New Podcast - Clyde Coastguard

This is Bill Speirs, watch manager at Clyde Coastguard, and the man to whom you're ultimately very grateful when he organises and coordinates the search which finds you and pulls you out of the sea.

I was nice to him.

Listen and subscribe free here or download directly from the Podcast Library.

Bill was good enough to give me a couple of hours of his time and answer not only my questions but others suggested by users of the UK Forum. My apologies to those whose questions didn't make the final edit due to reasons of space. These podcasts have to be of a manageable duration for listeners.

Kayakers who've been worried that hand-held VHF signals might not get the same level of response now the CG no longer maintaining a "headphone watch" of Ch 16 will learn something.

The Ch16 operator almost always wears their headphones, and the operator on duty the day I visited explains why.

Look at the photo of the Clyde control room. The person with their back to camera is sitting at the Ch16 desk, wearing headphones.

This podcast is longer than normal, but I've encoded it at a lower bit-rate (56) so the file size is smaller and it'll whizz onto your computer faster.

Steve Croft, another working coastguard, sent me some handouts he gives to visitors. I've scanned these so they can be downloaded at PDF files. Cailean Macleod, a vlunteer Coastguard, prepared a map of Scotland with CG masts and broadcast times. They're all below.
Right click the links below and on a PC "Save Target As" or on a more sensible Mac, "Download Linked File".

Downloads
Distress Calls
Radio Calls
Prowords
Phonetic Alphabet