Tomorrow I will pass the exam to acquire the French amateur radio certificate in order to be allowed to use various tools sailors use at sea for security (VHF, DSC, EPIRB etc..).

I’m baffled by how complex those communication systems are compared to modern tools and how many they are.

They were designed over the last 50 years, and international organizations just added them on top of each other which in end makes for a very complicated ecosystem of tools.

The goal of those tools is to prevent the loss of human life in the harsh marine environment. Having redundancy is key to face all situations, but this also adds complexity.

I’m sure the latest satellite technologies, digital solutions and decentralized systems will help simplify that situation at one point. 🤞🏻