HF Codan, Barrett or Q mac

I have had a Barratt 450 for 12 years, excellent unit never a problem. The Barratt people at the office in Perth are also very helpfull, customer focused. Hope it helps
Cheers

The QMAC is VERY small and portable but also basic - no Voice Squelch, only displays frequency rather than text, no GPS, no remote head, a bit lower in power etc.

It will do Beacon Calls and Telephone calls.

I have a Codan NGT "main reason" everything is on the handset
and simple to use

The Codan v Barrett debate is almost as fierce as the Toyo v Nissan, Engel v Waeco debates.
What 'specs' are you interested in?? The user friendliness or the performance??

As a VKS737 base operator (Adelaide & sometimes St Marys)..the signals & readability on my end of the string is probably the most important. If I get an unusually good signal (or even a disappointing signal) I sometimes ask the member the type of radio they're using.
Believe it or not- the older type radio seem to have more 'punch' when conditions are not great. Also, I find the tapped whip type antenna a bit stronger- in signal- than the auto-tune type (and a 8metre piece of wire is very effective).

Like new vehicles, the new generation transcievers have all the bells and whistles. Why have 500 channels, when you may use 30 at the most (and that includes RadTel)??

Also, like anything that requires a big outlay ask around (like you are??) of actual users and don't take to heart what the dealers spruke. In summary I don't think there is much between the newer Codan & Barrett (don't know much of the Q-Mac)

Personally, I use and old Codan 8525 (with tapped whip antenna) with a personalized eprom. I also got many years of good service from a real old Codan 7727- with a couple of lengths of wire as the antenna.

In the end it boils down to a personal choice, and your hip pocket.
However, the new Barrett 2050 has an entirely different design philosophy to the Codan NGT. Try and take a peek at both before shelling out.

If buying s/h, be sure you have a reliable tech on hand who knows his radios. This area can be a minefield for new players.

Did a trip through the Simpson and the Madigan line about 4 weeks ago .9 vehicles all up,Two had new Codans fitted and both worked well.VKS 737 operators are a great bunch and their help was invaluable.We had a situation develop back in Melbourne with a very ill grand child,and there was a real possibility that one of our group would have to fly home.VKS 737 Helped with plane info and passed on messages from Melbourne as soon as possible.We were all very grateful to have our friends with a radio I can tell you.These radios require a steep learning curve we found, but once understood they are the way to go.There is nothing better for getting local info on weather etc.In a big group a satphone as well would be handy as well,and they are getting cheaper as time goes by.

Regards,Paul Klat.
Melbourne ,Vic,Australia.
Toyota LC. 2004 TD
Too many extras to mention.

Don't know if you're familiar with this page...excellent
www.beadell.com.au/hf_information.htm

We were in the same situation 3 months ago we ended the ngt over the 2050 because it will fit any cars complicated dashes. It is not as easy as a sat phone to use starting off but the trick is use it and talk on it heaps for the first couple of weeks making beacon calls and selcalls if possible and you pick it up very easy.The best bit about hf is listening and loging into the skeds you never feel alone if you don't want to,and hearing where ever one is and going also the radtel option is fantastic to make phone calls from.

Icom also produce a great HF radio called the IC-F7000. Similar in pricing as the Codans/Barretts I believe (a bit cheaper than Codans) and has the option of a Moonraker auto tune antenna or can buy an adaptor cable for a Codan auto tune.

Icom radios are MIL spec and used extensively in mining so are very robust.

Regards
David