Insurance companies are boosting premiums to cover the cost of damage caused by bad storms in New Zealand. Adding hurt to consumers already hit by rising food and petrol prices, Statistics New Zealand figures show the cost of dwelling insurance has risen 34.2% in the past five years – more than twice the rate of inflation.

One insurance broker, Ahmed Anwar, said an example of this was a 111 sq m house which in 2002 cost 0.26 a year to insure. This year, the same house was re-insured for an annual premium of 5.13 – an increase of almost 35%. Over the same period, the premium for a 360 sq m house went from 5.76 to 7.33, a rise of almost 50%.

AA Insurance chief Chris Curtin said premium increases were “absolutely” related to a spate of bad weather.

“We’ve had the Manawatu and Bay of Plenty floods, South Island snowstorms, the Gisborne earthquake and tornadoes in Taranaki. The Far North has been hit by three major floods since last March,” explained Curtin.

“We’ve got at least one customer in Northland who had their house completely inundated with water, fixed it all up and moved back in and it’s happened again.”

Between 2002 and 2007, insurance companies paid out 6 million for natural disasters, more than double the 4 million bill between 1996 and 2001.

Mr. Curtin said “total loss” claims, which are made when the entire home is lost,  were becoming more common. “Since 2002 the average cost of home claims has risen 100%. Over the same period the cost of premiums has risen 39 per cent. But after three or four years, it has to be passed on.”

State Insurance’s national sales and support manager Mike Tully said factors such as more frequent bad weather events and rising building costs were pushing up the cost. However, Tower Insurance spokesman Kevin Meekan said rising construction and building costs had had far more effect on home insurance premiums than the weather.

An insurance broker who did not want to be named said insurance companies had gone through the pool of money they keep aside to pay claims and were trying to build it up again by raising premiums.

“These things go in cycles,” he said.

Insurance Council corporate affairs manager Terry Jordan said premiums had risen as companies sought to recover the cost of disasters, while on the other hand more people were taking out insurance, as disasters and other events made apparent the value of being covered.

Mr Jordan said competition between providers meant the companies hardest hit by bad weather claims could not afford to put prices up too quickly. The proportion of home and contents premiums paid out as claims had risen from 73% in 2002 to 83% in 2007.

“If you add on top of that business costs for the industry, which are roughly 25 per cent, they are making a loss on domestic home and contents.”

Consumer magazine editor David Naulls said consumers hit by rising premiums should shop around. “There’s a lot of variation between companies even in home and contents insurance. We looked at it and found 35 policies from 18 companies and there was quite a range of premiums.”

Naulls said he expected premiums would continue to rise as global warming-related weather events increased.

Last year, the insurance industry paid out .25 million for weather-related disasters. Of that, million went to claims from the Far North floods in July.

Keeping oneself updated with all the happenings in India and across the globe is very essential these days. One has to be proactively well versed with all the latest news headlines as this is the only way to survive in this highly competitive world. It is through news only that we can know about the latest political events, sports events, weather conditions, movies and celebrities, disasters, calamities and more that happens in the country and the world. Business, economics, sports, education, international market, stock exchange, etc. are the most important of all the breaking news presented by the television news channels. Television is the most influential source of India news and it is the most preferred source through which Indians can keep themselves in pace with the latest news headlines. Most of the news channels attract maximum viewers through breaking news or latest news headlines which can comprise of anything hilarious or sensational, be it sports, politics or movie stars.

However, the television world is being flooded with ‘n’ number of news channels making money in the name of breaking news in India. And hence, the standard of India news has been inviting scorn. However, people still have a choice to get the latest news headlines and know about them in details by choice. The Internet today, is one of the most important and vast source of information inclusive of all that is latest and crisp and important news in India. Through the Internet, we can easily access news India anytime and see news online. Internet can possibly be accessed from anywhere and with people getting more net savvy, the frequent user watches news through this medium. Watching Online India News has a number of advantages. You can get to know about the latest news India, fashion trends, weather forecast, politics, sports, economics, business, stock exchange and all that you want to know about. It has become easier for the Indian staying abroad to get an easy access to Indian news via the Internet. After all, it is the quickest possible way to stay tuned with Indian and the world news.

With a particularly bitter winter bearing down upon giant stretches of the country, people are starting to wonder when spring will ever be on the way. Aside from the inconvenience of stormy skies and chilly days, winter is one season that brings with it more trouble for households than spring, summer, and fall combined. For those living in colder climates, a harsh winter can cause a myriad of problems, from pipes freezing and bursting to increases in car accidents and damage to homes after branches freeze and fall down.

But staying warm, cozy, and safe during winter is easier than ever before. With the combination of new technologies and common sense, most households around the country are able to make the sort of improvements to home security they need for the colder months without spending a ton of money. Here are ten easy ways to stay safe and sound no matter how low the temperature or what sort of blizzard happens to be raging outside.

10. Keep a close eye on your space heater. While it’s a great way to keep drafty spaces warm, it also poses a major safety hazard. Keep flammable objects, pets, and small children away from space heaters, and always have an adult in the room when a heater is on.

09. Install carbon monoxide detectors. In chillier months, the chances of a household experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning is much higher, since more fuel-burning heating devices, like fireplaces and wood stoves, are being used. A detector is a huge asset to your family’s safety during the cold months. Some home alarm systems come with carbon monoxide detectors, so check to see if yours does.

08. Shovel the walk as frequently as you can. If a big storm is coming, you want your driveway and your walkways to be cleared in the event that there’s an emergency.

07. Be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice. Sometimes, bad weather means the need to leave, whether it’s to a friend’s house where the power is more reliable or to a hotel. For a ready-to-go kit, blankets, matches, water, and nonperishable food are all musts.

06. Only use conventional heaters for heating. Do not try to use your gas-powered stove to stay warm, as it might leak fumes and cause trouble for members of your household.

05. Don’t neglect the pipes. Always leave a trickle of water running in all of your faucets so that they don’t freeze and burst. This is especially crucial if you plan on going out of town and turning the heat down.

04. Befriend a chimney sweep. If you have a chimney, making sure that it is clear and ready to work is a major step before trying to use it for the season. A number of home security mishaps could have been avoided each year if someone came by to check up on the chimney before an overzealous family lit it, only to find it blocked with leaves. Don’t let that be you!

03. Only burn logs. It’s not a good idea to use other materials in your fireplace. They might burn too fast, let off way too much smoke, or worse yet, have poisonous gases. Stick to the basics–chopped firewood from ash, maple, or oak trees.

02. Be ready to stay, too. If the heat goes out, you’re going to need a number of supplies to survive overnight. This means extra layers, many blankets, flashlights, extra batteries, candles, a battery-powered radio to keep up with the news, and food and water for all members of the family, including pets.

01. Have the car ready for winter. Home security extends to your vehicle, which might need to be used right before particularly bad weather strikes. To ensure that your car is actually going to work when the moment strikes, it’s best to have ample antifreeze, snow tires or tires with more tread, and a well-charged battery. Also be sure to keep blankets in the car, in case of any emergency. You’re going to need to stay warm, after all. And never, ever use your car as a replacement heat source! It’s dangerous to run the engine and sit in the car for extended periods of time with the window closed.

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Nine of the nation’s strongest remaining real estate markets still appreciating are located in the southern part of the nation, according to a study conducted by Real Estate Add.com, an information driven website, which provides real estate news and local market forecasts on all 50 US states.

Lakeland, Florida, long regarded as a retirement haven, which has seen a booming real estate market for more than five years tops the website’s annual list of the Top 25 US real estate markets. The website economists predict Lakeland will complete 2006 with 13% in appreciation on a median price of just 0,000.

El Centro, California located in the heart of California’s rich agricultural farmland in Imperial Valley tied for second at 12.0% appreciation by year’s end. The El Centro housing market has been fueled by first time home buyers, many of whom are citizens of Mexico awaiting US citizenship through expected changes in US immigration laws. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho tied for the second position in the annual appreciation forecast at 12% on a median price of 8,000.

South Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky remain strongly appreciating real estate markets nationally. The south-east is experiencing the largest population growth and migration of new residents in history, due in part to changing weather patterns and increasingly severe winter weather in northern states.

Jackson, Tennessee will finish 2006 with 8.0% appreciation on average in a housing market that has barley slowed down from its rapid pace of 2005. The median price for a single family home in Jackson is just ,000, fueling a market of home buyers who are looking for less expensive housing than in many other parts of the nation.

The Memphis, Tennessee market is also still reporting heavy sales volume, but not at the rapid pace of a year earlier. Memphis is forecast to finish 2006 with 7.7% in appreciation.

Other southern states with still high flying markets include Bowling Green, Kentucky where the median price of 8,000 can buy a home of more than 2,000 square feet.

Monroe, Louisiana has seen a post hurricane Katrina boom of its own and will finish 2006 with a spike of 7.6% in appreciation. Many residents of the New Orleans area, severely devastated by hurricane Katrina nearly a year ago, have moved out of the New Orleans area to Monroe, which is located in the northern part of Louisiana.

Charleston and Charlotte, South Carolina are experiencing the largest growth in the communities histories. Many retirees are moving to both area’s because of more affordable housing and tax advantages.

Cities in western states also made the website’s top 25 appreciating real estate markets, including some in Washington, Oregon, New Mexico and Idaho. Boise, Idaho, which is forecast to double in size over the next ten years, tied for the seventh position in the annual appreciation forecast with Bend, Oregon at 8.5%. Little Bend has seen a second home market develop never experienced before in Oregon, mainly due to the area’s success attracting winter snow skiers and it’s less expensive housing compared to neighboring California. The median price for a home in Bend is now 1,000.

St. George, Utah ranked fourth in forecast appreciation at 11.5% on a median price of 4,000. St. Lake City was not included in the top 25, but the market remains fairly strong in sales activity and appreciation.

Spokane, Washington ranked sixteenth in the forecast. Spokane has been witnessing the strongest market it has had in more than ten years and is forecast to finish 2006 at an average appreciation of 7.9% on a median home price of 4,000.

The highest priced market to make the list is Honolulu, Hawaii with a median price of 0,000. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Brownsville, Texas, which has some of the least expensive housing in America with a median price of just ,000.

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Spain News – Keeping Spaniards Prepared With Daily Weather Forecasts
The amazing weather Spain has may include different weather types in each season and in different region. For example, weather in Central Spain is temperate while the weather in the eastern part of Spain may experience rainfall. Weather Spain observe these four major seasons specifically summer, winter and spring and fall.
Spain is also famous for holiday maker due to its beaches, islands and other famous site. Weather is vital for travellers to grasp for them to make their stay more delightful. It is a common blunder that people would wear clothing that’s not suitable to the weather, or bring things that aren’t even required with the present condition of the temperature. To get round this common inaccuracy, Spain news has provided weather forecasts to help people prepare for the different weather changes. They also provide tourist information which includes information on is the most ideal region to visit depending on the month of the year. This is being done to make certain that their stay and visit in this Hispanic culture and country would remain delightful and more memorable. Additional information that stories Spain give the travellers is the best places or the most wonderful beaches that they could visit to make sure that they’d have an incredible vacation and vacation getaway.
the primary objective that Spain news provides is to make certain that folk will be aware on the approaching weather or season changes. They also measure the temperature and the humidity reading per area to tell each and everyone the appropriate clothing that has to be worn, and to help plan other activities that are best to be done during that particular day. In addition, Spain news also provide info and warning about an impending tempest, how strong it is how fast will it hit the region as this is going to help you be prepared. People would never know the things which may happen unless it’s been predicted over the media. That is why News Spain plays a vital role when it comes to making sure that everybody will stay safe.

By giving all of the applicable info, they make all the people aware of the impending events that can occur when it comes to weather changes, and people could also get the mandatory things to help them be prepared at all times. The news have played an important role since they educate folk on the different things that may be expected in the storm, and the likely things that may occur if you do not stay within the home.
due to the superb wonders of technology you can get stories Spain through many alternative media sources like television, radio and news paper.

And now because of the popularity of PCs folk can now the net for weather Spain, all you have got to do is turn on your P. C or laptop and start to browse for weather updates.
Look here for the most up to date Spain News.

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Components of GMDSS

The main types of equipment used in GMDSS are:

Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB)

Main article: Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon

Cospas-Sarsat is an international satellite-based search and rescue system, established by Canada, France, the United States, and Russia. These four countries jointly helped develop the 406 MHz Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB), an element of the GMDSS designed to operate with Cospas-Sarsat system. These automatic-activating EPIRBs, now required on SOLAS ships, commercial fishing vessels, and all passenger ships, are designed to transmit to alert rescue coordination centers via the satellite system from anywhere in the world. The original COSPAS / SARSAT system used Polar orbiting satellites but in recent years the system has been expanded to also include 4 GEOSTATIONARY satellites. Newest designs incorporate GPS receivers to transmit highly accurate positions (within about 20 metres)of the distress position. The original COSPAS / SARSAT satellites could calculate EPIRBs position to within about 3 nautical miles by using Doppler techniques. By the end of 2010 EPIRB manufacturers may be offering AIS (Automatic Identification System) enabled beacons. The service-ability of these items are checked monthly and annually and have limited battery shelf life betweeen 2 to 5 years using mostly Lithium type batteries. 406 MHz EPIRB’s transmit a Hexadecimal registration number which is linked to a database of information about the vessel.

NAVTEX

Main article: Navtex

Navtex is an international, automated system for instantly distributing maritime navigational warnings, weather forecasts and warnings, search and rescue notices and similar information to ships. A small, low-cost and self-contained “smart” printing radio receiver installed on the bridge, or the place from where the ship is navigated, and checks each incoming message to see if it has been received during an earlier transmission, or if it is of a category of no interest to the ship’s master. The frequency of transmission of these messages is 518 kHz in English, while 490 kHz is used to broadcast in local language.

The messages are coded with a header code identified by the using alphabets to represent broadcasting stations, type of messages, and followed by two figures indicating the serial number of the message.

Inmarsat

Satellite systems operated by the Inmarsat, overseen by IMSO, International Mobile Satellite Organization are also important elements of the GMDSS. The types of Inmarsat ship earth station terminals recognized by the GMDSS are: Inmarsat B, C and F77. Inmarsat B and F77, an updated version of the now redundant Inmarsat A, provide ship/shore, ship/ship and shore/ship telephone, telex and high-speed data services, including a distress priority telephone and telex service to and from rescue coordination centers. Fleet 77 fully supports the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) and includes advanced features such as emergency call prioritisation. The Inmarsat C provides ship/shore, shore/ship and ship/ship store-and-forward data and email messaging, the capability for sending preformatted distress messages to a rescue coordination center, and the Inmarsat C SafetyNET service. The Inmarsat C SafetyNET service is a satellite-based worldwide maritime safety information broadcast service of high seas weather warnings, NAVAREA navigational warnings, radionavigation warnings, ice reports and warnings generated by the USCG-conducted International Ice Patrol, and other similar information not provided by NAVTEX. SafetyNET works similarly to NAVTEX in areas outside NAVTEX coverage.

Inmarsat C equipment is relatively small and lightweight, and costs much less than an Inmarsat B or F77. Inmarsat B and F77 ship earth stations require relatively large gyro-stabilized antennas; the antenna size of the Inmarsat C is much smaller.

Under a cooperative agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), combined meteorological observations and AMVER reports can now be sent to both the USCG AMVER Center, and NOAA, using an Inmarsat C ship earth station, at no charge. .

SOLAS now requires that Inmarsat C equipment have an integral satellite navigation receiver, or be externally connected to a satellite navigation receiver. That connection will ensure accurate location information to be sent to a rescue coordination center if a distress alert is ever transmitted.

Also the new LRIT log range tracking systems are upgraded via GMDSS inmarsat C which are also complient along with inbuilt SSAS which is ship security alarm system

High Frequency

A GMDSS system may include High Frequency (HF) radiotelephone and radiotelex (narrow-band direct printing) equipment, with calls initiated by digital selective calling (DSC). Worldwide broadcasts of maritime safety information are also made on HF narrow-band direct printing channels.

Search and Rescue Locating device

Main article: Search and Rescue Locating device

The GMDSS installation on ships include one or more Search and Rescue Locating device devices which are used to locate survival craft or distressed vessels by creating a series of dots on a rescuing ship’s 3 cm radar display or operating on frequencies dedicated for AIS . The detection range between these devices and ships, dependent upon the height of the ship’s radar mast and the height of the Search and Rescue Locating device, is normally about 15 km (8 nautical miles). Note that a marine radar may not detect a Search and Rescue Locating device even within this distance, if the radar settings are not optimized for Search and Rescue Locating device detection.

Once detected by radar, the Search and Rescue Locating device will produce a visual and aural indication.

Digital Selective Calling

The IMO also introduced Digital Selective Calling (DSC) on MF, HF and VHF maritime radios as part of the GMDSS system. DSC is primarily intended to initiate ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore and shore-to-ship radiotelephone and MF/HF radiotelex calls. DSC calls can also be made to individual stations, groups of stations, or “all stations” in one’s reach. Each DSC-equipped ship, shore station and group is assigned a unique 9-digit Maritime Mobile Service Identity.

DSC distress alerts, which consist of a preformatted distress message, are used to initiate emergency communications with ships and rescue coordination centers. DSC was intended to eliminate the need for persons on a ship’s bridge or on shore to continuously guard radio receivers on voice radio channels, including VHF channel 16 (156.8 MHz) and 2182 kHz now used for distress, safety and calling. A listening watch aboard GMDSS-equipped ships on 2182 kHz ended on February 1, 1999. In May 2002, IMO decided to postpone cessation of a VHF listening watch aboard ships. That watchkeeping requirement had been scheduled to end on 1 February 2005.

IMO and ITU both require that the DSC-equipped MF/HF and VHF radios be externally connected to a satellite navigation receiver. That connection will ensure accurate location information is sent to a rescue coordination center if a distress alert is ever transmitted. The FCC requires that all new VHF and MF/HF maritime radiotelephones type accepted after June 1999 have at least a basic DSC capability.

VHF digital selective calling also has other capabilities beyond those required for the GMDSS. The Coast Guard uses this system to track vessels in Prince William Sound, Alaska, Vessel Traffic Service. IMO and the USCG also plan to require ships carry a Universal Shipborne Automatic Identification System, which will be DSC-compatible. Countries having a GMDSS A1 Area should be able to identify and track AIS-equipped vessels in its waters without any additional radio equipment. A DSC-equipped radio cannot be interrogated and tracked unless that option was included by the manufacturer, and unless the user configures it to allow tracking.

GMDSS telecommunications equipment should not be reserved for emergency use only. The International Maritime Organization encourages mariners to use that equipment for routine as well as safety telecommunications.

GMDSS Sea Areas

GMDSS sea areas serve two purposes: to describe areas where GMDSS services are available, and to define what radio equipment GMDSS ships must carry (carriage requirements). Prior to the GMDSS, the number and type of radio safety equipment ships had to carry depended upon its tonnage. With GMDSS, the number and type of radio safety equipment ships have to carry depends upon the GMDSS areas in which they travel.

In addition to equipment listed below, all GMDSS-regulated ships must carry a satellite EPIRB, a NAVTEX receiver (if they travel in any areas served by NAVTEX), an Inmarsat-C SafetyNET receiver (if they travel in any areas not served by NAVTEX), a DSC-equipped VHF radiotelephone, two (if between 300 and less than 500 GRT)or three VHF handhelds (if 500 GRT or more), and one 9GHz search and rescue radar transponder (SART).

Sea Area A1

An area within the radiotelephone coverage of at least one VHF coast station in which continuous digital selective calling (Ch.70/156.525MHz) alerting and radiotelephony services are available.Such an area could extend typically 20 nautical miles (37 km) to 30 nautical miles (56 km) from the Coast Station.

Sea Area A2

An area, excluding Sea Area A1, within the radiotelephone coverage of at least one MF coast station in which continuous DSC (2187.5 kHz) alerting and radiotelephony services are available.For planning purposes this area typically extends to up to 180 nautical miles (330 km) offshore during daylight hours,but would exclude any A1 designated areas.In practice,satisfactory coverage may often be achieved out to around 400 nautical miles (740 km) offshore during night time.

Sea Area A3

An area,excluding sea areas A1 and A2, within the coverage of an INMARSAT geostationary satellite.This area lies between about latitude 76 Degree NORTH and SOUTH,but excludes A1 and/or A2 designated areas.Inmarsat guarantee their system will work between 70 South and 70 North though it will often work to 76 degrees South or North.

Sea Area A4

An area outside Sea Areas A1, A2 and A3 is called Sea Area A4. This is essentially the polar regions, north and south of about 70 degrees of latitude, excluding any A1 or A2 areas.

GMDSS Radio Equipment Required for U.S. Coastal Voyages

Presently, until an A1 or A2 Sea Area is established, GMDSS-mandated ships operating off the U.S. coast must fit to Sea Areas A3 (or A4) regardless of where they operate. U.S. ships whose voyage allows them to always remain within VHF channel 16 coverage of U.S. Coast Guard stations may apply to the Federal Communications Commission for an individual waiver to fit to Sea Area A1 requirements. Similarly, those who remain within 2182 kHz coverage of U.S. Coast Guard stations may apply for a waiver to fit to Sea Area A2 requirements.

History

Since the invention of radio at the end of the 19th century, ships at sea have relied on Morse code, invented by Samuel Morse and first used in 1844, for distress and safety telecommunications. The need for ship and coast radio stations to have and use radiotelegraph equipment, and to listen to a common radio frequency for Morse encoded distress calls, was recognized after the sinking of the liner RMS Titanic in the North Atlantic in 1912. The U.S. Congress enacted legislation soon after, requiring U.S. ships to use Morse code radiotelegraph equipment for distress calls. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), now a United Nations agency, followed suit for ships of all nations. Morse encoded distress calling has saved thousands of lives since its inception almost a century ago, but its use requires skilled radio operators spending many hours listening to the radio distress frequency. Its range on the medium frequency (MF) distress band (500 kHz) is limited, and the amount of traffic Morse signals can carry is also limited.

Not all ship-to-shore radio communications were short range. Some radio stations provided long-range radiotelephony services, such as radio telegrams and radio telex calls, on the HF bands (3-30 MHz) enabling worldwide communications with ships. For example, Portishead Radio, which was the world’s busiest radiotelephony station, provided HF long-range services. In 1974, it had 154 radio operators who handled over 20 million words per year. Such large radiotelephony stations employed large numbers of people and were expensive to operate. By the end of the 1980s, satellite services had started to take an increasingly large share of the market for ship-to-shore communications.

For these reasons, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a United Nations agency specializing in safety of shipping and preventing ships from polluting the seas, began looking at ways of improving maritime distress and safety communications. In 1979, a group of experts drafted the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue, which called for development of a global search and rescue plan. This group also passed a resolution calling for development by IMO of a Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) to provide the communication support needed to implement the search and rescue plan. This new system, which the world’s maritime nations are implementing, is based upon a combination of satellite and terrestrial radio services, and has changed international distress communications from being primarily ship-to-ship based to ship-to-shore (Rescue Coordination Center) based. It spelled the end of Morse code communications for all but a few users, such as amateur radio operators. The GMDSS provides for automatic distress alerting and locating in cases where a radio operator doesn’t have time to send an SOS or MAYDAY call, and, for the first time, requires ships to receive broadcasts of maritime safety information which could prevent a distress from happening in the first place. In 1988, IMO amended the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention, requiring ships subject to it fit GMDSS equipment. Such ships were required to carry NAVTEX and satellite EPIRBs by 1 August 1993, and had to fit all other GMDSS equipment by 1 February 1999. US ships were allowed to fit GMDSS in lieu of Morse telegraphy equipment by the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Licensing of Operators

National maritime authorities may issue various classes of licenses. The General Operator Certificate is required on SOLAS vessels operating also outside GMDSS Sea Area A1, while a Restricted Operator Certificate is needed on SOLAS vessels operated solely within GMDSS Sea Area A1,

Long Range Certificate may be issued, and is required on non-SOLAS vessels operating outside GMDSS Sea Area A1, while a Short Range Certificate is issued for non-SOLAS vessels operating only inside GMDSS Sea Area A1.

Finally there is a Restricted radiotelephone operator’s certificate, which is similar to the Short Range Certificate but limited VHR DSC radio operation. Some countries do not consider this adequate for GMDSS qualification.

In the United States four different GMDSS certificates are issued. A GMDSS Radio Maintainer’s License allows a person to maintain, install,and repair GMDSS equipment at sea. A GMDSS Radio Operator’s License is necessary for a person to use required GMDSS equipment. The holder of both certificates can be issued one GMDSS Radio Operator/Maintainer License. Finally, the GMDSS Restricted License is available for VHF operations only within 20 nautical miles (37 km) of the coast. To obtain any of these licenses a person must be a U.S. citizen or otherwise eligible for work in the country, be able to communicate in English, and take written examinations approved by the Federal Communications Commission. Like the amateur radio examinations, these are given by private, FCC-approved groups. These are generally not the same agencies who administer the ham tests. Written test elements 1 and 7 are required for the Operator license, and elements 1 and 7R for the Restricted Operator. (Passing element 1 also automatically qualifies the applicant for the Marine Radiotelephone Operator Permit, the MROP.)

For the Maintainer license, written exam element 9 must be passed. However, to obtain this certificate an applicant must also hold a General radiotelephone operator license (GROL), which requires passing commercial written exam elements 1 and 3 (and thus supersedes the MROP). Upon the further passing of optional written exam element 8 the ship radar endorsement will be added to both the GROL and Maintainer licenses. This allows the holder to adjust, maintain, and repair shipboard radar equipment.

Until March 25, 2008 GMDSS operator and maintainer licenses expired after five years but could be renewed upon payment of a fee. On that date all new certificates were issued valid for the lifetimes of their holders. For those still valid but previously issued with expiration dates, the FCC states:

Any GMDSS Radio Operator’s License, Restricted GMDSS Radio Operator’s License, GMDSS Radio Maintainer’s License, GMDSS Radio Operator/Maintainer License, or Marine Radio Operator Permit that was active, i.e., had not expired, as of March 25, 2008, does not have to be renewed.

Since an older certificate does show an expiration date, for crewmembers sailing internationally it may be worth paying the fee (as of 2008 it was ) to avoid any confusion with local authorities.

Finally, it should be noted that to actually serve as a GMDSS operator on most commercial vessels the United States Coast Guard requires additional classroom training and practical experience beyond just holding a license.

See also

Nautical portal

Marine VHF radio the GMDSS equipments.

Search and Rescue Transponder

Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB)

Inmarsat

Radio horizon

500 kHz

2182 kHz

Source

http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/marcomms/gmdss/default.htm

http://www.gmdss.com.au/

References

^ Johnson, B (1994). “English in maritime radiotelephony”. World Englishes 13 (1): 8391. doi:10.1111/j.1467-971X.1994.tb00285.x. 

^ “The story of Portishead Radio: Long range maritime radio communications: 1920 1995″. 2001-04-06. http://jproc.ca/radiostor/portis1.html. Retrieved 2008-01-09. 

^ FCC – Commercial Radio Operator Licenses

^

^ MarComms – GMDSS Training and Certification

External links

COSPAS-SARSAT system home page

Search And Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT)

FCC – Commercial Operator Licenes: Examinations FCC

FCC – GMDSS Radio Maintainer’s License (DM) FCC

FCC – GMDSS Radio Operator’s License (DO) FCC

FCC – Ship Radar Endorsement FCC

FCC – Commercial Operator Licenses: Examination Question Pools FCC

GMDSS Ship Inspection Checklist FCC

“CCIR 493-4 HF Selcall Information Resource”. HFLINK. 2010. http://hflink.com/selcall. Retrieved 2010-01-10. 

Categories: Emergency communication | Law of the sea | Maritime communication | Rescue equipment

It’s not easy to forecast the forex markets, but it’s what thousands of forex traders and brokers do every day, with varying degrees of success.

Like forecasting the weather, predicting the forex market is sometimes a crapshoot, sometimes a guessing game, and always an adventure. There are two basic philosophies on how to forecast the forex markets. One is technical analysis; the other is fundamental analysis. We’ll look at them both.

Natalia Osorio Editor of the “Best Forex Trading” website — http://www.BestForexTradingUsa.com — pointed out;

“…The technical approach examines past market action and uses that data to predict the future. Previous trends in most areas of life are almost always good indicators of the future; forex is no different. People have not changed much in the decades since the forex market was created. People still buy and sell and react to stimuli in much the same way as they did 50 years ago.

Since forex rates change constantly throughout the day, every day, looking at all the years of past data can be daunting. Smart analysts learned to look at the big picture, to skip the minor details and examine trends over a longer period of time…”

Using fundamental analysis to forecast forex markets is a bit more in-depth, but it can also be highly accurate. Basically, fundamental analysis means forecasting the market based on external factors — political moves, government involvement, social movements, even the weather. Someone good at fundamental analysis might forecast forex drop-offs because he knows a country’s government is unstable at the moment, or increases because the country has just elected a popular new leader. Anything that can affect a nation’s economy can affect the exchange rates, and that’s what a fundamental analyst uses to guess at the forex market’s future

Naturally, this means having to know a particular country in-depth, which is hard to do for more than a few countries at a time. (It becomes even more complicated when trying to forecast the euro, since several different countries use that currency.) But having that kind of intricate knowledge makes it much, much easier to forecast forex trends.

“…Most good traders use a mixture of both processes, technical and fundamental. For example, a trader might see that a country is currently facing a particularly strong hurricane season (fundamental) and know that in the past, strong hurricane seasons have meant a weaker economy for that nation (technical). Thus, he can predict down-turns for that nation with some degree of confidence…” N. Osorio added.

Further Information About The Best Forex Trading Softwares And Resources  By Visiting; http://www.BestForexTradingUsa.com

As an addendum to the history of English Wine I thought to mention that we English Invented Sparkling Champagne and Wine in the 1650′s. Because of the leading English Technolgy in 1615 by Admiral Sir Robert Mansell in bottle making and cork making and the ability of the wine bottle’s to withstand high pressure, this led to the deliberate invention of sparkling wine.

At the time of the compilation of the Domesday Survey in the late eleventh century, vineyards were recorded in 46 places in southern England, from East Anglia through to modern-day Somerset. By the time King Henry VIIIth ascended the throne there were 139 sizeable vineyards in England and Wales – 11 of them owned by the Crown, 67 by noble families and 52 by the church.

It is not exactly clear why the number of vineyards declined subsequently. Some have put it down to an adverse change in the weather which made an uncertain enterprise even more problematic. Others have linked it with the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII. Both these factors may have had some part to play but in all probability the decline was gradual (over several centuries) and for more complex reasons.

In the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth century there is evidence of various noblemen experimenting with growing grapes and making wine – such as the Hon. Charles Hamilton who grew vines at Painshill in Surrey (a garden which has in recent years been restored). Isolated enthusiasts, however, kept some of the art and science of vine-growing alive, in gardens both grand and humble in the south of the country, and in greenhouses too. Samuel Pepys records his consumption of wines from several vineyards around London.

In the late nineteenth century, the Marquess of Bute established a vineyard on a commercial scale at Castell Coch in South Wales – this is very well documented. The Marquess died in 1900 but in 1905 there were 63,000 vines at Castell Coch and Swanbridge superintended by the Marquess’s 19 year old son who had succeeded him, but no wine making seems to have been carried out after the First World War.

The period from the end of the First World War to shortly after the end of the Second World War may well be the only time in two millennia that vines to make wine on a substantial scale were not grown in England or Wales. Doubtless, during that time, there were some vines being grown on a garden scale by amateur growers, but for more than 25 years there was a total cessation of viticulture and winemaking on a commercial basis.

After the Second World War, two men seem to have been the inspiration for the re-establishment of the English Wine industry. One was Ray Barrington Brock (who died only this year). He was a research chemist and set himself a private research mission to discover which varieties of grape would grow and ripen well in Britain. The other was Edward Hymans, a writer on garden matters who planted a vineyard and researched for a book he was writing on the history and practice of grape-vine cultivation in England.

The work of these two pioneers inspired others: Major General Sir Guy Salisbury-Jones planted a vineyard at Hambledon, north of Portsmouth, in Hampshire. He initially planted 4,000 vines on a 1.5 acre site in 1952 and in 1955 the first English Wine to be made and sold commercially since the First World War went on sale.

The rest, as they say, is history. An ever-increasing number of pioneers followed these leads and especially during the 1960s, 70s and 80s there was a rapid increase in the number of English vineyards to a figure well over 400 by 2010. The total area under cultivation rose to more than 2,000 acres.

In recent years, English sparking wine has started to emerge as the UK wine style receiving the most attention. Theale Vineyard Sparkling Chardonnay 2003 beat off stiff competition from fine Champagnes and top sparkling wines to make it into the world’s Top Ten Sparkling Wine at the world’s only dedicated sparkling wine competition, French-based Effervescents du Monde (sparkling wines of the world) 2007.

Please visit my Funny Animal Art Prints Collection @ http://www.fabprints.com

My other website is called Directory of British Icons: http://fabprints.webs.com

The Chinese call England “The Island of Hero’s” which I think sums up what we English are all about.

Copyright © 2010 Paul Hussey. All Rights Reserved.

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It isn’t just huge construction companies that get overwhelmed with the many details of a project. Even a seemingly simple home addition has a large numbers of variables to attend to. Permits must be secured, foundation laid, the room must be framed and wired, and finally finished. Throw in HVAC or radiant floor heat, and what sounded simple in principle is no longer a simple project at all. All the details of the job must be accounted for throughout the project…on an ongoing basis. Often, these project particulars are kept track of on dry-erase boards, poster boards, notebooks, and spreadsheets. Although many small construction companies make do with these tools, they are less than ideal. Each element of the project is kept track of separately instead of in one central “place.” Any changes must be meticulously modified by hand. If your electrician misses an appointment, or weather holds up foundation work, then you have a rescheduling nightmare on your hands!

The challenge of manually managing details becomes apparent when considering purchasing materials. Purchases must be made ahead of time and delivered in time to be used. Current supplies, supplies used, and materials needed are all kept track of. This takes a complete and well managed materials list that is difficult to produce and manage using spreadsheets or (gasp) paper and pencil. Purchases must be carefully coordinated with internal project deadlines, and may need to rapidly change depending on unforeseen variables such as work delays or weather.

Managing project money is another confounding factor. Cash is rarely available to make all orders at the onset of the project. Available cash often results from partial project payments, and a business credit line. If money for the project is kept in escrow, then a loan or credit line is essential. Of course, then interest becomes a factor. Purchases must be made in small batches and paid off regularly to avoid huge interest fees. Delays in job payments could cut into profits if interest gets out of control. Keeping track of money becomes exceedingly important to a company’s success.

All of these variables interact at the worksite. Independent contractors, tools, materials, money, and employees are managed as efficiently as possible. However, at the often chaotic worksite, many builders must rely on hunches and approximations.

Construction management software makes guesswork unnecessary, and streamlines any project. Today’s construction software makes it easier than ever to plan projects, and properly time the ordering and delivering of materials. Coordinating the many project details becomes efficient yet easy making manual methods a thing of the past. Not only does construction software streamline your building operation, but it often comes with accounting software. This makes managing money even easier, especially at tax time.

With modern construction management software, construction companies have the ability to make decisions without all the guesswork. This makes it easier to bid competitively and deliver results on time, without accidental mismanagement dipping into potential profits. Construction software can be an expensive up-front cost, but the time and money that it saves you in the long run make it more than worth the initial investment.

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The climate in Lanzarote is similar to the other six Canary Islands, with spring like weather all year round. The absence of any large central mountain means that the difference in temperature between the north and the south is minimal. In summer, the maximum temperature is around 25 degrees centigrade and in winter, the average is 17 degrees centigrade.

Although winters are mild, the warm clouds sometimes collect on the mountains of the north of the island and fog can form over the Riscos de Famara. In recent years, the apparent change in pattern of world wide weather has brought a slightly higher than average rainfall in Lanzarote. This of course has been beneficial to this normally arid climate and has also created a greener landscape in certain parts of this Canary Island.

Spring and summer can be windy in Lanzarote, reaching 23 knots or more, which makes it very popular for windsurfers. An easterly wind known as sirocco sometimes blows from the Sahara Desert. The temperature rises and it can become oppressive. However, these conditions never last long and soon, it is back to clear skies again. Should you experience cloudy weather in your resort, it is quite likely that in another part of the island, it will be sunny. Winter in Lanzarote is generally ten percent warmer than on mainland Spain which is why it is such a popular wintersun destination. The resort of Playa Blanca in Lanzarote tends to have the best of the sun as it is the most southerly.

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