Tuesday, May 11, 2004 at 20:32
Rick,
Don't ever rely on CDMA etc for genuine outback travel; not even with an in-car kit and 6db external antenna. I have one of those set-ups and you might get a signal 20klm further out, but not reliable.
You have 2 choices (and then some!!!).
#1....Sat phone....great if you know who you want to call in time of need.
#2....
HF Radio.....(this is the way I went with
mine). With this option, yes you do need a licence; but you automatically get that when you join a radio network (I'm a member of VKS737....they have a web site....www.vks737.on.net
Picture this scenario.......You're out on the
Gibb River Road and you hole your fuel tank. No worries, you're
well prepared and carry gear to fix a hole of this nature. However, with hole fixed you've now got no fuel to get out. With Sat phone, you phone local servo (just 500klm up the road!!!) and they kindly offer to bring some fuel to you.....for 3 grand!!!) However, with the HF, you make a call to one of the Network's bases and when you outline your plight, there is a damn good chance that another network member will hear you and come your aid....they could be only a short distance away and would settle for a carton of coldies. It has happened.
With the HF, you also get to listen to all the banter that goes on (bit like the "
forum of the airwaves") during the daily "skeds".
These "skeds" are daily scheduled sessions from various bases (eg:
Alice Springs, Charters Towers,
Sandstone,
Adelaide, StMarys) wherby you can call in each afternoon and advise of your safe arrival at a certain spot etc. Before you leave on a trip, you can advise relatives etc of a phone number for the network so that they can phone you in the case of an emergency (if someone has died) and the network will broadcast the fact at the beginning of each session that there is a message for a particular member.
Sounds complex, but works easier than the way I've explained it here.
You can, if you wish, also use your
HF radio to make radio phone (ie: "radphone") calls, but you need to pre-arrange this (I haven't bothered with this).
Just my 2 cents worth.
Membership of VKS network is about $70- p/a
You can hire both HF and Satphones if you are only likely to use them infrequently, but I'm not sure of the respective costs.
Good luck,
Cheers,
AnswerID:
58223
Follow Up By: GOB & denny vic member - Tuesday, May 11, 2004 at 20:40
Tuesday, May 11, 2004 at 20:40
goodday roachie
how do you go talking toother members outside of sked times i havent tried it as i did not no if it was allowed or not hoping to buy my own set soon but in the meantime we hire one when we go away an d i just wondered about this side of talking between members
steve
ps i have uhf for intercar
FollowupID:
319932
Follow Up By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Tuesday, May 11, 2004 at 20:49
Tuesday, May 11, 2004 at 20:49
Steve,
No worries talking to other members out of sked times. In our club we've found that channel 5 (3995kHz) is the best for relatively short distances (say up to 400klm). It's always polite to listen to a channel for a few minutes to make sure no-one else is using it.
Also, if making a Selcall to another member, protocol dictates that you should announce the fact that you intend to make such a call beforehand so as not to inconvenience other members (but not too many people actually do this from my experience).
A few of us were returning from a Anzac Weekend trip down Hwy One south of Pt
Augusta recently. One of our members headed east towards Willmington (g'day Pesty!!) and we kept talking on Ch.5 for as long as we could as we kept heading southwards. However, once he got into the real hilly country, we lost him altogether.
FollowupID:
319933