Epirb Or Sat Phone For Remote Areas

Not sure where to post this. Hope it's in the appropriate section.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ale-huge-lightning-storm-battered-Sydney.html

The above article refers to a town near me, where people do their "big" shopping. It's about an hour and a half drive away. Very disturbing because tornadoes and the like are unheard of in this area. And yet, here we are.

I noticed in the article, they state who to ring if in a natural disaster type emergency. Ha! You've got to be kidding me. There is NO, I repeat NO mobile phone reception pretty much between towns. The only reason I have mobile reception and internet here is because I paid for a booster and satellite. Australia has the most appalling mobile coverage.

So it would be pigging useless trying to ring someone for help. Hence I'm wondering which would be better to have on hand - an EPIRB or sat phone. I know sat phones are expensive. Which route would you go?

 

Thanks TMT. EPIRBs are a fairly routine accessory for boats nowadays. I thought it would be a good thing to carry in the bush. However, a sat phone would be the go. Actually, probably both.

https://www.clubmarine.com.au/explo...w-EPIRBs-and-PLBs-Work--Club-Marine-Insurance

"EPIRBS that have GPS allow faster position refinement and greater location accuracy – your GPS location may be provided within 20 minutes. It goes without saying that while they’re a little more expensive, a GPS-enabled beacon is the preferred EPIRB to purchase."

"EPIRBs indicate distress and should only be used when you are in grave and imminent danger – that means when you feel you are facing a life-threatening situation, which is a personal decision that is different for everybody. In emergencies, two-way communication via a mobile/satellite phone or radio is the most effective means of communication because the type of emergency can be communicated, as can updates. If two-way communication is not available, then a distress beacon can be activated."

 

It's an entirely different situation here. I had to drive into town this morning (45 minute drive) and pulled over on a dirt road. The car lurched to the left in a very scary manner. There's basically no phone reception between where I live and town. It's sporadic in places but for the most part, there is none. So I had the choice of leaving the car where it was, getting the pup out and waiting for a car to stop, or risk it and continue to drive into town, which I did.

I went straight to the mechanic who put the car on the hoist and had a gander. A fortnight ago I had to fork out $3,000 to have the tie rod, bushes and new tyres all round. The tie rod thread had completely stripped. Part failure. The mechanic said it's becoming more common that parts are failing due to bad manufacturing.

My point being after this long ramble, that if the car breaks down I would have no choice but to hitch to get help. Pretty poor in this day and age I reckon.

 

My vehicle is a 2008 model and parts do wear or fail despite the best efforts to check on a regular basis. The $3,000 I paid a fortnight ago was to ensure there were no problems with registration when I move to Queensland, as I will have to re-register it once there (absolutely ridiculous in my mind). I purchased the car February just gone, where it underwent an MOT. Two of the tyres were replaced at that time, as well as the running gear and brakes.

The roads here are absolutely atrocious (worse than the UK). Potholes are big enough to practically swallow your car. I literally grit my teeth when I hit one. You get to know exactly where they are but new ones spring up all the time, or they can be difficult to spot due to shadows on the road from trees as you're driving. Every time it rains, the roads deteriorate very quickly. They are never properly repaired and cause terrible damage to the running components. When I got my car checked a fortnight ago, the front tyres were down to the metal and the brakes were down to 10%.

Unfortunately another reason for the decision to move.