Quote Originally Posted by TIN CAN View Post
If things are like I think they are, the channels you are talking about 24 and 84 are marine operator channels that were designated by the FCC for use in public sea to shore telephone communication. They are encripted meaning you can only hear one side of the conversation. They are also ( or at least used to be) used by Telephone companies only. A lot has changed in the last few years but be aware there may be problems with these selections. That's the very reason the Non-Com channlels are all cluttered. The rest are all off limits for reports and day to day hailing and chatter.
TIN CAN:

Based upon the FCC page for VHF Radio channel use it appears that you are correct! Looks like we need to change to one of the NONCOMMERCIAL channels listed in the following FCC link and found under noncommercial.

We definately need one we can communicate on if 84 is unavailable to us. What do you guys think? What channel should we use if you agree with my assessment of the situation? I will go along with any choice that pleases the other members. here is the link.

http://wireless.fcc.gov/marine/vhfchanl.pdf