Requirements, practical assessment and written paper
The Short Range Certificate (SRC) is the operator's certificate for marine VHF radios with Digital Selective Calling (DSC). It is based on the harmonised European (CEPT) syllabus. In the United Kingdom the courses and exams are run through recognised training centres; the exam itself is taken with an approved SRC assessor. The whole exam is held in English.
Before the exam you get time with the training radios that will be used. The sets are already prepared but switched off. Manuals and quick-start guides are available and you may use your own notes and books. The examiner may help you find buttons and menus, but does not teach the subject itself. Candidates may help each other. Make sure you know the power switch, volume, squelch, high/low power, channel selection, the distress button and the DSC call menus. All manuals and books are removed before the practical test starts.
The practical test is a coached assessment: the examiner wants to see that you can work the radio safely, not to catch you out. If no live NAVTEX receiver is available, you are shown a sample NAVTEX message instead. Each candidate has a training radio of their own. At most four candidates are assessed at the same time. The examiner gives you procedure cards or scenarios, and you carry them out on the set and by voice:
| Area | What you must be able to do |
|---|---|
| Distress | Recognise a distress situation 路 send a DSC distress alert with position and time (manual or automatic) 路 send the Mayday call and message by voice 路 react correctly to a received distress alert, call and message, including a Mayday Relay 路 know how to use an EPIRB and a SART 路 cancel a distress alert sent by mistake |
| Urgency | Recognise an urgency situation 路 send a DSC urgency announcement 路 send the Pan Pan call and message 路 react to an urgency message |
| Safety | Recognise when a safety message is needed 路 send a DSC safety announcement 路 send the Securite message on a suitable channel 路 receive Maritime Safety Information by NAVTEX |
| Routine | Make a routine DSC call with a suitable working channel 路 exchange messages by voice on the right channel and power 路 test the radio with a suitable test call 路 enter an individual or group MMSI 路 keep a listening watch 路 use the phonetic alphabet |
The written paper is a short closed-book test. It contains some situations in which you decide on the right type of call, writing out a complete distress call and message, questions on prowords and the phonetic alphabet, and a series of multiple-choice questions on the whole syllabus. Extra time can be given to candidates with reading difficulties such as dyslexia.
Learn this structure by heart. You need it in the written paper as well as in the practical test.