Telstra Coverage in Bass Strait

[lockie]

For those interested in mobile phone coverage of Bass Strait, here’s what I found on a recent trip to King Island.

On the outward trip:
Reception lost at 38o52.0 144o 26.9 (approx 34 nm SSW of PPB heads, daylight)
Reception regained at 39o 35.5 144o17.0 (approx 15 nm E of Cape Wickham, dark)

On the return trip:
Reception lost at 39o 13.4 144o 21.2 (approx 28 nm NE Cape Wickham, daylight)
Reception regained at 38o 56.1 144o 24.3 (approx 39 nm SSW of PPB heads, dark)

I had no reception for roughly 8 hours (at about 5 knots).
My equipment is a 6.1 dB ZCG antenna mounted above the solar panels approx 3 m above the waterline, 2m aft of the backstay, plugged into a Samsung Galaxy S3.

It obviously would be much better with an antenna at the top of the mast, but it's ok for a fairly cheap easy DIY job. I had phone signal for longer than VHF, so I guess you could call it a reasonable safety enhancement. It certainly was reassuring (if a little surreal) to be checking out the BOM site for conditions at Cape Otway and further afield to see what was coming my way.

Cheers, Graeme