Thread: Explain SELCAL to me!

I'm off to Coongie Lakes for 3 weeks in May and as I will be a solo traveler I will be taking a personal EPIRB, car based EPIRB (the big orange one), a sat phone and an HF radio.
I've used HF in the past, but it was an old Tracker set with the RFDS and radphone frequencies/connections.
I've been given a neat little QMAC HF90 unit and I've got a multi tap whip as well as a long wire aerial and an ATU (all with the QMAC branding)
The taps on the whip match the frequencies fitted in the HF90.
I've just sent off my subscription to VK737 so I can have a play and a practice with the radio before I go.
My only question is selcal.
The QMAC mike has numerical keys on it, so I assume that's where I put in a number, but can someone please explain to me the basic usage of selcal.
I'm not a luditie, but I've just never used it before.
I'm figuring the sat phone will be the main comms device if I have an issue, but the HF system should be a good back up, and be fun to talk to others during the day when I'm sitting doing as little as possible!!!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I am based in Adelaide.
Alan

Only if that person has selcall set on his/her radio to mute all transmissions except when their selcall code has been used by the caller. Selcall is selective calling.