Nautilus Lifeline Radio

[Dogbowl]

@CWK, I’m not sure how to respond to your comment above because I just don’t know enough about the difference between AIS and DSC. If you are diving Asia mostly, why set it to Canada/Europe? Why limit to AIS only? If you set it to “International”, it would be AIS and DSC. If you do not enter your ship’s MMSI, there will be no 30 minute delay. Honestly, I have to go re-read the manual cause it’s not very intuitive.

I confirmed with the yacht I’ll be on that they have DSC technology onboard, as well as its sister ship who will be in the area. I was advised to set the Nautilus to “International” or “Both AIS and DSC” to enable both AIS and DSC in case another boat in the area is utilizing AIS, and not to enter MMSI so all boats in the area will receive my distress signal without delay should I activate the Nautilus. I don’t know why there are these 2 categories to choose from if they are effectively the same (I mean “International” and “Both AIS and DSC”).

What PLB and canister are you using? Sorry if you already posted this info somewhere else.

I wonder if @Wookie would be so kind as to give us a primer on AIS vs DSC and how prevalent these technologies are in different parts of the world, and on different size vessels (eg. day dive boats vs. liveaboards vs. other commercial boats vs. private yachts.)

 

[CWK]

@Dogbowl
DSC allows MMSI station to MMSI station communication. I am not certain whether it allows a general distress broadcast to all MMSI stations within broadcast range. Nautilus allows the programming of one MMSI number and will broadcast a distress signal to this MMSI number when the MRG is activated.

AIS is a positional system. Nautilus appears to be indicating that the MRG broadcasts a distress signal on AIS to all AIS enabled marine radios within broadcast range. This may be 30 mins after the MRG is activated.

I am considering setting my MRG to Canada/Europe in order to program it to AIS broadcast only because I do not particularly want to program a MMSI number every time I dive a different location. A general AIS broadcast to all AIS enabled marine radios within broadcast range is what I am looking for. This is based on my current understanding that MRG does not broadcast a general distress to all marine radios on DSC, and that DSC is used to only broadcast a distress to the MMSI station that is programmed into MRG.

You said that you were advised "not to enter MMSI so all boats in the area will receive my distress signal without delay". Could you clarify whether you were advised that the distress would be broadcast on DSC or AIS. I suspect that it will be AIS.

It would be helpful if Nautilus could clarify what exactly happens (and when) if the MRG is set to:
1 - International/America without a ship's MMSI. Is the distress broadcast immediately on DSC or AIS, or is the distress broadcast after 30 mins on AIS?
2 - Canada/Europe. Is the distress broadcast immediately on AIS or after a delay of 30 mins.

As to PLB and canister, I am using the ARC ARtex ResQLink+ with a Custom Divers canister. I will add that I am having some issues with the Custom Divers canister and am not in a position to recommend it at present. It may be that I am able to resolve the issues centered on difficulty in opening the canister at times, as well as minor leaks.

 

[Dogbowl]

@Dogbowl
DSC allows MMSI station to MMSI station communication. I am not certain whether it allows a general distress broadcast to all MMSI stations within broadcast range. Nautilus allows the programming of one MMSI number and will broadcast a distress signal to this MMSI number when the MRG is activated.

AIS is a positional system. Nautilus appears to be indicating that the MRG broadcasts a distress signal on AIS to all AIS enabled marine radios within broadcast range. This may be 30 mins after the MRG is activated.

I am considering setting my MRG to Canada/Europe in order to program it to AIS broadcast only because I do not particularly want to program a MMSI number every time I dive a different location. A general AIS broadcast to all AIS enabled marine radios within broadcast range is what I am looking for. This is based on my current understanding that MRG does not broadcast a general distress to all marine radios on DSC, and that DSC is used to only broadcast a distress to the MMSI station that is programmed into MRG.

My understanding is different from yours, although I agree it needs to be clarified with the manufacturer.

I think the Nautilus MRG does broadcast a general distress call to all marine radios on DSC, if DSC is chosen as an option. And if no MMSI is entered, it does this without the 30 minute delay. I do not think that DSC is used only to broadcast to the MMSI station that it is programmed for. That is why my liveaboard has instructed me not to enter their MMSI. I was advised their vessel and sister vessel only had DSC, and not AIS. This also appears to be consistent with what is written in their manual, which I quote here:

“International: Full distress alerting with AIS and DSC.
If a ship MMSI has been programmed, DSC will first be sent to your own ship. After 30 mins., DSC will be sent to all ships.”

You said that you were advised "not to enter MMSI so all boats in the area will receive my distress signal without delay". Could you clarify whether you were advised that the distress would be broadcast on DSC or AIS. I suspect that it will be AIS.

I was advised by my liveaboard that the vessel was only equipped with DSC, not AIS.

It would be helpful if Nautilus could clarify what exactly happens (and when) if the MRG is set to:
1 - International/America without a ship's MMSI. Is the distress broadcast immediately on DSC or AIS, or is the distress broadcast after 30 mins on AIS?
2 - Canada/Europe. Is the distress broadcast immediately on AIS or after a delay of 30 mins.

I will send them an email to clarify and post back.

As to PLB and canister, I am using the ARC ARtex ResQLink+ with a Custom Divers canister. I will add that I am having some issues with the Custom Divers canister and am not in a position to recommend it at present. It may be that I am able to resolve the issues centered on difficulty in opening the canister at times, as well as minor leaks.

Thank you for letting me know. This is why I have not settled on a canister yet. Most canisters have had at least some leakage problems reported...except for @Dan_T ’s $10 eBay miracle!

.

@CWK , I’ve responded in the quoted message above.

 

[Ankush Mittal]

@Dogbowl
As to PLB and canister, I am using the ARC ARtex ResQLink+ with a Custom Divers canister. I will add that I am having some issues with the Custom Divers canister and am not in a position to recommend it at present. It may be that I am able to resolve the issues centered on difficulty in opening the canister at times, as well as minor leaks.

CWK, quick question about the ResQLink+

Do you register it with the appropriate country you are traveling to each time before your dives to ensure in case of emergency the right government agency is contacted?

 

[CWK]

@Ankush Mittal
My ResQLink+ has a Malaysian country code encoded and is registered with the Malaysian authorities. No further registration is required.

Purchase your PLB from a vendor in India and it should have an Indian country code. If you purchase it overseas, ask the vendor to encode the country code for India into your PLB, then register it with the Indian authorities.

 

[Ankush Mittal]

@Ankush Mittal
My ResQLink+ has a Malaysian country code encoded and is registered with the Malaysian authorities. No further registration is required.

Purchase your PLB from a vendor in India and it should have an Indian country code. If you purchase it overseas, ask the vendor to encode the country code for India into your PLB, then register it with the Indian authorities.

Thanks for the advice. I was also wondering, do you travel with the PLB outside Malaysia? If you do, do you take any additional steps before diving specific to the PLB?

 

[CWK]

No additional steps.

 

[DawgFan]

@CWK , I’ve responded in the quoted message above.

@Dogbowl
Curious what others decided to do for Nautilus settings. I'm US based but dive in Caribbean. Next two trips are Turk & Caicos for spring break then Grand Cayman this summer. When I look at Nautilus app, there's two choices:
1) International or AIS + DSC (not clear to me what the difference is; they seem the same)
2) The next screen on the app then asks for Ship MMSI which I'm not planning to enter. However, you still have a choice of (a) "leave it blank to keep MMSI unchanged" or (b) "Enter 000000000 to clear MMSI". I've never entered an MMSI since I bought the unit and this choice of "leaving it unchanged" or "clear MMSI" is confusing to me.

 

[Dogbowl]

@Dogbowl
Curious what others decided to do for Nautilus settings. I'm US based but dive in Caribbean. Next two trips are Turk & Caicos for spring break then Grand Cayman this summer. When I look at Nautilus app, there's two choices:
1) International or AIS + DSC (not clear to me what the difference is; they seem the same)
2) The next screen on the app then asks for Ship MMSI which I'm not planning to enter. However, you still have a choice of (a) "leave it blank to keep MMSI unchanged" or (b) "Enter 000000000 to clear MMSI". I've never entered an MMSI since I bought the unit and this choice of "leaving it unchanged" or "clear MMSI" is confusing to me.

@DawgFan , I had the same questions as you regarding the APP when I was thinking about getting it. Question 1 - what they have is just redundant and confusing. Question 2- I think that either option would work in your case. Their website has live chat. I would ask them there directly to confirm.

Sorry I’m not able to be more helpful, but I’m sure someone will drop by (maybe @Dan_T ) and tell you what they did?

I’ve since decided to get the first generation radio for my next trip, and test it out first. Then, seeing how I like or dislike it, may get the second generation later. Why? Because I’m intrigued with being able to talk to my boat, which I believe in some situations is helpful, and I was able to get a new “old stock” for a good price.

This does not mean I won’t still be getting a PLB with canister. I had to say that in case someone wants to question my choice of device.

 

[DawgFan]

@DawgFan , I had the same questions as you regarding the APP when I was thinking about getting it. Question 1 - what they have is just redundant and confusing. Question 2- I think that either option would work in your case. Their website has live chat. I would ask them there directly to confirm.

Sorry I’m not able to be more helpful, but I’m sure someone will drop by (maybe @Dan_T ) and tell you what they did?

I’ve since decided to get the first generation radio for my next trip, and test it out first. Then, seeing how I like or dislike it, may get the second generation later. Why? Because I’m intrigued with being able to talk to my boat, which I believe in some situations is helpful, and I was able to get a new “old stock” for a good price.

This does not mean I won’t still be getting a PLB with canister. I had to say that in case someone wants to question my choice of device.

Thank you. I'll try their live chat tomorrow when they open. I still have plenty of time before we leave (unfortunately).