The Marine Band is to be used only by ships and coast stations and the coast guard. It is NOT to be used as a CB Radio, FRS or GMRS. Monitoring in the US is perfectly legal but under no circumstances should you transmit unless the above conditions are met. Power is generally 5W for handhelds and 25W for ship radios. MROP (Marine Radio Operators Permit) is required.
Being on the coast I do monitor Marine Band Channel 16 both at home in the shack at times as well as scanning while mobile. The rest are fun to listen to while on a cruise for example or visiting a harbor both of which I have done.
For the San Francisco Bay Area Ham Radio Repeaters, please visit the Repeater DataBase of this site.
| New Channel | Old Channel | TX MHz | RX MHz | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1001 | 01A | 156.05 | 156.05 | Port Operations and Commercial, VTS. Available only in New Orleans/Lower Mississippi area. |
| 1005 | 05A | 156.25 | 156.25 | Port Operations or VTS in Houston, New Orleans and Seattle. |
| 6 | 6 | 156.3 | 156.3 | Intership Safety |
| 1007 | 07A | 156.35 | 156.35 | Commercial |
| 8 | 8 | 156.4 | 156.4 | Commercial (Intership only) |
| 9 | 9 | 156.45 | 156.45 | Boater Calling. Commercial and Non-Commercial. |
| 10 | 10 | 156.5 | 156.5 | Commercial |
| 11 | 11 | 156.55 | 156.55 | Commercial. VTS in selected areas. |
| 12 | 12 | 156.6 | 156.6 | Port Operations. VTS in selected areas. |
| 13 | 13 | 156.65 | 156.65 | Intership Navigation Safety (Bridge-to-bridge). Ships >20m length maintain a listening watch on this channel in US waters. |
| 14 | 14 | 156.7 | 156.7 | Port Operations. VTS in selected areas. |
| 15 | 15 | -- | 156.75 | Environmental (Receive only). Used by Class C EPIRBs. |
| 16 | 16 | 156.8 | 156.8 | International Distress, Safety and Calling. Ships required to carry radio, USCG, and most coast stations maintain a listening watch on this channel. |
| 17 | 17 | 156.85 | 156.85 | State Control |
| 1018 | 18A | 156.9 | 156.9 | Commercial |
| 1019 | 19A | 156.95 | 156.95 | Commercial |
| 20 | 20 | 157 | 161.6 | Port Operations (duplex) |
| 1020 | 20A | 157 | 157 | Port Operations |
| 1021 | 21A | 157.05 | 157.05 | U.S. Coast Guard only. |
| 1022 | 22A | 157.1 | 157.1 | Coast Guard Liaison and Maritime Safety Information Broadcasts. Broadcasts announced on channel 16. |
| 1023 | 23A | 157.15 | 157.15 | U.S. Coast Guard only |
| 24 | 24 | 157.2 | 161.8 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 25 | 25 | 157.25 | 161.85 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 26 | 26 | 157.3 | 161.9 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 27 | 27 | 157.35 | 161.95 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 28 | 28 | 157.4 | 162 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 1063 | 63A | 156.175 | 156.175 | Port Operations and Commercial, VTS. Available only in New Orleans/Lower Mississippi area. |
| 1065 | 65A | 156.275 | 156.275 | Port Operations |
| 1066 | 66A | 156.325 | 156.325 | Port Operations |
| 67 | 67 | 156.375 | 156.375 | Commercial. Used for Bridge-to-bridge communications in lower Mississippi River. Intership only. |
| 68 | 68 | 156.425 | 156.425 | Non-Commercial |
| 69 | 69 | 156.475 | 156.475 | Non-Commercial |
| 70 | 70 | 156.525 | 156.525 | Digital Selective Calling DSC (voice communications not allowed) |
| 71 | 71 | 156.575 | 156.575 | Non-Commercial |
| 72 | 72 | 156.625 | 156.625 | Non-Commercial (Intership only) |
| 73 | 73 | 156.675 | 156.675 | Port Operations |
| 74 | 74 | 156.725 | 156.725 | Port Operations |
| 77 | 77 | 156.875 | 156.875 | Port Operations (Intership only) |
| 1078 | 78A | 156.925 | 156.925 | Non-Commercial |
| 1079 | 79A | 156.975 | 156.975 | Commercial. Non-Commercial in Great Lakes only |
| 1080 | 80A | 157.025 | 157.025 | Commercial. Non-Commercial in Great Lakes only |
| 1081 | 81A | 157.075 | 157.075 | U.S. Government only - Environmental protection operations. |
| 1082 | 82A | 157.125 | 157.125 | U.S. Government only |
| 1083 | 83A | 157.175 | 157.175 | U.S. Coast Guard only |
| 84 | 84 | 157.225 | 161.825 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 85 | 85 | 157.275 | 161.875 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 86 | 86 | 157.325 | 161.925 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 87 | 87 | 157.375 | 157.375 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 88 | 88 | 157.425 | 157.425 | Commercial, Intership only |
| AIS 1 | AIS 1 | 161.975 | 161.975 | Automatic Identification System AIS (digital) |
| AIS 2 | AIS 2 | 162.025 | 162.025 | Automatic Identification System AIS (digital) |
If you find something incorrect, have an update, or if there is something you would like to see added to the site, drop me a line here. I like to keep things as up-to-date and as accurate as possible. Thank you! - Lucas / W6AER
