HF radio
Submitted: Sunday, Apr 20, 2003 at 21:28
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robbo
Hi everyone
thinking to purchase a
HF radio . We travel regulary in South Australia eg simpson,flinders west coast ect,and usally with a small group. I thought of a Sate phone ( to expensive with high on going costs ).apart for the purchase cost the
HF radio seems to be a better way to go.The unit I have looked at is Barrett 950 HFSSB coupled with Garmin GPS V.
I have also been told that the antenna must be mounted from the rear eg. on the wheel carrier and not on the front bar due to Government reg's ?
Any feed back would be great.
Reply By: Rob - Sunday, Apr 20, 2003 at 22:21
Sunday, Apr 20, 2003 at 22:21
Rear mount - yes. Anything mounted on the vehicle that could
obstruct a driver's vision is banned. That said, we drove around
for a years trip with it mounted on the bull bar - with no problems
from the
police. It was in front of the passenger which was rather
distracting for them until we got used to it being there. We saw a few
other vehicles with it on the front. The regulations may vary from state to state.
When you talk about coupling the HF to the GPS - I am not sure
if there are any public networks that will accept GPS fixes over HF
- due to the regulations on particular pieces of the RF spectrum
being used for voice only - not data. The last I heard from VKS737
was that they had applied for the license but had not heard anything.
The situation may have changed in the meantime.
We liked the Barratt - it was interesting to hear the chat at
sched times - although often hectic during the winter peak
travelling times!
Rob
AnswerID:
17983
Follow Up By: lizard - Sunday, Apr 20, 2003 at 23:36
Sunday, Apr 20, 2003 at 23:36
Re rear mounting - the other issue is the antenna and/or mount is not allowed to protrude forward of the bull bar .... this goes for everything , eg, rod holders , spotties etc ....
FollowupID:
11292
Reply By: Phil G - Sunday, Apr 20, 2003 at 22:58
Sunday, Apr 20, 2003 at 22:58
Robbo,
Just bought a Barrett 950 last week from Electric Bug - hopefully install it tomorrow. I went HF because of its multiple uses and low ongoing costs - weather reports, road reports and mine has been programmed with lots of other stuff on it.
I was looking into using Radtel or Bush Telegraph for making phone calls via HF. Anyone with any experience in either of these? Radtel charge $110 per year and 99c per minute for unlimited calls.
AnswerID:
17986
Follow Up By: Eric from Cape York Connections - Monday, Apr 21, 2003 at 10:34
Monday, Apr 21, 2003 at 10:34
Phill I use radtel for my phone connections , now that he has got all the base stations up and running its good. I use him from up in the cape to
home south of
Sydney and get good clear calls . The key with HF is learn how to use it .You will then have a unbelivable tool for out back travel. Also join vks737 the information from this site will benifite you in out back travell.
All the best
Eric
Cape York Connections
FollowupID:
11298
Follow Up By: Phil G - Monday, Apr 21, 2003 at 12:24
Monday, Apr 21, 2003 at 12:24
Thanks Eric.
I've joined VKS737 (Sierra 7231) and will be going to a HF course (4 hrs) next month. I'll attempt to learn as much as I can before the course. I've been away on club trips in the desert and the VKS 737 network was invaluable, especially one trip where the Simpson was washed out. My wife doesn't do the desert trips much, so phone calls
home would be useful. I'll look into Radtel.
Cheers
Phil
FollowupID:
11301
Reply By: JC - Monday, Apr 21, 2003 at 08:16
Monday, Apr 21, 2003 at 08:16
Robbo
I would recheck the costs on Sat phones they have come down a lot in the last year. A phone now costs under $1000.00 and monthly costs as low as $15.00/ month with $2.00 /min for calls. You have the oppertunity to change plan twice A year so you can hve even cheeper calls when you are away.
regards
John
AnswerID:
17998
Follow Up By: rugs - Friday, Apr 25, 2003 at 20:29
Friday, Apr 25, 2003 at 20:29
JC,
I'm a bit disappointed with the variability of
hf radio. Some days it's strong and reliable, other days,well I wouldn't like to be in urgent need of help. Anyhow can you give me details of the service that offers satphone connection for $15/month.
Thanking you Vince
FollowupID:
11505
Reply By: miker - Tuesday, Apr 22, 2003 at 14:58
Tuesday, Apr 22, 2003 at 14:58
Robbo,
Just been through the exercise (was asking Q. here a couple of weeks ago). Barrett 950 on the bullbar. Have been playing with it (radio) now for a week.As everyone says it just a matter of practise. Happy with the coverage and the
beacon system makes it quite simple to make phone calls (Radphone). Sellcall 3630. Wish I'd had it (could afford it) years ago. See ya in the bush!
Miker.
Miker.
AnswerID:
18096