Thread: Satellite phone

I suppose to first thing I would do is weigh up the operating costs of the sat phone contract and calls to the cost of a HF unit and running fees.

I always tend to lean towards the whole "if it aint broke" philosophy when it comes to these kind of things.

How "portable" is the sat unit?

Its portable...probably weighs about 8kg though!!!!!

I imagine it could be mounted in a pelican case. Then it would just be a matter of plugging it into power and hooking up the aerial and away you go...as long as you get it activated before the trip.
Beauty of the HF is that its always on I guess

It has all come about with a rush of the proverbial to the brain...I am still learning about HF and the satphone, so anyone that has a HF and uses it frequently please feel free to chime in.

Just painfull to have something like this laying around and not to be using it

Originally Posted by nealo

Its portable...probably weighs about 8kg though!!!!!

For me, personally, this would seal the deal. Although it's heavy and bulky, it is portable. Which means if you get stuck in a bad situation the comms can move.

I like Sat phone and I've never had the chance to use HF. Hence I am leaning towards keeping the sat.

Does it still work??

I had an Optus for years, but the aerial wan't up to it. Too fragile. I had four of those Westinghouse masts fail.

I think in any event Optus have moved away from these, & are selling an alternative now. Thuraya I think.

Regards
Max P

No idea if it still works...have to suss out the wiring harness and plug it in..it was working when we removed it from our truck so here's hoping
I have 2 off handsets and 2 off westinghouse aerials so I guess I'll hook it all up and see what lights up!!!!

I have past experience with this style of sat phone and they fit quite neatly into a pelican or space case style container.

If you can find one I would suggest a 'planar' antenna instead of the mast as the reception/signal strength is greatly improved.
The planar antenna is basically a square antenna on a mounting base that you need to orientate to the correct direction/azimuth to the satellite.

One drawback of this though is that the phone can then no longer be used while on the move as you need to stop and set up the antenna.

This type of phone is almost indestructible though as I once rolled a vehicle that had one installed in it and even though the vehicle was totalled the phone was perfectly fine.