Nautilus Lifeline Radio

[divinh]

I got a confirmation email that said the Nautilus Radio's MMSI had been reset and I would be able to enter the one I obtained the other day. After sync'ing to the computer, I still couldn't edit the MMSI. After quitting the desktop program and reconnecting, a message did appear to say that the MMSI had been cleared and I could enter a new one.

My Nautilus Radio is ready to go!

 

[divinh]

Here's my Nautilus Lifeline Radio... I bought it used and it came pretty much ready to go - recently serviced battery, latest firmware, and pouch...

The pouch has a short lanyard to attach to the Radio. There was a review on the pouch I read that was concerned whether the lanyard would be strong enough to hold the pouch and Radio to a BC. It wouldn't be! It's to attach to the Radio only!

The Radio is about the size of a walkie-talkie...

There seems to be a few version of the pouch. From what I've seen, this one might be the ideal one, at least for me, as it has both velcro and snap button to secure the lid.

The back has a clip to attach to a D-ring and also a harness-sized loop that can be unbuttoned and un-velcro'ed for easy on/off of the pouch, while still being secure. (Other iterations I've seen either don't have the clip or the loop doesn't have easy on/off and is a stitched closed loop.)

 

[John Bantin]

Advertising plug: In the forthcoming April edition of Undercurrent (not yet published), we've got an article featuring Avi Klapfer's take on being rescued. He has operated a fleet of vessels (Undersea Hunter Fleet) that visit Cocos Island and has real-world experience to offer.

 

[Rred]

divinh-
If you ever want to attach something securely, look online (Amazon, etc.) for Kevlar kite string. Even the thin stuff, thinner than butcher's twine, has a breaking strength that is so high you can literally hang a person from it. It will not break off unless you cut it. (Which is one reason why divers and sailors use cordage and carry knives, and sometimes wonder who started the metal rings business.) Of course the problem with that is small cordage can easily get tangled or be hard to see. You can find inexpensive dog leashes (throw out the cheap clip fittings) that are six feet of 1/2" nylon or other flat webbing, and that also makes for a great way to secure things. Amazon has also started selling little titanium "carabiner" clips, the kind often used on a key chain. But since they are titanium, they should be perfect for salt water immersion.

 

[Belzelbub]

In another words that MMSI 972696005 on the back of my MRG is fake?

I don't necessarily think that it is fake. Right number of digits, though fairly high up. However, it most likely still needs to be registered to you.

I registered my boat VHF using Boat US. It's free, but only good for US waters. Need to use a different registration for other countries. I had to provide vessel details as well as contact information. That's so that the authorities can make a determination if an alarm is real or not.

 

[mmerriman]

I don't necessarily think that it is fake. Right number of digits, though fairly high up. However, it most likely still needs to be registered to you.

I registered my boat VHF using Boat US. It's free, but only good for US waters. Need to use a different registration for other countries. I had to provide vessel details as well as contact information. That's so that the authorities can make a determination if an alarm is real or not.

yup - the MMSI is tied to a vessel and you. If you didn't update the details and set off the alarm, the authorities might be notifying the wrong people of an incident. When Nautilus made these radios there was advice on how to assign the mmsi without identifying a vessel, however the powers that be took issue with that and the loophole has been closed...

 

[Rred]

Rules for MMSI and provisions for "shipless" devices have changed over the past year. Some international debate and standards and then FCC adoption, etc. have made it a long drawn out issue.

However, see Maritime Mobile Service Identity - Wikipedia
and you will note that as now now, MMSI's that are assigned to "not a ship" may start with a "9". The first digit tells you what the MMSI is assigned to.

So the suspicious MMSI number may have simply been assigned correctly for international purposes, before the standards hit the US. Or some other "timing" and "issuer" awareness.

Which makes me think that I should consider cancelling my old 3xxx MMSI and having a proper new one issued.

 

[tursiops]

There is no problem with that MMSI. Quoting from post 3140:
"That number 972696005 decodes as follows:
Man overboard DSC and/or AIS devices (972yyzzzz)
yy = 69 = (presumably Icarus Aviation Limited)
ZZZZ = 6006 = sequence number chosen by the manufacturer, in your case the numbers appended to your S/N.

It is a number that functions under the MMSI system, but is not actually an MMSI as they were originally intended to be used, because there are too many."

 

[Dan]

There is no problem with that MMSI. Quoting from post 3140:
"That number 972696005 decodes as follows:
Man overboard DSC and/or AIS devices (972yyzzzz)
yy = 69 = (presumably Icarus Aviation Limited)
ZZZZ = 6006 = sequence number chosen by the manufacturer, in your case the numbers appended to your S/N.

It is a number that functions under the MMSI system, but is not actually an MMSI as they were originally intended to be used, because there are too many."

I just chatted with Ryan of NautilusLifeline.com. He confirms that is the MMSI assigned to my MRG. If I use it in USA, I need to reset it to the boat MMSI in order my MRG to be able to transmit DSC alert signal. Otherwise only AIS will be transmitted. I can also use the yellow button to test the alert transmission connection with the boat’s DSC capable VHF radio.

For international region, which is where I will be mostly spending on liveaboard diving vacation, I don’t need to reset my MRG MMSI to the liveaboard’s MMSI. All I need to do is to give my MMSI number to the liveaboard captain. So, when I press the MRG red button, my MMSI number will show up in the boat DSC capable VHF radio / AIS system. Then they will know that is me who sends the SOS. The only drawback for not entering the liveaboard’s MMSI number into my MRG in this case is that the yellow button becomes useless, i.e., I cannot test the alert transmission connection between my MRG and the boats DSC.

 

[Dan]

Does anyone know once I press the red button, whether I can stop the alert transmission in order to conserve battery life? I forgot to ask Ryan about it. He is offline now.