I have always travelled with radios on board, just in case. The first few were ham radios.
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This one crossed the Simpson with me in the early 80's. Of course it couldn't talk to the guy over the next dune with a CB, but you get that. It was great for ordering bits for a bike that had broken down, over the Travellers Net. The bits were in
Birdsville before we got there.
By detuning it I could actually access the RFDS frequencies (sort of). Of course it didn't have any RFDS emergency call. Thank goodness I didn't need their
services.
Sadly, it didn't survive the corregations of the Oodna track. It fell to bits in my wife's lap, and had to be fixed in
Darwin. The aerial lasted almost until
Perth.
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The next few years saw me travelling with one of these. All Hf frequencies were accessable, although lack of wideband whips restricted useage somewhat. This one managed a few trips to the tropics and the Cape without mishap. Without selcall or the RFDS emergency tone button it was limited on anything other than the amateur bands. Trying to talk to a particular person at a particular time was frustrating as you never knew if they were actually on the radio at that time, especially under weak signal or crowded conditions.
The "Travellers Net" did a great job of keeping track of us, but they only operated at certain times.
This radio survived until six months after we got home. It then developed rust in the chassis, and intermittent joints on the circuit board.
It was replaced with an identical one, but its replacement suffered the same fate.
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The current radio is a Codan, and I've used these ones without any hassled for over 10 years.(I'm sure that Barrett are just as good in this respect). Nothing phases it, dust and corregations are taken in its stride. Selcall, RFDS emergency button, the 737 network and an auto tuning aerial turn the radio experience into an almost "too easy" one these days.
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Getting older and often travelling by myself, these days I also carry one of these. Overkill, perhaps. But in case of a vehicle fire I know that I can yell for help, and it's handy for talking directly to those at home.