HF Radios for Sale

Yeah!!! How Phoney can they get!!!!!

hehe...boom boom...good one!

LOL, good one, Ray.

For you amateurs, it would be the School of Digital Radio Concentrator Systems!

LOL, School of the Air sounds great Bob but somehow School of the Telephone just doesn't have the same ring to it :)

Shouldn't it be "School of the Wire"?

Or maybe School of the Copper"?

Cheers,
Greg

Yes Greg point taken. Still doesn't sound right though.

The damn telephone drives me nuts these days, always someone trying to sell something. Some mob rings up and immediately put me on hold, they gotta be nuts if they think I will hang around wasting my time listening to junk music till they get to me. Then there's the very professional voice telling me it's my lucky day having an opportunity to win a prize...clunk, hang up. Then I get...we are going to send you a free CD...neato I say, what band...no no...A CD about property investment....oh I need a computer...sorry haven't got one of those...bye
It goes on and on.....

I can beat that one ray.

I get one saying "This message was intended to be taken by an answering machine... Goodbye"...

Whats better, I got the same message ON the answering machine...

also get the put on hold as soon as you answer thing.. I just leave the phone layin there next to the keyboard until I hear it hang up. They can listen to me playin games

School of the Air is now being called in most states
"The Distance Learning Centre" Using broadband satellite with Web Cams so the whole class can see the teacher and each other.

Did the tour of the Alice Springs School of the Air last year, a very interesting tour indeed and at that time they only had a couple of outer stations still to complete their Sat Installations, Probably done by now I guess. Then they said their base would not be using HF anymore.
This Sat upgrade is part of the Fed Governments commitment to upgrading communications in the bush before the final sale of Telstra.

Same with the RFDS at Alice and Broken Hill both said that they had so few people using HF for medical use that they would soon be switching the system off so to speak, All done by phone now.

VKS members in trouble call the VKS base who then phone the RFDS for the required help.

Going by overseas experience during times of disaster I don't think it's such a good idea placing complete reliance on comms with sats and microwave links and recently some small Pacific Island nations were completly isolated from the rest of the world for a few days when a major sat had a malfunction, that wasn't well publicised at all.

VKS members can talk to the RFDS direct through a telephone patch, just hit the correct selcall number and you'll be patched through automatically.

G'day Ruth,

Rain,eh? Yeah, I've heard about that stuff!

No joy here this year for that stuff, not as bad you folk, but have only had 68mm for the year. Have heaps of Ricko's cattle here too, but he didn't want 'em back the other day, after he got 20mm.

Not flat out, but too busy here to get to Maree, that's what I'm saving retirement for.

Funny weather of late, warm at moment, but has been cool. Haven't even pulled on a jacket this winter.

See ya..

Please advise what one needs to be careful of.

These are all "base sets", but were run on power supplies, or to a lesser extent, 12 volt batteries.

Please explain....?

Apologies Bob, my comment was too brief. I think some of the later discussion in the thread very adequately cover the issues that buyers need to consider.

??? the last late model codan I saw had most of the functions on the mike

That's the NGT. If you can afford one new, or if you find one second hand go for it. I have had some (including operators of VKS737) say that they need a pilots license to operate and that the 9323 is much easier but I can't really comment.

I can't afford one. I know footloose picked a couple up on ebay a little while ago - they don't often come up secondhand. If he's on he may comment.

The second hand ones on ebay went for about the same price with NO antenna as a good 9323 with an antenna. Apparently their suppression of background noise is fantastic.

I'll stick with my 9323 thanks. I didn't steal any gold on the way back through Kalgoorlie :o(

Dave

Dave,

Have just returned from the Isa this arvo, and if I'd had more time yesterday arvo, could have gone up and inspected a few, and posted here.

I haven't had much to do with Codans since we got the phone on in '92, and put in a UHF repeater a few years later. Do have an 8525 A series, which we won in an RFDS raffle, and it has been one of the better Codans we have used.

Dave, I realise you mean well with your replies, as to reliability/usefulness of these radios, but I was aiming the original post at the EO members who wanted an HF for emergencies, daily VKS737 skeds, and maybe some radphone use. They might have a troopy, or large 4WD, and could mount it in the rear, or on the cargo barrier. Not everyone wants to have their HF on all day, and judging by some comments on later model common rail diesels. you can't hear signals, while engine is running anyway.

Also, auto-tune aerials on radios of this vintage, would be an expensive extra purchase. Better a Terlin multi tap whip, that would be marginally more robust in a vehicle rollover, than an auto aerial.

Case of "caveat emptor"?

Hooroo...

Hi Bob,

Point taken though I am of the era where latin wasn't taught at school so the last bit lost me :o)

If anyone was interested Frankston amateur radio club do a great tapped whip at a very good price and have them specifically for VKS &RFDS frequencies.

Certainly if you have a place to mount them they are still a workable item like you suggest though you won't be able to direct dial on them and it would be really useful if they were of the variety with selcal.

So long as the price was exceptional - because even the tapped whip with base and spring isn't going to be cheap unless you pick one up second hand with the right frequencies on it - they are potentially worth purchasing.

But say the radio was $300, reprogramming was $80-100 (Telstat or similar charge about this to burn a standard eeprom), the base spring and antenna about $300 (FAMPARC) or more for name brand, plus postage at about $20, its all starting to add up. At least they aren't old crystal locked boxes and they can be affordably reprogrammed. I have seen many people buy the crystal version only to find out reprograming 5 frequencies is going to cost more than they paid for the radio.

You can buy a remote 8528 and tapped whip for less than a grand on ebay if you watch it for a while and wait patiently, and get a remote 8528 and autotune for between $1000 & $1400 depending on the age of the autotune.

I'm not suggesting people don't buy them, someone will. Just making sure people know what they are doing as I have horse traded in HF gear a bit. I've had wins and I've been burnt a couple of times. But there's nothing worse than buying something that either won't do what you wanted or finding out that there's so much more you can do if you had spent an extra couple of hundred bucks. (eg. Radtel direct dial, selcal fellow travellers and bases, selcal preprogrammed support services etc.)

In all likely hood the fact that they are for sale is likely to mean VKS737 will pick up another 40 members or a good portion there of and maybe a few new people will be introduced to the joys of travelling as a member of the HF radio community. You aren't as alone out there as you think.

Just tonight on the Alice Springs sched they were helping a bloke on the Mitchell River somewhere organise a new radiator for his vehicle. Other members were relaying for the guy in trouble and probably by tomorrow mornings sched he'll have a solution or be very close to it as a result of being a member of what I personally think is one of the best communities on the road.

You can always leave it on 8022 and put an extension speaker in the front. You never know when you may be able to be of immense assistance to a fellow traveller just down the road a few km or maybe more. Heck it could be me!

Travel safely and go with HF :o)

For more info on the 4wd radio network go to VKS737's web page at www.vks737.on.net

Dave

Dave,

Thanks reply, sounds like you know the Codans well. Feel that anyone interested in one of these, would be well-armed to do a deal with School of Air, with the ample amount of info you've posted.

RF Industries also make good multi tap aerials, or at least they used to.

No latin scholar either, Dave, but 'caveat emptor' means buyer beware.

Am aware of vks737 network, and have heard nothing but praise for it. Sounds like the camaraderie of the (regrettably) now extinct RFDS/outpost network. While the medical section is still strong, (we've had 2 evacs, one at night, in last 6 weeks) the "bush community" departed, as the last of the DRCS phones were installed.

Thanks Dave,

Hooroo...

Buyer beware applies to most of such purchases. At least these are coming from a fairly reliable source. Maybe interested people could tempt Footloose to organise a bulk purchase, reprogram them and distribute them to the individuals for a small fee... it may not be an option though as he is heading off soon. (Sorry to drop you in it Jim.)

Dave

You just have to remove the AD board that controls the older 8558 autotune first. I beleive the Amateur option requires a very special and difficult to get password to access. So I've been told...

I'll bet Footloose could get the Mr Whippy badge.

Dave