UHF RADIOS

Hi All,
Just wondering what brand of portable UHF radio do u all carry? 1W or 5W and what sort of range without having to go through a repeater are u getting? Am looking for something light, small and compact.

Thanks

Ray

Hi Ray, I use a Uniden UH065SX which is a 2watt and supposedly good for 10klms. We got that and probably further without going through a repeater. and that was talking to aUniden 1watt.
But it all depends on terrain I suppose.

Stick with the name brands and usually can't go wrong. Don't forget to look at the ruggedness and reliablity not just the output.
It's great having a bazillion watts and able to reach perth from jupiter but that doesn't do you much good if it bounced off the back of your quad and the knobs fell off

Something that I am trying to understand is the dramatic loss of signal when I'm in undulating country.
1 watt, 2watt or 5 watt. whats the difference if a hill gets in the way?
I now use my UHF to work out how far from the cars my mate is. If I get no response then I have at least another half hour to detect. I figure that if hills are in the way then he is still a fair distance away.
This doesn't help if my mate or I, are in trouble.
I have often wondered what I would do if a mate said over the UHF " help I'm in trouble" Where are you would be the first question. I'm over here would be the answer.
It would be good if I could say " blow your whistle"
Brett.

G'day Brett,

The reason you are getting signal loss when you are in undulating country and a hill is in the way, is due to the characteristics of uhf radio signals - they work in a straight line. That is the reason for repeater stations, to enable the signal to be relayed further distance due to the curvature of the planet - generally in flat country without the assistance of repeater stations, the best distance most uhf radios achieve is to the horizon or around 32 kms. This of course depends on the antenna height and power output of the unit.

caveman

hi
if i can make a suggestion. get a uhf that has scan. for years i had a non scan uhf and when you are driving across country,very hard to use the thing,allways having to change channels to see if any body is there.
you can`t use scan in a populated area,because the radio changes channel every time somebody stops talking,but out in the bush they work good,if you need to talk to somebody,the radio will lock on to somebody thats on air.
dave

Morning all,
Garmin produce a UHF/GPS unit that you can use to track and see exactly where your partner or your vehicle is located.
Cheers
Peter

Hi all,

Many thanks for that I like MT's suggestion of the robust 2 watt set. I only want something thats light and easy to carry... dont know if I need all the selcall and CTCC or whatever as I would only stuff that up. I take on board the scan function. Thanks for that.

Ray

Ray

I use a Icom 400 Pro in the troopy and carry a Icom IC-41S.

Both are Programable which lets me upload scan stations like DSE,CFA,Police and so on.

Not all of the group I go out with have good 5watts UHF radio but if they can't get me they alway do on there car UHF and I have not trouble getting back to them ever.


http://www.icom-au.net/2007/products/uhf/uhfcb_ic-41s.html

Brett

You need what Pete (NIGHTJAR ) said it's the Rino 520 and if you have your laptop in your car with the software you can see were he is in case you need to drive to him as well as having it up and running on ozi with all the detail topo maps .

http://www.ja-gps.com.au/garmin_rino520_1.htm

Not cheap and love to eat your Battery power up.

David

Peter and David,
That sounds like an ideal set up.
I thought I was pretty well up to speed on modern technology. Obviously I'm not.
Thanks for the information.
Brett.

Hi all
When in doubt and if you can afford it,Take a sat phone,and gps.Think about it Hot weather Rolled ankle dehidrated.The sad sign of dehidrated lost people of 2 which I have met is that they honestly believe they know what they are doing.Eagles and ants is a sad way to die.Be Safe
Cheers Dig

Ray,

Sent you a PM

Robert

We have used a couple of Uniden half watt 40 channel hand helds for the last ten years. They are simple and robust, they have scanning and they have duplex so they can use the repeaters. We have easily gained 17klm on line of sight but on the other hand have lost communication on a distance of only a kilometre when one is behind a steep hill. These days they are pretty cheap and we can highly reccommend them. Don't buy a hand held that uses AAA batteries as they eat the batteries very quickly. Ours use 3 AA batteries and we have a charging unit as well. But if you don't use the units to transmit too much, just on standby, the AA batteries will last many weeks.

Cheers, Jim

On my little hand held I found out that a good aftermarket antenna made the biggest difference of all. I got LOT more distance on simplex talking. Its about twice as long as the rubber duckie antenna, but still short enough to hand carry easy.

Ray,

After using handhelds for many years for shooting and detecting, there is one thing I would say is absolutely THE BEST FEATURE of the new unit I have. It has it's own cradle and I re-charge it everynight from the cig lighter in my car. It has become second nature, to hook it and the detector battery up every night when I take all my gear off.

In the past I was always turning the radio off to save batteries and not hearing other people when I should have , or actually running out of batteries etc.

Get a model with a lithium ion battery, not those useless little re-chargeable AA or AAA batteries that last for such a short time and then fail completely.

My Uniden UHO73SX comes with a cradle charger for 240v ac or 12 v dc ( or maybe the 12 v charger was an extra accessory - I am having a seniors moment ).

Cheers,

Jigalong.

Ray,

Don't I remember you showing me your hotted up UHF when we were in Dunnoly with your mate from Gouldburn ? Has that crapped itself or is it just too big ?

Have you moved to Dunnoly ? Retired ? What's the go ?

Jigalong

Jigalong...

Hi.. yeah have retired and bought a property out of Dunolly... sold up in Sydney ... I have a UHF in the truck but wanted something small light and compact to carry... I like the idea of the lithium ion batteries as well...

Many thanks

Ray