VHF vs satphone

Pardon me, ment to be HF

Yes, communication in remote areas from safety POV is main concern. So why do you recon HF is better then satphone? My primitive login (not necessarily correct) suggests on the contrary.

Thanks
Serg

I’ve viewed HF as a communication package, not just something to be used in an emergency. I belong to a network (Radtel) that enables amongst other things connection via HF to a telephone. I’m also a member of VKS-737. HF gives you a broader opportunity of communicating with multiple people at once due to the ‘broadcast’ nature of radio communication. Also you won’t be at risk of a problem with the satellite connection or problems with the service provider and this topic has been well covered in the case of Globalstar.

One important consideration is that in the event of an emergency you may need to ‘convince’ the authorities as to the nature and validity of your emergency if making direct contact via telephone. In the case of HF and the VKS-737 network this is all but guaranteed and is a proven resource. Use a Satphone and you are on your own and without the assistance of professionals who now how to work with the authorities in emergency situations.

I don’t believe that one should be to the exclusion of the other and the reason I carry both is to back up my communication capability. Murphy’s Law suggests that when something goes wrong it all goes wrong, so having a communication alternative might be a useful thing. If this isn’t possible I would definitely go HF as it provides a communication package and this is how you need to think about it.

HF is a communication package; Satphones are a communication tool.

It's like comparing cricket with baseball. Two entirely different things.

Think about this scenario. I am led to believe it really happened....

You're out in the Tanami and have done a bit of a reccy in the bush. You're about 5klm off the main track and you've holed your fuel tank. Being the well-prepared traveller you are, you have the materials to fix the hole...but now you have no diesel to re-fill your tank.

If you have a sat-phone, you have to make several expensive calls before finally getting the number of and phoning up the nearest garage, which happens to be at Alice Springs. You get onto a nice bloke who says he'd love to drive out 300klm with 2 jerries of diesel just for you. You give him the coordinates and he says he'll "only" charge you $1,000- for this exercise and he'll throw in the diesel for free.

Now, if you had a HF radio, you call up the VKS737 base operator and the radio call is heard by numerous other members of the radio network all over Australia. There is a very good chance that a fellow traveller could be just a few kilometers away on the Tanami Track and would be more than happy to let you have 20 or 30 litres of diesel for the cost price plus a 6 pack of grog etc.

This is just one scenario.

Another one I was involved in a few years ago..... We had been rained-in at Birdsville for 3 days, waiting for the Birdsville Track to re-open. On the morning it re-opened, we had travelled about 60 klm southwards and i was listening to the morning "skeds". 4 blokes were just about to leave Longreach, headed down our way and wanted to know whether the BT had been re-opened. The base operator (who happened to be operating out of St Mary's base in Tasmania), said as far as he was aware the BT was still closed but asked if anybody had any more up to date info. I was able to get on the HF and let the Base Operator (and the 4 blokes) know that the track had been re-opened about an hour earlier.

All good stuff.......

Roachie

G'day Bill,

Just thinking, is there a phone number that a Satphone operator could contact VKS737 on? I am sure they would do their best to help.

bushfix Hi

Thats not really the point, the sat phone owner should be a member of VKS-737, as I have too be a member of Radtel to use the phone on my Radio and have direct lines to Police, automotive groups etc.

Regards

Richard

G'day Bushfix,

Yes there is a VKS 737 phone number that members can give to their family, friends and work colleagues. This is for the purpose of delivery of short, urgent messages.

So, say you have an elderly parent about whom you have concerns whilst you are away on a remote trip. You give the VKS number to your brother/sister etc. In the event of an emergency, the relative can phone the number and ask that a message be broadcast over the next skeds in the hope that you might be listening in. The message might be: "message for Whiskey 6226.... please contact John at earliest opportunity regarding your dad".....or something like that.

Thanks for this “informative” answer. I understand that having everything is better then having nothing. You either have more spare cash in your hand then me (good on ya!) or been collecting your toys for quite a while (hopefully eventually I came to the same situation). My question was not about what is better everything or nothing, but rather where to start.

Thanks
Serg

There is no easy answer, thats why I gave my reasons for each type.

I would go a HF radio and EPIRB (with GPS) or a Sat Phone and EPIRD (with GPS).

The EPIRB is if everything else fails are you cannot use the other gear due to injury or damage to the equipment.

HF does have it's advantage as Roachie said in his post.

I would rate HF on the VKS network the best due to there experiance, knowledge and service.

I rate safety as a number 1 priority..... but something is better then nothing.

I think it should be illegal for people who travel in remote areas not to have a EPIRB with GPS, think of the resources it takes to find someone lost.

The VKS network should do alive audio feed on there web site so people can listern into the scheds.

Regards Richard

Hi Tim

All valid points you raise, and as I have said neither HF or Satphone should be considered as exclusive to the other, both are different.

Much is made of the 'emergency' communications aspect, and once again this is a prime consideration when travelling in the outback. However, when looking at HF it should be seen as an overall communication package as its scope goes far beyond emergency requirements.

As a final comment; have a look at some of the post relating to Globastar and the disruption to the Satphone services. Now there is more than one Satphone provider, for example Iridium, and they do not appear to have had any problems to date. That is not to say they won't (or will).

You won't experienc the same sort of problems with HF radio, whilst the intial cost is higher, the ongoing costs are far less and you remove a potential problem by not having to rely on a service provider.

HF can have some performance limitations depending on the time of day; but it won't be shut down and you are almost certainly going to be able to contact someone if you want to.

If budget is the issue....go HF.

i got lucky. scored a thrane & thrane mini-m unit for $170. Yep, new battery cost $220 but no ongoing costs, no joining fee, $2.60 per minute if I choose to use it via Inmarsat, an impressive network. Importantly, my kids can use it if necc and it is portable.

Hi mate,

I am sure you have made the write choice. I am on my second unit now (well pick it up next week) and highly recommend VKS-737 and RADTEL for a newer unit (ie CODAN NGT) as you can us the HF for phonecalls.

Enjoy your HF

Dave