Coden NGT HF radio

Hi Kim we have had ours about 7 months bought new in Adelaide. After alot of research on sat and hf we bought the NGT over the barrett mainly because of the size of the head unit and resale value. I installed it about 6 weeks before we headed up into the kimberleys for nine weeks I found that apart from the training given from electric bug is that you must in the first two weeks play with it every day oh and the radio no seriously practice is a must i would call in on my way to work and say that I am a new user and they at vks737 are very helpful also we practiced alot with beacon calls which is very helpful in learning the frequencies we also joined Radtel for the phone service and used when ever we were out of service for a number of days (the grandparents wanted to know how there babies were) we would make calls, thats where the practice really helps because you may need to try several frequencies before you get the best one.
Some people don,t like to here about others when camping but my wife is not real keen on isolated camps when no one around and on this last trip this was not an issue as we would set up camp have the skeds on with the door open and a tinny log in and listen to everyone else to where they are at sometimes just down the track.
It is very easy to use if you can use a mobile you pick it up.
We paid $3190

Christian
sierra 1060

Hi Kim. What do you need to know ?

Kim, the NGT is a very capable radio. The handset and method of operation is similar to a phone handset (although a bit larger). The operation can be daunting if you don't have help and aren't a radio person. The handbooks are enough to keep you awake reading for a while.:)
However if set up properly , they are fairly straightforward.
Don't know how familiar you are with HF. People seem to be divided into two categories, those who love HF and those who will only use a satphone. Personally I like both for different reasons.
I can recommend the NGT, I've *played* with a few of them and see a few on a day to day basis (but not as many as the older sets because of their cost).
If thinking of buying be sure that you get all the leads (worth around 1K !!) that come with it and hopefully a 9350 autotune aerial (the bees knees of mobile HF aerials)
Let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

Footloose

Thanks for that. I went to one shop and was quoted around $4,000 fitted will three hours of training.

I'm having a bit of difficulty (in Melbourne) identifying retailers who stock this item.

Regards

Kim

You may want to try a more practical model and consider trading up if you see the need later. The NGT is overpriced and frankly not user friendly particularly if you have others in the vehicle who are not savvy with the menus. The previous models are quite simple as evidenced by my young boy (8y/o) being able to easily fire it up and tune to skeds etc etc.. There are consequences if you are the one requiring attention and no one else has shown any interest in dedicating hours of time being trained on the "off chance"!! Most NGT guys seem to have big cheque books and lots of dream time!! LOL Good luck with your choice. Cheers
(PS I prefer to travel with both satellite and HF as part of my risk plan)

Thanks for your response

After a fair bit of background work since my post, I'm now thinking more about a Sat phone. Any comments on the Motorola 9505A?

Also which network would you recommend?

Regards

Kim

Kim,

If possible go with the Sat phone and HF.

Both can be good one day and ordinary the next. Both need to be set up correctly in the vehicle.

I have been using a hand held Sat phone for all the big trips that I do, but this year I want to get it set up in the vehicle with a external aerial. I don't think it would matter what service provider you went with, they all have satellites up there, it is a matter of locking on to the satellites

It is a pity a Sat phone provider could not link up with the GPS satellites. I can always get a signal for the GPS but not always for the Sat Phone.

As far as the HF goes, I got one that is second hand set it up in the Troppie and it works fine. Use it to check in with VKS, listen to where other vehicles are and the weather reports.

I have not had to use either device in a emergency as yet, and hope that I will not have to, but they are there if needed.

Wayne