Jeepy replied:

An external antenna can't be connected the UH-040. I can get about 5kms best, but less in the city and in hilly areas. Works well for $100.
To attach an external antenna you will have to buy a more powerful unit. The cheaper unidens (UH-040) have 0.5W of power compared to 5W(maximum) for the more expensive units (about $400)

Jeepy

Jeepy replied:

check out this page
http://forums.overlander.com.au/messageview.cfm?catid=3&threadid=919

jono replied:

jimy,
i was told by a bloke from the Perth ARB store that it was possible to rig up an external areial for that hand held unit. it would require you setting up the aerial on the bull bar as per normal and running the coax into the cabin somewhere, and leaving a bit hanging out with a connection attached. you could then plug the connector into the socket on the hand held unit after removing the origional built in aerial. You could then even attach an external speaker and attach the whole unit on the dash near the steering wheel somewhere with sticky backed velcro, when you want to talk you could just reach forward and depress the talk button. when you want to leave the car, you can unplug the whole setup and re-attack the origional aerial. The down side to this is you will always have to carry quite a few spare batteries, as i believe they will only last a day or two with normal to minimal use. the whole setup should cost you another $100 or so after you have the radio unit itself. Cheers, Jono.

James replied:

Gday Jimy. I have a pair of these Uniden Communicators and wouldn't leave home without them. They are great for tasks ranging from camping and leaving the campsite for brief walks and still being in touch with the others to reversing the 4WD in difficult circumstances and not having to yell over the purr of the diesel. They have a range of about 1km on the flat and less in bulit up and hilly areas. They do chew the batteries up but I now use the Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries that I use in my digital camera. They take 3 batteries each and have longer than 48 hours on standby with these batteries which means a fairly long talk time. In the wet I put them in Snap Lock bags and they still work well. They are great for inter-vehicle communication. I have no experience with an external antenna. I reckon they are a great buy and you will find many uses for them as time goes on. Good Luck, James.

Robert replied:

Jimy,
I think you will find UHF is the same as AM which means
if you can physically attach your the handheld to the vehicle mounted antenna then yes the transmission will be greatly improved regardless of whether it is a .5 w or 5w unit. Handheld units don't have the range of vehicle mounted units simply because they don't have the ground plane - it's the steel in the vehicle (ground plane) that pulls the transmitted signal down so that it radiates over the horizon rather than going straight up.
Your best bet is to check with one of the antenna manufactures ie. Mobile One (http://www.Mobileone.com.au/mainantenna.htm)

Dion replied:

I have had one of these units and found the range in excess of that quoted. In Port Augusta, it can reach the Quorn - Mt Arden Repeater, a didtance of at least 15 km or more.
Cheers,
Dion.

jeepy replied:

If you find an external antenna could you please post where you got it from.

THANKS

Jimy replied:

Thanks for all your responses. I'm pretty much sold on getting one, I'll just have to play around with it when I get it. Seems like the way to go, suits my needs anyway. As long as it picks up the truckies so I know where they are taking photos on the highway! Jimy...