Communication, UHF, VHF, Sat phone, Next G Mobiles

G,day everyone,
As I am new to prospecting and posting on here I've enjoyed most of the posts being informative, helpful and entertaining at times.
Confusion has led me to write this post for some info on communication in the bush. My wife and I are planing a trip up through the center and across the west. Mostly doing the touristy things though I've managed to twist her arm in allowing me to bring the detector for a swing in between the sight seeing.
My question is what type of communication does one have or use in remote areas of Australia and what coverage/distance would one expect to have from a major city/town. I have been looking at wireless broadband
from Telstra and also Optus. Both say that they have excellent coverage but would like the view of someone who has been there done that if you know what I mean
Thanks kindly
Phil

Gday Phil

I have been using the teltra next g phone sytem for some time now and although its better than the earlier system there are still alot of areas that you cant get covereage in, if you frequent some areas you will learn where the hot spots are but if you are just passing through then this will be harder.

If you are going to go through the centre then I would imagine that there are going to be a lot of areas that you wont have coverage, even if you are using a car kit and car mounted antenna, personally I would not be relying on that system for this type of trip and would be looking in to a satellite phone or something like a Barrett or Codan HF radio with radtel, (telephone calls from the bush) flying doctor and 4wd frequencies, that you can use Australia wide.

If you were following the coast then you would probably have a lot more spots that you will have coverage, and now you can get the wireless broadband set up for your laptop as well, but as it does not have an antenna set up like your car kit, it would have less areas of coverage, so there will be less areas that you could use that.

Telstra will show you a guide of the areas that you can get coverage, and the range is only increased through the use of a car mounted kit or with a directional antenna such as a Yagi, ( but first you have to know what town the signal is coming from and its direction) as far as the distance of coverage goes, that can vary too in some areas its sometimes a little as 40klm, and in some places I have recieved signals from more than 100 klm away but in those cases I have been on high ground and in line of sight, and accidentaly passing through the hotspot, so its all a bit hit and miss in some places.

I would be doing a bit more research of the areas that you expect to travel through, so that you at least know where you should expect to get coverage and also look in to the car kit and car mounted antenna, it also helps to have the antenna mounted high on your roof rack too if you want to get better coverage, but have it on a swivel mount so that you can put it down if you are going about in the bush to save it from getting broken off.

You can also use a broomstick antenna, that you can mount on an extended pole, to get it up as high as possible, and get a patch lead that plugs directly in to the antenna cable and in to the phone ( depending on the make of phone that is) this will get some extra klms too, and you also have to remember that the signal is not always present and you sometimes have to wait and watch for the logo and signal strength bars to appear on your phone before you can use it, something to do with the signal being transmitted to fringe areas and waiting for it to be available

cheers

stayyerAU

hi
this may or may not be helpfull.
 years ago i did the gunbarrel highway from wiluna to ayres rock in about 7 days.we were told it hadn`t rained out there for 3 years but while we were on the gunbarrel it rained every day.we were 600km from alice springs and were able to talk to alice springs in pouring down rain on our flying doctor hf radio.now with the advent of mobile phones i don`t even know if the flying doctor radio is used much anymore,but if it is , i think you would allways be able to talk to someone,somewhere.
our aerial was about 30ft long.aluminium tube cut into 5ft lengths,that we butted together and supported on the front of the cruiser.
 every time i set my radio up in sydney i was able to talk to port hedland  in wa.
 when i bought mine, it cost me $1700.i have no idea how much they would be worth today.
   

Hi Phil,

If your after a top line UHF - VHF - HF unit try the........ICOM- 706MKIIG (706 Mark 2 G)

It's a great buy at $1300 aussie dollars.

Here's a links to the product brochure from the ICOM website:

http://www.icom-australia.com/products/amateur/ic-706mkiig/Amateur_IC-706MKIIG%20Brochure.pdf

And here's a pic of it.


No I don't sell them, but I have a mate who's been into radio's for around 20yrs and he's recommended I buy one. He reckons they are perfect for outback comms.

Here's a few links for where they are sold:

http://www.prestigecom.net.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=642

http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-content-section-01-icom.htm

Hope this helps

cheers,
Steve

A next G phone with an external antenna. Ours is magnetic base with a five metre lead and a small patch lead to match the phone - Telsta F165. The antenna also suits the Telsta Blue modem for the computer - again with a suitable patch lead. This will give you the best coverage where coverage is possible. Telsta is the most expensive service but the only one that is worth having once you leave the city. Study the service coverage for your proposed travel itinarary

In radio terms - a UHF is useful for short range work but HF is king for long distance comms. You need to join a suitable HF service - VKS 737 is an excellent voluntary organisation with bases all around the country and several skeds a day.

Sat phones are another option - advantage is you can carry it with you when walking away from the vehicle. The negatives are they are one to one comms where as UHF and HF are one to many - and help may be just down the road. Both HF and sat phones can be hired. For a one of trip like you are contemplating I would suggest hiring a sat phone for the duration

Cheers B-T

Hang on

I can't understand why you're suggesting buying an amateur bands transceiver, and advocating using it, by someone who doesn't even have a license!

You don't want the chap to end up fined or in the clink do you?

If you want to get him on the HF 4x4 net, he should be using a crystal controlled radio with between 6 and 12 spot frequencies (depending on purpose) which is type approved by ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority) for outback comms purposes, and NOT an amateur bands-only transceiver.

You may have been only trying to help, but your information is misguided.

Trashdigger

trashdigger
if you are talking to me,i have never heard the term "amateur bands transceiver".or the term "HF 4x4 net", and why would you suggest "a crystal controlled radio with between 6 and 12 spot frequencies "?
anyway phil. my radio is a 99 channel codan that can contact all the flying doctor bases in australia,plus all the school of the air stations (if they still exist).if you mainly want to call for help if you get into trouble my type of radio will do it for you.15 years ago a licence for this radio was about $25 dollars a year.no idea of the cost today,(or even if you need a licence to contact flying doctor today).also back then,if you didn`t mind every one on that channel hearing what the hell you were saying you could make phone calls through the flying doctor service,when they were not busy.they used to charge a 50¢ connection fee and then what ever the std rates were,and bill the cost to your home phone number.damn cheap.
i was about as close to the centre of western australia as you could get and i made a "phone" call to sydney and it cost me about five bucks.
if you wanted to know more about that kind of stuff i recon if you called any of the flying doctor bases they would be able to point you in the right direction
dave

Dave he was talking to me...........

I never said use it without a licence, I was thinking more of a permanent setup that would cover all of his needs.

Just showing one option he may consider, depending on how far he wants to go. Ok I excluded the fact he would need the appropriate licence to operate it "legally"........

Chill dude and no more "Trash" talk.

cheers,
Steve

The only license he can operate that with is with an amateur radio license which involves sitting a couple of exams to prove electronic, radio, antenna, propagation, procedural etc. competence first; not just paying for a license.

I think he wanted bush comms capability, reading his original request?

A Codan or similar HF bush radio is what the chap needs.

Mind you, there are enough pirates on the HF bands. Maybe I should shop more of them.

cheers - trashdigger

G'day Phil,

It appears to me that others are a bit off track in answering your question - the way I read it is that you are referring to internet access. If this is the case, then I would recommend Telstra wireless broadband as the only way to go - unless you are planning on visiting very remote areas, you will get good coverage in most regional towns. I use a high gain antenna that I stick on top of the caravan when I am in fringe areas and it works well.

caveman

Thanks guy's for your info. Was swinging to the testra g network. I'll also be looking into hiring a HF radio just in case as they say. thank again to all that replied.
Phil

Hi All ,
Being a ham myself I understand all thats being said...I have HF VHF UHF.and all mode on all . but they stay at home.. To much trouble when caravaning.. For the last 3 years we have come to WA ,doinig a bit of detecting ect. and all I bring is a nextG telstra FARMERS PHONE.the best ,it can even be used as a internet modem. $10 BUCKS A MONTH FOR 150 MEG. Its a ZTE thingo and a external antena 9db.. a uhf cb. one in the van and car.. two hand helds. thats it...most time we get coverage..if you want fast help get a 401 eperb...Smile its a good place.. ITS just the flys....bob

bob hi
what i dont know about mobile phones would fill an encyclopedia.my mobile phone is about half the size of a house brick,and all i can do on it is make phone calls,it doesn`t even show the time.
this set up you`re talking about,how much does it cost to buy?do you need a laptop with it,can you use a laptop with it?i`d love to be able to email while i`m away.$10 a month for 150meg.are calls extra?
like i said ,i don`t know much about this stuff
dave

goldhog22 wrote:Hi All ,
..if you want fast help get a 401 eperb...

now that is a damn sensible bit of advice!
Anyone contemplating a trip into very remote areas should really have one

Hi daywun, Ok The phone to buy is around 500. Not to sure on the model but they call them farmer phones from telstra.They have a small pull up ant..But on a plan its 30 a month plus 10 for the internet makes 40 a month.. Good value with a free hour.. The laptop is a ASUS Eeepc. 1000H. you can pick them up for 550 to 600. the phone just plugs in with a cord and of you go..Ive had this going now for 6-8 months and have never used the 150 meg. each month..Good luck with things Bob...

The phone Goldhog22 above was referring to is the F165 from Telsta, it nwas designed for farmers in fringe areas. Don't use ours for the internet - far too slow. We have a high gain 8dB mag base antenna with a 5m lead and a patch cord to suit the phone. same antenna is used with another patch cord to hook up the 'Blue Toaster' Telsta modem for decent speed broadband. With thois set up we were based on Nigaloo Station WA. Nearest broadcast centres were: Coral Bay 85 k to the south or Exmouth 112 k to the north. Able to use skype on the computer to talk to UK free of charge.

We do 70% of our phoning in the 'Free hour' (actually about 80 mins if you plan it right - with your last call started in the last minutes of your free hour) The rest is done on Skype computer to computer for $0 per call; or on Skype-Out to any phone for a tiny charge.

Cheers B-T

hi
just to let you know,because of this topic and the paths it went down, in the last 2 weeks if have been making enquires about this "wireless" stuff,i am now the owner of a laptop computer with "wifi" (2 weeks ago i had never even heard the term) ,and an optus modem you can connect an antenna to.i got the optus one because they claim they have coverage in the areas i want to go into and you can pre pay for 1 gig of download that covers 30 days for $30.
i`m going detecting for 3 weeks in may,when i get back i`ll let you know if the damn thing works,and more importantly if i found any gold
dave