How necessary is a UHF CB radio ?

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This post has been read by the moderation team and has been moderated due to a breach of The Trolling Rule .

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Did you think of that all by yourself or did you get someone to help you ?

Yes there kisses. ;-)

You've still got no idea of spelling either.

Would you advise the 'co-ordinators' they are on a CITIZENS band system- and they should be using a COMMERCIAL system..!!

What for?
I like it and they are only using low powered walkies.
They seem to do it a lot on Gt Northern Hwy,maybe there is a reason for it

Tried that in Kalgoorlie once, the forthcoming reply was a mouthful of foul language from the idiot that was the traffic coordinator

Signman - Its a you buy it you use it system - All councils I have worked onuse CB at their work sites and for Traffic Control. If you scan in QLD you will pick them up as you come towards the site. We have used them as long as I have worked on roads.

Ross knows what he is talking about. I had to tell my blokes off regularly for saying bad things about the traveling public, they were not clever enough to think the person may have scanned the conversation.

Do not know why you think that may be an issue? Unless you just hate Council/Government Workers :-) Cheers Tony

I agree 100% Ben,
I just put a UHF in my daughters Landcruiser. A Uniden UH-088 set cost me $240 a year ago, Add $25 for the aerial lead, $22 for a gutter mount and $17 for a rubber stubbie aerial. Roof mounted stubies work great in my experience and its what I use most of the time.

As Grungle229 said ....

The reason why you need one will dictate what you buy.

They can be handy for use in traffic - overtaking or letting others pass you etc ... and for those events a handheld is fine.

Also they are excellent in winching/recovery situations or keeping track of the kids at campsites.

Why people need them to tell each other there is a hole in the road ... when they are only a hundred yards apart anyway has me beat ... If they were looking at the road instead of the microphone ... they could probably see the hole for themselves.

UHF as a piece of safety equipment is a waste of money and false security .... your rescuers will need to be within a very close range... or maybe up to 50klm if there is a repeater nearby ... in which case there is probably mobile phone coverage anyway.

I use a $170 cheapy from Jaycar ... handheld, 3w, about 10klm range on average in flatter areas, and for better signal output and reception when required - I have an external ant connection for it for it.

Its quality ???? .... I reckon its worth about $30 ... same as all the flash ones that cost hundreds are worth about $65.

DIO - Why pick on a hardworking truckie. Most of the trouble up here with radios in FNQ are from morons that have nothing better to do than dribble on the radio and try to block anyone trying to communicate. There has been an idiot around for years in the Gordonvale area that needs shooting.

It is very useful having a radio for communicating with trucks. I will tell them I am overtaking at the next opportunity and they always help, or if they need to I can tell them to pass when safe.

Best advice is - yes good to have one and go a better set as you can get a 2nd hand one you do not need a new one. Cheers Tony

Well DIO i take great offence to your statement, im a trucky and have to deal with tourists towing or not, using the mirrors to deal with heavy transport, most of the time people dont have a clue how to work with us. I will say there may be a small percentage of us who may be foul mouthed and abusive, but the majority are just the average loe blow trying to make a living on the roads, and dealing with tourists who think its their god given right to drive at 80 ks holding up traffic for miles behind. Having a 2 way on ch 40 and working with truckys is a real asset to all involved. Also if you have a van with your channel number written on the back make it big enough to see from half a k away so the trucky can see it without having to ride up your rear end. Little things go a long way to help. Its my view it should be law if you tow a van to have a uhf fitted and know how to use it. As for hand helds they are hard to hear in a moving vehicle, and hard to understand in a receiving vehicle. So DIO what do you do for a job, and what does management do when someone in the company is holding up other workers around he or she, if it was continuous im sure they wouldn't have a job. The same applies to our roads, its how a lot of people make their living after forking out hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a job. Col

One of the reasons I have an UHF in my car is to communicate with truckies while travelling in rural and outback areas. In a number of situations, overtaking a road train can be a risky task and if you have the cooperation of the guy in front of you by using your UHF, then it makes life safer for both parties. I've rarely heard foul language from truckies in those areas and found other drivers to be more at fault with this. Major highways around major cities is where the UHF gives out the most abuse.

Channel 40 is only a pain in metropolitan areas where any fool with a handheld can dominate the airwaves. I leave my UHF turned off in town unless I want to check on my travelling route home. (This paid off on Wednesday when the M1 south to Worongary ground to a halt due to a fallen tree). I had the info before I even left work and sought a different route.

Manners and courtesy cost nothing.