They are still in use. And I think they will be for some time yet. However, if I was buying a new unit, I'd be buying VHF.
There's only one 27 MHz set in the Whitworths cattledog so like Toph says about buying one,
On a different but similar subject, there's a proposal to stop monitoring HF radios in the future,
Not that l have one but thats gotta hurt a lotta folk who paid big bucks for them,
Who is going to cease monitoring though? DoT have indicted they will cease 24 hr monitoring by 2020. To be completely honest I didn't even know Dot monitored it at all.
Here in WA at least, the Water Police monitor HF 24/7 (Perth and Port Headland) and so likely will the Fremantle Sea Rescue. ACROM in Geographe Bay also monitor HF but I don't know if it is 24/7.
If you have a read through the Afloat magazine, there's endless whinging letters about marine rescue not monitoring HF these days.
If you're going for new install, VHF and satphone (Iridium Go or similar) would be all I'd bother with. Oh, and AIS transmit.
Select to expand quoteToph said..
Who is going to cease monitoring though? DoT have indicted they will cease 24 hr monitoring by 2020. To be completely honest I didn't even know Dot monitored it at all.
Can't link it but there is a post on the Tas MAST site regarding the HF proposal.
Regarding HF radio's future as per the proposal Toph linked to:
1) Maritime safety bulletins and weather forecast info will continue to be broadcast on HF (great)
2) Distress and follow-on comms to be supported on HF with DSC for offshore (much like VHF with DSC inshore).
Still a little disappointing that HF distress could not be monitored on analogue HF (as it will be on HF DSC). Quite a few cruising boats (not harbour yachts/racers) still have HF sets, since VHF is generally just to the horison. Given the advances in speech-to-text processing you imagine it should be feasible for automated HF monitoring to easily recognise the phrases "mayday" and "pan-pan" spoken no less than three times, then generate a digital alert which can immediately be followed up by the same human operators that sit there monitoring DSC and Epirb signals.
