Radio Advice

Depending on what car you have and space avalible, I have a TX3400 this has a remote head so you can hide the body away and I am using a 6.5dB gain antenna from RFI this covers me great so far. If you are looking just for close car to car try the handheld jobbies cause they are cheap approx $80 in a two pack. I think it is handy having a handheld for recovery comms between driver and the person guiding.
That my 2c worth

Hi,

I've just been through the same exercise and ended up with a UNIDEN UH015SX which comes with a remote head allowing you more flexibility in where you locate the radio and head unit. Picked one up from Ebay for $325. It has 60 user programmable receive channels and you can program your own selcall id.

I had a GME remote head radio in my old truck, it was a great radio but cost more than the Uniden and had less features.

Go for the best Stan.

Commercial quality and very upgradeable.

Icom 400Pro from Prestige Communications

A$394 including free air express. Usually delivers overnight depending on time of order.

gme tx 3200 barely biggerthan a pack of ciggies so is eaily set under the dash without fancy in dash instalations and running wirs bween reot heads etc. And 5
seconds to remove if you sll th. vehicle
dNo paying for la de dah fatures you dont use like sellcall. - just a radio that works and can be set to scan

Yep re the Icom 400 Pro - lots of features, rugged, and a good performer re comms overall (includes a repeater scan too). Never had a hitch with mine. May not be applicable to you, but this model can be easily upgraded to commercial status UHF.

Another option is the Uniden UHF GPS105. It is a small unit and I assume its radio performance is on par with other small car mounted units however it has additional handy features. Its GPS antennea allows it to check the vehicles location against its database of red light camera, fixed speed camera and traffic blackspot locations so it can beep to warn you.

It beeps when you are 400 metres out and then again at about 100 metres. This can be slightly annoying in the city centre when there are red light cameras at several nearby intersections. It also has an adjustable speed alarm so that it beeps to warn you if you exceed the speed limit you have set.

It has other features such as being able to transmit your location to other 105 sets on data channels 22 and 23 but at this stage I haven't worked my way through the entire book of "destructions" so I am still wearing my "L" plates.

I purchased mine as a kit which included antennea ( spell check anyone ?) and cables over the internet from Prestige Communications in Sydney. It arrived in Canberra the next day for $420.

Happy shopping !

Cheers....Taz

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Maybe GME

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Stan. Forget the bells and whistles which you will pay additional money for.
The additional receive frequencies that are available on such radios as the Electrophone TX4400, Icom 400 Pro are becoming next to useless as the Police and emergency services move to digital operation.
Uniden offer a CB / Scanner that will cover 400mHz to 512mHz which would allow reception of the ambulance and amateur UHF services (not stimulating listening).
Yes (I hear the cries) the IC400 Pro is a derived from a commercial unit and can be programmed to operate at 25 watts output once re-programmed (the higher RF output is not compliant with the Citizens band Class license).
CTCSS (Continual Tone Squelch System) is nice but is of limited use in 4WD use. The same to a lesser degree goes for selective calling on UHF.
Unless you are a radio buff, the radio should be simple and easy to use for all users. Having to negotiate menus to change squelch settings etc is a pain.
From my experience all you need is are rotary controls for volume, squelch and channel selection. The ability to scan either all the channels or just some channels is very handy.
If you want to receive lots of extra frequencies, get a scanner!
If you need a GPS, then buy a GPS. Many features that are available on the Uniden GPS105 are only of any use with other compatible Uniden radios. The same goes with the smart ring / transponder option on the IC400Pro.

Din sized radios with front mounted speakers may neatly fit into your dashboard.
Slim line radios with optional remote front panels are useful where mounting locations are limited or tight.

Antennas. A big elevated feed high gain antenna will be a hindrance when doing tight forest tracks with undergrowth etc. Ideally something with a spring base and optional whip tops is the go. The Electrophone antennas are probably the pick of the crop at this time.

For the record, my Electrophone TX4000 and Pearce Simpson UF2020 both bought in the early 1990s are still going strong. The TX4000 is the main radio as it is easier to use and has a better speaker. It is mounted under the stereo in the dash.
I find that I get a headache when operating the 2 metre (VHF amateur radio) on 50 watts output with the antenna on the bullbar. This could be more of an issue with running 25 watts on UHF (477mHz - 63 centimetres).
These findings are mine only and I am sure that some will disagree. I have been playing around with UHF & HF CB since the 1970s and have been a unrestricted amateur radio operator (VK3CAT) for more than 10 years. I currently have Icom, Uniden, Yaesu, Codan, Philips, Plessy and Realistic equipment as well as those others listed.
Cheers, Tony.

Working on the highway all the time I hear GMEs ,and Unidens with a sprinkling of Icom's Uh ....mine is an Icom, but the Uniden's all sound distorted and hard to understand.

Doug

Thanks to all who responded. I am a bit overwhelmed by all the options, but I will take my time to decide. Thanks again.

Stan.