[Milsurplus] France to ban military collections

[Robert C. Rice]

*
US Coastguard web site says:

"PAN-PAN* (pronounced pahn-pahn) is used when the safety of a boat or 
person is in jeopardy. Man-overboard messages are sent with the PAN-PAN 
signal."

http://www.uscgboating.org/safety/metlife/radio.htm

Google is your friend. Searching for "radio signal pan" returns this as 
the second item.

MAYDAY is the one everyone remembers, but PAN and *SECURITE* are related 
prowords.




Hue Miller wrote:
> While we're bashing Fr*nce, let me mention something:
> i have a vhf scanner going here 24x7, and just heard the
> USCG station here in Newport, Oregon, calling asking
> for all to look out for any vessel in distress, as an EPIRB
> was just heard. ( CG even gave MHz frequency of EPIRB ).
> However, what's bizarre, to my mind, is the way the CG
> station heads the emergency broadcast, "PAN PAN, 
> PAN PAN, PAN PAN" This is Coast Guard station
> Yaquina Bay"  Now, pan is french for "bread", am i not
> correct? It certainly is, in Spanish. Why use a term
> that dates back to some ancient outdated international
> radio agreeement, that was decided before VHF fm came
> into wide use? This CG station has a range of probably
> 30-40 miles at best, not overseas, and "PAN" has scant
> connection to USA boaters today. Why not just use,
> "EMERGENCY", or "ALERT!"   I am thinking about 
> writing the top officer in the USCG to point out the
> silliness of this anachronism.
> *To give France its due, the USA would most likely not
> have won its indpendence, in the 1770s war, if not for
> the French navy and some military advisors.
> Hue Miller
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