RE: [Paddlewise] Morse was HF Internet

G'Day Craig,

After your posts I took a look at QRP transceivers and was amazed at how
small they had become - haven't looked at amateur radio for years though
when I was a kid I used to spend almost every waking moment thinking about,
designing and building shortwave radio receivers. In fact my earliest
engagement in a marine rescue operation (so minor it was irrelevant) was
when the pirate radio station Radio Caroline sank slowly into the sea. 

The latest units looked as though they could be very useful in the early
stages of a rescue operation. Though I think radio hams in Oz would use CB
emergency channels or one of several networks of operators dedicated to
providing emergency services such as http://www.vks737.on.net/ . I'm not
certain  but I don't believe Australian radio amateurs have as much freedom
of channel use in an emergency as they do in the US. 

The receivers on most of the QRP transceivers I looked at, didn't have the
frequency coverage and stability, or selectivity, to allow following our
weather radio broadcasts. The time window is quite tight and if you miss
something you might have to wait up to 12 hours for the next forecast.
However, I'd bow to Peter Rattenbury's experience if he's had the chance to
use one over here.

A unit that came close was the Yaesu FT817. Without knowing much about this
unit the only real weakness seemed to be lack of pre-programmed digital
frequency selection that allows a quick change of frequency if a channel
starts to fade. I'd love to see/hear one in action. 

All the best, PeterO
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