BLUEMOMENT

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Fun and games off Shetland yesterday (7th March 2011) saw BBC Radio DJ, Chris Moles broadcast an emergency request to a boat with a jammed transmit switch to switch off CH16, which was broadcasting his show to every boat in the area.

With the fishing boat's set jammed on transmit and their domestic radio blasting out the Chris Moyles show the result was that Moyles was being broadcast across the emergency channel – effectively blocking it to distress signals. The DJ’s request went unheard. The channel remained unusable to other traffic so Shetland Coastguard sent up its helicopter which located the boat, flew low over it and managed to make contact about the problem. After half an hour of rogue transmission, the emergency channel was cleared.

Is there not some way of fining people for that sort carelessness? Pour encourager les autres? We might all be a bit more carefull. Perhaps if they hadn't had the radio blasting out, they may have noticed the hiss on the VHF.

But then I like peace & quiet on the boat & don't encourage ghetto blasters or MP3 players or their ilk amongst the crew.

Arghiro wrote: Perhaps if they hadn't had the radio blasting out, they may have noticed the hiss on the VHF.

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You don't get a hiss when you're the one transmitting unfortunately.
Theoretically (IIRC) they could be fined for re-broadcasting if someone wants to pass the details to Ofcom