 33 of chapter III of 1974
SOLAS Convention;
.3 be capable of single-handed operation
except for channel selection;
.4 withstand drops on to a
hard surface from a height of 1 m;
.5 be watertight to a
depth of 1 m for at least 5 min;
.6 maintain watertightness
when subjected to a thermal shock of 45°C under conditions of immersion;
.7 not be unduly affected by seawater, or oil, or both;
.8 have no sharp projections which could damage survival
craft;
.9 be of small size and light weight;
.10 be capable of operating in the ambient noise level likely
to be encountered on board ships or in survival craft;
.11
have provisions for its attachment to the clothing of the user;
.12 be resistant to deterioration by prolonged exposure to sunlight; and
.13 be either of a highly visible yellow/orange colour or
marked with a surrounding yellow/orange marking strip.
03 Class of emition, frequency bands and channels
3.1 The two-way radiotelephone should be capable of
operation on the frequency 156.800 MHz (VHF channel 16) and on at least one
additional channel.
3.2 All channels
fitted should be for single-frequency voice communication only.
3.3 The class of emission should comply with Appendix
19 of the Radio Regulations.
04 Controls and indicators
4.1 An on/off switch should be provided with a positive
visual indication that the radiotelephone is switched on.
4.2 The receiver should be provided with a manual volume
control by which the audio output may be varied.
4.3 A squelch (mute) control and a channel selection switch should be
provided.
4.4 Channel selection should be
easily performed and the channels should be clearly discernible.
4.5 Channel indication should be in accordance with
Appendix 18 of the Radio Regulations.
4.6
It should be possible to determine that channel 16 has been selected in all ambient
light conditions.
05 Permissible warming-up period
The equipment should be operational within 5 s of switching
on.
06 Safety precautions
The equipment should not be damaged by the effects of
open-circuiting or short-circuiting the antenna.
07 Transmitter power
The effective radiated power should be a minimum of 0.25 W.
Where the effective radiated power exceeds 1 W, a power reduction switch to reduce
the power to 1 W or less is required. When this equipment provides for on-board
communications, the output power should not exceed 1 W on these frequencies.
08 Receiver parameters
8.1 The sensitivity of the receiver should be equal to
or better than 2 μV e.m.f. for a SINAD ratio of 12 dB at the output.
8.2 The immunity to interference of the
receiver should be such that the wanted signal is not seriously affected by unwanted
signals.
09 Antenna
The antenna should be vertically polarized and, as far as
practicable, be omnidirectional in the horizontal plane. The antenna should be
suitable for efficient radiation and reception of signals at the operating
frequency.
10 Receiver output
10.1 The audio output should be sufficient to be heard
in the ambient noise level likely to be encountered on board ships or in a survival
craft.
10.2 In the transmit condition,
the output of the receiver should be muted.
11 Environmental conditions
The equipment should be so designed as to operate over the
temperature range - 20°C to + 55°C. It should not be damaged in stowage throughout
the temperature range - 30°C to + 70°C.
12 Power supply
12.1 The source of energy should be integrated in the
equipment and may be replaceable by the user. In addition, provision may be made to
operate the equipment using an external source of electrical energy.
12.2 Equipment for which the source of
energy is intended to be user-replaceable should be provided with a dedicated
primary battery for use in the event of a distress situation. This battery should be
equipped with a non-replaceable seal to indicate that it has not been used.
12.3 Equipment for which the source of
energy is intended to be non- user-replaceable should be provided with a primary
battery. The portable two-way radiotelephone equipment should be fitted with a
non-replaceable seal to indicate that it has not been used.
12.4 The primary battery should have
sufficient capacity to ensure 8-hour operation at its highest rated power with a
duty cycle of 1:9. This duty cycle is defined as 6-second transmission, 6-second
reception above squelch opening level and 48-second reception below squelch opening
level.
12.5 Primary batteries should have
a shelf life of at least 2 years, and if identified to be user-replaceable should be
of a colour or marking as defined in 2.3.13.
12.6 Batteries not intended for use in the event of a distress situation
should be of a colour or marking such that they cannot be confused with batteries
intended for such use.
13 Labelling
In addition to the general requirements specified in resolution A.694(17), the following should be clearly
indicated on the exterior of the equipment:
.1 brief
operating instructions; and
.2 expiry date for the primary
batteries.
Annex 2 Recommendation on performance standards for two-way VHF radiotelephone apparatus for fixed installation in survival craft
01 Introduction
The survival craft two-way VHF radiotelephone for fixed
installations, in addition to meeting the requirements of the Radio Regulations, the
relevant ITU-R Recommendations and the general requirements set out in resolution
A.694(17), should comply with the following performance standards.
02 General
2.1 The equipment should be capable of being used for
on-scene communication between survival craft, between survival craft and ship and
between survival craft and rescue unit.
2.2 The equipment should comprise at least:
- a transmitter and
receiver;
- an antenna which may be
fixed to the equipment or mounted separately; and
- a microphone with a press-to-talk switch and a
loudspeaker.
2.3 The equipment should:
- be capable of being operated by unskilled
personnel;
- be capable of being
operated by personnel wearing gloves as specified for immersion suits in
regulation III/33 of SOLAS 1974;
- withstand such shocks and vibration as may occur in survival craft;
- be watertight to a depth of 1 m
for at least 5 min;
- maintain
watertightness when subjected to a thermal shock of 45°C under conditions
of immersion;
- not be unduly
affected by seawater or oil or both;
- have no sharp projections which could injure personnel;
- be capable of operating in the
ambient noise level likely to be encountered in survival craft; and
- be so designed that it can be readily
mounted in a survival craft.
03 Class of emission, frequency bands and channels
3.1 The two-way radiotelephone should be capable of
operation on the frequency 156.800§Ö (VHF channel 16) and on at least one additional
channel.
3.2 All channels fitted should
be for single-frequency voice communication only.
3.3 The class of emission should comply with Appendix 19 of the Radio
Regulations.
04 Controls and indicators
4.1 An on/off switch should be provided with a positive
visual indication that the radiotelephone is switched on.
4.2 The receiver should be provided with a manual volume
control by which the audio output of the loudspeaker may be varied. Where a handset
is provided, this manual volume control of the loudspeaker should not influence the
audio output of the handset.
4.3 A
squelch (mute) control and a channel selection switch should be provided.
4.4 Channel selection should be easily
performed and the channels should be clearly discernible.
4.5 Channel indication should be in accordance with Appendix
18 of the Radio Regulations.
4.6 It
should be possible to determine that channel 16 has been selected in all ambient
light conditions.
05 Permissible warming-up period
The equipment should be operational within 5 s of switching
on.
06 Safety precautions
The equipment should not be damaged by the effects of
open-circuiting or short-circuiting the antenna.
07 Transmitter power
The R.F. output power should be a minimum of 0.25 W. Where the
R.F. output power exceeds 1 W a power reduction switch to reduce the output power to
1 W or less is required.
08 Receiver parameters
8.1 The sensitivity of the receiver should be equal to
or better than 2μV e.m.f. for a SINAD ratio of 12 dB at the output.
8.2 The immunity to interference of the receiver should
be such that the wanted signal is not seriously affected by unwanted signals.
09 Antenna
The antenna should be vertically polarized and, as far as
practicable, be omnidirectional in the horizontal plane. The antenna should be
suitable for efficient radiation and reception of signals at the operating
frequency.
10 Receiver output
10.1 The audio output should be sufficient to be heard
in the ambient noise level likely to be encountered in survival craft.
10.2 In the transmit condition, the output
of the receiver should be muted.
11 Environmental conditions
The equipment should be so designed as to operate over the
temperature range -20°C to + 55°C. It should not be damaged in stowage
throughout the temperature range -30°C to + 70°C.
12 Power supply
12.1 The source of energy may be integrated in the
equipment or external to it.
12.2 The
source of energy should have sufficient capacity to ensure 8-hour operation at its
highest rated power with a duty cycle of 1:9. This duty cycle is defined as 6-second
transmission, 6-second reception above squelch opening level and 48-second reception
below squelch opening level.
12.3 The
two-way radiotelephone equipment may be equipped with a primary or secondary
battery. Primary batteries should have a shelf life of at least 2 years.
12.4 Where secondary batteries are used,
suitable arrangements should be made to ensure the availability of fully charged
cells at all times.
13 Labelling
In addition to the general requirements specified in
resolution A.694(17), the following should be clearly indicated on the exterior of
the equipment:
.1 brief operating
instructions; and
.2 expiry date for the
primary batteries, if any.