Hi can anyone tell me if the ic-40 Uhf would suit our needs.

Di,

You will have to get a HF radio or a Sat Phone UHF will only work for line of sight and depending on where you are and the environmental factors around you might get 20km more if you use repeaters but it's not something you should rely on especially with a medical condition.

Di
I think not re RFDS on a UHF CB , the radio you would need would be either a Barrett or Codan HF radio , then you could join the VKS-737 4x4 radio service, and also notify RFDS of your licence etc ,

Other means of communication would be the Sat phone as already mentioned.

VKS-737 Radio Network

Barrett transceivers

Codan Radio communications

.

Di,
The CB will not really help in the situation you are describing. Comms are only part of the issue. You need to get somewhere for treatment or in the case of evacuatuion where a plane can land. You may not be that far away but if it rains or conditions change suddenly it can take time to get places. Talk to your GP and they will probably give you some oral antibiotics you can use in this event. We have several items in the First Aid kit that are prescription items. They are not always a full treatment option but buy time to get somewhere without turning into an absolute mess. This can take the pressue off to get somewhere fast.

Steve

As far as I know school of the air is not done on HF Radio, it has gone satellite for some time now.

Brent and Di,
Apart from the comms issue I would contact the RFDS base in Cairns and give them a heads up of your specific condition and treatment regime so as if they need to provide assistance then they have the info at hand from the start. Also write down that info and put it in the glovebox so that when it goes pearshaped and people start to panic then the detail can be passed accurately to the Emergency Services whether by phone or at a clinic/hosp/paramedic on the road.
We did the same for a diabetic in our group in 03.
Enjoy