Question 33E4

Survival craft portable two-way VHF radiotelephone equipment has specific international requirements: * **A) Operation on Ch-16:** This is **true**. Channel 16 (156.8 MHz) is the international maritime distress, urgency, and safety calling frequency. All such equipment must be capable of transmitting and receiving on this critical channel. * **B) Antenna must be permanently-affixed:** This is **true**. To ensure reliability and prevent loss in an emergency, the antenna is designed to be integral and not detachable from the radio unit. * **C) Simplex (single frequency) voice communications only:** This is **true**. Survival craft radios operate in simplex mode, meaning transmit and receive occur on the same frequency. This simplifies operation and allows direct communication between craft or with rescue units, unlike duplex systems that use repeaters. * **D) Effective radiated power should be a minimum of 2.0 Watts:** This statement is **NOT true**. International standards (e.g., GMDSS/SOLAS) for survival craft portable VHF radios typically require a nominal output power of 5 Watts, but also include a **low power facility between 0.25 Watts and 1 Watt**. Therefore, the radio is designed to operate below 2.0 Watts, making a "minimum of 2.0 Watts" an incorrect requirement for all operating conditions.