Member - Gecko (WA) replied:

Hi Chris

GME is a good unit, its always worth setting up 27mhz anyway due to the distance and skip in the afternoon, and while its very quiet these days its certinally not dead.
Arials are getting harder to find though with most shops having a limited supply but depending on where you are then you will probable find a specialist
Cheers
Chris

AussieChris replied:

Hey Chris

Thanks for the quick reply. I have a few places here DSE for example.....do i just go in and ask for a 27Mhz CB aerial and some coax cable?....been about 10 years since i owned one so cant remember even how to set it up anymore either.
Have been told that i have to be very careful when setting up the aerial and to get a SWR meter and tune it in right or things could go very wrong with the CB internals?

Member - Gecko (WA) replied:

yeah coax and arial your choice but I recommend the bush ranger series and yes you do need to adjust the SWR before transmitting whilst people get away with it most of the time its not worth the chance.
Cheers

ozzyark replied:

Hi,
Just nip into your local DS store and pick up a helical and base and 3m coax, they sell it in a complete kit for $34.95, which is a 1.5m helical etc.
Depending on where you intend to mount it will depend on how good or bad the SWR is. The best place is in the centre of the roof but alas this isnt always possible.
They usually end up on a bullbar. But it would pay to check the swr just incase it needs a little snipping.

Cheers

ozzyark replied:

Hi Again,
Just remembered a great CB website, thought you might want to check out there prices. They are about the cheapest I have found. You can get the new Uniden UH090 (Includes 6db UHF + 27 Mhz Antenna ) which is a AM/UHF combined in the one rig complete with 2 antenaes and cables and free delivery for $355.00 (not a bad price) They seem to deal mainly in UHF but they do have some antenae mounts etc .

http://www.prestigecom.net.au/default.asp

Cheers Again

Banjo (SA) replied:

Just had a quick look at the GME site - looks like this HF CB is now superceded (not an issue) BUT seems your unit is AM only - no single side band function (SSB) built in - is this the case ? That factor makes the unit of little practical use in my view, unless you have a fellow traveller with 27meg. As you say, most travellers and pro drivers choose UHF so you are left with a very small group to relate to. I have a SSB Uniden 27meg in the dash, only because its in perfect order, of little value on the market AND because its got SSB, it can reach out thousands of k's, under favourable HF conditions (AM mode CB's run at about 5watts max - if you have SSB, you get up around 12 watts !). I leave my Uniden there as a back-up to my long distance Barrett HF, in case the big'n goes phut.

rolande replied:

Chris,
Put a GME AM in the Patrol, as much to see how it looked as anything else. Went for a drive along the Princes Hwy and to my surprise still a number of Truckies talking on AM. Good for a bit of entertainment on those long trips, just leave it on Channel 8
Rolande

AussieChris replied:

Hey All

Thankyou very much for all your replies. I guess its 50/50 with some saying its OK to use but i should get a UHF and some saying that people (not many) still use AM.
Well i think i might spend the $30 odd dollars and just use it for entertainment as rolande said and see if i hear anything (I live in rural WA) so might get something.... then when i head out bush hopefully i can afford to buy a UHF....might even look on ebay for a second hand one. Noticed an older GME TX472S UHF in one of our secondhand dealers here and they want $95 for it.....not sure if thats a good price or not considering a new UHF is about $300+
Anyway thankyou all again

Happy Travels

Chris