Handheld CB Radios - what ones are good?

Good value for money is the new GME TX 6100, a compact 5 watt handheld. This should be what you are after and will not brake the bank, selling for under $300

Cheers

Stephen

Hi SweetS,

Don't know if you are CB savvy and I'm not saying I know much either but please be aware that they are a line of sight radio. In the open Savannah probably not an issue a bit like the like beach where I use mine. We get a reasoable distance because there is no land mass blocking our signal and the output is 5 watts.

So output wattage and weatherproofing seems to be important. I use a 5 watt Uniden that is weather proof and it has stood the test of time in horrible conditions - it even has fish guts in the cracks.

Kind regards

As with most things, you get what you pay for. A couple of points to ponder. Handhelds have a fairly limited range usually up to 5km's and are dependant on line of sight for communications.
The higher the output the greater the range that you will be able to operate with.
If you can borrow a few different types and test them out, it will give you a better idea of their capabilities.

Mr / Mrs SweetSavanah ,

I have the UH-73sx Uniden ( 3w ) . It is a very good unit . I bought it because it has a lithion ion battery . It just goes into a charger in the car every night when I am camping . Their blurb says it has 12 km line of sight and the UH-78sx ( 5 w ) has 15 km line of sight.

I have had two el cheapo handheld models previously and the re-chargeable batteries always carked it .

The Uniden has a really strong alloy case and easy to use controls . I am very happy with mine .

Willie .

While I certainly love my UH-078 , there is a much better value handheld out there , its the UH065sx , comes in a twin pack for about $235 ebay, less for 1 but twin pack comes with external cord mikes which we find very useful for motorbike comms.

Its just as powerful but doesn't receive quite as well as those $300 and up, a number of people have now gone with this reccomendation and are happy.

There are also much heavy chinese type 5 watt units around in the order of $100, these work well but are a little short on features and user friendleness.

The UH065 is just a very good all round package and has a number of extra user friendly features , you can also fit it with lithium AA cells which make it almost to light and allow it to be used for much longer than the less than 1 day of other types.

There is also a comparo in this months 4WD action, you know the one with the BROKEN ROACH BOMB on the cover !!!

Cheers pesty

By all means go for a 5watt, but the performance is limited by the aerial, so it won't transmit as far as a vehicle mounted 5 watt.

I have a handheld Uniden UH040 (0.5 watt) that is about 8 years old, and no longer available. Last week on the Anne Beadell Highway, I stood on a trig point and this little radio transmitted an amazing 21 kilometers to our tail end person. It does have a longer aerial than most. Under normal flat conditions its good for 2-3 km.

latest mag test mentioned above suggests Icom and GME in that order for the range tests. The difference isn't great though and the best results would come from a high mounted base antenna.

Besy borrow a mag with the Nissan dual cab ute on the cover as mentioned by Pesty.

get one that accepts a Lapel microphone...makes it much easier when driving...and would be legal to use ...at least in SA it is