Cobra Marine CPS available today

International guidelines require that a VHF/DSC constantly warns the user if the device is not able to perceive the position data and today the most important manufacturers of VHF/DSC have aligned themselves with these guidelines. In fact, a SDC call that arrives without geographical coordinate data is of little value to those who have to provide assistance.

This directive highlights the importance of having the VHF/DSC equipped with an internal GPS, as in the case of the Cobra Marine MR F77 EU, but in case the VHF/DSC is not equipped with GPS, the Cobra Marine CPS module is the ideal solution.

In fact, owning a GPS module specifically designed for the needs of the DSC is certainly an added value. For example, some people use the navigation plotter to send GPS data to the DSC, but dialogue problems or a plotter failure may occur. The Cobra Marine CPS, on the other hand, deals specifically with the task of calculating the geographical coordinates and sending them to the DSC, thus reducing the probability of failures and problems of dialogue.

The CPS (Cobra Positioning System) is connected in plug & play mode to the VHF/DSC of Cobra Marine, but it can also be adapted to devices of other brands, if you have the scheme of connection of the VHF/DSC to the GPS, which must still be done by a technician.

We have dealt with this topic several times, especially in our glossary, in terms related to marine VHF and we reiterate that in pleasure craft you can not use in Italy the SDC if you do not have SRC or LRC or ROC or GOC certificates.

But then why should I have a VHF/DSC that constantly warns me that the GPS is not receiving the position or that the MMSI is not inserted? We understand the nuisance caused by these continuous warnings, unfortunately the problem is that the regulation on the SDC is not the same for all countries and manufacturers can not provide models depending on each territorial destination of use.

We believe that we can interpret the opinion of our authorities that the yachtsman is not able to deal with the complex mechanisms related to certain SDC functionalities, without adequate preparation. In our opinion, SRC, LRC, ROC or GOC certificates are redundant for a yachtsman who wishes to use only DSC. The solution could therefore be a compulsory certificate specifically designed for this purpose, but we are confident that the Ministry of Economic Development Communications Department has much clearer ideas than ours and is studying a well-developed plan.