uhf hand held

Submitted: Wednesday, Sep 11, 2002 at 00:00
ThreadID: 1959 Views:2241 Replies:5 FollowUps:5
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I already have a GME TX 4400 and am considering buying a hand held for using away from the vehicle and also as a "loan" set for others travelling with us and without a radio. I'm interested in opinions on the two Uniden sets at less than $100 and any other comparable sets. I realise that with an output of 500mw thay only have one tenth of the power of my TX4400.
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Reply By: Member - Nigel - Wednesday, Sep 11, 2002 at 00:00

Wednesday, Sep 11, 2002 at 00:00
Out of the two cheap Unidens, the one with the longer antenna is the better option. Those radios are fine for their purpose as long as you are happy to accept their limitations (eg cross channel interference when in close proximity to a more powerful radio on another channel). The range is not only limited by the lack of power, but also by the antenna. The 3km range is only applicable when there is nothing between the two radios and they can see each other. Also the speaker in them is not the loudest and if using it in a noisy 4WD then it may need to be held close to your ear to be able to hear anyone. They seem to be quite robust and for the price, there really isn't anything that comes close.

I wouldn't recommend the dearer unidens as there are much better brands that have upmarket handhelds, but that's a different price bracket.
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Reply By: cobra - Thursday, Sep 12, 2002 at 00:00

Thursday, Sep 12, 2002 at 00:00
I use the Uniden UH040xr as a backup and for use away from the car and find it very handy with no problems. Although the book says a range of 3k in flat country, I have been able to get 15-20k in flat areas. I seem to consistently get up to 10k without using a repeater in all areas although there is some breakup at times. As a cheap option, I would recommend it. The 37 model is cheaper, has less features and defaults to channel 5 each time it is turned on.
Cheers
AnswerID: 6560

Follow Up By: Member - Nigel - Thursday, Sep 12, 2002 at 00:00

Thursday, Sep 12, 2002 at 00:00
The 3km quoted is from handheld to handheld. You should get quite a lot further if talking to a radio that has a decent antenna. I've gotten over 30km from a 300mW Kenwood to a repeater.
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Reply By: Leroy - Thursday, Sep 12, 2002 at 00:00

Thursday, Sep 12, 2002 at 00:00
John,

I have the Uniden UH040XR and a mate has the cheaper one with the shorter antena. I'm very happy with the performance. I've used them both and they seem to perfom the same. The UH040XR has 2 sockets on the top so you can plug in an external mike which I use in the car and only costs an extra $10 when you purchase the radio but only when on sale (usually $40) and a charger. The sales seem to come up frequently at bleep Smith Electronics.

Leigh
AnswerID: 6582

Reply By: John - Thursday, Sep 12, 2002 at 00:00

Thursday, Sep 12, 2002 at 00:00
Thank you Nigel, Cobra and Leroy - I understand the limitations of the radio and it sounds as though it's the best option - though I've just seen a new model on bleep Smith's site which also has CTSS and is about $30 dearer so it might be worth a look too. Thanks again
AnswerID: 6583

Follow Up By: Member - Nigel - Friday, Sep 13, 2002 at 00:00

Friday, Sep 13, 2002 at 00:00
With CTCSS just remember that it only stops you hearing others, it doesn't stop everyone else from hearing you (ie it's still not private).

Please be careful if using CTCSS to make sure the channel is not in use before you transmit (ie check the busy light/indicator). If you are talking about the UH042XR then I think it has the option of busy lockout, which prevents you from accidentally transmitting while someone else is.
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Follow Up By: John - Friday, Sep 13, 2002 at 00:00

Friday, Sep 13, 2002 at 00:00
Yes Nigel that's the model I saw. Not sure if it was on Richard's site - may have been the Uniden site. Do you think it's worth it to have CTSS? I have CTSS and SELCALL on the TX4400 and have never used either ... but maybe having 2 sets with CTSS it might be of use? I gather that I could set the hand held for example to only hear calls from my vehicle which seems to me to be a useful feature ... what do you think?
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Follow Up By: Member - Nigel - Tuesday, Sep 17, 2002 at 00:00

Tuesday, Sep 17, 2002 at 00:00
I mainly use selcall as we have 4 GME's (including one handheld). But the idea of using CTCSS between the TX4400 and the Uniden is not a bad idea, as you could set the Uniden not to transmit if the channel is busy, and you can program the TX4400 to transmit a CTCSS tone, but not require one, so you can still hear all traffic on the channel (on the TX4400).
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Reply By: John - Monday, Sep 16, 2002 at 00:00

Monday, Sep 16, 2002 at 00:00
Thanks again all for your advice and insights. I bought the UHO40XR from Dick Smith on sale with the extra speaker/mike for $10. iCHOSE IT OVER THE CHEAPER ONE (oops caps lock) mainly because it takes AA as opposed to AAA. I use AArechargable for a number of things. Seems to perform well. I can reach a repeater about 19.5km from here (so says my GPS) and through it spoke to a friend about 30km away so it has exceeded my expectations - I didn't expect to be able to get a repeater if it was more then 3km away.
AnswerID: 6667

Follow Up By: Member - Nigel - Tuesday, Sep 17, 2002 at 00:00

Tuesday, Sep 17, 2002 at 00:00
Repeaters have the advantage of being heigher than most things. The 3km range quoted is handheld to handheld (ie using two 500mW Unidens). You'll easily get further than that to repeaters and base stations that have elevated antennas.
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