Marine Radio for Voice Communication System on Very High Frequency (VHF) Spectrum

Radio communication in Indonesia has developed quite well. However there are still many problems in the use of radio frequency channels although actually it has been regulated by the government. Radio channels for meritime and aviation for example, they both have their own dedicated frequencies so that they are not mixed in practice. But the problems that exist in Indonesia are that fishermen often communicate using flight frequency channels which belongs to aviation radio channels. Therefore, it is necessary to have a solution for all fishermen in the communication system in the form of a device that is comply with standards. In this research we design and implement the radio communication system in the form of communication devices for fishing vessels to communicate with other ships as well as “harbour” as recipients of distress signals (emergency), rapid reporting of certain events (such as piracy, arrests by foreign vessels, etc.). Maritime radio for fishermen is made by considering the standard needs of fishermen for the fishermen’s communication and information security system, this device is made aimed at making the price easily accessible to every fisherman, as well as easy to use. Finally maritime radio is built with the main control using Arduino Pro Mini 3.3 V/8 MHz, DRA818V oscillator module on Very High Frequency (VHF) channels, and other supporting components. On the implementation of the radio, Arduino Pro Mini 3.3V/8MHz will work to process input data from the user in the form of an integer value to be converted by DRA818V into a frequency channel. The predetermined frequency is the carrier frequency that is modulated and then becomes the communication path on the radio. This device has an output power of 1 watt and the results of the furthest communication test is 412 meters.