Which HF radio to buy.

Codan NGT is far in advance of any other model.
Do your own comparison but there is nothing on the market that will match it.

I'll admit to bias, I have a Codan NGT which I think is the best and I belong to The HF Radio Club which I also think is the best but as others have said, shop around and get what suits you.
The HF Radio Club will sell you a second hand radio, fit it, set up all your channels and show you how to drive it. They have base stations on both the east and west coasts, a telephone interconnect facility and a terrific social net work.
Rob VKE237 HF Radio Club
Selcall 6678

I have a Codan NGT and use that exclusively.

Its not easy to use. I have the programming software so I can change frequencies etc but if you are reliant on dealers it can be expensive and inconvenient. Especially if you live in a city of only 360,000 people and there is no dealer.

The cheapest, and not necessarily kosher, option is to unlock a ham radio and use that. Save thousands of dollars. You don't get selcall but that's a bit superfluous anyway. Yaesu lend themselves very well to such mods. The neatest and newest is probably the Yaesu 857D.

Modifying the 857D requires a bit of soldering de-soldering links, but at a cost of $740 US is a bargain.

Bob

John,

I bought a Barrett 550 last year for $1000. It was easy to self install and I find it easy to use. For 4-6 weeks holidays a year and the odd weekend, I couldn't justify the cost of a new or even newer set.

Although many years old, when I needed a new EPROM to get the telcall working, Barrett head office bent over backwards to assist and I had the part within 2 days.

I joined up with the Bush Telegraph Network run by Wayne Reid at Reids Radio Data, based at Cowra www.reidsradiodata.com.au. They have just installed an additional (and new) Codan telephone interconnect at the Cowra base, which is much clearer for telephone calls.

The skeds are run by the HF Radio Club.


Angus

Probably best to stay mainstream and choose either Barrett or Codan - both designed, manufactured and widely serviced and supported in Australia. Icom is highly respected of course but expert service (if ever needed) while travelling may be an issue. Qmac is around too; that make is part of the Barrett stable now. Barrett radios tend to be cheaper than Codan units but both have their devotees, including high end technology users. There are plenty of good used units on offer usually - the HF club have units as mentioned above... VKS737 has a market page.... see the Trader page here plus the usual classifieds. I use a Barrett 950 system and can't find a reason to upgrade yet.
Re Bob's comment above - to modify non approved radios for use with the licence you would get through a club is against federal law - note that all of the HF clubs and service providers religiously comply with every aspect of their ACMA licence; to lose it would be a disaster for them - so it follows that they formally require all members to commit to full compliance with the law too. As for selcall being superfluous - quite the contrary - selcall is the foundation of most of the desirable functions available on HF today.

Thanks for all the replies - much appreciated.

From what I have read it appears you must join an organisation to get access to various frequencies - is that right?

Can you get access to the RFDS frequencies?

I have come across three organisations so far - VKS737, HF radio club, HFoz. What is the difference between these three?

regards

John

John,

I just want to throw a cat in amongst the pigeons here. Both of these items (satphone and HF) are expensive. Both offer you a totally different range of capabilities. What you haven't mentioned is just what sort of travelling you intend doing to need these options. I have both and I went through exactly the same process as you. HF gives you a great "network" but having attempted to use it last year in the Great Sandy Desert, HF is easily affected by atmospheric conditions and is somewhat limited in respect to getting air time during SCHEDS due to the sheer volume of users. I have seen it work amazingly well from the networking perspective to render assistance. Your call reaches a vast community of like minded individuals out there travelling, however, it's expensive, restrictive and suitable for vehicle use only.

A decent satphone (Iridium..not much else) doesn't offer the community aspect of HF but at the same time it does give you the ability to pick up the phone and call someone from anywhere, at anytime, every time. If you're using it to stay in contact wi\th family and friends, phone for help from a remote roadside or to be contactable by anyone, this is a much better option than a HF. Plus if you qualify for the Govt. subsidy, it's a lot cheaper as well.

My personal experience makes me believe that a satphone is better for my needs as a remote area traveller. I make absolutely no disparaging remarks about a HF at all, I own one. What I am saying is have a good think about YOUR actual needs. What do you want it for. Do you want to report your position to network between 4 and 6 pm or do you want to pick up the phone at the same location and speak to the kids and grandkids? What YOUR needs are should be the decider for you.

Good luck. Mick


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Hi John,

I went through the same considerations as you last year before heading off into the lands less travelled. We chose HF because of the community aspect - Satphone can be used to call for help but with HF someone can be the other side of the hill and jump in and provide immediate assistance.

We picked up a second hand Codan set on ebay for under $700 with an auto tune. A new eprom with all the necessary frequencies was another $70. It is only a basic 8525 without selcall but has worked fine for our trips. We joined the VKS 737 network which seems to have the most members and the sked system works for us. There are other options which have been mentioned above.

I would go for one with selcall which gives you better access to the networks and the option of making telephone calls as well.

You could pick up a good second hand Codan 9323 Or Barrett 550 with autotune for under $2K second hand which would suit most uses.

Regards

Pete