How to Monitor Two VHF Channels with Dual Watch | Tug Drops
Watch: Tug Drops | Monitor Two Channels with Dual Watch
If you're new to boating, you may have noticed the Dual Watch setting on your VHF marine radio and wondered what it actually does.
We certainly wish we'd understood it sooner!
In this episode of Tug Drops, we're sharing a simple but important feature that allows you to monitor VHF Channel 16 while also listening to another channel.
Whether you're cruising with friends, traveling in a group of boats, or simply wanting to stay connected, Dual Watch helps you monitor important marine communications without constantly switching channels.
We learned about this feature while underway during our trip to Sidney, British Columbia, and quickly realized how useful it could be.
In the video, we explain what Dual Watch does, why we use it aboard our Ranger Tugs R25, Drops in the Ocean, and how easy it is to activate on our VHF radio.
Every radio is a little different, so we encourage you to check your owner's manual and become familiar with the features available on yours.
Sometimes it's the little things that make boating easier and more enjoyable!
Video Transcript
Prefer reading or want to revisit something we covered? We've included the video transcript below, complete with timestamps, so you can follow along or jump to the part that's most helpful.
[0:00] Welcome to Tug Drops
Sarah: Welcome to Tug Drops, where we share the little things we've learned along the way. Hi, I'm Sarah.
Derek: Hi, I'm Derek.
Sarah: Today we're going to talk about Dual Watch on your VHF radio.
This is a very important feature, and I highly recommend that you learn this right away. If you don't know what this is on your radio, check your radio and see if it offers it. And if it does, take advantage of it right away, because we had to learn this while we were underway.
[0:29] Learning About Dual Watch the Hard Way
Derek: Yeah, we learned this the hard way. Go back and watch our Sidney video, and you'll see that we wish we would have known this ahead of time.
[0:37] What Is Dual Watch?
Sarah: So basically, what Dual Watch is, is it lets you monitor two stations at the same time.
Of course, you should have your radio on all the time when you're on your boat, and you should be monitoring Channel 16.
But what if you want to talk to friends or somebody else on another channel? You still need to be monitoring Channel 16.
And so that's what Dual Watch lets you do.
Derek's going to show us how we set up Dual Watch on our radio.
And again, if you have a different type of radio, just take the time now and go learn how to set this up on your own radio.
[1:07] How to Set Up Dual Watch on Your VHF Radio
Derek: Yep. So Dual Watch is a feature that allows you to monitor two stations at one time.
What you want to do is basically keep your radio on Channel 16 and then monitor another channel.
For our situation, we were in a group of boats, and we were trying to communicate back and forth, so we had to have a second station available at all times.
On our boat, you find the station that you want to use. In our case, it was Channel 68.
So we put it on 68, and then we hit the button on ours that actually says DW.
We just click that, and once you click it, the radio goes back and forth and monitors both stations.
If somebody speaks on Channel 16, that'll come through. And if somebody speaks on Channel 68, that'll come through.
Channel 16 obviously supersedes any other station that you have on Dual Watch.
[2:04] A Simple Feature Worth Learning
Sarah: Yeah. So if something comes through on Channel 16, that's the one that's going to come through.
That's it. It's as easy as that.
It's a very important feature to have and to use.
We hope this tip was helpful. And if you enjoy learning right alongside us, we hope you'll subscribe and follow along.
We have more tips coming.
See you next time!
Derek: Have a good one.
[2:24] About Drops in the Ocean
Sarah: We took a leap and bought a fixer-upper on the Hood Canal.
Derek: And an empty dock meant one thing. We needed a boat.
Sarah: Now we're building our dream home and our dream life, one adventure at a time.
A Little More About Tug Drops
Tug Drops is our way of sharing the little things we've learned while exploring the Pacific Northwest aboard our Ranger Tugs R25.
We're not experts, and we certainly don't pretend to know everything. We're simply two boaters who enjoy learning, exploring, and sharing what we've discovered along the way.
We hope these little tips help make your time on the water a little easier, safer, and more enjoyable.