Need advice...!

The place to discuss Commercial & Private licensed hand held & mobile transceivers, as well as imported hand held and mobile transceivers.
TEL167
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Need advice...!

Post by TEL167 »

First time I've posted a question on an open forum. I've read a lot of the posts on your site and believe some of you guys will be able to answer this.
Scenario: Experienced guy likes to walk off the beaten track in mountainous terrain. He is solo, has an accident and needs assistance asap. Yes, he has given people an itinerary of his route and his Eta but this is a life or death situation. Is there a specific radio that he could be carrying? If he carried a vhf marine band radio would he be able to put in an emergency call on channel 16?(in coastal areas). Would this hand held unit be picked up if tx further inland? Is there another type of radio, vhf/uhf dual band for eg that might be more apt? Any advice appreciated.
The Wizard
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Re: Need advice...!

Post by The Wizard »

I am sure I will be told that I am incorrect but I would say the best bit of kit would be a satellite phone !
rather expensive but in the situation you pose you would not want to be out of range !
now I will find out how wrong I am :?
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Yeti
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Post by Yeti »

Depends how far inland he is - but the height will help.
Will the next movie in the series be The Fast and The Funeral?
BK
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Re: Need advice...!

Post by BK »

In terms of coverage and knowing there is someone there at the other end, by far the most reliable way of summoning help would be a mobile phone. I know that coverage can be poor in remote areas, but the chance of there being anyone within range and monitoring their radio could be even worse. The only band I can think of that's monitored is marine band as you suggested. Technically its illegal to use without a licence and on land without a special licence where you have to demonstrate a need, but this was discussed on another thread on these forums recently and the consensus seemed to be that in a genuine safety of life situation you'd get away with it.
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Post by Yeti »

BK wrote:In terms of coverage and knowing there is someone there at the other end, by far the most reliable way of summoning help would be a mobile phone. I know that coverage can be poor in remote areas, but the chance of there being anyone within range and monitoring their radio could be even worse. The only band I can think of that's monitored is marine band as you suggested. Technically its illegal to use without a licence and on land without a special licence where you have to demonstrate a need, but this was discussed on another thread on these forums recently and the consensus seemed to be that in a genuine safety of life situation you'd get away with it.
You forgot the airband.

In terms of real safety of life - I'd take an airband handy.
Will the next movie in the series be The Fast and The Funeral?
2E0YGG
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Post by 2E0YGG »

There is no band that is monitored with a mind to emergency calls.

Apart from marine for boats and Airband for air.

The only licence free alternative is CB band. If you put a call out on the CB Mayday channel you might get a response, but that's reliant on someone scanning the channel.
DaBrigg
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Re: Need advice...!

Post by DaBrigg »

I go hill walking to remote areas quite often, and have found mobile phone coverage to be unreliable.
Even close to built up areas, such as on high ground overlooking a city, you may still experience problems.

GSM can only work properly up to 25miles. When you are on high ground, the phone could easily lock onto a mast that is too far away, even if there are other masts closer. The phone appears to have signal, but the moment you try to make a call, the phone loses contact with the network. Text messaging may sometimes work in such situations.

I have also found mobile phones to be useless in dense coniferous forest. VHF and UHF works better there.
BK
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Re: Need advice...!

Post by BK »

Yeti wrote:You forgot the airband.
Haha, just in case transmitting on marine band without a licence doesn't **** enough people off :lol:
Still, if your life depended on it...

Some people have said CB/VHF/UHF might work where there is no mobile phone coverage, but if you really are out in the sticks its unlikely there would be anyone to hear you, at least not monitoring the channel constantly. Satellite phone is the only sure way to be heard - not wrong Wizard, just very, very expensive.

I would say the type of radio most walkers use in the UK is without a doubt PMR446, but they use CTCSS and treat it as their private channel so its unlikely they would hear any call you put out even if they were in range.
wrongsideof40
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Post by wrongsideof40 »

Take a look at the following link for a device that would do the trick...
http://www.adventuretradingpost.co.uk/
2E0YGG
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Re: Need advice...!

Post by 2E0YGG »

Put simply there's no sure fire way.

Apart from a satellite phone. :)


The channel that should be perfect for it is the CB Emergency one but nobody uses it enough for people to be listening.
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Post by Yeti »

2E0YGG wrote:Put simply there's no sure fire way.
121.5 AM - I'm certain that you'd get an answer!
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Re: Need advice...!

Post by BK »

Yeti wrote:121.5 AM - I'm certain that you'd get an answer!
You'd better be about to die though, or you'll be in so much trouble you'll wish you had :lol:

Having said that, it seems that boaters out on the open ocean use 121.5 (illegally) if they can't get a response on the marine band distress frequency, and until February this year they could legally use EPIRB beacons on 121.5
TEL167
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Re: Need advice...!

Post by TEL167 »

Thanks all for taking the time to reply. I did try to search this forum for any Info on this theme but obviously missed the other thread. So apologies for rehashing an old subject. Can anyone point me to said thread?
Regardless, all replies were informed and succinct, exactly what I was hoping for. So many thanks. The supplied link was very interesting.
I posted the question after reading that pmr radios were becoming popular with hill walkers. I went on line to check this out. Got the impression that these radios were limited and after seeing all the various transceivers that are available. I began to wonder what people in the know would recommend. Ideally I'm looking for something that I can use to liaise with other walkers but I also liked the idea of being able to listen into and (of course only in a dire situation,) be able to communicate with Air/Sea assets. I'm well aware that these things are restricted for good reason. When I'm out in the field I follow the maxim, It's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it!
Bone question, is there a hand held unit that has both Air and Marine capability? I liked the look of the VX-7R but not qualified to judge.
Cheers for bearing with me..
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Yeti
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Re: Need advice...!

Post by Yeti »

TEL167 wrote: Bone question, is there a hand held unit that has both Air and Marine capability? I liked the look of the VX-7R but not qualified to judge.
Cheers for bearing with me..
.
There is a handy that can TX on both 2m and Airband - it's actually desgined for light aircraft pilots to use (in the US) - can't remember what it is though.
Will the next movie in the series be The Fast and The Funeral?
Conor
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Re: Need advice...!

Post by Conor »

Personal Emergency Locator Beacon. Monitored by the emergency services and can be detected anywhere in the world as it transmits to satellites.

More here: http://shop.pilotwarehouse.co.uk/category3350023.html
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