🔍 Key Concepts

• DSC (Digital Selective Calling) distress alert basic contents: MMSI, position, time, nature of distress • What information is entered manually vs. stored automatically in GMDSS equipment • How DSC equipment behaves when mandatory fields are left blank during a distress alert setup

💭 Think About

• Think about which pieces of distress information are already stored in the radio (for example, your ship’s identity) and which ones might be sent even if you don’t type anything additional. • Consider whether the GMDSS system is designed to block a distress alert if the operator makes an error, or to still send something to ensure a distress alert goes out. • Ask yourself if a receiving station in an emergency would usually be the one to ‘poll’ or ‘request’ data, or if that data is normally packaged in the original DSC alert.

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify what minimum data is always included in a DSC distress alert, even with no manual entry (e.g., MMSI). • Check whether default distress information like last known position and time can be automatically inserted by the radio if current GPS data isn’t entered. • Confirm if the DSC unit will typically show an error and abort, or if it is designed to ensure that at least a basic distress call is transmitted.