Is 27meg CB worth leaving in the 4x4?
Submitted: Wednesday, May 17, 2006 at 23:52
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bushcamper
Just bought a GQ Patrol with a good quality 27 Meg AM and SB CB radio fitted and working perfectly. I'm going to fit my UHF when I get a chance.
Question is, is there any point leaving the 27 Meg installed or would it be just wasted space? (I used to be into them 25 - 30 years ago)
Keith
PS. Very happy with the Patrol, 4.2 turbo diesel wagon, averaged 10.3lts to 100 klms over 1517 klms (157lts), 3 days driving around
Sydney then North to Queensland, one short beach trip, some rough tracks and the rest highway 32x11.5x15s, roof rack, 100 - 110kph when possible, light foot.
img src="
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/longbow1/Nissan/thumnaillarge.jpg"
Reply By: Member - Oldplodder (QLD) - Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 07:39
Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 07:39
Haven't used
mine in a few years too.
Only useful now if you are travelling in convoy and some one else has one, and you use it as a 2nd system.
Not sure if even the extra range of sideband is useful any more, who would be listening?
Your right, I am thinking of adding some extra gauges, and no space left, that might the solution.
AnswerID:
173285
Reply By: Darian (SA) - Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 08:31
Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 08:31
In the same boat Bushy, only
mine has been in the Jack from the start - a Uniden PC122XL - great unit - it took a fair while to put in - I don't need the space so it stays for now - have since got into UHF and long distance HF (Barrett). Thing is, with a 5 foot whip on the front, the 27Meg often has great reach on SSB ! I therefore see it as a backup to the Barrett should the chips be down and the Barrett on the blink (tenuous as an argument I know, but as you say, the 27 is worth bugger all). The 27 can skip a long way on SSB, especially in the middle of the day, in the central parts of the nation. One hop from around the Alice region seems to coincide roughly with the coast - I have had clear comms with
Hobart and
Cairns for example, while mobile (LSB - ch 35) ! While in the
Gawler Ranges SA a few years back, we commed clearly with NZ on another blokes identical setup. But you do need the whip - 10 feet of wire is the common formula (1/4 wave) - best practical form is the helical wound FG whip (40 foot of straight wire would be good :-0). While not a lot, there are CB'ers jabbering away at times on the various popular channels. Overall, if skip conditions are absent, it is just about useless in the bush - also not worth buying and you can't sell one - if you have a good one though, why not give it a run ?
AnswerID:
173299
Reply By: Member - RockyOne - Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 09:26
Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 09:26
C.B,s are great if travel with groups..We had a magic
Cape York trip '89 all on AM CB's..15 rigs..Only two of us had UHF's as
well,so we had many private talks.Jokes..Now of course,the reverse sit would prevail as everyone and his dog has UHF so,if possible,keep the AM 27mhz CB..Can always listen to the illegal foreign poaching/fishing,ppl smugglers boats up there in the gulf.
AnswerID:
173304
Reply By: atoyot - Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 20:24
Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 20:24
As already said, useful if travelling with someone else with one; you can have un-interupted conversations, but if you want to scan channels for traffic, they won't be much use. We use one a bit, and it's nice to have the channels all to yourself, and not have to listen to the drivel you tend to get on UHF these days. I have a UHF as
well, for when we're out of towns range.
regards
Andrew
AnswerID:
173408
Reply By: Member - Howard (ACT) - Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 21:02
Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 21:02
bushcamper,
keep it if you have space, never know when it will come in handy.
My uhf bleep itself 2 days into a kimberly trip in 2003
fortunatelythe other vehicle I was travelling with also had retained old 27 meg cb,they scanned uhf and maintained contact with other vehicles and we were able to keep in touch.
ISHTF I would also still try to get a call out on a 27meg unit as others have mentioned you never know who you can get in contact with if the skip is right.
Pre UHF days I regularly spoke to Balina area from
Canberra.
cheers
Howard
AnswerID:
173422
Reply By: bushcamper - Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 23:56
Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 23:56
Sounds like there's enough die hards out there to talk to, and skip can be fun and useful at times.
I'll see if I can find another spot for the UHF. You never know, 27meg might make a come back around the towns, if only to get away from the ratbags on UHF
djpatrol, this is my seventh 4x4, third Patrol and second GQ, I just keep coming
back to them. Think I might keep this one for a while.
Keith
AnswerID:
173454
Reply By: noddy - Monday, May 22, 2006 at 10:42
Monday, May 22, 2006 at 10:42
I use my 27 a few times a year still..
Keep finding that UHF gets too busy at some of the more popular spots.
I leave the UHF on with the volume down lower so it doesnt annoy the cr@p out of me and use the 27 to communicate with those i'm with.
Most people seem to have grown up with one or inherited one and yeah, if you have space for it they can sometimes be handy for all the reasons everyone else has mentioned.
Cheers,
Dale
AnswerID:
173932