Thread: Central Oz HF frequencies

Just join VKS737! VKS737: The Australian HF Radio Network !

Most modern radios also have an emergency switch that will send an alert on the frequency you choose, and if the radio is set up for it you can selcall an emergency outfit or other organisation.

I'm not too impressed with satphones and EPIRBS don't actually provide communications so I'd take both of them and my radio . . . if I could afford it!

Originally Posted by strangy

This is a heads up for all or any who are planning their Central Aust. trip.
Be aware that the HF frequencies listed for RFDS are not currently, continuously monitored. This could continue indefinetly.

This means that if your emegency comms are based on HF you will likely not be heard. Please ensure you have suitable alternatives. ie Satphone or EPIRB or both!

Strangy

The RFDS downgrading of the HF frequency monitoring is not new. However the Emergency Button will always get a response as it is an automated process where the base connects by phone to the on call staff.

As anyone who has traveled with a satphone will tell you they are a vastly overrated and expensive option, that may not actually get an available satellite and likely get dropped out during the call. EPIRBS are also problematic, as there have been technical problems with the system used to locate the unit giving several locations for the signial. Given that it is a maritime emergency service that monitors EPIRB in Australia, they will likely check a maritime location before a land based location. There is only 1 level of response to EPIRB - that is a fully fledged search and rescue using air and surface units. That is a very expensive option if you have a minor mechanical failure that immobilised your vehicle. You can't talk through an EPIRB.

VKS737 on HF radio is the best option for emergency support throughout Australia.

Diana
VKS737 Romeo2540

YEP VKS737 is the go....
i have one, but i need to renew my licence

i use V K S help could be just over the hill with other V K S member

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

Strangy

The RFDS downgrading of the HF frequency monitoring is not new. However the Emergency Button will always get a response as it is an automated process where the base connects by phone to the on call staff.

As anyone who has traveled with a satphone will tell you they are a vastly overrated and expensive option, that may not actually get an available satellite and likely get dropped out during the call. EPIRBS are also problematic, as there have been technical problems with the system used to locate the unit giving several locations for the signial. Given that it is a maritime emergency service that monitors EPIRB in Australia, they will likely check a maritime location before a land based location. There is only 1 level of response to EPIRB - that is a fully fledged search and rescue using air and surface units. That is a very expensive option if you have a minor mechanical failure that immobilised your vehicle. You can't talk through an EPIRB.

VKS737 on HF radio is the best option for emergency support throughout Australia.

Diana
VKS737 Romeo2540

The SARSAT system while monitored by AMSA (a previously maritme only organistion) will respond to all EPIRB transmissions with out prejudice to its percieved point of origin. Obviously these are emergency only.
Note my avatar. Sunrise at 26000ft over the Simpson desert after sucessfully locating and directing ground crews to an EPIRB signal.Following tasking from AMSA
The well prepared travellers we found had 4 days worth of water. HF radio, etc. All electrical items are pretty much useless when the batteries are dead.
All water gone and now it was an emergency. HF radio signal propagation varies throughout the day and at night (diurnal variation)and is high power drain equipment.If your setup for sat[phone is that bad then the ones who setup your HF will have done a similar job. Alternatively signal strenght due to terrain will cause the same issues with your HF.
I have carried out 40 SAR operations tracking EPIRB signals and 4 in the last 6 months and all were ok simply because of an EPIRB appropriately used. I also located travellers who had the HF system but the whole lot was stuffed because the car was crashed. dont disregard the EPIRB These are an economical and fool proof, most are waterproof and impact resistant to up to 25 g (limbs seperate from the body at 20g )
No you can't talk on an EPIRB. But that shouldn't be your only solution for emergencies should it?

A simple breakdown becomes an emergency real quick when essential items run out.

If your setup for sat[phone is that bad then the ones who setup your HF will have done a similar job.

I agree with everything you said but I don't get you there. You buy your whatever brand satphone, and as most of them are handheld - as used by most of us average people - there's not much setting up to be done. And a lot of people like me, who don't have a lot of money, install their HF radios themselves. If it's for yourself you tend to do a good job!

I used satphones many times over the last two years and rarely gotten a good, clear signal. I've used the radio a few times for tests in the last few months and it's been fair-to-good every time.

If I had the lot, (well, one day), I'd use the HF first because of the likelihood of another VKS member hearing me, the satphone next, and of course the EPIRB last. In fact I'll be getting an EPIRB hopefully this year as it's one thing that is almost guaranteed to work . . . and of course I never want to use it!

Originally Posted by strangy

The SARSAT system while monitored by AMSA (a previously maritme only organistion) will respond to all EPIRB transmissions with out prejudice to its percieved point of origin. Obviously these are emergency only. ...

... If your setup for sat[phone is that bad then the ones who setup your HF will have done a similar job. Alternatively signal strenght due to terrain will cause the same issues with your HF. ...
... I also located travellers who had the HF system but the whole lot was stuffed because the car was crashed. dont disregard the EPIRB ...
... No you can't talk on an EPIRB. But that shouldn't be your only solution for emergencies should it?

A simple breakdown becomes an emergency real quick when essential items run out.

Strangy

I was not suggesting that EPIRB are useless - quite the contrary they are very useful and one could say essential as a final backup for remote area travel. Such as with the broken vehicle with dead battery. A HF "lunch box" radio would also have also survived and as it has its own internal battery is independent of the dead vehicle battery.

The "problems" with EPIRB is as we both suggest, there is no 2 way communication which could save time getting the correct response. The other issue is that sometimes with the EPIRB there can be two separate locations reported by the satellite system many hundreds or thousands of kilometers away. Given that ships and boats can sink it is appropriate that the search and rescue organisations check out the location at sea as a priority, if it turns out to be wrong they will direct a response to the land location - they may also direct 2 teams.

I was not suggesting that the sat phone was incorrectly setup. Sat phones, require an overhead geostationary or an orbital satellite with an available line. At times of heavy traffic (remember that the satellites are not only covering Australia) there may not be an available satellite. Clouds can dramatically reduce the sat phone signal, we all know the problems of satellite TV signals. I have had numerous friends and acquaintances who have tried various sat phones and are underwhelmed by their performance. Many have gone back to having HF through VKS737 as their primary form of remote area comms. EPIRB and sat phones also have their place.

My primary concern is that people don't go out and decry the HF radio system, this is a very useful system for countries like Australia and has saved countless lives. RFDS and other organisations have HF emergency response systems in place via the emergency button, although there may not be an operator at the radio microphone.

Finally, with atmospherics affecting the HF signal, you simply have to change to another channel and maybe beacon an alternate station.

Regards
Diana

Sorry folks wasn't meaning to decry or offend anyone.The technicals go on for pages and I will not detail the differences between satellites for EPRIB and communications, orbits, or HF wave propagation. I do not demean HF.

I have a little more time to write now so i will ramble (just a little).This is based around people who we have retrieved from generally minor situations that have resulted in a serious physical condition.
I stand by a quality EPIRB as a minimum emergency equipmentto carry into remote areas because of their ability to withstand extreme forces. (satphones and HF units cannot) Push a button and the cavalry will come. First satellite pass (within 1 hour) will locate your position to within 30km (often within 2km)radius. SAR crews will be mobilised.
Second satellite pass (within 1 hour of first) will locate position to within 2km radius if not exact. By the time the second satellite pass has taken place Rescue crew are mobile and you are now their number one priority.

I wrote this because, I have come across a disturbing number of people whose entire safety hinges on a functioning HF radio, Satphone or EPIRB. Rather than proper planning.

On initial thinking this probably seemed ok to them, until the electric things became redundant.
Unfortunately emergencies never have, or will, allow the participants the option of choosing the circumstances, time or place for their occurrence. To that end, I can think of (and have seen) at least five scenarios where all the gadgets arent worth a cent.

People travel throughout this great country without incident all the time. So because Fred did it and all he carried was an XYZ or didn't need ABC. Consideration for the consequences is lost.
Without question the first part of the trip planning is also the last part to put into place. ie. The trips planned, each day of travel is capable of being done in the time available and some to spare. Water is carried for at least 3 days past the time you planned to be somewhere to restock supplies. You have [I]suitable first aid kit and can use it[/I]. You know where the nearest help is at any stage of the trip and have a plan to get it.
If you give this itinerary to a responsible person or the community Police
(where you will be heading through, past, or stopping) You have now ensured that someone will be waiting for you and indeed will be sending help if you don't check in by a set time. Bonus is the community Police are locals and will be glad to tell you about the conditions ahead and will be a wealth of information on things to see in the area. (which is why you came in the first place)
After this Satphones and HF can be used to revise and update times or get breakdown help if required. EPIRB's send for the immediate cavalry.

Many of us see this as common sense, but myself and colleagues can attest to more than a few intelligent and well equipped people getting into serious trouble, not because they are stupid, but because they were initially poorly informed and ultimately unprepared for a genuine emergency.

Anyway I said I wouldn't ramble much, again I am not demeaning the HF system, or Satphone. They are great in an emergency but should not be your sole means to provide you with rescue.
Just want people to think outside the perception portrayed in the glossy 4WD mags, that with this stuff all will be well.
When the modern, comfortable aircond. machine stops (series drivers have an exception here) the outback is just as unforgiving as it was when the first settlers arrived. If you think a breakdown is the only thing that can put you in jeopardy... think again.