Hand Held UHF

In the cheapie market, there isn't much difference. when you start looing at the need for some power, then there is a real choice to be made...

Hey Greg - I too am in the market for a new UHF. Stumbled across a report comparing handhelds and mobile units:

http://www.farmingahead.com.au/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=6044

Does anyone know how accurate the info is? Cant seem to do a cut n paste but signup there took me under thirty seconds.

I've got a couple of cheapies, one from Trickies and the other from SC. Both about $30 plus batts. They work very well. Good range and sound quality.

Trickies do a pair of their own brand, including batts and charger for about $70. Tiny little (white in colour) things that also work well. I bought a pair for my nephew a couple of years ago.

Jim.

Hi Greg

Their are some significant differences amongst UHF handhelds and some of these features are needed else the units can be a pain.

I would reccomend you consider buying The Uniden UH065sx.

This is a mid range unit that can be brought as a single or twin pack.

I have probably some 20 or so uhfs yet still brought a twin pack recently for our Simpson bike trip (Ebay $229)

It has a really nice set of features that make it very handy. These include a rotating volumne control (not up/down buttons) , and a 3 position settable mute control which makes it much easier to maintain comms with someone local.
It also has the ability to transmit only (not receive) on Vox.

I.E. It can be left in a car and transmit when a loud noise is heard and not give its presence away.

The twin pack comes with both earpiece Mike and speaker mike which is really valuable for bike work.

The CTCSS feature also works well - and we would never buy a unit without this.
It even has settable call tones, and a relatively easy to use menu structure.

Whilst only 2 watts (we often use 5watt units) , this 2 watts is from their supplied rechargeable batteries.

When serious - as per recent trip - we use those expensive lithium
AA cells instead and this makes the radios deliver more power and last a very long time whilst also lowering their overall weight.

I am with the others that say for short range they are much the same for getting heard. However, very small buttons and big fingers can be a problem, also see if you can figure out how to use one without keeping an instruction book in your pocket :-)) Most of the small cheap ones are only about 1/4 watt, if you want good range then you need minimum of 1 watt.

Hi Greg
I personally have 2 x Uniden UH040XR handhelds, our fire brigade has 4, and our brigade members probably have another 6 or 7 between them.
We have had them for a few years now, (probably superseded now) non of them have given any problems at all !
The best range proven, is about 2 klm in a flat, outer suburb.
The main use they get is for fund raising (car Parking at events)
They will be used for about 4 hrs at a time, and we will use them for 3 or 4 events using 3 x AA Energiser batteries.
You can also get a remote speaker / mike, so you can clip the radio on you belt, and clip the speaker mike on your lapel.
Regards
Neil

Thanks for the words of wisdom. I think I will get a 3 watt having just done some homework. Might check out ebay.

Hi, if your looking at 3 watt you can expect around 3 to 6km+ range (varies a lot with terrain) and a Uniden Uh073 will set you back around $236 or a GME TX680 for $195, both are good and both have a basic weatherproof rating for outdoor use, if your still not sure what to get you are welcome to call us during business hours to discuss your requirements,

Cheers,

Mike (Contact Communications, Ph 08 85225558)