Handheld UHF transceivers
Submitted: Sunday, Dec 24, 2006 at 17:59
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Member - John and Val W (ACT)
Hi all, and Seasonal Greetings
Looking to buy 1, maybe 2 handhelds to communicate when on foot with the UHF CB in the vehicle, or between walkers. With the cheap stuff coming out of China, it's hard to justify going to the known ones we have learned to trust (GME, Uniden..). But - most of the cheap ones cover more than our 477 MHz CB band, which is ok provided they are programmed so as not to stray outside these frequencies. Presumably the aerials are not tuned so efficiency is probably nowhere near optimal. But my main concern - Are they tunable to exactly our 40 channels? Has anyone done this to the cheap units such as those listed on ebay? Satisfactorily?
I'm thinking of probably 2W units, maybe 5W, though I reckon that's a bit much for the sized battery found in handhelds.
Any comments will be much appreciated.
John
| J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein
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Reply By: pickle - Sunday, Dec 24, 2006 at 18:21
Sunday, Dec 24, 2006 at 18:21
Dick Smith have the Uniden 5 watt handheld on special from Tuesday for $197, normally $297......or a 1 watt for $90.00.
Dave
AnswerID:
211922
Follow Up By: Member - Ivan H (NSW) - Tuesday, Dec 26, 2006 at 13:56
Tuesday, Dec 26, 2006 at 13:56
Dave,
Where did you read this?
I picked
mine up from Ebay for $300 as they normally retail for about $360. www.dse.com.au have them listed @ $397.
Pls let me know, as I'd buy another one in an instant if it was true :)
Ivan
FollowupID:
472229
Reply By: Bonz (Vic) - Sunday, Dec 24, 2006 at 19:27
Sunday, Dec 24, 2006 at 19:27
I have a UNiden .5w unit and its excellent, also a GME 5 watt unit that is pretty good also. I have a set also of three rechargeable Tevion 0.5w units and they seem less reliable, not as good at reception as the uniden or GME.
I woul dbuy UNiden at 1 or 2w if I was buying another, although the Icom 5w unit is a pearler and the Motorola 5w unit is also good.
AnswerID:
211927
Follow Up By: Member - Andrew (QLD) - Wednesday, Dec 27, 2006 at 09:19
Wednesday, Dec 27, 2006 at 09:19
What, 5 handhelds not enough? :-)
Andrew
FollowupID:
472420
Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Wednesday, Dec 27, 2006 at 14:06
Wednesday, Dec 27, 2006 at 14:06
Andrew, you are obviously
young......there are NEVER enough, of anything, one can always go one step farther.
FollowupID:
472456
Follow Up By: Member - Andrew (QLD) - Wednesday, Dec 27, 2006 at 14:50
Wednesday, Dec 27, 2006 at 14:50
hehe, how did you know ;-) ..... i usually buy one item that will guarantee to do the job (though it usually costs me much more than SWMBO would like).
Don't worry, there seems to a healthy obsession/fetish with collecting numerous outdoor objects all achieving the same outcome eg. torches, knives, GPSr's, maps, etc.
Andrew
FollowupID:
472461
Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Wednesday, Dec 27, 2006 at 17:04
Wednesday, Dec 27, 2006 at 17:04
LOL you are yet to enjoy the IMPULSE purchase. Anything under $100 that seems a bargain hahah usually is
FollowupID:
472479
Follow Up By: Member - Andrew (QLD) - Wednesday, Dec 27, 2006 at 18:38
Wednesday, Dec 27, 2006 at 18:38
Don't get me wrong.....i'm an impluse buyer, just buy good stuff ;-)
The under $100 category comes into play when buying toys for my kids....
Andrew
FollowupID:
472487
Reply By: Darian (SA) - Sunday, Dec 24, 2006 at 20:30
Sunday, Dec 24, 2006 at 20:30
I put my eggs in the GME 6200 basket - $400 on special at a caravan show with both a fast and slow charger kit - full of features - sizeable NiMH battery - solid performer - has the edge on the Icom unit IMO - bit dear for a twin hand held setup posibly - we use it for safety while bush walking and back to the car if one of us is away. The Uniden 5 watter looked attractive but the case size is so small that the battery life must be compromised IMO.
AnswerID:
211930
Follow Up By: Wetty - Sunday, Dec 24, 2006 at 23:23
Sunday, Dec 24, 2006 at 23:23
Icom IC40 is the best hand held I have used, 8 to 10 hours battery life and fully programable and as
mine was a work freebie can't go wrong! not sure what the retail cost is but you can't go past 5 watts (tweakable to 15)
Cheers and Merry Christmas
Wetty
FollowupID:
472132
Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (Nullagine) - Wednesday, Dec 27, 2006 at 09:37
Wednesday, Dec 27, 2006 at 09:37
the gme 6200 has a 12 hour pluss non stop use. I know this from all those days ore spotting. They are alo able to be bounced off rocks at least 3 times a day (also ore spotting) The
shop in kal had a cut down one whichshows why they are so tough. I wont compare it to anything else but deffinitly a proven performer in conditions the averadge person wouldnt go close to
FollowupID:
472425
Reply By: Member - Doug T (W.A) - Monday, Dec 25, 2006 at 06:51
Monday, Dec 25, 2006 at 06:51
John
Merry xmas to you and your Family
Don't buy cheap crap and don't buy Uniden....you might ask why not Uniden, In my job I get to talk to and listen to many CBs on each job I do and every time I hear an incoming transmission that is distorted and hard to understand it is always a Uniden so go for GME Electrophone or Icom and your signal to listeners will be clear and audible.
Doug
AnswerID:
211959
Follow Up By: Member - Doug T (W.A) - Monday, Dec 25, 2006 at 06:58
Monday, Dec 25, 2006 at 06:58
John
Done a little research for you
GME radio products
Site Link
This Icom might be a bit exxy
www.icom.net.au/2000_web/index2.html
FollowupID:
472143
Reply By: Member - Arkay (SA) - Monday, Dec 25, 2006 at 09:20
Monday, Dec 25, 2006 at 09:20
Just take care what you are lookng at. Some of the new cheap UHF radios only cover 38 not the full 40 CB channels. Try to ensure you get a full 40 channel one.
The channels on all UHF CB (known as CRS) radios are pre-set by the factory, so they can't "stray outside these frequencies".
Some Australian suppliers have models that can also access other than UHF CB frequencies, either scanning or extra programmed channels. Unless you have a commercial application this extended coverage is pretty useless in most states these days because commercial & government radios are "encoded' there.
AnswerID:
211969
Follow Up By: Member - Andrew (QLD) - Monday, Dec 25, 2006 at 10:05
Monday, Dec 25, 2006 at 10:05
Don't be confused with it only being cheap UHF radios having 38 channels.......IIRC uniden are changing most of their equipment to only providing 38 channels. You may find that the 38 channels is due to them not providing channels 22 and 23 which are designated for data transmission. As such there should be no problem whatsoever with a 38 channel receiver.
Check out this thread ==> Site Link for the information.
Andrew
FollowupID:
472155
Reply By: Member - Stephen L (SA) - Monday, Dec 25, 2006 at 17:40
Monday, Dec 25, 2006 at 17:40
Hi
John,
I would personally go for the GME. The reason being that it is 100% Aussie Made. Keep our locals employed and stick the the GME.
Stephen
AnswerID:
211992
Reply By: Member - John and Val W (ACT) - Tuesday, Dec 26, 2006 at 08:02
Tuesday, Dec 26, 2006 at 08:02
Hi everyone
Thank you for your input. In summary, it comes down to buying from reputable known sources, with a bias towards GME as it's all Australian, and against Uniden for poor audio quality. I put GME in the Troopy where it has performed perfectly for years.
Anyway, economics prevailed and I've bought a 2W Uniden cheaply, even cheaper than the big discounts being offered today by Dick Smith.
So, thank you all for your suggestions. The deed is done.
John | J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein
Lifetime Member
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AnswerID:
212016
Follow Up By: T-Ribby - Tuesday, Dec 26, 2006 at 18:22
Tuesday, Dec 26, 2006 at 18:22
A bit late now but I was going to suggest you get the max watt handheld ie 5watts.
With anything less I think you're wasting your money unless you're within 500 metres
and/or on a repeater channel.
Just got back from a trip on the Bruce highway up north - wife with a GME 1 watt and me in
the wagon with a GME 5 watt and half wave whip aerial. Not good comms out of visual range.
I'm getting another 5 watt GME and flogging the 1 watt job off.
cheers
T.R.
FollowupID:
472288
Follow Up By: Member - Glenn D (NSW) - Tuesday, Dec 26, 2006 at 18:47
Tuesday, Dec 26, 2006 at 18:47
Hows it going T - Ribby .
Maybe you are asking too much of a little radio ?
What do you mean by out of visual range ?
Uhf operates on pretty much line of sight , so if you are in a gully or on the other side of mountain then any slight comms you get may be due to reflected waves rather than direct links between radio sets.
Depending on your usage upping the wattage may not be the answer.
Glenn.
FollowupID:
472295
Follow Up By: T-Ribby - Tuesday, Dec 26, 2006 at 22:17
Tuesday, Dec 26, 2006 at 22:17
Hi Glenn.
Not asking too much of a 1 watt set if you are in view down at
the billabong fishing, but very distance limited on a flat terrain highway where power does make a difference. You are correct about reflected waves. One thing I didn't do was try a repeater channel between the two sets - will do this next time I'm out. To maximise the 5watt GME I would need a full-wave
aerial on the bullbar.
Merry Xmas
T.R.
FollowupID:
472357
Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Tuesday, Dec 26, 2006 at 10:09
Tuesday, Dec 26, 2006 at 10:09
Hi
John,
One other "bonus" you should find with your choice of handheld.
The 2 watt Uniden handhelds use easy to replace AA batteries.
You have the choice of one-use alkaline batteries or multi-use AA rechageables.
That was the main reason I bought a similar product.
2 watt power is also adequate for the use you have stated.
AnswerID:
212037
Reply By: olcoolone - Tuesday, Dec 26, 2006 at 12:46
Tuesday, Dec 26, 2006 at 12:46
Don't get confused with the 40 channel UHF CB type and the 38 channel no CB type.
The 38 channel type (most cheapys around $25 to $85 per pair range) don't operate on the 476-477 MHz range, the operate on part of the amateur band around 430 MHz, this is why they are sold in pairs. The ACA opened this part of the band up about 2 years ago to the outrage of many amateur operators.
Most people would buy the cheaper types but I would buy the better brands like Icom or GME due to availability of parts, batterys and service in remote areas.
Most people keep the radios for about 5 years so if you pay $200 for a cheaper unit and pay $400 for a realy good commercial quality radio the difference is only $40 extra per year......my safety is worth more then $40 per year.
Richard
AnswerID:
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