If you sail on European inland waterways, ATIS is need

If you sail on European inland waterways, you need ATIS number. If you are sailing to Europe it may be appropriate to consider purchasing a VHF marine radio, as all European countries will recognize this.

ATIS stands for automatic transmitter identification system, not to be confused with AIS. ATIS system is used on inland waterways in Europe. Every transmission of VHF radio sends out a unique FFSK data signal, heard as a scratchy noise at the end every transmission. The signal contains ATIS call which identifies you to marine coast stations and inland stations.

Retevis RA26 and RT55 are ATIS capable. They can be simply programmed by software. When you program your VHF marine radio, the ATIS can be ON/OFF. ATIS numbers will only be given to boat owners who have an MMSI number. Having been programmed with your new ATIS number, your radio will now have three channel groups; INT, USA & ATIS.The ATIS feature will be enabled on the radio while the ATIS group is selected when travelling into European waters. To make sure ATIS is enabled, you simply need to toggle the radio into the ATIS group. When you travel back to UK waters you just need to toggle back to the ‘INT’ group and the ATIS features will be disabled. Please note, it is a misconception that ATIS-enabled radios must be programmed when entering an leaving mainland European waters. It is simply a matter of selecting the correct group.

One more thing to know, ATIS will not affect the DSC work of your VHF marine radio. But the scanning or dual/tri-watch is not permitted in ATIS mode. If you want to program your RT55 or RA26, please contact us by email: info@retevismarine.com. We can give you correspond software and help.