Standard Horizon HX870 / HX870E

The HX870 is the successor to the Standard Horizon HX851 marine VHF radio. This page was inspired by a collection of information about the HX851 by Paul Sladen. I originally created this page for my own use, then decided it might also be of use to others.

By now the HX870 has a successor as well. Please see the HX890 page created by Robert Elsinga for its technical details.

I do not work for Standard Horizon / Yaesu, nor do I have first-hand “inside” knowledge about any of their products. The information on this page was gathered by playing around some with HX870 and HX870E radios and the YCE15 software that goes with it. Several radio users contributed information to this page; Norm Perron and Christiane Rütten were particularly helpful.

Disclaimer: Modifying the memory image directly using a hex editor is likely not a supported function of the device or its accompanying software. As such, it might void your warranty or brick the radio or even put it into a state where it transmits or receives on frequencies forbidden by international Radio Regulations, local regulations (FCC / BNetzA / …) or local law. Using the radio in such a state might disrupt vital safety-of-life services. Many jurisdictions impose a fine or criminal penalty on it. You should not mess around with any of this stuff unless you know what you’re doing! And, to finally state the obvious: Whatever you do, I cannot be held responsible for it.

Serial protocol

Please refer to the documentation of the HX870 Python tools.

Memory image

32kB EEPROM, stored by Standard Horizon’s YCE15 software as a *.dat file

If you own 010 Editor, you may find the binary template included with the HX870 Python tools most useful. The Python tools also allow reading and writing the radio’s EEPROM on operating systems that can’t run YCE15, such as macOS.

The significance of memory locations marked with a yellow background has not been discovered.
Memory locations marked with a green background appear to have constant values (padding etc.) and can probably safely be ignored.

0xff is used as a generic unused/disabled/padding value for many fields.

Characters are coded as fixed-length ASCII strings (permissible chars include: A-Za-z0-9 &'*,-.:/[]) with 0xff padding, but apparently many strings cannot be used to their full length due to UI limitations.

DSC addresses presently consist of the nine-digit MMSI and a tenth digit, reserved for future use. They are coded with the full ten digits. The last digit is always zero as per Rec. ITU-R M.1080.

Address Data Format
0x0000–0x0001 magic number 0x0367 = 871
0x0002–0x0003 0x0100
0x0004 multi watch / scan 0x00=off, 0x01=multi, 0x02=scan
0x0005 active navigation target 0x00=none, 0x03=waypoint, 0x04=route
0x0006 [values seen: 0x00, 0x01, 0x02]
0x0007 0x00
0x0008 selected channel group
0x0009–0x000a 0x0e02
0x000b [values seen: 0x00, 0x01, 0x02]
0x000c volume setting numeric (0=min, 15=max)
0x000d squelch setting numeric (0=open, 15=max)
0x000e distress alert status? usually 0x00
0x000f 0x00
0x0010–0x0011 currently selected channel Channel Index
0x0012–0x0013 channel used before 16/S was pressed Channel Index
0x0014 0xf0
0x0015 [values seen: 0x01, 0x04]
0x0016–0x001e 0xff…
0x001f [values seen: 0x00, 0xff]
0x0020–0x006f device setup Setup 1
0x0070–0x00af channel group names 4 * Channel Group Definition
0x00b0–0x00ff DSC setup Setup 2
0x0100–0x0107 flash ID AM057N2
0x0108–0x010e 0xff…
0x010f region selection (group 3 mode) Region Selection
0x0110–0x0114 radio last turned off timestamp 10 nibbles BCD (yymmddhhmm), UTC
0x0115–0x011f radio last turned off position Internal Position Format
0x0120–0x012b channel enabled group 1 bitmask
0x012c–0x012f 0x00000000
0x0130–0x013f [values seen: 0x00…, 0xff…]
0x0140–0x014b channel enabled group 2 bitmask
0x014c–0x014f 0x00000000
0x0150–0x015f [values seen: 0x00…, 0xff…]
0x0160–0x016b channel enabled group 3 bitmask
0x016c–0x016f 0x00000000
0x0170–0x017f [values seen: 0x00…, 0xff…]
0x0180–0x0181 channel enabled group WX bitmask
0x0182–0x0183 channel enabled group RG bitmask
0x0184–0x0186 channel enabled group EXP bitmask
0x0187–0x0188 [values seen: 0x0000, 0xffff]
0x0189–0x018f 0xff…
0x0190–0x019b scan mem group 1 bitmask
0x019c–0x01a8 0x00…
0x01a9–0x01ad [values seen: 0x00…, 0xff…]
0x01ae–0x01af 0xffff
0x01b0–0x01bb scan mem group 2 bitmask
0x01bc–0x01c8 0x00…
0x01c9–0x01cd [values seen: 0x00…, 0xff…]
0x01ce–0x01cf 0xffff
0x01d0–0x01db scan mem group 3 bitmask
0x01dc–0x01e8 0x00…
0x01e9–0x01ed [values seen: 0x00…, 0xff…]
0x01ee–0x01ef 0xffff
0x01f0–0x01f1 scan mem group WX bitmask
0x01f2–0x01f3 scan mem group RG bitmask
0x01f4–0x01f6 scan mem group EXP bitmask
0x01f7–0x01f8 0x0000
0x01f9–0x01fb [values seen: 0x00…, 0xff…]
0x01fc–0x01ff 0xff…
0x0200–0x0213 preset list group 1 10 * Channel Index
0x0214 [values seen: 0x04, 0x07, 0x09, 0xff]
0x0215–0x021f 0xff…
0x0220–0x023f preset list group 2 10 * Channel Index
0x0234 0xff
0x0235–0x023f 0xff…
0x0240–0x025f preset list group 3 10 * Channel Index
0x0254 0xff
0x0255–0x025f 0xff…
0x0260–0x027f 0xff…
0x0280–0x028f values seen:
0x 8f4e 2daf d24b 6946 708a b496 1980 ffff
0x 9555 3174 d84a ab3b 6e8a 53cf 197e ffff
0x0290–0x029f 0xff…
0x02a0–0x02af values seen:
0x 1a1a 1a1a 1005 0504 0301 1a05 ffff ffff
0x 0a0f 1419 1f02 0202 0202 0f02 00ff ffff
0x02b0–0x02bf 0x0001020305080c141e2b40597090b0ff
0x02c0–0x02cf 0x00102030405060708090a0b0c0d0e0f0
0x02d0–0x02db activation per channel group for RG only 3 least significant bits, one RG channel per byte
0x02dc–0x02df 0xff…
0x02e0–0x02f3 activation per channel group for EXP only 3 least significant bits, one EXP channel per byte
0x02f4–0x02ff 0xff…
0x0300–0x036f DSC individual call history 7 * Call History Entry (padded to 16 bytes)
0x0370–0x037f 0xff…
0x0380–0x03ef DSC group call history 7 * Call History Entry (padded to 16 bytes)
0x03f0–0x03ff 0xff…
0x0400–0x046f DSC position request call history 7 * Call History Entry (padded to 16 bytes)
0x0470–0x047f 0xff…
0x0480–0x04ef DSC position report call history 7 * Call History Entry (padded to 16 bytes)
0x04f0–0x04ff 0xff…
0x0500–0x057f DSC polling/test call history Call History Entry ?
0x0580–0x05a4 auto polling 7 DSC addresses (0xff inserted every 3 addr.) ?
0x05a5–0x05df 0xff…
0x05e0–0x05e5 waypoint history 6 * numeric (one-based index)
0x05e6–0x05ef 0xff…
0x05f0–0x05e5 route history 6 * numeric (one-based index)
0x05f6–0x05ff 0xff…
0x0600–0x077f channel flags group 1 96 * Marine Channel Flags
0x0780–0x08ff channel flags group 2 96 * Marine Channel Flags
0x0900–0x0a7f channel flags group 3 96 * Marine Channel Flags
0x0a80–0x0a9f 0xff…
0x0aa0–0x0adf regional channels 12 * Private Channel Definition
0x0b00–0x0b57 expansion channels 20 * Private Channel Definition
0x0ba0–0x119f channel names group 1 96 * 16 * char
0x11a0–0x179f 96 * 16 * 0xff
0x17a0–0x1d9f channel names group 2 96 * 16 * char
0x1da0–0x239f 96 * 16 * 0xff
0x23a0–0x299f channel names group 3 96 * 16 * char
0x29a0–0x2f9f 96 * 16 * 0xff
0x2fa0–0x305f channel names group RG 12 * 16 * char
0x3060–0x311f 12 * 16 * 0xff
0x3120–0x325f channel names group EXP 20 * 16 * char
0x3260–0x311f 20 * 16 * 0xff
0x33a0–0x33bf 0xff…
0x33c0–0x345f channel names group WX 10 * 16 * char
0x3460–0x34ff 10 * 16 * 0xff
0x3500–0x3714 DSC individual directory: addresses 100 * 10 nibbles BCD (last nibble zero)
after every third address, a single 0xff byte is inserted
0x3715–0x372f 0xff…
0x3730–0x3d6f DSC individual directory: names 100 * 16 * char
0x3d70–0x3dff 0xff…
0x3e00–0x3e6a DSC group directory: addresses 20 * 10 nibbles BCD (last nibble zero)
after every third address, a single 0xff byte is inserted
0x3e6b–0x3e7f 0xff…
0x3e80–0x3fbf DSC group directory: names 20 * 16 * char
0x3fc0–0x3fff 0xff…
0x4000–0x427f group monitor setup 10 * Group Monitor Definition
0x4280–0x42ff 0xff…
0x4300–0x5bff waypoints 200 * Waypoint Definition
0x5c00–0x5e7f routes 20 routes, each with 16 byte name + 16 wpt IDs
0x5e80–0x5eff 0xff…
0x5f00–0x649f DSC log (transmitted calls) 30 * Call Log Entry
0x64a0–0x64ff 0xff…
0x6500–0x77bf DSC log (received other calls) 100 * Call Log Entry
0x77c0–0x7ffd 0xff…
0x7800–0x7f7f DSC log (received distress calls) 40 * Call Log Entry
0x7f80–0x7ffd 0xff…
0x7ffe–0x7fff magic number 0x0367 = 871

There is a bug in the YCE15 software versions 2.0.0.4 and 2.0.1.0 that can cause corruption of the DSC individual directory (likely also other directories) when opening a memory image file containing directory entries that are not alphabetically sorted. However, the bug is only triggered when the “Individual Directory” item is chosen in YCE15. If instead the memory image is directly programmed into the device without first viewing the directory in YCE15, the result is just fine.

Apparently the firmware “knows” whether the radio model is a HX870 or a HX870E independent of the accessible memory content. Non-E models don’t get the region selection menu. However, it would seem logical for this to be defined in software rather than hardware. How does that work? Does perhaps the Windows firmware update software silently modify the firmware based on whether or not an E model is detected before the update (possibly using byte 0x010f)?

An issue seems to sometimes prevent reading values of certain fields from the radio’s memory. This affects memory locations 0x0006, 0x000b–0x000d, 0x0110–0x011f amongst many others. Instead of the true values of those fields, default or padding values appear to be returned. However, locations 0x0010–0x013 and 0x0060 are not affected. While it is not yet clear whether this is an issue with the firmware or YCE15, reading the memory using pyhx870 appears to often yield the true values.

The “activation per channel group” for RG and EXP doesn’t seem to work as I think it should. This ought to be solvable, as the region modes UK and SW contain RG channels that use these activation bits.

Channel Index

Offset Data Format
0x0 status 0x00=in use, 0xff=not in use
0x1 channel numeric 1-based index

The “channel index” is used to specify individual channels in the memory image. This is simply the position of the respective channel in the channel list of the respective channel group, starting with 1. For example, the “USA” channel group begins with channel 01A, so the number 1 would refer to that channel; number 2 would refer to the next-higher channel, which in “USA” mode is channel 03A; and so on.

Note that none of the default channel lists are fully consecutive. Many have extra channels inserted (for example, Canadian channel 25B is inserted between channels 25 and 26), and for historical reasons, the international channel plan has a big gap before channel 60. Therefore the only way to determine or to resolve channel references is to get a list of all your channels (for example in YCE15 or in the radio itself) and count down from the top, starting with 1 for your first channel. An easy way to do this might be to list all your channels in a spreadsheet application.

“RG” regional and “EXP” expansion channels are appended at the end of the channel list in that order (perhaps “WX” weather channels, too – not sure about these).

I’m not 100 % sure the count matches my data here. The issue appears to be in the upper channels. Does channel 70 maybe not count in the index? How about other "transmission forbidden" channels? Or am I simply counting wrong after all?

The status byte can be used in the preset lists to signal whether that preset is enabled. For other uses of the channel index, it is usually zero.

Sometimes the status byte duplicates the channel byte's value rather than being zero. Different values have also been observed. The significance of this is unclear.

There is some sort of bug in the YCE15 software version 2.0.0.4 that can result in unusable Presets. For example, when setting an “EXP” channel as a preset (possibly also when simply setting a preset to “none”), byte values in the range of 0x81–0xff are set. This results in channels with unusual numbers like “00” or “43” in the radio that give off funny noises when they’re selected.

Internal Position Format

Offset Data Format
0x0 latitude degrees 2 nibbles BCD
0x1–0x3 latitude minutes 6 nibbles BCD, fixed point (2,4)
0x4 latitude hemisphere char (N or S)
0x5 padding higher nibble: 0x0
0x5–0x6 longitude degrees 3 nibbles BCD
0x7–0x9 longitude minutes 6 nibbles BCD, fixed point (2,4)
0xa longitude hemisphere char (E or W)

Setup 1

Address Data Format
0x0020–0x0025 priority channels (per group) 3 * Channel Index
0x0026–0x002b sub channels (per group) 3 * Channel Index
0x002c–0x002f 0xffffff02
0x0030 display backlight dimmer numeric (0=off, 5=max)
0x0031 display contrast numeric (0=min, 30=max)
0x0032 key beep volume numeric (0=off, 5=max)
0x0033 0x01
0x0034 multi watch 0x00=dual, 0x01=triple
0x0035 0x01
0x0036 scan type 0x00=memory, 0x01=priority
0x0037 scan resume time numeric (1=min, 5=max)
0x0038 weather alert 0x00=off, 0x01=on
0x0039 0x00
0x003a emergency LED 0x00=continuous, 0x01=SOS, 0x02=Blink1, 0x03=Blink2, 0x04=Blink3
0x003b water hazard LED 0x00=off, 0x01=on, 0x02=power-on
0x003c lamp 0x00=off, 0x01=3s, 0x02=5s, 0x03=10s, 0x04=continuous, 0x05=20s, 0x06=30s
0x003d AF pitch CONT 0x00=normal, 0x01=high-low-cut, 0x02=high-low-boost, 0x03=low-boost, 0x04=high-boost
0x003e battery save 0x00=off, 0x01=50%, 0x02=70%, 0x03=80%, 0x04=90%
0x003f 0xff
0x0040 VOX 0x00=off, 0x01=on
0x0041 VOX level numeric (0=min, 4=max)
0x0042 VOX delay time 0x00=0.5s, 0x01=1.0s, 0x02=1.5s, 0x03=2.0s, 0x04=3.0s
0x0043 noise cancel Rx 0x00=off, 0x01=on
0x0044 noise cancel Rx level 0x00=1, 0x01=2, 0x02=3, 0x03=4
0x0045 noise cancel Tx 0x00=off, 0x01=on
0x0046-0x049 0x00ffffff
0x004a nav display range 0x00=auto, 0x01=2M, 0x02=5M, 0x03=10M, 0x04=25M
0x004b nav target waypoint numeric (one-based index)
0x004c nav arrival range 0x00=0.05M, 0x01=0.1M, 0x02=0.2M, 0x03=0.5M, 0x04=1.0M
0x004d nav routing operation 0x00=auto, 0x01=manual
0x004e nav target route numeric (one-based index)
0x004f nav target routepoint numeric (one-based waypoint index)
0x0050 GPS enabled 0x00=no, 0x01=yes (when radio is switched on), 0x02=always (even when radio is switched off)
0x0051 GPS power save 0x00=off, 0x01=auto, 0x02=50%, 0x03=75%, 0x04=90%
0x0052 GPS location format 0x00=ddd°mm′ss″, 0x01=ddd°mm.mm′, 0x02=ddd°mm.mmmm′
0x0053 GPS time setup bitmask; see below
0x0054 speed units 0x00=knots, 0x01=mph, 0x02=km/h
0x0055 distance units 0x00=nm, 0x01=sm, 0x02=km
0x0056 altitude units 0x00=feet, 0x01=metres
0x0057 GPS pinning 0x00=no, 0x01=yes
0x0058 SBAS enabled 0x00=no, 0x01=yes
0x0059 map orientation 0x00=north-up, 0x01=course-up
0x005a GPS output sentences bitmask; see below
0x005b GPS logger interval 0x00=5s, 0x01=15s, 0x02=30s, 0x03=1min, 0x04=5min
0x005c 0x00
0x005d-0x05f 0xffffff
0x0060 selected soft key page numeric
0x0061 soft key timer 0x01=3s, 0x02=5s, 0x03=7s, 0x04=10s, 0x05=15s
0x0062–0x0064 soft key page 1 3 soft keys; see below
0x0065–0x0067 soft key page 2 3 soft keys; see below
0x0068–0x006a soft key page 3 3 soft keys; see below
0x006b–0x006d soft key page 4 3 soft keys; see below
0x006e–0x006f 0xffff

GPS Time Setup

0x80 = 1xxxxxxx = local time (0 = UTC)
0x40 = x1xxxxxx = 24 hour clock (0 = AM/PM)
0x20 = xx1xxxxx = time offset has positive sign (0 = negative sign)
0x1f = xxx11111 = time offset in half hours

Examples:
0x60 = 01100000 = UTC
0xe2 = 11100010 = British Summer Time (UTC +01:00)
0xe4 = 11100100 = Central European Summer Time (UTC +02:00)
0x9e = 10001110 = Pacific Daylight Time AM/PM (UTC -07:00)

GPS Output Sentences

0xc0 = 11xxxxxx - unused
0x20 = xx1xxxxx = DSC/DSE
0x10 = xxx1xxxx = RMC
0x08 = xxxx1xxx = GSV
0x04 = xxxxx1xx = GSA
0x02 = xxxxxx1x = GGA
0x01 = xxxxxxx1 = GLL
Code Soft Key
0x00 none
0x01 H/M/L transmit power
0x02 WX / CH
0x03 SCAN
0x04 Dual Watch
0x05 MARK waypoint
0x06 COMPASS
0x07 NAVI menu
0x08 MOB
0x09 SCAN Memory
0x0a PRESET
0x0b STROBE
0x0c CH NAME
0x0d LOGGER
0x0e Noise Cancel

Setup 2

Address Data Format
0x00b0–0x00b4 own DSC address (MMSI) 10 nibbles BCD (last nibble zero)
0x00b5 own DSC address programmed 0x00=no, 0x01=yes, 0x02=?
0x00b6–0x00ba own ATIS code 10 nibbles BCD (or 0xff… if not programmed)
0x00bb own ATIS code programmed 0x00=no, 0x01=yes
0x00bc 0x01
0x00bd DSC Individual call categories 0x1f (bitmask; see below)
0x00be DSC All Ships call categories 0x6f (bitmask; see below)
0x00bf DSC Group call categories 0x1f (bitmask; see below)
0x00c0 DSC Position Request call categories 0x2f (bitmask; see below)
0x00c1 DSC Position Report call categories 0x2f (bitmask; see below)
0x00c2 DSC Test call categories 0x2f (bitmask; see below)
0x00c3 0x5c
0x00c4 DSC Individual Call Reply bitmask; see below
0x00c5 DSC beep settings bitmask; see below
0x00c6 [values seen: 0x03, 0x04]
0x00c7 individual ring 0x00=5s, 0x01=10s, 0x02=15s, 0x03=20s, 0x04=120s
0x00c8 no act timer 0x00=1min, 0x01=3min, 0x02=5min, 0x03=10min, 0x04=15min
0x00c9 CH switch timer 0x00=off, 0x01=10s, 0x02=30s, 0x03=60s, 0x04=120s
0x00ca POS fix wait 0x00=15s, 0x01=30s, 0x02=60s, 0x03=90s, 0x04=120s
0x00cb–0x00cf 0xff01ff0000
0x00d0–0x00df 0xff…
0x00e0 auto POS polling activation 0x00=stop, 0x01=start
0x00e1 auto POS polling type 0x00=request, 0x01=report
0x00e2 auto POS time 0x00=30s, 0x01=1min, 0x02=2min, 0x03=3min, 0x04=5min
0x00e3–0x00e4 0x0200
0x00e5–0x00e6 [values seen: 0x4630, 0x8cff]
0x00e7–0x00ef 0xff…
0x00f0–0x00f1 0x0002
0x00f2 GM interval 0x00=1min, 0x01=3min, 0x02=5min, 0x03=10min, 0x04=15min
0x00f3 [values seen: 0x01, 0x03, 0xff]
0x00f4 0x00
0x00f5–0x00f6 [values seen: 0x4630, 0x8cff]
0x00f7–0x00ff 0xff…

DSC Call Categories

0x80 = 1xxxxxxx = Distress
0x40 = x1xxxxxx = Urgency
0x20 = xx1xxxxx = Safety
0x10 = xxx1xxxx = Routine
0x0f = xxxx1111 - Hi/Low Tx power on channel 70 by category?

Note: The DSC call categories (priorities) are prescribed by Rec. ITU-R M.493. The HX870 by default correctly implements the category options for class D radios, except that the HX870 additionally allows position request and polling calls.

DSC Individual Call Reply

0x80 = 1xxxxxxx = automatic reply
0x40 = x1xxxxxx = reply 'able'
other bits: unknown

Values seen:
0x38 = 00111000 = automatic 'unable' reply disabled
0x78 = 01111000 = automatic 'able' reply disabled
0xb8 = 10111000 = automatic 'unable' reply enabled
0xf8 = 11111000 = automatic 'able' reply enabled

DSC Beep Settings

0x80 = 1xxxxxxx = Individual
0x40 = x1xxxxxx = All Ships
0x20 = xx1xxxxx = Group
0x10 = xxx1xxxx = Position Request
0x08 = xxxx1xxx = Position Report
0x04 = xxxxx1xx = Geographic
0x02 = xxxxxx1x = Polling
0x01 = xxxxxxx1 = Test Call

Default value:
0xec = 11101100 = always, except for POS requests, polling, and test calls

Region Selection

Address Data Format
0x010f HX870E: selection of the region for channel group 3 region code; see below
HX870: region selection not supported 0xff

HX870E radios are usually distributed with a leaflet in the packaging explaining how to set a region. The HX870 model (non-E) is apparently hard-coded to only support Canada as a region.

The region can be selected by holding down MENU and 16/S while turning on the HX870E. The menu described in the leaflet will then appear. Selecting a region will primarily affect channel group 3 and the regional (RG) channels, resetting channel flags and names to whatever the factory settings are for the selected region. The following group 3 regional modes are available for the HX870E:

Code Region Region (menu name) Channel Group 3 Name Channels in Group 3 Regional Channels
0x00 Canada INTERNATIONAL CAN Canadian
0x01 British Isles UNITED KINGDOM UK international M, M2
0x02 North Sea (Belgium) BELGIUM BE international + 31
0x03 North Sea (The Netherlands) NETHERLAND NL international + 31, 37
0x04 Northern Europe SWEDEN SW international L1, L2, L3, F1, F2, F3
0x05 European inland waterways GERMANY GRMN RAINWAT

Some of the region names Standard Horizon use in the menu are confusing to say the least. For example, a vessel sailing the German Baltic coast would need an international channel plan. It might seem logical to select “INTERNATIONAL” or “GERMANY” as regional mode, but neither one of those would yield an international channel plan in group 3. Instead, you would want to either use the “INTL” channel group 2, which isn’t affected by the regional mode setting at all, or “SWEDEN” mode for channel group 3, which has the benefit of enabling the Danish leisure channels.

Notably, “NETHERLAND” mode provides an international channel plan even though the extra channels are mostly useful in Dutch inland waterways, where RAINWAT applies. This looks like a firmware bug.

Channel Group Definition

Offset Data Format
0x0 channel group enabled 0x00=no, 0x01=yes
0x1 DSC enabled 0x00=no, 0x01=yes
0x2 ATIS enabled 0x00=no, 0x01=yes (see note below)
0x3–0x6 channel group name 0–4 chars, 0xff padded
0x7 0xff
0x8–0xf model string? 5–6 chars, 0xff padded

Only the first three channel groups are in fact available for use. YCE15 uses the “ATIS enabled” field of the fourth channel group definition (memory location 0x00a2) to decide whether or not to display the ATIS setup (0x00=no, 0x01=yes).

Call History Entry

Offset Data Format
0x0–0x4 DSC address (MMSI) 10 nibbles BCD (last nibble zero)
0x5 call type / priority ?
0x6–0x7 channel used
(individual/group call only)
Channel Index (or 0xffff)

The entries are listed in descending order of age (oldest first).

The presumed “call type” or “priority” field is usually 0x03 for individual/group calls and 0x02 for position request/report calls. Polling and test call histories appear to either share the same memory area; it’s not yet clear whether they are differentiated by the “call type”/“priority” field, or whether there are columns in this area (left column polling, right column test).

It is not known why the channel is recorded in the history in addition to the log.

Marine Channel Flags

Offset Data Format
0x0 channel ID numeric
0x1-0x2 flags bitmask; see below
0x3 padding/reserved? 0xff
0x8000 = 1xxxxxxx xxxxxxxx = frq shift Rx only
0x4000 = x1xxxxxx xxxxxxxx = frq shift Rx and Tx
0x2000 = xx1xxxxx xxxxxxxx = high power allowed
0x1000 = xxx1xxxx xxxxxxxx = Tx allowed
0x0800 = xxxx1xxx xxxxxxxx = high power allowed, but low power is default
0x0400 = xxxxx1xx xxxxxxxx - unused?
0x0200 = xxxxxx1x xxxxxxxx = channel suffix: "B"
0x0100 = xxxxxxx1 xxxxxxxx = channel suffix: "A"
0x0080 = xxxxxxxx 1xxxxxxx = DSC ship/ship channel
0x007f = xxxxxxxx x1111111 = channel prefix: 0x7f=none, other=numeric

Frequent combinations:
0x30ff = 00110000 11111111 = ship/ship channel
0x10ff = 00010000 11111111 = ship/ship channel, limited to 1W
0x18ff = 00011000 11111111 = ship/ship channel, defaults to 1W
0x307f = 00110000 01111111 = simplex channel
0x107f = 00010000 01111111 = simplex channel, limited to 1W
0x300a = 00110000 00001010 = simplex "10" channel
0x7014 = 01110000 00010100 = simplex "20" channel
0x317f = 00110001 01111111 = USA "A" channel
0x827f = 10000010 01111111 = CAN "B" channel
0xb07f = 10110000 01111111 = duplex channel
0x907f = 10010000 01111111 = duplex channel, limited to 1W
0x007f = 00000000 01111111 = Tx forbidden

Some other useful combinations:
0x807f = 10000000 01111111 = duplex channel, Tx forbidden
0x987f = 10011000 01111111 = duplex channel, defaults to 1W
0x187f = 00011000 01111111 = simplex channel, defaults to 1W
0x197f = 00011001 01111111 = simplex "A" channel, defaults to 1W
0x5a7f = 01011010 01111111 = simplex "B" channel, defaults to 1W
0x180a = 00011000 00001010 = simplex "10" channel, defaults to 1W
0x5814 = 01011000 00010100 = simplex "20" channel, defaults to 1W
0x4014 = 01000000 00010100 = simplex "20" channel, Tx forbidden

DSC ship/ship channels (also known as “ship to ship” or “intership” channels) are those channels that the radio offers to choose from e. g. when initiating a DSC individual call. Any channel can be added or removed from that list simply by setting or clearing its “ship/ship” flag in the bitmask described above. An arbitrary channel can also be chosen for a DSC call after pressing the “manual” soft key, but customizing the list of ship/ship channels may be useful to streamline routine operation.

Firmware 2.03 appears to have a bug in the “GRMN” (RAINWAT) channel group: Channel 20 doesn't have the “high power allowed” bit set although high power is allowed. This is easily fixable by modifying memory location 0x0955 in the memory image from 0x90 to 0xb0.

Firmware 2.03 also appears to set the “suffix A” bit for channel 88, but not for 87 for the USA channel group. Given that both channels were redefined at the same time for the introduction of AIS, it’s clear that either both or none should have the “A”. According to the manual, both should have the suffix, but according to the Coast Guard, neither should have it.

Firmware 2.03 appears to have an additional bug in the “INTL” channel group (possibly others as well): Channels 15 and 17 are no longer a guard band for channel 16 as per ITU RR (App. 18) and Rec. M.1084. Transmitting with full power is allowed on these channels unless they’re used for internal on-board communication. It would appear to make sense to at least code these as “low power default” if not “unrestricted power”.

Private Channel Definition

Offset Data Format
0x0–0x1 channel ID 2 * char (lower case not supported)
0x2–0x4 Rx frequency 5 nibbles BCD (in kHz above 100 MHz)
0x4 padding? lower nibble: 0x0
0x5–0x7 Tx frequency 5 nibbles BCD (in kHz above 100 MHz)
0xfffff = Tx forbidden
0x7 channel definition flags lower nibble: bitmask; see below
0x08 = xxxx1xxx = low power
0x04 = xxxxx1xx - ?
0x02 = xxxxxx1x - ?
0x01 = xxxxxxx1 = user power up

Frequent combinations:
0x00 = xxxx0000 = standard
0x08 = xxxx1000 = limited to 1W
0x09 = xxxx1001 = defaults to 1W
0x06 = xxxx0110 = ?

Illegal combinations:
0x0a = xxxx1010
0x0b = xxxx1011
0x0c = xxxx1100
0x0d = xxxx1101
0x0e = xxxx1110

Group Monitor Definition

Offset Data Format
0x00–0x04 GMID 10 nibbles BCD (last nibble zero)
0x05–0x0f GM name
0x10–0x3f member addresses 9 * 10 nibbles BCD (last nibble zero)
after every third address, a single 0xff byte is inserted

Waypoint Definition

Offset Data Format
0x00–0x04 MMSI from pos report 10 nibbles BCD (last nibble zero)
0x05–0x0f waypoint position Internal Position Format
0x10–0x1e waypoint name 15 * char
0x1f waypoint id numeric (one-based)

Waypoints created on the device from any source other than a DSC position report have the usual 0xff… placeholder in the MMSI field, except that the last nibble is 0x0. This looks like a firmware bug.

Call Log Entry

Offset Data Format
0x00 message read flag 0x00=read, 0x80=unread
0x01–0x06 call timestamp 12 nibbles BCD (yyyymmddhhmm), UTC
0x07–0x08 DSC call type BCD-coded service command code; see below
0x09–0x0d DSC address (MMSI) 10 nibbles BCD (last nibble zero)
0x0e–0x0f 0xffff
0x10–0x11 DSC category BCD-coded service command code; see below
0x12–0x13 DSC message 1 BCD-coded service command code; see below
0x14–0x15 DSC message 2 BCD-coded service command code; see below
0x16–0x18 DSC frequency or channel info BCD-coded; see below
0x19–0x1e 0xff…
0x1f [values seen: 0x01, 0x40, 0x41, 0xff]
0x20–0x21 position timestamp 4 nibbles BCD (hhmm), UTC
0x22–0x2c position (if applicable) Internal Position Format
0x2d 0xff
0x2e–0x2f DSC end of sequence BCD-coded service command code; see below

DSC Call Type

0x0112 = Distress
0x0114 = Group
0x0116 = All ships
0x0120 = Individual

DSC Category

0x0100 = Routine
0x0108 = Safety
0x0110 = Urgency
0x0112 = Distress

DSC Message 1

For calls of type “Distress”: Nature of distress
0x0100 = Fire, explosion
0x0101 = Flooding
0x0102 = Collision
0x0103 = Grounding
0x0104 = Listing, in danger of capsizing
0x0105 = Sinking
0x0106 = Disabled and adrift
0x0107 = Undesignated distress [default value]
0x0108 = Abandoning ship
0x0109 = Piracy / armed robbery attack
0x0110 = Man overboard
0x0112 = VHF EPIRB Emission

For other call types: First telecommand
0x0100 = F3E/G3E all modes telephony
0x0101 = F3E/G3E duplex telephony
0x0103 = Polling
0x0104 = Unable to comply
0x0110 = Distress acknowledgement
0x0112 = Distress alert relay
0x0118 = Test
0x0121 = Ship position or location registration updating
0x0126 = No information [default value]

DSC Message 2

For calls of type “Distress”: Subsequent communication mode
0x0100 = F3E/G3E all modes telephony [default value]

For other call types: Second telecommand
0x0100 = No reason given
0x0126 = No information [default value]

DSC Frequency or Channel Information

0x90____ = last four nibbles represent the VHF channel, coded as BCD
0xffffff = no information

DSC End Of Sequence

0x0117 = individual call requiring acknowledgement
0x0122 = answer to call that required acknowledgement
0x0127 = other call

Reference: Rec. ITU-R M.493, section 8 “Messages” and table A1-3 “Use of symbol Nos. 100 to 127”


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