HF Radios, just how useful are they?

Mine was for insurance but after getting 3/4 of the trip done around the country I never used it so sold it.

I wasnt however in some of the isolated places some of the members go.

I only ever used the Satfone once and have since sold that as well. Was good insurance though and handy the time I needed it.

As a communication DEVICE they are both good but with different attributes that no doubt someone will highlight.

It all comes down to what you can afford and what your doing. I would not have every brought an another HF (had them on most of the vessels I skippered) for the 4WD but picked up a Barrett 950 for $850 so why not. In a great club which cost me $65 a year and have great security when out there.

had mine for eight years never used it but when we did the csr in 08 and were camped next to lake disappointment and over the air we found out through vks737 that my partners son & wife had just had their first child it was priceless, i believe that any and all communication is a great help and gives you piece of mind. i'll stick to the hf over sat phone, all it cost is the joining fee for vks737 which is less than the cost of the sat phone calls.

cheers harvey

I've had a HF for about 4 years. It's insurance, it's easy and cheap after the purchase, great for weather, news updates, logging into scheds, comms, access for emergencies. Wouldn't be without it, I do remote travel. Not much use for National Park and coastal tourers.

Having some sort of long distance communications when traveling in outback Australia is better than a life insurance policy, as it can be used to save your life.
Unfortunately life insurance isn't any good to you once your dead.

With HF radio you can get weather updates, chat with other radio users and get track info and make new friends, for me it's an essential part of my 4x4 and when the Twin tower terrorist attack occurred in September 2001, I heard about it on my HF radio via a Radio Australia short wave news broadcast.
So it's got many uses, and was well worth the money.

Cheers
Bernie

I've had my Barrett for about 8 years now. Great insurance "policy". It's nice to listen to the "skeds" in the evening and hear where other people are calling-in from.

The only time I've used it for a really useful purpose was about 5 years ago.
The Channel Country had been having a lot of rain and a lot of the tracks were closed. We'd been stuck in Birdsville for a few days but had left to head south on the morning they re-opened the Birdsville Track. We were about 60 klicks south of Birdsville and listening to the VKS737 network. A bloke radio'd in...he and his mates were heading for Birdsville from Longreach. They asked the Operator if the Birdsville Track had been re-opened. The Operator was based at Alice Springs and replied to the bloke/s that "no, the BT is still closed as far as I know" (or words to that effect). These 2 ends of the conversation were coming through as clear as the UHF comms with convoy vehicles.

Anyway, I was quite pleased with myself when I was able to respond on my HF to let all and sundry know that the BT was indeed re-opened and gave them a report on the track conditions etc.

There's more to HF than just emergency comms......

Roachie

In 2008 we were west of Hanging Rock in Rudall River National Park heading to Christies Crossing when we (two vehicles four people) were stranded by heavy rains that had us severely bogged; down to the floor pan. We had water all around us and the deluge continued for hour after hour, we couldn’t go forward or backwards along that track and were stranded where we were bogged. We had no option other than to sit it out and wait for the rain to stop and then for the ground to dry out.

By using a HF radio we were able to let authorities (VKS) know we were stuck but okay and that we had plenty of food. We also had a Satellite phone to keep in touch with family and to reassure them we were okay. The benefit of having both types of communication was a great comfort.

The authorities asked that we log in every morning and evening; on the third day they advised they were prepared to get a rescue helicopter from Telfer to come and pick us up. We were able to assure them we didn’t need rescuing and that we preferred to stay with our vehicles and wait it out.

On some of the days we couldn’t make contact with VKS via HF radio because of poor reception so the sat phone came in handy.

After 4 nights of being stranded the ground dried out and we were able to jack the vehicles up and drive out.

By being prepared and having good communications equipment we were able to tell authorities where we were, that we were okay and by waiting it out we were able to save the authorities and therefore the public a great expense.

Prior to the incident my wife questioned the amount of $ involved with having both sat phone and HF. After the incident she agreed that it was worth every cent to have both, it was just so reassuring to have outside world contact.

So depending on the type of travel you do and if its remote stuff like we tend to do on a regular basis, I believe at least one of either a HF or sat phone is essential.

I believe a HF is more versatile because of access to VKS for logging in and getting help, you can also do radio telephone calls.

We also use our HF to contact each other via selcall and when attending gatherings in remote places we can keep in touch with each other when long distances apart.

all the best

Hi David

I live in Mulan Aboriginal Community, relatively close to both the CSR and the Tanami. I use Sat Phone, HF and UHF and find all three have their uses.

I regularly chat with friends of mine of HF at different cattle stations and other communities, and have picked up calls, and responded to people borken down on the CSR and the Tanami.

People seem to fail to mention that with HF you can also have Selcall function, which allows you, through Telstra, to actually make direct contact with peoples home numbers (Yes home telephones from a car radio).

I am not prepared to make a comparison between any form of communication, as all have their place and all can be vital when in time of need, but when extremely remote, regular contact by HF is great. Just don't be too personal, as anyone on the same channel can hear if in monitoring distance, and that is a great distance with HF.

Cheers

Dave we could not go without our 950 Barrett HF ,as we log in most days from remote locations and have made some real good friends. With the new system on VKS737 with direct contact to the RFDS and scanning by both Vks737 and the RFDS of both sets of frequencies in W.A. and Queensland , and the service provided by Vks 737 messaging service is invaluable,you can also connect to the phone system via HF at a much lesser rate than Satphone . Matt & Val 4298

Hi David,
I have both HF & sat phone. I can't count the number of times that I, or others were not able to make contact with the outside world using a sat phone (several brands, several different models). On each of these occassions we were able to use my HF, or a friends, to make successful contact and inform someone we were safe and well. I always travel with both.

I have even had to use the HF to call on behalf of other travellers who were well behind schedule and unable to make contact with sat or mobile ph. It saved a lot of people a lot of time and expense looking for people who were well.... but late... it just took them a heck of a lot longer than anticipated... and search parties were about to be organised to look for them.

I agonised a long time over having one or both (HF & sat); each are only used a couple of times a year, but the best investments I have ever made.
regards

G'day Dave,

I have a Codan 9323 with autotune fitted to my landcruiser. It has'nt been used yet for emergency comms (touch wood) but gets used more frequently as a communications device.

Recently while travelling Centralia, it was used for "checking in" to the various VKS bases around the place, and a couple of "look where I am " type phone calls. I also enjoy listening to various worldwide radio stations at night.
I have had it in my car for a number of years now, and wouldn't be without it. Even to the extent of having a complete spare unit, as getting stuff repaired here involves sending it "down south" and not having it for a month or so.

It's not just a radio, it gives you access to a whole world that you never knew existed.

A big thank you to you all for your responses. It only reassures me that having remote communications is a sensible choice that may prove vital in a emergency situation. I was glad to hear that they can be much more than just an expensive cabin accessory.

Thanks Dave

Like a lot of things David it depends on what you want out of it. I belong to VKE237 which is a great club, via the HF radio you can telephone on the "Teleconnect" send texts and find/send your GPS so it's more than just an emergency radio. There is also an AM and PM sked to chat or find out what is going on in the world.
As a plus the club has regular social meetings in all states and I've met a lot of terrific people at these.
Rob. VKE237 Selcall 6678

More often than not they are viewed as a tool to be used in an emergency, however as others have pointed out it is capable of much more. Wouldn't be without ours.......

Cheers, The Landy

Thank you again that is just the information I was hoping to hear, sounds like a good investment. I will definitely look further into these units!

Cheers Dave

I assume from all the answers that you all talk about Land Radio that expensive and restrictive and inflexible waste of money.

A couple of weeks ago I went from Perth to Newcastle then Sydney and back to Perth. Took me 8 days and along the way I made somewhere between 40 and 50 new contacts on 80m and 40m as well as some 2 and 6m. All nice people great to talk to.
There are travel nets and DX nets and local club nets and groups meeting at certain times and frequencies and you just tune in. Yes I am talking HAM. The license is cheap, ok you have to sit an exam but that doesn't hurt and is not very difficult and you can have a lot of fun along the way.



Above pic was taken on the way over parked for the night past Eucla along the Nullabor road. That night I was talking to Canada West coast from that location.

I have APRS messaging (email) in the truck and am working on direct phone connections.

Haha I know that there is some militant people favouring the commercial networks but for me thats a bit like driving a Ferrari at a speed limit of 40kph. Not for me thanks...

Just something else to think about ..

have fun
gmd

I am also a ham radio operator and last year the Blue Mountains Amateur Radio club embarked on a trip out to Poeppel Corner. All vehicles where fitted with HF radios and VHF/UHF which we used for car to car while travelling.
When we left Birdsville heading back via Haddons Corner we came across a road accident where a van had rolled over. Lucky for the guy that it was the weekend of the Birdsville Races and there was a bit if traffic on the road. Some police heading back to Brisbane after the races came along, they had no reception with the sat phone, but all was good as we had called out for assistance on the HF radio and another operator in Brisbane organised for the Police and Ambulance to assist. Only problem we had really was that the ambos wouldn't accept our grid reference and where more interested in the nearest cross road. I wouldn't go anywhere without HF in the car.