if that is the case in the US, what's to stop someone to feel it's an emergency to denial of service by sending static across all frequencies the local crews use.

Sure they would probably be found out but if these is a clause that allows it... we have all seen how things flop on the illogical side over there!

I do know on my fathers marine VHF it will broadcast across all marine channels in emergency or SOS mode. 

My father was a radio ham and creator of very amateur looking home-made transceivers, sometimes known to blow up with spectacular results (large capacitors going up like dynamite).

He had a framed letter on the wall received from the US military, advising him that he'd been transmitting on a reserved frequency - and that if he did it again, all hell would break loose.  Presumably he'd been transmitting using his call sign - so it was easy to trace him.  They should have just replied on air and told him to naff off.

At one stage he had what they called a "cubical quad" antenna on the roof of the garage.  This created some issues.  Some nutter in NZ published a reasonably popular book claiming that these common ham radio aerials were being used to communicate with extraterrestrials. I can't remember the title - but he claimed they were set up in some kind of grid pattern. Another local nutter was convinced that my father was a Soviet spy and made repeated complaints to the police - "turning him in".  AFAIK he was neither a spy nor an ET whisperer.

He was just deep deep under cover.

Well it's quite legal to own and use a marine radio without a radio operator license, but in that case it's not legal to use it to transmit except in case of emergency.

Apart from that mainly sensible rule (which doesn't eliminate idiots completely) , what (restricted) frequencies would anybody want to use in case of emergency anyway?

I've made one emergency call in my life on marine VHF when out of cellphone range, to organise a rescue helicopter to come and collect an accident victim - and it was a great big can of worms between maritime radio, police, rescue helicopter service.  They asked me to lay out bright coloured sheets of whatever on the deck as a target to winch their rescue guy down.  I suggested that despite calling from a boat / marine VHF station - there was a clearing where the chopper could land about 200m away, and the victim was on land - why not do it that way?  They agreed, but then chinese whispers getting that message back to the guys flying the chopper, then back to me to say okay - forget the fluoro markers etc, cart the patient up to the landing site.  It actually got worse from there for the victim.  He came to thank me a few months later - after enduring a freaking shambles - IMO.  Cellphones are very good things - so long as you're in range.

Thanks,

Interesting to see everyone ones ideas.

I am aware it is legal to transmit on marine no license but what about emergency services?

Learn something new every day :P

"I know you're close to death and desperate for help, but can I have your name address so we can prosecute you for using this radio frequency to call for rescue?"

Said nobody ever.

Makes me think alot of this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49KoUmiJuts

I think you would have a hard time using emergency service frequencies to alert Police etc. about an emergency, given that they (with a few exceptions) use encrypted radios these days.

Geektastic:

"I know you're close to death and desperate for help, but can I have your name address so we can prosecute you for using this radio frequency to call for rescue?"

 

Said nobody ever.

Main reason was asking as well as some one said to me that they heard that a 3rd party had transmitted on nz police freq for help so wondered about the laws regarding this.

If you are truly in distress, the legal consequences of e.g. illegally transmitting would surely pale into insignificance compared to your distress. Under those circumstances, you do whatever is needed, and deal with the legalities later. Maybe you'll get off, and maybe you won't, but you'll (hopefully) be alive to worry about it. Conversely, if you are worried about the legal consequences, you really aren't all that distressed.

kierangio:

 

Main reason was asking as well as some one said to me that they heard that a 3rd party had transmitted on nz police freq for help so wondered about the laws regarding this.

 

I've never heard is a single scenario where this has ever happened, and asking a couple of people (who would very likely know should such an event have ever occurred) they've never heard of it happening either.

Sounds like urban legend, or somebody getting confused with all the people illegally transmitting on Police channels to abuse them and be a general annoyance, hence the clamp down on the import of cheap Chinese dualband radios.