HF/UHF and Satphone advice

I have heard of many difficulties with no signal, or dropping out, from users of the Globalstar system.

Iridium users have far fewer, if any problems.

Something to keep in mind if anyone is contemplating a sat phone.

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Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

some satphones Actually have an epirb function buried inside them... scroll through some menus and apparently its there...

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Yeah, I agree it would be a great (and cheap to do) addition, but I think I'd still invest in a standalone EPIRB for the few hundred they cost if I was going places where I needed a satphone.

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Originally Posted by DirtyDawg

I run a 35w output UHF and carry an EPIRB when going remote areas..oh and a lot of fresh water:D:D

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Hi DirtyDawg,
Did you mean HF? UHF sets are limited by law to 5W (& being an MP, I know that you wouldn't break the law).:)

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Originally Posted by Bushwanderer

Hi DirtyDawg,
Did you mean HF? UHF sets are limited by law to 5W...

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No there not. For the cb use they are, but not for commercial use.;)

HF radios for land mobile use are usually 100W PEP.

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Originally Posted by jik22

Yeah, I agree it would be a great (and cheap to do) addition, but I think I'd still invest in a standalone EPIRB for the few hundred they cost if I was going places where I needed a satphone.

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ummm, why...

If you had the satphone with the EPIRB in it youve got an EPIRB already...

thats of course assuming that the info Ive been given is accurate, but if you have a GPS and a satphone/hf/ can talk to anyone you can simply send of a loc and Im in trouble message and your done.

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Originally Posted by Nairbo

I tried this and it just comes upon the phone screen "INVALID ACCOUNT" ?

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When I rang up to cancell this account , Telstra asked why ? I explained what I expected the card to do , and they told me that global roaming had not been enabled ! When I first purchaced the card I went back into the shop twice to check that it was enabled cos it wouldnt work in my phone .After sorting this out all is good now and my sat phone is connected for $10 per month.
THANKYOU nw393y

I'm living in a remote area and I'm just in the middle of setting up an HF and UHF in my car. For HF, I joined the VKS-737 network for the five "4wd" frequencies you can use, and then also got an "outpost non-assigned" licence from the ACMA, (a govt. dept.) for using RFDS frequencies. You only really need the VKS membership but I got the other licence because it was cheap and only needed several hours :( trying to figure out the website and what to do.

HF is a great option because there's usually someone listening, and the VKS skeds cover road conditions, weather, and let you check in with your location while you're travelling, too.

I'm getting the UHF set up because everyone up here seems to have those white fibreglass antennas on their car and I just thought that if they're that popular then that sort of coverage on the highway would be a good idea. The range is limited but if the popularity is great then it's worth having.

We have Globalstar satphones at work and they have been utterly frustrating to use. It can take several tries -at least - to get through and then a call will usually just cut out for no reason. This is what made up my mind to go with HF for my own use.

I'd say that HF is more "hands-on" and is great if you're willing to do your homework and get some practise, and to leave the radio on a lot of the time and be a part of the network, even if it's only listening to the traffic.

Satphones are more "hands-off" and a just-pick-it-up-and-use-it option, without having to learn how to use it or get a licence or anything.

To me it's a bit like the Land-Rover owners who want to fix things and make things on their cars, as opposed to, say, the Toyota owners who just want to jump in and drive the thing!

I might add that as a typical Land-Rover owner I couldn't afford new gear so I got the radios off ebay from reputable types, and new antennas to suit. I'd rather have brand-new radios but at least this way I still got something worthwhile, which was a good compromise. It just took lots of research!

just dragging this one back up.

So let me get this right, if I already have a phone with Global Roaming active then I just need the Sat Phone Hardwear?

THX

LRH

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Originally Posted by nw393y

I have a Telstra Satphone, works great anywhere in the world as long as you're outside.

Don't sign up for a Telstra Satphone account, minimum cost is $30 per month. If you're not going to use it much just go to a telstra shop and ask for a standard (NOT nextG) GSM SIM card with global roaming enabled. These plans start at just $10 per month.

Telstra don't really acknowledge this works from my experience, but then again most of the telstra staff I spoke to - including those in the Sat division - didn't seem to really know what a Satphone was!

Nathan

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Yes it is still working in mine , just dont tell Telstra what you are doing ;)

Brian

for those with Iridium handsets then I have found some interesting Casual contracts:

http://www.trtelecom.com.au/pdfs/Call%20Plan%20$30%20Suspension.pdf

The other benefit is that you can suspend that plan for 12 months in 12 months if you like - there is no minimum, and when in 'suspend' mode, you are only paying $15 per month (rather than $30). It works out to be around $1.00 per day for active mode, and around $0.50 per day if you are suspended.