Almost all new fixed mount radios sold today have a distress button – but what does this button do?  The distress button is part of a broader system known as Digital Selective Calling – a part of the USCG Rescue 21 system and is an extremely helpful and useful tool – both for Search and Resuce as well as fishermen and cruisers.

DSC allows you to send a pre-formatted mayday call to the USCG, provided you have registered your radio and have input you MMSI! This tells the Coast Guard information about you and your boat.  One of the major additions with the DSC is also the ability to tie in your VHF to your GPS  – when the radio is tied with your GPS, your position is automatically sent along with the mayday call – and when full integration is completed your chartplotter will also display the location of other boats around you that are in distress – allowing for faster response times, and higher level of Safety at Sea.

DSC also has the ability for you to monitor where your tournament fishing friends are, and help track where your cruising group is around you through its position polling and request features.  This allows for discreet monitoring of friends on the water as well as safety monitoring of cruisers in your group when headed out in a big group.

For more information regarding the Rescue 21 system check out the USCG Page on Rescue 21 – click here.

If you have not registered your radio and received an MMSI – we recommend registering through BoatUS for free – click here.