T&T: VHF radio import from US to Europe

[Peter Bennett]

Friday, February 9, 2007, 10:31:31 AM, Irving wrote:

ID> Greetings All,

ID> Besides my PNW trawling I am involved in Mediterranean sailing. I am
ID> intrigued by the large price differences for VHF radios between the US
ID> and Europe. Is there someone out there that can encourage me to order
ID> a radio from the US? Are there any associated problems or differences
ID> in the radios? I imagine the channel frequencies are the same. I am
ID> grateful for any help.

ID> Irving Dunn

In Canada, marine radios installed on Canadian vessels must be
type-approved by Canadian authorities - US FCC type approval doesn't
count.  I expect that most countries have similar requirements.

I think virtually all current radios have US, Canadian, and
International band plans, but some countries may use some additional
channels outside the ITU band plan - I believe the UK has a couple of
such special channels for marinas.

Most US or Canadian radios should work elsewhere, but may not be legal,
depending on where the boat is registered.


-- 
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI    Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Lien Hwa 28 (AKA Polaris 30) "Sea Spray"
GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter 
Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca