Emergency Communication in WOOP WOOP - SPOT/INREACH/SAT PHONE????

Congratulations Bean on identifying the differing 'help required' scenarios that can crop up when traveling remotely (many people see these issues simply as emergencies, or not). Have you read the comprehensive article here at Exploroz on Communications ? With your projected needs outlined to an extent, a used HF radio, plus membership of one of various service providers might be best for you. Providers with the lower basic fees include Bush Telegraph and the HF Radio Club - others charging generally higher fees include HFOz and VKS-737. In my view, the higher charges are entirely reasonable for those providers that provide extra value, such as comprehensive national coverage and/or extensive personal contact opportunities.

"Sat phone plans that don’t cost through the roof???"

What do you mean through the roof?

We have a Iridium through Pivotel and it's about $45 per month, the advantage of this provider is all in incoming calls are charged to the caller at standard mobile rates, we use this when travelling for work as all our staff have mobile phones with unlimited call..... meaning it doesn't cost us a cent and the sat phone is classed as a standard mobile call, if we have to phone the staff we ring them and they return the call.

HF radio is good but the initial purchase cost of $2000-$4000+ is more expensive than the $500-$800 plus yearly fee of $500.

The advantage of a sat phone is you can call anyone anywhere anytime and you don't have to worry about atmospheric conditions or have an understanding of HF radio..... a 5 year old can use a sat phone...... and anyone can call you anywhere anytime.

What price do you put on peace of mind and safety and cost should not come into it as it is relatively cheap.

We have a prepaid satellite phone. It cost us around $500 after the subsidy. I send gps generated emails home to the grand kids on a daily basis and we get the occasional update email (free) every now and then. We spent $30 for a recharge of 100 units about 18 months back just before our Simpson drive and it expires on 6 June next year. We will throw another $30 into it then for the next 12 or whatever months. Calls to satellite phone can cost heaps that's why we use emails. Incoming are free and I haven't the faintest cost the outgoing ones are. I really don't care.

The only actual call I made on the phone was to Mt Dare to confirm arrival time. So I don't actually have any experience with call costs. It was purchased to satisfy my doctors orders and is only for emergencies. And if it costs heaps for a phone call then so be it as we are not chatter boxes or members of the Borg entity. Like breaking down in the bush. If our car breaks down and it costs a fortune to get a Chinook helicopter in to lift us and it out then that's the way it is.

The only shortfall with a satellite phone is that you cannot make a call "to anyone" and expect anyone local to hear you. You cant call anyone near me got any spare oil" and expect to get an answer. With HF or even UHF you may get that oil. The UHF goes so far and the extra distance could be gained with HF. We elected to forgo that expense and not install HF even though I have extensive mobile HF capabilities at home.

Satellite phone (prepaid), UHF and mobile phone suits our needs.

Phil

Hi exilebean

We chose a satellite phone for remote travel, and this proved wise for us. Purchased in case of a medical emergency so we could talk to RFDS quickly rather than wait for a pick up.

A help message would go out without the nature of the emergency being known. By then it could have been too late in a medical emergency. We did not need to use it for this.

We did need it on a subsequent trip, to order parts and follow up delays and mis-directed parts. This was not a life threatening emergency, but a situation we were able to handle ourselves with the right communications medium. On two occasions we were able to reassure family back home that we were well but we have been delayed out of range for an indefinite time frame.

For some, being part of the HF network vks737 suits them.

Motherhen

Exilebean,

being a bit of a gadget nut I have all of the above options. I didn't use Spot Connect so reverted to ordinary Spot. Having a satphone takes away some of the mystique of going bush, and you tend to get phone calls about things you didn't want to know about. Having the HF radio is a more immersive experience, and other than the initial cost, I would recommend it especially as you are touring for two years. Your loved ones can still reach you through the HF networks (by relayed message or email), but its a little bit harder, so it filters out the nuisance calls. You will be able to sell the radio at the end of your trip for as much as you paid in the first place. You can get a radio here for around $1200.

As for medical emergencies, the RFDS has an extensive HF network which can be raised by selcall at any time. But if you are worried about a few minutes difference between the time to raise them by phone or HF then maybe you should be doing your touring within an hour or two of a hospital. Frankly, if you've had an an argument with a taipan, blocked one of your coronary arteries or had a major stroke while travelling in Woop Woop, then its Tobin Brothers you'll be needing, and not the RFDS.

I'd suggest listening in to a VKS737 sked on 8022 KHz to see if that is for you. Depending on where you live one of the dealers might lend you a radio.

Bob

Phil pretty much summed up our opinion in his reply #523137.

We are not phone/email/web freaks. We wait until we're in normal mobile coverage for that, if needed. If you need constant

We have a satphone, GPS EPIRB, SPOT tracker and conventional Telstra mobiles.

If cost is an issue, maybe consider a Globalstar phone from Pivotel. They're cheap ($500) and if you get the subsidy, cheaper still, maybe $250.

Globalstar is really a budget option and you get what you pay for, but you did say it was for non life-threatening emergencies. Coverage in northern latitudes is not continuous, but the breaks are short. We had to use it on one trip at King Edward River to order car parts. That's pretty far north and it was fine for a non-emergency situation. South of, say, Brisbane, it's as reliable as any other and better than some and gets better the further south you are.

Though we have both, you really don't need the the SPOT/inReach AND the GPS EPIRB unless you want tracking. (Our kids gave us the Spot because they're interested in where we go).

I tested inReach for a company when the product was first introduced here. inReach is good if you don't want to outlay for a more expensive satphone. The two-way text facility is great, but I think the plans available in Australia are too expensive - almost double those in the US for the same service. It would be more expensive to buy than a subsidised Globalstar phone. And perhaps some others.

From what you have said I think you'd be fine with a satphone, GPS EPIRB and Telstra mobiles. The satphone will give you far more flexible communication than inReach or Spot Connect for possibly a lower monthly cost. If you want tracking for your at-home family, consider a basic SPOT as an addition.

That works for us, but the decision must be yours, of course.

Cheers

We have been on the road for over 2 years and I can assure you that Telstra and the like are a complete and utter waste of time if you are away from the main hub of the population, Telstra next G HA! what a joke they are, they charge every month whether they can give the service you pay for or not! I recon I have paid for 1 year with no service out of 2 years and 2 months away. I have to Bend over and take the pineapple like a man!

In March we got a PRE PAID "Inmarsat" satellite phone before the subsidy was supposed to stop at the end of June 2013 (I'd check to see if it's still available) anyway prepaid gives you a voucher of 50 credits (50 minutes talk time) for about $57 the voucher number can be activated any time within 12 months of purchase and you get 3 months to use the credit. This means, if you are using for emergencies only - it will only cost you $57 every 15 months.

We keep ours hidden away in the car just in case. We have not activated the voucher yet, but the peace of mind it gives you just knowing it is there if you have an accident, come across one or simply breakdown in the middle of nowhere is worth every cent.

Family members can log on to the website at [url=http://www.tc.com.au] TC Communications and send you a free of charge text message so you can call them back.

Loading all the emergency numbers for your trip is a good idea too as normal emergency numbers are superseded in middle of nowhere locations.

Get yourself sorted with Sat TV too! We only got one a few months ago and it is just great now we can get 110 stations (instead of 0-2) everywhere we go
Make sure you get the 30w 12v system so you don't need inverters to suck your batteries dry!

Put a puncture repair kit in the car too!

Have a great trip
Cheers Nigel "currently in Denham WA (great part of OZ)"

It has been discussed many times on here before but there are 2 very low cost sat phone options.

Both need an Iridium 9505,9505A, 9555, or new one that I forget. You can pick them up second hand on ebay from $500

Then you need to connect to Iridium
1)The cheapest way.
If you have an existing Telstra post paid phone with international enabled, just take the sim out and plug it into your Sat phone.
2)Get a non advertised $10 per month post paid plan from Telstra, and also have international roaming enabled.
Both will work *anywhere* in the world.

For both plans, calls are $4.00 per minute in or out, and texts are $1.50 but do not work reliably when texting optus or Vodafail customers.

Someone calling you pays the normal mobile fees, not $18 to $24 per minute like some satellite plans.

I promised on a previous thread that I would check the Isatphone charges.Well I finally got around to it. I just got off the phone from them.

This is right from Addcom who are our Satellite phone service providors.

Satellite phone outside Alice Springs to home phone in Canberra is 91 cents per minute. Satellite phone outside Alice Springs to my son's Mobile in Canberra is $1.09 a minute.

My son's home phone to our satellite phone is around $1.10 to $1.20 per minute.

Mobiles cost more and up to $11 per minute for Optus.

All phone calls TO the satellite phone depend on the caller's providor plan. If they are $11 (apparently a typical Optus charge) then that is what the caller pays. If they are free then that is what the caller pays.

All 000 calls are free.

They can't understand where the claims of $20+ a minute for calls to the Isatphone come from.

To me it sounds like people are maybe just bagging the isatphone because it has better service. My son borrowed a competitors phone and it worked but due to drop outs it was a pain.

I suggest that it you are thinking of a satellite phone then ring the providors yourself and ask specific questions. Don't try to work out what a spreadsheet contains and don't believe the rumour mongers on this forum. When they called me back after an email I broke it down to specific situations as I would encounter in Australia to Australia home and mobile. Not interested in overseas etc. We don't go there.

Phil

Would instantly buy a Spot Connect if they had external aerial and external power supply.