RADIO COM PROB UNABLE TO ESTABLISH RADIO CONTACT ON HF DURING AN OVERWATER OP.

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HF RADIO WAS CHKED PRIOR TO DEP; BUT #1 AND #2 WERE RECEIVING; BUT NY RADIO DID NOT RESPOND TO RADIO CHK CALLS (THIS IS NOT UNUSUAL FOR OUR GATE LOCATION AND WE USUALLY GET A RESPONSE IN FLT XING THE COAST LINE). AFTER TKOF WE CONTINUED TO TRY TO ESTABLISH CONTACT WITH NY RADIO WHILE COMMUNICATING ENRTE BY VHF. AFTER PASSING FLANN INTXN (WHERE WE SWITCH TO HF OCEANIC) DECIDED THAT THE ONLY SOLUTION WAS TO RELAY A POS RPT THROUGH A FOREIGN ACR FLT AND CONTINUE ON TO BERMUDA SINCE WE WERE BEYOND THE MID POINT OF THE RTE. NY ACKNOWLEDGED THE POS RPT AND ESTIMATE TO TARGA INTXN AND GAVE US A VHF FREQ FOR TARGA RPTING. WE MONITORED BOTH VHF OCEANIC FREQS AND 121.5. WE WERE NOT USING HF; AND WERE NEVER CALLED ON ANY VHF FREQ. WE ESTABLISHED VHF CONTACT ABOUT 15 MINS LATER AND CONTINUED ON TO BERMUDA WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE HF RADIO WAS REPLACED IN BDA AND WORKED NORMALLY ON THE RETURN FLT. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 312947: RECEIVED MESSAGE FROM COMMERCIAL RADIO THAT STATED HF INOP ON FLT FROM EWR-BDA; BUT DID NOT STATE WHETHER ONE OR BOTH WERE INOP. I CALLED COMMERCIAL RADIO TO VERIFY MESSAGE; THEY STATED THE MESSAGE WAS RELAYED THROUGH ANOTHER ACFT ON VHF FREQ. I THEN PROCEEDED TO ATTEMPT TO SECAL ACFT ON HF THROUGH COMMERCIAL RADIO. THIS WAS UNSUCCESSFUL.