RYA VHF Radio course

The RYA VHF Radio course is for anyone who owns a fixed or handheld marine VHF radio. A radio is an important piece of safety equipment on board and it is vital to understand the correct procedures.

The Short Range Certificate is the minimum qualification required by law to control the operation of VHF and VHF Digital Selective Calling (DSC) equipment on any British flagged vessel voluntarily fitted with a radio. This includes both fixed and hand held equipment using International channels.

A radio is an important piece of safety equipment on board and it is vital to understand the correct procedures. Unnecessary transmissions could block out a Mayday distress call.

All new VHF sets are either fitted, or can be interfaced, with DSC allowing calls to specific vessels. If you hold the ‘old’ VHF licence (pre-1999) you need to upgrade your qualification if you purchase new equipment. This can be done by attending this one-day course or, if no tuition is required, you can enter for direct examination.

Course topics include:

The basics of radio operation
The correct frequencies (channels) to be used
Distress, emergency and medical assistance procedures
Making ship to shore telephone calls
Digital Selective Calling (DSC) using simulators
Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS)
Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB)
Search and Rescue (SART)

Prerequisites: None

Duration: There is no set time to this as it is done at your own pace. However as a guideline allow 6 – 8 hours in total. Your progress can be saved so you can go back to it at a time that is convenient to you.

Online course cost: £62.50 per person. This includes all manuals, certification and is exclusive of VAT (£75 in total).

Practical examination cost: You can book your practical examination at any RYA VHF Training centre at a cost of £70 which goes directly to the RYA. For more information on this please feel free to contact us

How does it work: After booking it can take up to 48hrs for you to get your login details. Upon receipt you can log in and work your way through the modules at your own pace. You will also be sent an email containing a voucher code to download an ebook copy of the RYA VHF handbook.Once you have completed the modules and passed the online examination you will be able to print off a copy of your completion certificate to take to your practical assessment.

The course will be taught and examined using radio simulators. The exam will also include a short written test.

The SRC course can be taken in the classroom or online with an RYA recognised training centre. The exam must be taken at the training centre.

Certification: Upon attendance at a recognised assessment centre and successful completion of the practical exam you will be awarded with an RYA VHF SRC certificate

We highly recommend you download the taster session to see what its all about before you buy it.

Click on one of the links below to download the VHF SRC Radio Taster session

Download for Windows

As you download the file you will be asked if you want to open or save. Choose open. Open the Zip file and run the exe program.

Download for Mac 10.7 or later from the App Store

Download for iPads from the App Store

The online SRC course and taster have the following minimum technical requirements:

Internet connection (broadband or 3G). Charges may apply for 3G
1024 x 768 screen resolution – this must be available screen space (menu bars, docks or task bars may conceal part of the course window on smaller screens)
Microphone and speakers/headphones

Platform specific minimum requirements:

Mac
Intel processor OS X 10.6 or above.Some Macs running OS X 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard) are unable to install the course. If you have this problem, consider updating to Mavericks (free upgrade). Note: upgrading to Mavericks may affect other applications already installed on your computer so please consider carefully whether you want to do this.

PC
Windows Vista Service Pack 2
1 GHz (x86) processor 512 MB RAM
Sound card.
Quicktime (for viewing videos) available here.

Netbooks are not supported due to the reduced screen resolution.

iPad/iPad Mini
iOS 6 or above. Older generation iPads may have performance issues.

Is there a set time period that I have to complete this in?

No – You will be able to complete this at your own pace at a time that suits you. All progress can be saved at any point so you can go back to it at any time.