HF ?

G'day David..
Guess it depends on what level of emergency..
If it's a Mayday (and the crap has really hit the fan BIG time) I reckon an EPIRB may not be out of the question...
If the co-driver has fallen over & broken a leg- HF with VKS737 facilities would be the go (if necessary could activate RFDS)..
Etc Etc

The HF Radio Club is another option. Similar to VKS737. See the web site here HF Radio Club
Rod

If it's an emergency situation, costs be damned. I would like to call specific people and have them call me back directly as often as I need. I don't want to have to worry about range or suchlike hiccups.
I read all the posts about the options on the Forum and spoke to all sorts of people, and decided to go with my Iridium satphone.But as has been said, it's very personal and must be whatever works for you.

See the comms page here for guidance - also, a few years back I wrote a short article on the VKS737 site (to the extent that my experience would permit :-o)....... it may be of use.............http://www.vks737.on.net...... hit the Satphone TAB, rightside........ as others have mentioned here at times, the HF Radio Club has a following too ........ may be worth a look.

I'd hazard a guess that aviation comms isn't that different to 4wd.
Want to call the wife? Satphone
Want to call aircraft in your vicinity? Radio
Going to crash and burn ? EPIRB. :))))

EPIRB is a final source - the new UHF with in-built GPS will do the job well in life or death situations.

If it's less than perceived life/death then an Amateur Radio is the best bet
Suggest Yaesu FT857D/897D

this will provide the ability to communicate across the whole HF radio spectrum (and more) and in an emergency it's perfectly legal to transmit on any frequency.

Outside an emergency; many people use such sets on VKS737 although, even better, is to obtain an Amateur Radio licence which has been made fairly straightforward with the introduction of the Foundation Licence
Foundation Licence

Mike Harding

I use HF. Codan 9323/9350 combo.
Codan 6924 with VKS frequencies as backup

David,

This is my take on the whole HF vs Sat Phone thingy. Take it as you will with all the other replies on this topic.

To start off with, I have had an interest in radio for many years, but as yet, haven't had the time to do the Amateur Radio thing, but I have 20+ years experience with HF comms as a traveller, but none with Sat phone.

The way I see the argument is this: both forms of communication have their advantages and disadvantages an it depends on the type and amount of travelling you plan on doing, as well as your own interests.

Personally, when I travel, I am often alone and have enjoyed listening in to the various 'skeds' in the evening (RFDS, VKS737, Amateur frequencies and travellers Nets, VH2RGC, HF radio club, and whatever else I care to tune into...aircraft, marine, ABC, VOA, BBC, and a host of others). Some HATE the crackling noise of HF in the bush and would prefer to ....sit by the fire drinking beer or sitting in their caravan watching TV or sleeping or cooking.....or whatever else takes your fancy. We all have different interests, likes and dislikes and we tend to travel with people who can cope with each others' idiosyncracies. If someone HATES listening to the HF skeds....don't travel with me.

As has been stated many times on this forum and others, some of the advantages of HF is that, like me, many listen in regularly and may be in a position to help someone in distress, whether it be with a medical emergency or car breakdown and may well be in a position to give advice, bring parts/medications etc with them if they are heading in the same direction or likely to meet up. The HF network is huge and it has a real community feel to it. Most are more than willing to help others and will often go out of their way to do so. This situation will not be available with the sat phone option. My feeling is that they are more convenient to make telephone calls and it is possible to summon assistance with the thing, but you do lose that wide 'community' network of help.

Also, the sat phone is easier to use...just like a normal phone, whilst the HF takes some degree of training and experience to get the best from it. This 'learning curve' is much easier is one is 'interested' in how the thing works and does a little reading on the principles of HF and how the radio waves travel, i terms of finding the right frequency for the right time of the day etc..

Ideally, I would like to have both, as I think it would be the best of both worlds. But for me, given that I can make telephone calls from the HF radio, via numerous providers (albeit with a little more difficulty and slightly less user friendly for the person called) the one option that does it for me is the HF.

I will not get into the debate about amateur rigs versus the commercial rigs, as I have never had an amateur rig, but suffice to say that I have never had a commercial rig let me down in over 20 years use and I have had a number of them over the years of both 'main' brands. Currently I have a Codan 9323 with remote head and front control panel so I have control from either the drivers' seat or at the back of the car so I can hear things with the back door open. The autotune antennas available these days are very reliable, unlike the one of a few years ago, which were a little 'precious' about when they would tune and were more susceptable to noise generated by the vehicle. I also carry a couple of tapped whips (just in case of autotune failure) and a centre-fed broadband dipole for when I'm in one place for a longer time. I do plan to do the amateur licence when time permits and I know that the Codan will do what I want it to do on the amateur bands. It will also allow me to scan several key frequencies for selcall contacts as I often have mates who are also travelling and it's nice to get a call from them occasionally...amateur sets will not perform this function adequately from my knowledge. Also the amateur network, whilst great for information about radio communication does not have the 'travelling' population of the VKS network.

I guess it's over to you........... if you like the idea of radio and can cope with a little training and learning curve. then the HF is the go. If you can't be bothered with fiddling about with radios and want the convenience of dialling a number and talking to someone immediately then get a sat phone (the right one though!!!!)

Cheers,

Mark

Hi David, (there seem to be an awful lot of us David's on here these days...)

I personally travel with a Codan NGT and an Iridium Satphone (using the International Roaming GSM SIM card method.)

If you told me I could only take one or the other, I'd happily hand you the satphone and travel on HF alone.

The reasons are detailed in many other threads, but the VKS737 network is comprehensive in it's ability to help, and you can selcal a phone link to many emergency services via the bases.

Dave

Hi David,

Just a point for all those actually making this type of decision; if on your travels you spend a lot of time doing non-vehicle based activities like bushwalking, canoeing etc, then perhaps comms that you can carry with you might be the better option? If you've fallen off a ledge while bushwalking and broken your legs then the HF wont be much good to you.

Personally I feel both have a role to play as part of any outback communication stategy and neither should be considered exclusive over the other.

If you can afford it (or value your life?) take both. If the buget doesn't extend that far go HF.

Cheers