hire of sat phone

Submitted: Monday, Jun 21, 2004 at 21:54
ThreadID: 13993 Views:1884 Replies:6 FollowUps:6
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hi all will be travelling from melbourne to ayers rock then back along the loop road
into alice then back down the black top to kulgera then heading to mt dare to cross
the simpson to birdsville hope to cross the desert last week in july.
vehicle is well prepared and well equiped hilux diesel with uhf any advice on
weather i should hire a sat phone for the simpson crossing.
regards linz.
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Reply By: Member - Landie - Monday, Jun 21, 2004 at 21:59

Monday, Jun 21, 2004 at 21:59
Hi

It's a bit like having insurance, you never need it till you need it. If you are travelling with children I think it is a must.

Regards
AnswerID: 64293

Reply By: Member - Tom (NT) - Monday, Jun 21, 2004 at 22:24

Monday, Jun 21, 2004 at 22:24
We hired a sat phone for the crossing last year. You can hire a phone from Odnadatta and return it at Birdsville it was about $25.00 a day. If you ring the Odnadatta cops they will be able to give you some more info.
Cheers
Tom
AnswerID: 64298

Follow Up By: Member - John - Monday, Jun 21, 2004 at 22:35

Monday, Jun 21, 2004 at 22:35
Bloody hell Tom, I just rented my sat phone out for $40 a week, LOL
John and Jan

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Follow Up By: Puddin (Sydney) - Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 13:24

Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 13:24
John, I'll make shore I call you next time I want one, you could triple that & still be cheap
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Reply By: Crackles - Monday, Jun 21, 2004 at 22:29

Monday, Jun 21, 2004 at 22:29
At around $25 per day hire for the 3 day crossing it's cheap insurance but of course 10 years ago you couldn't get one so it could be argued "Is it really neccesary"? If you are travelling in the tourist season (June to Sept) you would rarely have to wait long for assistance when sticking to main routes like you are anyway. Cheers Craig..............
AnswerID: 64300

Reply By: brian - Monday, Jun 21, 2004 at 22:35

Monday, Jun 21, 2004 at 22:35
for $25 per day for first trip i would take it kids will love chatting to their mates from the desert,gives greater safety margin not only for you but you may come across someone that needs a hand
AnswerID: 64303

Follow Up By: Rosco - Bris. - Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 07:10

Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 07:10
You'd better take the plastic as well. I doubt the $25 will include calls.
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Follow Up By: Voxson (Adelaide) - Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 07:30

Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 07:30
I would assume you were joking about actually talking on it....
Calls will cost approx $1:00 per 30secs + a 0.40c flagfall......
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FollowupID: 325436

Reply By: Groove - Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 09:22

Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 09:22
I crossed the simpson a few years back for the second time. The first time no problem at all. The second time I spent $3000 on preparing the car, I was very thorough.

Spare hoses, belts nuts bolts, spare spring (coil) everything!

Well we still managed to break down. We waited two days for another car to come along, fortunately they had a sat phone, but would you belive the batery was flat and they had forgotten to pack the charger!.

The next car later that day had a phone and two days later a tow from Bridsville arrived. Actually we had to put it in on a trailer becaus it basically had no rear axel housing.

Five days sitting in the middle of the simpson, average temp 40* during the day. Would have killed for a sat phone.

Get the phone!

By the way the tow to birdsville cost $3400, then trucked the car to brisbane for repairs. Hitched a ride with a pilot out of Birdsville, room for one passenger only. Hired a car drove back to Birdsville to pick up gear and girlfriend. Drove to Sydney.

All up over $5000. NRMA picked up $4500 of the tab.
What a trip!
AnswerID: 64343

Reply By: romska - Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 16:24

Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 16:24
Hi Liz,whilst some of the above comments are certainly valid,you do have another option if you feel you need communications in case of a breakdown.Buy a second hand HF radio.These are still widely used by many travellers to the remote regions. A new,top of the range Codan or Barrett with 600 channels would cost around $3500. A cheap used radio with only one channel will be around $250- $300 with antenna. Often less. And when you finish your trip you can resell the radio without any loss.You only need one channel,8.022 Mhz,on which you can call in to base from anywhere in Australia during the scheduled call times,talk to other people travelling around the country,get weather and road condition reports,receive and send messages and much more.I'm not sure but I think you can also place phone calls,depending on whose network you access.The best and most used organisation is VKS737,the 4wd and radio network,with bases all around Australia.
This organisation is far superior to anything that the RFSD can,or used to,do.If you have an emergency,they will arrange assistance for you.This is an excellent network. I know,I was a member for some years and will be again when I begin touring once more next year.You can contact them on www.vks737.on.net
And,Liz,if you go down this road,don't be talked into paying for extra channels.You only need the one. It will work from every corner in Australia with only 8022. If more channels are already in the radio,that's fine,but you'll then need a more complex (translated as 'more expensive') antenna.
These radios,unlike Sat Phones are free to use,no charge for calls,and are fun to sit around the fireplace in the outback and talk to fellow travellers. You can't do that with the Sat Phone.Good luck,regards. Roman.
AnswerID: 64427

Follow Up By: linz - Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 22:19

Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 22:19
thanks for your answers to my sat phone question
at about $ 25-00 a day plus calls its pretty cheap insurance will also check out seconhand hf radios.
regards linz.
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Follow Up By: Jabiru1 - Tuesday, Jul 06, 2004 at 14:55

Tuesday, Jul 06, 2004 at 14:55
Where can you purchase a secondhand HF Radio?
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FollowupID: 327421

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