5W hand held vs car mounted UHF
Submitted: Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 22:57
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ben_gv3
I'm sure it's been covered before but what are people's preferences of 5W hand held vs permanently installed UHFs?
With using a permanent antenna wouldn't a hand-held UHF be more versatile, plus not being attractive to theives? Plus you can use the hand0held in other cars as
well.
Reply By: Muddy doe (SA) - Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 23:16
Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 23:16
If you can afford it then go with both.
I have an Icom IC400PRO installed in the vehicle as
well as having a Uniden 5W waterproof handheld in the console. Best of both worlds.
Installed radio is easier to use on the move and don't have to worry about charging and with having the hand-held unit as
well you can monitor a channel around the
campsite or go walkies and still communicate back to your partner at
camp.
Also handy to be able to loan out the handheld in convoy work when you get visitors or newbies on club trips. Convoy trips are so much better when everyone can hear what is going on!
I had a 1W handheld but it was pretty useless beyond a few hundred yards. With the 5W I can still hear and talk to vehicles a few km's away that are approaching
camp and need a guide in to the
campsite without being tied to the vehicle.
5W hand-helds aren't cheap but they make such a difference over the 1 and 2W units.
Muddy
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Reply By: Motherhen - Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 at 00:35
Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 at 00:35
Hi Ben
The clarity over the distance will be better with the built in, as
well as a much greater range. We use the cheaper 2-3 km hand helds when we have a vehicle without a working unit, and it is better than nothing, but harder to understand what is being said when you have the hand held at longer distances. They still all need an unimpeded line to work; we loose contact when someone goes down into a dip and we are over the next
hill. The built in ones can be heard for many kilometres, particularly in flat country.
If you just want be able to contact a vehicle you are travelling in close proximity to, they will be OK.
Motherhen
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Follow Up By: Member - Kiwi Kia - Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 at 07:15
Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 at 07:15
I agree with Motherhen.
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Follow Up By: traveller2 - Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 at 08:11
Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 at 08:11
Yep
The 1w handhelds virtually unless you can see them you can't talk to them, obviously better in open country but in the hills and thick bush then a full power car mounted is the better way to go.
I carry both, handy for lending to non equipped vehicles and when out of the truck during track clearing/recovery operations.
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Reply By: Member - Douglas M (SA) - Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 at 09:33
Thursday, Apr 03, 2008 at 09:33
Hi ben_gv3.
A 5 watt hand held has the same performance as a 5 watt fixed UHF connected to the same antenna. I did a trip in 2006 with another vehicle with a similar set-up (both Uniden 5 watt hand-held connected to external antennas) and in good conditions got a range of 20 kilometres in open country near
Kununurra. The rest of the time the performance was good and we never lost contact when we were within about 5 kilometres.
There are two issues that you may wish to consider when making your decision.
1. Having a hand held radio in the vehicle connected to an external antenna, the charge cable and possibly a remote speaker-mike is a pain in the a-s.
2. Keeping the battery charged is a problem, the Uniden units must not be used to transmit while on charge, and there is no such thing as a 12 volt regulated supply for a vehicle unless you build your own or have have a 24 volt system. The chip in my charge cradle got blown either from using it in this way or from a voltage surge from the vehicle while on charge I'm not sure which. The new charge cradle was difficult to get although Uniden did manage to find one for me in the end. The alternative is to use the plug-pak that came with the radio and a 240 volt inverter (another pain). I have since bought a fixed UHF (not yet fitted and will probably ditch the hand-held.
Doug
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