Which 2-Way Walkie Talkie for the CSR

I'm surprised that any rental vehicle set up to do the Canning doesn't already have a 2-way radio installed. With 4 vehicles, you'll be travelling close together so any Oz standard UHF handheld will do. If not battery powered, make sure you get cigarette lighter/12 volt charging plugs.
At that time of year, make sure you've got a good spinifex screen and that you check the radiator and under the vehicle are clear at least on a daily basis.
Have fun.

I would buy this item.

Any of these descisions are a compromise , so reasons for a recommendation are important.

I assume you will not be able to have external antennas.

In this case I assume cost is a factor hence I recommend this item with 1 watt instead of 5 watts out but which has better range than the cheaper 2 watt versions because of its receiver.
(hence under there ideal conditions they rate them as 6km range items).

This is a tradies pack and comes with external mircophones.

I consider this important because handhelds car to car have a very limited range usually 1 km sees them out.
To maximize range without an external antenna these units should be placed in a phone holder or similar such that antenna is vertical and it can see out the windows.

The units should be then used with the external mic.

They also have 12v chargers.


http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/UNIDEN-TWIN-1-WATT-HANDHELD-UHF-CB-RADIO-TRADIES-PACK-WITH-CARRY-CASE-/301196965000?pt=AU_Electronics_Radio_Equipment&hash=item4620bcf488

If you get low power walkie talkies, like .5 - 2w, it's unlikely that they will be capable of taking an external antenna, and will have a range of up to 1 km or so if used inside the cabin. Vehicle window tinting is metallic, and stops RF signals.

IMHO this won't work for a few reasons.

-The vehicle with the proper UHF and external antenna will *always* have to lead.
-with 4 vehicles, you could be up to 10km or so apart to avoid dust. Even if there is only 2 to 3 km separation it is very unlikely that the front vehicles will hear the rear ones and you will have to relay messages. It will get very frustrating. Even 5w units with external antennas can struggle to work properly in dusty conditions ( where you spread out)

Walkie talkies are ok in say the high country for a day or so or for recovery situations, but will drive you completely nuts in the outback. They aren't up to the job and you'll constantly have communications problems.

Stick with your suggestion of a 5W unit with an external antenna or better still something like this. It is probably cheaper than a 5w walkie talkie with an external antenna anyway.

portable 5w UHF kit

I am not sure I like the antenna in that ebay unit but it should be ok, or ask if you can swap it out for a better magnetic mount antenna. Or just make some kits up.

I have been on a few trips with people using even 5w walkie talkies inside the vehicle and I can testify that a km or so is the practical limit for reliable comms.

With hand helds, and sometimes in vehicle radios, distance between vehicles can get drawn out, mainly to avoid thick dust while travelling on certain tracks.
You'd be surprised how often a message needs to be relayed from the middle of a convoy, to ensure lead and tailend vehicles get a message.
With handhelds, especially less than 5w, you may have to do this at times even with just 4 vehicles in the convoy, but not a major issue once you set up the best system to do it (maybe vehicle fitted UHF in position 2 or 3).

Is the 4wd with the UHF already installed an owned vehicle - not hired?

I would get that unit upgraded to an 80channel as you are unable to purchase 40ch anymore and although the units will work the 40ch will be a lot quieter.

That vehicle will need a really good antenna with good range as he will be the one that will encounter the first 4wd's coming the other way or gaining on and you want to ensure that you do not meet on the crest of a dune. I always suggest putting a call out whilst on the top of a dune every now & then to see or hear if there is traffic around - there was an incident when we did it in 2012 with a collision on the top of a dune.

I would suggest something like this for the other 3 x 4wd

http://www.prestigecom.net.au/GME-TX6150-5-Watt-UHF-CB-CH5T-5db-Antenna-Package

with a suitable mount

http://www.prestigecom.net.au/Magnetic-Base-Mount-cw-45db-Antenna

I think this would be the best on your roof as some of the shrubs are very close and will pinstripe your car and destroy things that are too rigid.

Also make sure that you have either a HF Radio or Satphone with a list of phone numbers and understand how to use it and as a last resort, life threatening, an EPIRB / PLB ad register it with AMSA and provide them your itinerary.

The Canning is a fantastic experience so long as you are well prepared

cheers

G'day mates,

thank's for all the useful answers.
Now, as i understood, its more clear for me which one we need.

1.) 1W handhelds doesn't have enough power (the distance of 4 cars on the CSR could be more than 3 km (dust)).

2.) 5W handhelds may have enough power but are hard to handle with the external antenna and the power connector.

3.) For me, the solution is GME TX3100 + ANTENNA PORTABLE PLUG N PLAY 80 CHANNEL UHF CB RADIO 5W 80CH MOBILE, a bit more expensive but easy to handle and install and resell :)

Problem solved :)

Just a slight off topic comment.
You should double check your conditions of hire for the vehicles you are intending to use.
Quite a lot of hire companies don't allow their vehicles on tracks such as the CSR.
You may find you are totally uninsured if you take the car into such areas.

Any of the walkie talkie CB sets mentioned above should be fine. You wont need an external antenna. Everyone would be close enough on the actual CSR. The few groups that we recently saw were basically right up the other blokes exhaust pipe.Well, at least within 100 feet of each other anyway.

The one with the set installed should go first and announce your advance every now and then just to let approaching cars that you may be just over the hill. The tops of sand hills is a good spot.

Among the twenty or so cars that we met going the opposite way on the CSR, only one couple were announcing their presence and they were going the same way as us. It seems that most we met were only interested in themselves. Either people just give common desert travel courtesy lip service or they are selfish and only worry about their own group.