Codan vs Sat Phone???

[86mud]

Hi all

What the advantages/disadvantages of each?

From what I have read, the Codan 9350 with matching autotune antenna seems to be popular, at about $1200 second hand. but there are expensive licence fees. Not sure if there are call costs, or if there is a lag time when transmittind/receiving

Sat phones - about $600 second hand, and I see you can get pre paid accounts, but calls are still expensive. How the's reception on these in say Cape York (remote areas - like parts of the east coast north of Lockhart region)

Cheers
Andrew

[scarry]

Don't know about a Codan,but i had a sat phone for the last few weeks,with an external antenna that was magnetised & was on the roof of the D4. What a PITA.Cuts in,cuts out,etc,etc.

I was in western Qld,would have been better with a mobile and an external antenna,that seems to be what the locals use,they have given sat phones away.

I used one on the Cape a few years ago,and it was very painful,cutting in & out,couldn't get a line out ,etc,etc.

I would hate to have to use one in an emergency.

[justinc]

I have an HF radio for the very reasons stated above, sat phones just haven't the coverage, all the time, in all the places.

I have heard stories of even losing sat phone reception just north of Weipa, yet HF can communicate anywhere on the tip with as far away as Adelaide, or Charters towers etc. From there, emergency services or urgent messages can be relayed. Also, most late model HF units have GPS locator beacons installed, press 1 button and your location is continually transmited like an Epirb.

JC

[juddy]

The last Sat phone I used worked fine, if you add the on board dome receiver/transmitter and fit it correctly then you can achieve 100% coverage.

[strangy]

Now I am going top upset the HF fans again.

A decent portable Satphone that you know how to use wins every time.

I dont state my occupation too often, however, this may give you an idea where my thoughts come from. I fly for RFDS in Central Oz.
We are equipped with fully tuneable HF Radios, UHF, VHF, fixed satphone and a portable unit. All radios are set up as good as can be had in this day and age, they are the latest and greatest. Codans are common.
I use a HF radio a minimum of 5 times in any shift day and night and have been using the HF system for more than 15 years daily.
The HF is a mandatory requirement for our operational communications with Air Services as we are out of VHF coverage for a portion of every flight stage. Despite controllers expecting our calls the reception is often poor or non existent with a regular frequency surf required to communicate and many times a call on the Satphone required to advise our arrival or departure.

The preference for all crew to communicate with our base is the satphone despite having Company HF frequencies available.

I will never fit a HF radio to my rig in preference to satphone fixed or portable. The cost and benefit isnt worth it for me.

I have had it suggested previously by some, that I insult the HF system and the good work of the VKS volunteers.
Sorry some feel this way as it isnt the case.
Each system has its shortfalls, however if you want emergency comms then HF has the most. If you want a social network associated with your comms then maybe HF is more your thing.

As with all things quality, installation etc play a significant role.

The 4 wheelers in our crews regularly laugh at the mags advocating the HF as the best means of communications in remote locations today.


cheers

[roverrescue]

Strangy - I tend to agree
The cape was mentioned:
Pretty well everywhere north of Cooktown and out to Osprey/Shark Reef (120nm to sea)
an iridium sat phone has worked and worked well??? Sure you get lag when talking but not enough to limit communications

or buy an unlocked Thuraya (sp) and just chuck your moby sim card in when you need comms? Have a mate who do this

For emergency use a sat phone in a small pelican case
= too easy a solution

S

[RangieBit]

Both SatPhone and HF radio have their good and bad points.

I have a HF radio but then I've always been a bit of a radio nerd so I'm kinda biased about that.

If I were starting anew I'd opt for the SatPhone. Make sure it is an InMarSat system unit. Anything else is just junk IMHO.

Know the limitations of using a SatPhone. DON'T try to use it while mobile. They are communicating with satellites. There are a lot fewer of them and they are much farther away than cell towers. Acquiring a signal may take a minute or so but once acquired it should be solid UNLESS YOU MOVE THE PHONE. This is why modern SatPhones have Bluetooth. Acquire a signal with the phone and leave where it is and wander around talking with a bluetooth headset. There is a noticeable lag when using a SatPhone. This is not huge and after a short while you get used to it and adjust your conversation accordingly.

Calls can be expensive but most suppliers have plans that allow you to purchase a plan that can get calls down around $1/min (or less). Don't plan on using it like your normal mobile phone or it WILL be expensive.

Don't know if the government is still running the subsidy but if you travel enough you could get the startup cost down to around $500 through an authorised dealer.

SatPhones don't take up a lot of room but the auxiliary paraphernalia like chargers and spare batteries can. I find that external antenna units are not particularly good for SatPhones unless they are part of a permanently installed car kit for example.

If you want to go HF then the startup cost could be high but the running costs are relatively cheap. You need to be licensed. This is usually achieved by joining a network like HFOz or VKS737 and subscribing to their relay services. Telephone calls can be made from your radio for an additional cost which is similar to the cost of a SatPhone call. This is achieved by connection to a service like Radtel. Radio performance varies. Mostly it is good and you can communicate clearly over the continent. Sometimes it is crap and you're lucky to get 100km.

The equipment is large and power hungry. The Codan 9350 autotune unit is nearly 1m tall without the antenna whip! The main unit is about the size of a ream of A4 paper. You need to think about where you would install these things. Current legislation means you can no longer install your autotune unit on the front of your vehicle, for example.

Someone above mentioned GPS co-ordinate transmission. Yes the modern Codan and Barrett units can do this with the appropriate gear. Not all of the HF service providers are licensed to transmit or deal with this info as it is data transmission so do some research. The latest Codan NGTs and Barrett 2050s can also send/receive short text messages similar to SMS on the cellular phone networks. Great stuff but you need to know who you're sending it to and your HF provider may not be licensed as these are data transmissions.

So, if you want to communicate with folks back home and other travellers on a regular basis and get updates on road conditions and such then the HF networks are a great resource.

If you want to have emergency assist insurance then carry a Satphone and an EPIRB (or like) device.

Anyway that's my 5c worth. Sorry for the long-ish post.

Cheers,
Iain

[justinc]

Strangy, thanks for the from the horses mouth info, and you guys are an invaluable asset to outback Australia,

. I do agree with what you say, either system has its shortfalls, I am with the HF side of things primarily due to the fact that at MOST times, you SHOULD be able to contact SOMEONE, on the appropriate channel for that time of day etc. whereas from my understanding that isn't always possible with a sSat phone, BUT it has been quite a while since I looked at this scenario so many new products have been released and networks enlarged etc so maybe I am being a little hasty until I have revisited the question again.

Hope you guys keep up in the air for a ong time to come, I for one am happy to contribute financially


JC

[Rok_Dr]

Thanks Strangy

I also have to agree with you 100%. After working over 30 years in all sorts of remote parts of Australia and Africa, I am a total convert to Satphone from a safety perspective and do not miss HF radio and all.

Keep up the good work the flying doc is an awesome institution!

In addition almost all the vehicle accidents in the bush that I have been involved with, have been roll-overs and without exception the HF antenna was always wrecked. A sat phone in a small pelican case behind the seat will always survive.

Yes Iain an EPIRB is a good investment. I also carry one of the SPOT communicators, which for a couple of hundred bucks and a yearly subscription allows you to send All OK messages with location to family and also facebook.

Cheers Steve

[Lotz-A-Landies]

One aspect of HF not mentioned is the availability of local assistance. Particularly when the issue is not an emergency to life or limb.

When using a Sat phone you call a single recipient or emergency service and deal directly with them for the response.

On the HF services others can listen in on your comms and you may find assistance for that broken thingo is one sandhill or camp site away. The daily scheds give you the chance to record your location and a record of where you were at a particular time/day should you fail to arrive at your final desitination.

AS others have said, all systems have problems, the best safety planning will involve a combination of Sat Phone, EPIRB and HF dispersed through a group travelling together.