Friday, Apr 24, 2009 at 06:17
I've had a Codan 9323 HF with autotune since 1997 and a Telstra Iridium 9505A since 2006.
The HF is a great tool for keeping in touch with friends who are also on the road and getting weather info from radio bases (e.g. VKS737) and general chit chat. It's also great if you are in a convoy and you are too far spread out for UHF, e.g. if you have 5 vehicles and they're each 4 km apart due to dust, that may put you out of range on UHF especially in hilly terrain.
HF is also free to talk on, so you can move to a frequency and talk more or less forever for nothing.
However, HF has some downsides:
It can be finicky in terms of picking the right frequency and the right time of day. The signal can also “fade” even while you are using it, requiring you to cut the conversation short or (both of you) move to another frequency.
You can only “talk” to someone on HF who happens to be listening to HF on the same frequency at the same time. This can take quite some coordination.
There may be lots of traffic on the frequency making it difficult to "get in" and if you are “in”, you may have to keep your conversation quite short as a courtesy to others.
There is no privacy on HF.
If you do have a breakdown etc, and you go through (say) VKS base, then there is a "middle man" between you and the repair people or others. This can be a real nuisance in terms of trying to assess your options and making decisions. However, it is certainly true that getting a part may be much easier through HF contacts.
Making phone calls through HF is possible but again is tricky and has no real privacy. It’s not so bad if you initiate the call, but quite difficult for someone else to initiate a HF radiotelephone call to you. Phone calls on HF are also usually limited to (say) 6 minutes.
If your vehicle burns to the ground, your HF goes with it. However, you can grab your sat phone as you depart and call for help!
Satellite phone (Iridium) works just like a normal phone and therefore has all the advantages of a normal phone. I also use it extensively for “data” (i.e. checking emails, internet access etc). I find almost no delay on voice calls if calling a fixed line but a small delay calling a mobile number, so there is the tendency to “talk over” the top of one another esp when calling a mobile phone.
You can go onto a “higher plan” for any short period (even a few days) and that takes call (or data) time to about $0.40 per 30 seconds. The Telstra sat people are very friendly and very helpful. Calls to the Sat phone people are free, even on the sat phone itself.
Satellite phone can only be used outdoors (unless you have an external aerial), which can be annoying in cold or wet weather. However, because the signal from the satellite itself is much stronger than from the phone, I find that I can leave the sat phone on in the van (or even a single storey house) and it will “chirp” when an incoming call comes in, allowing me time to move outside the take the call.
I got the van wired up from the start for both an external NextG aerial and an external Sat phone aerial so can be used reliably inside. Also have a car kit for inside the car.
As MH pointed out, the sat phone is portable (weighs only about 400 g) so can be taken anywhere, unlike HF. With HF, most people have it fitted into their car, so if the “chat time” is during meal time, you have to sit in your vehicle and not the van. With the sat phone, you just take it with you.
I use mine a lot overseas and it also works on boats and planes (not legal to use it on commercial flights, but OK for others if pilot gives the OK).
I also use the SMS facility on the sat phone; works just like normal phone.
In summary, if funds are high, then get both HF and sat phone. HF is free, lots of fun, and great for extended talks to others on the road with HF. However, for keeping in touch with family and friends, and for genuine emergencies and true portability and flexibility, you can’t beat the sat phone. In addition, if you want to check your emails away from mobile phone range, sat phone is basically the only practical option.
Rick
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577608
Follow Up By: Kilcoy Yowies - Friday, Apr 24, 2009 at 17:29
Friday, Apr 24, 2009 at 17:29
An excellent overview on both HF radio and satellite phones Rick and Julie.
We feel well informed on how things work now and we can now go and get what we want with a lot more confidence.
This site is an excellent way of sourcing information and thanks everyone for taking the trouble to reply so thoroughly.
Regards,
David and Maureen
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851146