Communication Dramas...to have or not?

Hi
That is my thoughts exactly...now if I can just get that communication happening at home! The kids and I might have to stage a mutiny :)

Hi there

As Troll sasid, there would be many people who do it with no comms at all. Some of these you will read about in the news but most will be ok.

Personally I wouldnt do it. I also have 4 kids (only 2 come camping now) and my wife would not let me take them anywhere without the comms gear. Even with the gear that I have she is still very wary of us going to some of the places that we wish to go to.

I have had a HF radio for about 4 years now, and have not had to use it in an emergency situation, more just for road reports and letting people know where we are, and it has been great.

Prior to getting the HF if we did any remote kind of trips I used to hire a sat phone to take out. Probably your best option at the moment I would think, unless of course you are planning to be doing ongoing trips for the next x years, then may be wise to invest the money into either a sat phone or a HF radio. Both have pluses and minuses.

Hi Richard
Thanks for the good advice..I have to admit I am at the "we are not going anywhere remote without something stage" It's not working to well for me but its early days lol! I think I may have to take charge of this and just go the phone hire lane!
All the Best
Richeal

Hi
Thanks for your advice...we were going to cross the Simpson ,but I won't do it without any comms, hence the grand plan of going to Birdsville and just crossing Big Red and straight back to Birdsville. My grand plan will be for him to read this thread and realize how important it is to have something!!:)
All the Best
Richeal

Get some comms. Hire or buy a satphone or Hf radio. It's insurance. While both of you might be fit, as you know, children get sick at the most inopportune times. A doctor on the end of the line can be such a reassurance.
What if one of them wander off in the night?
What if heaven forbid, one of you suffers a serious injury?
And, here's the kicker for a HF radio, what if he wants to listen to the FOOTBALL results ?

Hey There Footy..
Now if that last line you wrote doesn't convince him ..nothing will!! :)

You can also check out the Repeater lists '

UHF Repeater Map
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Hi
You're right we wont be going across the Simpson, and I am planning on staying on most major roads/ tracks. Thanks for the links..I'll check them out now
Richeal

Could always get an EPIRB for that life threatening situation.

Otherwise allow for being self sufficient for a few days until some one comes along. Most are major roads, so they do get used daily, or so.

Best thing is good trip prep, and getting the vehicle checked out before going.

Wife and I are thinking of both of us updating our first aid knowledge before we go. She doesn't feel my lack of CPR knowledge will save her at the moment. :o)

Yes Doug that's how I read it also.

Ruth
What's that saying......Great minds think alike....

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Ruth
Check this out

My Special Photo

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Oh Doug - that's beautiful Photo makes Dusty look as big as wolf.

Ruth
Yes it is eh, He is just so special.

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Doug,
I liked the one where Dusty was wearing his hard hat and safety vest.




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Stu & Bob

You mean this one

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Doug,
Yup, that's the one.

Regards
Stu

Hi Robin
I am going to push when the moth gets home for a UHF..it would be a shame not to go just because of this communications debate...and as to someone getting lost in the shops...if only...just kidding..serriously I watch them like a hawk, so no drama there! I do have a telstra mobile, not sure how reliable it will be, but its there! :)
Thanks
Richeal

G'day Robin,
Isn't a 'wether' a female sheep???

whether, wether, weather. I think you must be a wether Signman, not to know. LOL A wether is a castrated male sheep. You better write the definitions of each above, now below

whether = do I *do* or not?
wether = male castrated sheep
weather = day to day climate variable

Touche' John-- Guess I was thinking of a ewe...not a you !!!!

What about heart attacks, a broken leg/arm or other serious injury.

Some roads don't have alot of traffic.

Can across some people stuck with a camper trailer 180K out of Broken Hill towards White Cliffs, they got stuck before 3pm on the Tuesday afternoon and we can through 11am the next morning and pulled them out....

Hire a sat phone as well as BUYING a UHF.

Some people might say that they can't afford a $1500 sat phone or HF radio, if thats the case how are you going to afford a $5000 funeral?

Regards Richard


Regards Richard.

>What about heart attacks

Indeed! What about them! I think they might kill you. Every day I rise at 5.30am and think... "what if I have a heart attack today...!"

>a broken leg/arm or other serious injury.

Neither of those are serious injuries in a group situation and if it’s not a group situation (as mine rarely is) take an EPIRB.

>Some roads don't have alot of traffic.

I know! I live in fear of being out of contact with civilisation for a day or two - damned if I know why I go bush!?

>Can across some people stuck with a camper trailer 180K out of
>Broken Hill towards White Cliffs, they got stuck before 3pm on the
>Tuesday afternoon and we can through 11am the next morning and
>pulled them out....

My God! 20 hours without contact! They were lucky to be alive!!!!

Just use a bit of common sense, people – you don’t need to be loaded down with electronics; indeed they can offer a false sense of security – the major thing is to know how to survive in the bush when all the toys fail – there are plenty of books to advise how to do this.

Mike Harding

Mike tell me this, you are 300 k from the nearest major town on a rough dirt track and someone with you who is very fit and healthy get stung by a bee and goes into anaphylactic shock and they have trouble breathing and it get worse. Bering in mind they are like the rest of use who don't know if the next bee sting will be fatal.

What do you do Mike you have a uhf radio and a epirb, you have to get vital medical assistance.

Life is full of risk Richard, what we continually do is assess the level of that risk and act accordingly. In my opinion the risk to a normal young family in the circumstances described is negligible. If they want a warm fuzzy feeling an EPIRB should provide one. If it were an 80 year old with a heart condition posing the same question my answer would have been different.

The straw man situation you describe (bee sting) could happen anywhere – I might drive onto a lonely (but not remote) beach and become bogged then be stung by your bee.

So many Aussies have an irrational fear of “The Outback”, a fear of isolation, of not being able to cope if they have to survive away from “society” for a few days. Yet many (most?) of us on this forum know that fear is unfounded however, strangely, this forum expends a considerable amount of energy spouting safety paranoia? Sometimes I wonder if the people who do that spend more time on internet forums than in the bush?

Mike Harding

No Mike I think some of use take it more seriously then others.

An Epirb and a uhf radio are going to do jack s%*t when you need medical assistance.

My life is worth more the $1500.00 it seems some others aint.

It's not a matter of being scared of the outback but understanding the risks involved and acting on them sensibly.

It's called risk minimisation.

I think any one who thinks remote is 500 kilometers from a town need to re address their thoughts.

30 Kilometers from a town can be remote.

Unfortunately a tough person can die just as easy as a weak one.

So Mike you never answered my question ...what would you do?

>So Mike you never answered my question ...what would you do?

I would have swatted the bee before it stung, Richard.

Mike Harding

PS. I think you need to look up the term "straw men".

Hi
Just read your post, can you tell me about the 4wd going over an embankment at Coober Pedy? Is it a dangerous area? I think I was a girl guide in anthor life...we have enough to last for some time :) Fear though is starting to set in...stupid really, as you say take a deep beath and think things through....must be the worry wart in me comming out!!

Howdy,
Thanks for your reply, your fourth line has come out of my partners mouth quite a lot latlely... :) As to what we will do ..Im unsure... Im just ready to get away...!
All the Best
Richeal