FCC VHF License

[wind dancer]

I was in the process of applying for a ship station and operator license, as the FCC rules require when travelling to foreign ports (including Canada), and after noticing the hefty fees ($160 for the station license alone) began to wonder: how many people actually bother with these licenses and do Customs or the Coast Guard check for it?

[Craig Illman]

Jay - I have a ship station license. It gives an International MMSI compared to the BoatUS MMSI that's only good for the US. I've only had the boat up into Canada once. I don't have the operator's license.

I asked Randy Davison once whether he had a license for Gorbash. He didn't, even though he's a amateur radio guy.

So, I'll be interested in any other replies. You may post to the main forum. There's a lot of Great Lakes folks that porobably have the same interest.

Craig

[Ray & Sandy Erps]

It's my understanding that a license is required to speak on the radio, not listen to it.  We've been clearing customs back and forth between Canada for twenty years now, and the radio license hasn't come up.  We don't have a license on our current boat and we don't plan on getting one.  I hear the radio police are a little more strict in Mexico though.

[Jack Hutteball]

We do not have a license and have traveled to Canada many times over the last 30 years.  It seems like we never have anyone to talk to there so it does not seem to matter much.  We listen, but that is about it.  Like Ray, I don't worry about it or plan to upgrade.

Jack