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MF/HF Equipment tests: how to do it and actions in case test fails ?

Written by Capt Rajeev Jassal on May 15, 2016

949

There were days when only radio officers operated radio equipments. Deck officers had nothing to do with the radio
equipments. With GMDSS equipments all deck officers are radio officers now.

With this new responsibility, came new challenges. Deck officers have since tried their best to fill the gap of radio officer and
they have done pretty good.

But there are always few things we never find in book. We call these things “practical experiences”. Many of these were lost with
the radio officers but not all.

Deck officers now need to know everything about how to make best use of GMDSS equipment. But GMDSS equipments are of
no use, if these wont work when required.

There are many functional requirements of GMDSS equipments. We can only be sure if these will perform or not by testing these
at regular interval. Each GMDSS equipment has a testing interval and procedure to test.

Familiarity with the GMDSS equipments is also essential to avoid PSC detentions.

In this post I try to solve this problem with testing of MF/HF equipment and what to do if test fails.

Lets Begin
Lets Begin

MF/HF equipment

MF/HF equipment is for sending distress alerts over long range. We need to test MF/HF equipement to be sure of its functionality.
Lets see what all test we need to do on MF/HF equipment.

I will show this on JRC equipment MCU-331F. If you have worked on this system, it has a remote mode and local mode. The
options to select the tests can be accessed from both modes.

1. Daily Test

Depending upon the equipment make, we need to do few of the daily tests on MF/HF. Whatever the equipment, the test
generally involves

checking of internal connections (called Modem Loop test),

checking printer and

checking display of MF/HF equipment

Besides some makers may have few other daily tests specific to the equipment. Lets see how each of these daily tests are done.

Modem Loop test

What does a successful loop test signify ? If the modem loop test is OK, it means that on receiving a message on MF/HF, it would
definitely be processed by the equipment. In other words, it means that received message will not be lost in the loop of the
equipment.

In the modem loop test, the equipment send and receives a message internally. If all the loops of the equipment are OK, the
message will be transmitted and received without any trouble.

To Perform a Modem loop test on JRC equipment

From Local Mode

Go to Menu#2 -> READOUT & SET UP -> press 4 -> press ENT. This displays the “SELF TEST” screen. Select the “Modem Loop
test” and press ENT. Menu#2 is accessed by pressing “Menu” twice.

From Remote mode

Go to FUNC -> Test -> Modem Loop test and press enter on keyboard.

If the test is successful, OTHERS LED will light up and buzzer will sound. Press STOP to stop the buzzer.

We can then file the print out of the Modem loop test either in separate file or in GMDSS log book.

Printer test

On receiving a MF/HF message, We tend to look at the print outs than in the screen of the MF/HF equipment. It is convinient to
look at the print outs and there is no doubt about that. This makes the printer an important part of the MF/HF equipment. Print
outs are also important for record keeping of distress communication. Testing of printer thus is important.

Printer test checks the connection between MF/HF equipment and printer.

To do the printer test, in the Local mode

Go to Menu#2 -> READOUT & SET UP -> press 4 -> press ENT. This displays the “SELF TEST” screen. Select the “printer test”
and press ENT.

From the remote mode

Go to System -> Self Check -> Printer and press enter on keyboard

If the printer prints all the characters, printer test is pass.

Other Daily tests

As I said earlier, there can be other equipment specific daily tests and vessel should do these test as per Maker’s manual.

2. Weekly tests

Most of us think that weekly test is only DSC test with shore station. We must understand that DSC is only one mode of distress
communication. We also need to test our R/T and NBDP every week. Lets see how we should do these weekly tests.

Weekly DSC test with coast station

Every week, we need to test the DSC operation with the coast station.
In Local Mode

Go to Menu#1

Choose option 11 (Test Call)

Enter the Shore station ID

Choose Telecommand -1 as “TEST” by side arrow

Choose the Tx/Rx frequency and Press call

If doing this in remote mode

Go to FUNC -> Edit/Send -> Safety test Call and then edit the message if required.

On prompt to “transmit the call”, Choose option “yes”.

This will send the DSC test call to shore station. Test will pass if you receive the response back with “EOS” as “ACK BQ”.

It is important that these test calls are not made on 2 MHz frequency and are not made as an “all station” call.

What to do if you do not receive the acknowledgment from shore station ?

Well most of us would agree that this is common situation. And many of us leave it thinking that shore station is not answering.
We fail to acknowledge that the problem could be with our equipment.

Some of us believe that filing the test with remarks “No response from shore station” is OK but it is not OK.

Another few has a file with “Typed message” similar to the test with shore response. They just take printout of this message to
forge the record to show that the test was done. Whereas actually either it was not done or was done with no response from the
shore.

It is very easy to catch if the record was forged or the test was actually done.

So here is how we should proceed in case we do not receive acknowledgment from shore station.

First try again with other stations and on other frequencies. If you are trying to send a DSC call to a nearby station on higher
frequency, chance are that they will miss it. This is because, all frequencies has a blind spot near to the transmitter. Higher the
frequency, chance are that they will miss it. This is because, all frequencies has a blind spot near to the transmitter. Higher the
frequency, larger is the blind spot distance.

Lets assume that with all your efforts, you still could not get the shore acknowledgment. Next you should try to test the DSC call
with a ship station. Testing with ship station is similar to testing with coast station. We just need to change the ID to the ship’s
MMSI number of the ship you are testing the DSC with. If possible we should do this ship to ship test on non-distress frequency.

If we still did not get the acknowledgment from the ship, ask the other ship if they received your test call. If they did receive, your
transmitter if OK. If they did not receive your test call, expect problem with your transmitter.

Now ask the other ship to send you the test call. See if you can receive her test call. Try it on lower frequencies like 4 MHz. If you
do not receive the other ship’s test call, your receiver is not OK.

Now that you know if the problem is with your receiver, transmitter or both, lets troubleshoot it further.

Problem with Transmission

If MF/HF is not transmitting, the JRC manual just ask to call for the service engineer. But there are few other things we can do to
avoid this.

1) if you were able to test the DSC with ship but could not test with shore station.

Though this is acceptable sometimes but if your all the last few tests are with ship, it is not acceptable as this can be interpreted
as a defect.

In this case transmission of MF/HF is OK, but the transmission power is greatly reduced. This is how you can proceed to solve
this problem.

Check the output power setting

On some equipments you can change the power output to low and high. We need to make sure that the output power is set to
high for testing. To do so on JRC,

Press Menu on the MF/HF controller -> scroll the dial to go to “Power” option -> set the power to High -> press Enter.

Check the Antenna

Even after setting the power to High, still you may not get acknowledgment from shore station. In this case first switch off the
MF/HF equipment and clean the transmitting antenna. This Antenna is located on the Monkey island.
The transmitting antenna is connected with the antenna tuner. The connection between antenna and antenna tuner is with a
copper wire. In most of the cases you will find this wire to be of green color which is not its original color.

Remove this wire from all the connections and clean with emery paper to remove the green deposits. Do not put anything
(grease, Varnish etc) on the wire after cleaning it. Connect the wire again and test the DSC with shore station. Most cases, you
will be able to test with shore station.

2) If you did not get acknowledgment from ship station as well as shore station

If you were not able to get the acknowledgment from ship as well as shore station, check if the antenna is tuning. Different
equipment has different ways to show if the antenna is tuned or not.

Some equipments shows message “Tune Not OK” on the screen. Others like JRC, will have the “TUNE” blinking on the screen. If
you see any of these, tune the antenna, by pressing “ANT TUNE” button. If this does not tune your antenna, suspect problem
with Antenna tuner.

Antenna tuner is either located in the wheel house or on the monkey island. If the tuner is on money island, and if the sealing of
cover is not appropriate, there are chances of burnt PCB. Switch off & isolate the GMDSS station and open the cover of Antenna
tuner. Check for any obvious burnt PCB signs.

If there are no visible signs, you need to communicate with maker highlighting the problem of antenna not tuning.

Problem with reception

If you have found the problem with the receiver, you can troubleshoot as follows

The first sign for a poor receiver is no sound on the MF/HF equipment. Tune into any R/T frequency and increase the volume. Do
you hear any sounds ?

If you do not hear any sound, try adjusting RF gain.

If you still do not hear anything, MF/HF is not receiving anything.

Another way to know if your receiver is OK is to check the time signal. If you do not receive time signal from any stations, you can
assume problem with your MF/HF receiver.

In case of poor receiver, you can check and clean the connection of the reception antenna. The MF/HF reception antenna is
usually placed on the forward mast.

If you still do not get anything, most likely the problem lies in one of the PCB of the MF/HF receiver. You should communicate
with the maker and if required request for their attendance.
R/T and NBDP weekly Test

Apart from DSC test, we also need to test if our R/T and NBDP are working as these also form part of the MF/HF equipment.

You can test the R/T with a ship station.

To test R/T, Switch to a non-Distress R/T frequency and talk to a passing ship. Follow same with the testing of NBDP. Switch to a
non-distress NDBP frequency and communicate with a ship on NBDP.

Monthly Test

Monthly test of MF/HF equipment include the inspection of aerials and insulators. It is important that Electrical officer and 2nd
mate check condition of aerials and insulators atleast every month. While checking the condition look for following

Any broken aerial or insulator. If any insulator or aerial is broken, order it and replace it.

Any salt deposits on the aerial. It is a good practice to clean the aerials with fresh water every month.

Connections on the aerial are intact and clean. It is important that all the connection are clean, free of rust and other deposits.
If these are not clean, it can reduce the transmission/receiving power of MF/HF drastically. We already discussed one
example of this with the wire connecting aerial with the tuner.

Conclusion

MF/HF equipment is a very important part of GMDSS and bridge equipments. If a similar equipment was on board Titanic, it is
possible that not a single person would have died.

Keeping this in a perfect shape is the responsibility of ship staff. Testing MF/HF regularly and religiously helps us achieve that. In
case of unsuccessful test, we should find the reason for that and correct it.

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About Capt Rajeev Jassal

Capt. Rajeev Jassal has sailed for over 19 years mainly on crude oil, product and chemical tankers. He holds MBA in
shipping & Logistics degree from London. He has done extensive research on quantitatively measuring Safety culture
onboard and safety climate ashore which he believes is the most important element for safer shipping.

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46 Comments

Kamalakannan
May 16, 2016

It's really excellent to guide mariner via blog spot., a great initiative. Want to appreciate all of them who made tis effort. A big
salute.
Reply
 Rajeev Jassal
May 16, 2016

Thanks for your kind words. We are on a mission to share everything we learnt from our journey of Cadet to Master and
Trainee to Chief engineer & beyond. And We are still learning...and so will the seafarers on this journey.. Thanks for being
a reader..
Reply

Imran
May 17, 2016

Good Morning sir, I am a fresher cadet and i am trying to make a test call to a Coast Station, but i am not getting
acknowlegement. is it ok if i am using 2187.5 khz frequency for making a test call?
Reply

Rajeev Jassal
May 17, 2016

No it is not OK Imran. By doing so you may be blocking an actual distress call of a nearby ship. This frequency is used for
transmitting distress call to nearby coast station as well as ships and should never be used for testing. If you are not
getting acknowledgment from shore station, follow what I posted in this blog. Let me know if you have any other
question now or anytime in your career.
Reply

Eugene
madjus
May 12, 2017

Hi sir Rajeev. So what is the recommended frequencies to be use for sending dsc testcall on shore stations? Thankyou
and more power to you..
Reply

Amit
Rathi
May 20, 2016

Bt why you mentioned only 2 Mhz to not to use for weekly testing? Before testing it is required to check the details of the coast
stations in ALRS ar ADRS whether they have MF/HF DSC facilities or not. Many stations are equipped with only MF DSC
Frequency, for sure we will not receive anything if we try it on some other HF frequency and another important thing is check the
rough distance between ship's position and the coast station and choose the frequency accordingly.
Reply

Rajeev Jassal
May 21, 2016

If we are in distress we would not prefer to send the distress call on 16 MHz to an Australian station when we are in
Arabian Sea. Our first preference will be a coast station & ship station nearby. So 2MHz is the preferred frequency for
distress communication. This is the frequency where if we use for testing or routine communication, we are most likely to
hamper an actual distress situation. HF frequency has range upto more than 3000NM so there is no need to use MF
frequency when we can easily get a HF station in range. Off course we need to see which HF station is available in
range but we need to remove the MF frequency from our list of testing. Hope that clarifies. Let me know if you have any
other question Amit.
Reply

Amit
 Amit
Rathi
May 22, 2016

But what i have been taught is that range depends on the frequency we choose. 4 Mhz covers approx about 400 NM ,8MHz
covers approx about 800 NM and so on. And i have observed it too. Not all HF frequency will give 3000 NM range. In west africa
I always use capetown for testing and its a HF station . Recently a vetting inspector pointed me out why no acknowledgement ar
testing on 2Mhz ...ofcrse i had few with ship stations, so he was ok. But i have seen inspectors asking about 2 Mhz. Regarding
hampering the real distress alert , anyway it will keep on repeating every 3 mins until its acknowledged by any station.
Reply

Rajeev Jassal
May 22, 2016

Amit About range you are right. That is why I said upto 3000 NM (16 MHz). And yes distress message will keep on
repeating but what if 100 ships are testing on 2MHz. See it is not a requirement as such but is considered best practice.
Moreover we should always try to test on higher frequencies because it also tests the transmission power. Let me know
if you any question Amit
Reply

Mobin
Sep 10, 2017

As frequency increases the range decreases.

Reply

Amit
Rathi
May 22, 2016

Thank u very much for the clarification.

Reply

Maksood Ahmed
May 26, 2016

Hats off to u...Got the best clarification for many of my doubts

Reply

Rajeev Jassal
May 26, 2016

Happy that it could clear few of your doubts Maksood. Let me know if you have any question. Hope to see you read
future posts too..
Reply

Amit
Rathi
Jun 2, 2016

As I was going through this blog again....a couple of questions rose out again : 1) What if I select ''Individual Call'' instead of ''Test
Call'' (There's no Test telecommand in Individual Call) ? 2) When I do the DSC test with a ship station, it will not be possible to do
it on a non-distress frequency as all MF/HF equipments are designed to keep watch only on Distress frequencies. 3) When I do
DSC test with a vessel , ofcrse the vessel will be a nearer one, within 12 NM circle ar little more....There are high & likely chances
that the vessel will miss out the DSC call if I do it on a HF Frequency even 4MHz....so again I have to go back to 2Mhz for testing.
Please correct me where ever I am wrong.
Please correct me where ever I am wrong.
Reply

Rajeev Jassal
Jun 2, 2016

1) Individual call is OK, infact some equipments have test option under individual call. As long as you could test the equipment
with Individual call, it should be OK. 2) When doing test call with a ship, we usually get in touch with that ship on VHF. And then
test the equipment and ask that vessel to acknowledge it.So we should test it on non-distress frequency. 3) You may or may not
get the near ship on 4Mhz as the blind spot can depend upon many factors. During distress situations we cannot take any
chance so we have to transmit on appropriate frequency but for testing we can try on different frequencies. Like with the ship we
can try on 4Mhz to see if they get it otherwise we can try on 2MHz non-distress frequency. In Open sea, with no coast station in
range of 2 Mhz, we may test on 2187. Idea is to try not to interfere with any possible distress communication.
Reply

Ramprakash
Jun 15, 2016

Greetings sir I am a fresh cadet I just want to know how to check the chronometer error by using My/Hf equipment
Reply

Rajeev Jassal
Jul 3, 2016

You need to check the time at which a particular station transmits time signal from ALRS and then login on that frequency
and wait for the signal to sound. We can then compare chronometer time and the time this signal was supposed to be
heard.
Reply

MG
Gee
Jul 13, 2016

Im wondering what do PSC inspectors in china are refering when the say "No evidence of NDBP test". Can u please show me
how to do the test? like u did on top.. thnx a lot..
Reply

Rajeev Jassal
Jul 18, 2016

Many seafarers gets confused with NBDP. Surely a topic to write about. I will write on that soon..
Reply

Radoslaw Walczak
Sep 21, 2016

Good day First of all great article. But like you said many are confused about NBDP, could you post or send some
information how to test it ? Many thanks I have JRC type NBDP
Reply

Rajeev Jassal
Oct 4, 2016

I will write on that shortly Radoslaw..

Reply
 Reply

Radoslaw Walczak
Oct 19, 2016

Thanks a lot, I cannot wait, I suppose as the others.

Reply

Rav
Jan 5, 2017

I really enjoy reading your blog capt. Rajeev :) . I can't wait for NBDP issues clarification!
Reply

Noman Abdullah
Jul 16, 2016

Excellent writing sir.Keep on writing

Reply

Rajeev Jassal
Jul 18, 2016

Glad you liked it Noman..

Reply

alfred
ekpenyong
Mar 23, 2018

Captain, how much can i used to set up a primary GMDSS, Radar, Engine room simulations software applications and
how can i get those simulations # +2348063255417
Reply

Krishnan
Jul 31, 2016

Sir please elobrate on satc testing procedure too

Reply

Rajeev Jassal
Sep 8, 2016

Apart from Daily tests on Sat-C, we need to do weekly performance test and Distress button test..
Reply

Capt.Ali Ozcan
Oct 4, 2016

Great article...
Reply

Rajeev Jassal
 Rajeev Jassal
Oct 4, 2016

Thanks Capt Ali..

Reply

Md sadikul
Bari
Dec 22, 2016

Sir , if possible kindly explain how to do the draft survey in bulk carrier ? .
Reply

Rajeev Jassal
Dec 29, 2016

I will right on draft survey shortly..

Reply

Md sadikul
Bari
Dec 22, 2016

During loading & discharging , how to solve the stress problem in bulk carrier ?
Reply

Rajeev Jassal
Dec 29, 2016

I am not an expert of bulk carrier operation but I can write on dealing with stress issues on ships..
Reply

Joerg
Drexhagen
May 11, 2017

And if you want to communicate with another vessel and you don´t know a frequency between the distance and what is the right
time for the distance, use the " where & when propagationtool. This windows programs show the right frequency and right time
for any distance. This software is proof by the ARC and World ARC. Have a look and test it : https://yachtfunk.com/where-and-
when/ best regards Joerg
Reply

John pham
Aug 1, 2017

Gd sir! I need assist from you.MF/HF SRG-1150DN System self test report "received:error,Wach-R:good,Exciter:error,Tuner:good"
.so i can not get DSC acknowledgment from ship or shore station.Ask other ship,they received my test call and replied.Please tell
me problem detail with it.Thanks you so much.
Reply

ZARVAN
Aug 18, 2017

sir i have been trying out my RT call with other vessel and after pressing the TX button and PTT on the handset....my voice is
going through but i am receiving an error: "PA error (32) Module A" & "PA error (33) Module B" & "PA error (31) Detune". kndly help
going through but i am receiving an error: "PA error (32) Module A" & "PA error (33) Module B" & "PA error (31) Detune". kndly help
as i am not able to find any info as to what should be the corrective action. Also what frequencies are advised to use for RT call
testing.?
Reply

Jamokz
Oct 14, 2017

Good day sir, I would like to know how to test two tone alarm of MF/HF Radio for JRC Model JSS-296/596/896 or JSB-196GM
R/T ? Thanks.
Reply

Smoke
Oct 15, 2017

Smoke and mirrors

Reply

ijas
Dec 7, 2017

Why hf frquencies disabled? It is also mentioned in srt cert .. Kindly advive.

Reply

Eddy
Blanks
Jan 6, 2018

DSC console modem. Product name is " JRC NCT-196N DSC/NBDP Modem" When I try the call button is unresponsive only
showing transmissible on the test call menu. I've already cleaned the aerials , checked the connection and also set the
transmission power to HI still same results. Kindly Assist. How do I get the transmissible to go away from the test call call menu
and for the Call button to work..? Also When I perform modern loop test on the same equipment, own address is "000000000"
on the print out. How do I change it on the local mode to ships MMSI address. Plus only 2187.5 and 8414.5 LEDs are highlight on
the DSC console.LEDs for the following distress frequencies are off. 4207.5 12577.0 and 6312.0 and 16804.5 My vessel had 2
inm-c terminals thus we don't have the Remote mfhf/nbdp terminal. So everything has to be done locally on the JRC NCT-196N
DSC model. How do I go about rectifying all these. Please note I received a successful BQ ACK from weekly test call just 2 days
ago. The it got colder outside temp now 15 degree. I don't know if that's also a factor. But I've cleaned the aerial/antenna
checked the connection and all no loose connection or breaks. Kindly assist because PSC inspection is due... Do send an email
to glaciouschronicles@yahoo.com. ASAP. Thanks.
Reply

michael wachira
Jan 16, 2018

Why would DSC and WKR in all frequency display NG

Reply

Z aw Htet
Aung
Jan 18, 2018

Why we should not made test call on 2 MHz channel sir, thanks.
Reply

Dmitr Egorikhin
 Dmitr Egorikhin
Feb 17, 2018

Sir could you advise about the weekly vhf test call? Usually i just made a call to my own second station and vice-versa. But
during the last internal audit i was asked why i had not performed vhf dsc call with coast station while in range. I tried to find any
information about this in GMDSS manual, STCW and some others sources but no success. Also i have never seen that anybody
doing this. To my mind it's not good idea to use 70 vhf channel for routine testing with coast station as well as 2187.5 for MF. So
only way is to call to your own station. Please clarify on this matter.
Reply

Vlad
Feb 24, 2018

JRC NCH-1962 controller. What to do if in func menu only Edit/send and Receive. But test and setup system is not available? I
can’t fulfill modem loop test.
Reply

Piotr
Mar 10, 2018

Which HF stations reply to DSC test calls? Most of them don't do it anymore therefore testing is difficult. You just don't know if
your GMDSS is broken or it's just not that station.
Reply

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