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Communications Equipment Review

Communications equipment is especially handy whilst travelling and often essential. It is considered necessary that each vehicle venturing into the outback should be equipped with a UHF radio combined with one emergency long-distance voice communication device as an absolute minimum. This article discusses communications devices such as a UHF and HF radios, satellite equipment and EPIRB technologies and their usefulness to the recreational traveller in Australia.
Article By: Michelle Jacka   Updated: 16 Feb 2009
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 Why Communicate?

Why its important to have good communications whilst travelling
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 Travelling the outback can bring about all sorts of unexpected circumstances. Ensuring you can communicate from your vehicle to other vehicles in close proximity is essential for safety reasons (eg. warn oncoming vehicles when visibility is impaired), can aid in navigation (convoy procedures), and call to nearby travellers for help. However, you can't always rely on other people being nearby. All travellers should anticipate the need for long-distance communication in the event of an emergency and should choose a device most suited to their needs.

Contact with family and friends although important, should be considered secondary to your requirement to be able to coordinate a speedy emergency rescue. Note - in past times, travellers were requested by police to log their itinerary at each start and end point of a journey through remote country. Today things have changed and the police would prefer that travellers were self-sufficient with modern communications equipment and used a point of contact with a family member, close friend or a network rather than use up valuable police resources.

 CB Radio

CB or Citizen Band radios are the cheapest form of car-to-car communications, although they are slowly diminishing in popularity. CB radios come in 2 types - AM 27MHz and UHF 477 MHz operating 40 channels. Prices range from $100 for a basic CB set while UHF CBs start from $300. You can transmit from either AM or SSB depending on your CB model but they are usually limited in range of up to 30km - depending on terrain, traffic, weather.

27MHz CB

This system utilises 40 channels in the High Frequency (HF) range, which covers 26.965Mhz to 27.405MHz. These CBs use Amplitude Modulation (AM) and they usually come with upper and lower sideband (SSB) which helps increase range and performance. AM and SSB are not compatible with one another and for this reason the AM mode is encouraged to be used on channels 1 to 14 and the SSB mode on channels 15 to 40. AM signals can sometimes be fairly noisy and distances can vary from 5km to 10km in normal conditions. When SSB is used on a channel, distances between 15km and 50km can be obtained.
UHF radio
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UHF CB

These radios provide FM quality, short range, line of sight communications and are excellent for convoys. They are a little more expensive than AM or SSB CBs. In areas where repeaters are installed communication up to many hundreds of kilometres is possible. They are popular in pastoral country with stations operating on public & private repeaters.

In general, a UHF radio is not of much use in an emergency unless someone happens to be in range of your location - usually much less than 50km. Handheld units are useful because you can walk to higher ground and greatly extend the range if the vehicle is in a valley, or the battery is flat. Owning a pair of handhelds is also useful for bushwalking or in just about any situation you can imagine.

Most, if not all modern UHF CBs can scan the 40 channels and lock in on a channel when a signal is heard. This overcomes the problem of not knowing which channel the repeater or the homestead is operating on. We suggest you scan all channels when travelling in unknown regions to pick up all transmissions.

To transmit on a UHF Repeater, you need to select an appropriate channel based on your proximity to a repeater station. Modern units usually work this out automatically but for a more technical guide see the UHF Repeaters Index

UHF Radio Channel Allocation

Below you will find a list of UHF Radio channel allocations. There are many channels that have been established by law including the Emergency channel 5 and the data transmission channels 22 and 23.
  • 1 to 8 - These channels, which are established by law, can be used when sending a signal to a repeater which will help increase the communication distance

  • 5 - This channel, which is established by law, can be used by anyone but only in an emergency situation

  • 9 - Used for conversations

  • 10 - Used by 4WD enthusiasts, clubs, convoys and in national parks

  • 11 - Calling channel. This channel, which is established by law, is used to call or locate another station. Parties will then switch to another channel to continue with their conversation

  • 12 to 17 - Used for conversations

  • 18 - Holiday maker’s communication channel (e.g. when in a convoy)

  • 19 to 21 - Used for conversations

  • 22 and 23 - These two channels are used for data transmissions and is established by law. Voice transmissions are not allowed on these two channels

  • 24 to 30 - Used for conversations

  • 29 - Highway Communications which are mainly used by truck drivers and other highway users

  • 31 to 38 - These channels, which are established by law, are received by a repeater and re-transmitted on channels 1 to 8 to help increase the communication distance

  • 35 - Can be used in case of Emergencies also

  • 39 - Used for conversations

  • 40 - Highway Communications which are mainly used by truck drivers and other highway users

CB Etiquette

It can be very impolite to carry on a long-winded discussion that is non-urgent on Ch 10, 40 or 18 if other strangers are likely to be listening to the same channel for safety reasons (such as on the Simpson Desert or Canning Stock Route). In these instances, you should move to another channel for general chit-chat but continue to scan the main channel for safety reasons.

These days there is only a very loosely applied code of speech and you can basically talk normally without any formalities or code words. Some people still use "Roger" or "Copy" to confirm they have received the message. "Over" is still in general travel use to indicate the end of transmission, but not by regular users that know one-another well such as between station operators or when reception is very clear for both parties. It is however very impolite to play music, swear or use a channel already in use by another party.

More information on these types of radios are available in our UHF Radio article.

 HF Radio

A Barrett HF radio
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 The existence of an ionosphere surrounding our earth allows the use of High Frequency (HF) radio as a means of communication over long distances. All that is required is an HF transceiver and access to a set of frequencies. The frequency limits of HF communication is 3 MHz - 30 MHz. The right to transmit on these frequencies is governed by the Australian Communications Authority.For any given distance and time, there will be a certain range of HF frequencies that are most likely to provide successful communications; frequencies outside that range will work poorly or not at all.

Various groups (service providers) own the right of usage to a set a frequencies and you need to decide which one provides the coverage (and other services) that suit your needs.You can generally expect higher frequencies to be better at reaching out further than lower frequencies and longer ranges are usually found at night. Lower frequencies are also more suitable at night time, while higher frequencies are more suitable during daylight hours.
The Australian National 4WD Radio Network Inc logo
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VKS-737

For 4WD travellers, the Australian 4WD Network (VKS-737) is probably the most popular HF service network and provides an extensive network coverage with over 7 base stations around the country operating across 5 frequencies. This non-profit organisation has been serving outback travellers since 1993 and membership fees cover operating costs. You must be a member of the network to transmit on these frequencies although anyone can listen in. Members however, have access to a range of additional features such as vehicle to vehicle communication (selcall), access to the RFDS frequencies, and a basic messaging service.

Members are allocated a sellcall number and can call any branch of the network direct via HF radio. Messages can be left for other members; contact can be made between members by direct sellcalling; and the network broadcasts scheduled weather and road conditions Australia-wide daily.

Click to visit the Australian National 4WD Radio Network Inc website.

TIP

 For non-members, a licence to use the RFDS frequencies is required from the Australian Communications Authority.

Telephone Calls from HF Radio

Another use of the HF radio is a direct dial service, where the HF radio is used to access the Australian LAN for regular voice calls. This service is not available from the VKS737 network. Instead, you will need to subscribe to a network that provides the direct dialling facilities. Many travellers enjoy the benefits of both types of services and take out subscriptions with each.

We have been using HF Radio Telephone networks since 1998 and have seen a massive improvement to these services in ease of use, functionality and low costs. Most services include a free emergency selcall direct to Police and RFDS and also offer a flat call rate to all phone lines including mobile (unlike the expense of Satellite Phone systems). Some services also offer free vehicle position logging (taken verbally as a message from you to the operator as it is with the VKS737 network).

There is actually no incoming voice call service, when you use an HF Radio Telephone service however a Message Service provides a facility where family, friends or work associates can simply phone the base operators on a regular phone line and give the operator the message which will then be passed on to the radio.

There are currently a few services throughout Australia that can provide the telephone service from your HF radio. The ExplorOz Team have used the Telstra RDD service (that is no longer available), RadioData, and in more recent years we've used RadTel. Services and charges are quite different so shop around to find the service that best suits you.

More information on these types of radios are available in our HF Radio article.
You'll also find the following book invaluable!

 Mobile Phone

Mobile phone
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 Ever since the advent of the mobile phone, networks, services, and hardware has changed dramatically and in Australia today there are more than 16 million mobile phone subscribers. As smart as these phones may seem in everyday use for most people, their use in an emergency is limited to the range of the network service. It may surprise you to know that mobile phone coverage is very limited in the outback, even in towns that are populated. Generally, once you pass 10km from the town outskirts, network services may cease and that’s only if that town had mobile services in the first place. Towns such as Birdsville and Innamincka on the edge of the very popular Simpson Desert tracks do not offer mobile phone coverage for any of the networks at all, but they do provide public phone boxes. Mobile phone networks for broader than metropolitan coverage include CDMA, GSM, 3G, 3GSM.

Some points worth considering:
  • CDMA networks have greater coverage from GSM networks

  • 3G is only available in major cities

  • In a few years, CDMA will be replaced by a 3GSM/GSM850 network that will have the same coverage as the CDMA network. The CMDA network will be switched off eventually, meaning CDMA phones will become void.

 Satphone

A Satphone
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 Probably the largest area of satellite usage is the telephone market. The uptake of satellite phones in the tourism sector, is growing with hand-held satellite phones easy to use, easy to obtain, and they provide a reliable, private, communication service to users. SatPhones are also now available with dual modes enabling CDMA/Satellite or GSM/Satellite, allowing you to carry one handheld phone device and selecting the most appropriate network for your needs.

Satphones can be either purchased outright for less than the cost of purchasing and fitting an HF radio and antenna to your vehicle, or hired. Various plans are available to suit your needs.

Don't forget however, that if you are going to rely on a satellite phone as your only method of emergency communication, you will need to take a list of emergency contact numbers. Note - just like a mobile phone, a satphone will enable you to direct dial Police or Ambulance by dialing 112, even without a SIM card in the phone.

More information on these types of radios are available in our Satellite Phone article.

 Other Satellite Devices

Satellite dish mounted at the front of a caravan
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 Satellite technology really enables us to "communicate" beyond the bounds of transmitting and receiving just voice data. Satellites transmit video, data and audio content so more satellite receiving devices are being developed all the time to deliver things such as broadband by satellite, high speed internet, satellite TV, video conferencing, multicasting, voice over internet protocol, and mobile broadband in both business and recreation. Mobile broadband is already achievable wherever you can drive a 4WD - essentially, you can now have any broadband related services at your fingertips simply by installing a small satellite receiver to your vehicle.

One of the major drivers of satellite technology is its' inherent strength as a broadcast medium. Safety alerts, regional information and other targetted messages could well be sent direct to drivers in their vehicles around the country via satellite multicasting. We can certainly expect to gain access to more reliable information when on the road through new services provided by either government or private services using multicasting in the future.

 Important Note on EPIRBs

The internationally owned satellites that monitored the 121.5 MHz distress beacons have now been switched off and therefore, it is absolutely crucial that you upgrade to a digital 406 MHz distress beacon immediately - if you have not done so already.

406 MHz distress beacons save lives. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) that coordinates all aviation and maritime search and rescue across Australia’s 53 million square kilometre search and rescue region, no longer has the ability to detect an analogue 121.5 MHz distress beacon via satellite.

406 MHz beacons must be registered with AMSA. Registration is free and can be done on-line at the AMSA web site. When upgrading to a 406 MHz distress beacon it is essential that old analogue models are appropriately disabled and disposed of responsibly so that they do not trigger false alarms. More advice about distress beacons is available from the AMSA web site: www.amsa.gov.au/beacons or by calling 1800 406 406.

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