Sitting Around The Bush Tele

Sitting around the bush tele the other night and I was asked out of all the gear that I have in the Troopie what did I use the most. They were a bit shocked with my response.
It was the UHF radio.

It is the first thing to go on when the motor is stared and the last thing to be turn off at night.

I have TX 3400 and a TX 3200 on the over head console both with in easy reach. The 3400 is on scan all the time and program to skip CH16. The 3200 is set on CH16 and is the channel that I use to talk to the vehicles in the convey.

I find that the 3400 on scan has been one of the best things that I have ever done. With the scan I can pick up other vehicles long before I see them. This really helped last week in the Vic High Country. We were going down the Zeka Track and I heard a convey from the Drive For Life charity run that were on there way up the Zeka track. Not wanting to have pass the convey on the track I was able to have smoko in a clearing and let the other convey pass. It turned out to be a good thing as there lead vehicle was a Hummer and it took up all the track.

Later that day a convey was coming down Herne Spur and again was able to wait and pass on a flat area before we started to climb. I would not have known about the other convey if the UHF was not set to scan.

Latter in the trip I scanned another convey coming down Billy Goat Bluff. They were able to wait on the heli pad so we could pass. It just so happen to be the convey that we waited for on the Zeka Track were waiting for us. What comes around goes around.

A single vehicle is impossible to pick up unless they are spotted and by that time it is usually too late. If only they had there UHF on scan they could have picked up the convey heading to wards them.

This system works very well in the mountains where visibility is limited but I will also use the scan when travelling the outback. You just never know what is happening over the next sand dune.

Wayne