Can PMR Radio's register CB Radio frequencies?

Hi Steve, thanks for your reply. If you have the time, could you please visit: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/BRAND-NEW-WT87-DORO-5KM-UHF-2-WAY-HANDHELD-RADIOS_W0QQitemZ200382436602QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_Electronics_Radio_Equipment?hash=item2ea7b954fa
This is the PMR Radio that we are looking at on eBay. We are hoping that it can pickup channel 40 as well as other channels for communication on cb radios. Do you think it will work?

Thanks again.

Tiffiny

They are illegal to sell in Australia and won't pick -up CB Channels.They operate on frequencies used by NSW ambulance from memory.-Steve

If as the man said it wont work it probably wont.

If they are as good as the DORO telephones I wouldnt bother.

Get something that is common here and preferably a full car set in the car and

perhaps one hand held for backing in parks etc

Using a handheld in the confines of a metal box (car) seriously shortens range.

Nothing like a good UHF with an external aerial.

Dont take shortcuts It may come back to bite you at the worst possible time.

If you life is worth less than $500 well its up to you.

No offence intended, just a bit of hopefully helpful advice.

If you read the ad carefully it says they are FACTORY SECONDS.

Wouldnt bet my life on them Im afraid.

Bought a mobile phone that was a Second and it was terrible It turned out to be a phone that came from USA and had been originally bought in Germany.

Didnt like the Aussie networks at all and couldnt be flashed to make it work better here.

Gday,

"If you life is worth less than $500 well its up to you."
"Wouldnt bet my life on them Im afraid."

I wouldnt have thought a UHF was a life saving device? Convenient maybe...but hardley life threatning not to have one?

Cheers

"PMR radios have British frequencies around 446Mhz and are illegal to use in Australia."

- no, PMR radios in Australia operate on many bands 70 to 85 MHz, 148 to 174 MHz, etc. all legal to use in Australia.

"- no, PMR radios in Australia operate on many bands 70 to 85 MHz, 148 to 174 MHz, etc. all legal to use in Australia."

Very good Mike. It's good to see that you actually know what you are talking about instead of talking a load of bulldust. People really shouldn't comment if they have no idea what their on about!

I would check on how people many use them.
Some of the PMR radios can be easily modified to transmit on emergency frequencies.
I dont think the authorities are too keen on these types

They do comply with AS/NZS 4365 ....

The manual can be found here (hopefully the link works):

- http://www.doro.com/Services/DownloadService.ashx?key=a718e45f-4b16-488c-b330-acf6e0ead913&library=Manuals

They mention all 40 frequencies, though i dont like when they talk aout needing to push more buttons to access the repeater stations....channel 1 is channel 1 IMO.

No mention of PMR in the manual...possibly just an ebay search tactic.

Hope that helps.

Andrew

Here you go.......
http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/4aac195500abecc8273fc0a87e0106a9/Product/View/D1838

OK..says 4kms range but like I said, don't get too hung up on that figure. These will access all the local repeater stations too, further enhancing your range.

Good luck.....

Or even cheaper....
http://search.dse.com.au/search?p=R&srid=S2%2d1&lbc=dseau&w=uhf&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2edse%2ecom%2eau%2fcgi%2dbin%2fdse%2estorefront%2f%5fsessionid%5f%2fProduct%2fView%2fD1804&rk=17&uid=717788922&sid=7&ts=new&rsc=NuqjsFnjoC20Tg9V&method=and&isort=score&view=list&sessionid=4aac195500abecc8273fc0a87e0106a9

Hi Fab, thanks for your comments, it was most helpful. I have taken a look at the two dick smith links you gave me above. But am confused. What is the difference between those two products at the one on eBay at http://cgi.ebay.com.au/BRAND-NEW-WT87-DORO-5KM-UHF-2-WAY-HANDHELD-RADIOS_W0QQitemZ200382436602QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_Electronics_Radio_Equipment?hash=item2ea7b954fa (Other than the price of course!)...... they are both UHF radio's? Cheers. T.

Nothing really other than the fact that the Doro units (being imported) will not replicate correctly on Aussie frequencies. In other words, the preset frequencies will be different. As an earlier poster stated, some of the frequencies may interfere with NSW ambos which is VERY illegal. To have them recallibrated would cost around $200 per unit.

Other examples will be that the frequencies will be "off" channel. Example...here in Aus, our car radios on AM frequency go up in multiples of 11kHz, in the Middle East they go up in multiples of 10kHz making a Aus car stereo unusable in the Middle East if wanting to listen to the AM band. So in terms of the Doro sets, out of 40 channels, (without doing the math) you might end up with 2 usuable channels. Which ones is anyone's guess.

For person to person (between the two handsets) communication will work fine, but forget trying to talk to truckies, emergency services, tourers, roadhouses etc. Likewise, forget trying to access any repeater stations which is where you gain your best long distance communication from.

Seriously and in all honesty, unless you just want them for person to person communication, you'll find two tin cans and a length of string as a better option and far cheaper. Don't waste you money.

My opinion only, but would hate to see you get caught out.

Fab, it doesn't lessen the overall intent of your post but AM car radio freqs in Australia are stepped by 9 khz, just nit-picking.

Yep...you're right GB. I realised that just after I hit the submit button. I was hoping no one would notice my error.
Glad to see someone was paying attention....LOL.

"here in Aus, our car radios on AM frequency go up in multiples of 11kHz,"

- no, in Australia the AM channel spacing is 9kHz.

Yep...thanks Mike. Gone Bush caught me out on that one too. (See previous follow up 5 of 7).

Simple maths is not so simple early on a Sunday morning after spending a night with the Bundy Bear....hehe.

Cheers.....Fab.

hi owen, thanks for your feedback. i would agree with what you said about the particular product on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/BRAND-NEW-WT87-DORO-5KM-UHF-2-WAY-HANDHELD-RADIOS_W0QQitemZ200382436602QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_Electronics_Radio_Equipment?hash=item2ea7b954fa .... if sold in australia, it is legal. i have also found another website that confirms that this particular product is compatible with all UHF cb radios found at http://purchasenet.com.au/shopping/doro-wt87-walkie-talkie-radio-p-1515.html ... this answers my question. the range doesn't worry us much because he says that 5kms is about the distance he gets in his cb radio in the kenworth anyway and even then the signal is sometimes terrible. I think its just more of a man thing wanting to chat with other people and truckies on the cb lol. i also found this particular product at http://www.mitronics.com.au/index.php?productID=37067. so i would say that it is legal too. thanks again. tiffiny

obee1212, AusTravelers,

Your statement that "if it is sold in Australia its is legal" is not quite right.

I live in NSW, I can purchase a vehicle Radar Detector from Prestige Communications in West Australia, just having it in my car in NSW or Victoria is illegal.

Why buy a factory second that obviously has a reason for being such.

You can buy a first grade model with a warranty locally for not much more.

Graham, he seems determined to buy his Doro, let him buy it.

You can lead a horse to water,,,,,,,

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

Forum Moderation Team

Yep seems so

Not much point asking if your mind is made up and all the advice given here is logical and probably correct.

The radio in the ebay link is a DIFFERENT radio to this link:http://purchasenet.com.au/shopping/doro-wt87-walkie-talkie-radio-p-1515.html one is 8 channels at 446 Mhz and the other is 40 channel UHF CB 476 Mhz.

Gone Bush: firstly, if you haven't gathered, i'm a "SHE" not a "HE" so please excuse WOMEN being DUMB about radio frequencies!

Secondly, I think we have all gone off the main point of this topic. If you refer back to my original posting, the question was "....We were wondering if anyone here can tell us whether or not PMR Radio's (aka walkie talkies) can pick-up CB Radio frequencies? For example, can we communicate with Truckies and other travellers using CB Radio's through a PMR Radio while we're on the road?"

Starting from Steve's abrupt comment of "PMR radios have British frequencies around 446Mhz and are illegal to use in Australia." followed by "They are illegal to sell in Australia and won't pick -up CB Channels.They operate on frequencies used by NSW ambulance from memory.-Steve <<< which might I add for the 3rd time in a row that your comments did not answer the main question I asked.

Anyways, thank you for all your comments (and insults).

Settle petal,

Most of the responses have been trying to impress on you that there is a better alternative. Look at these for example:

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Currently selling in Dick Smith stores for $199.

With these there is no guessing as to whether you'll be able to talk to fellow travellers.

You can talk to truckies on CH40.
Caravanners in convoy on CH18.
Use repeater Channels to extend your range by several kilometres.
Listen to road maintenance teams.
Talk to truckies who use other than CH40 on specific roads like the Pacific Highway and the Woodie Woodie Rd.
Use the emergency repeater on CH5
Use recommended 4WD channels like on the CSR.
If you want private channels use the CTCSS facility.

Why not buy something that is guaranteed to do what you want it to do instead of buying something that will leave you guessing.

Good Luck. I may or may not be able to talk to you while you are travelling, depends on what you buy.

Hi Mike. Thanks for your feedback. It has given me more of an understanding to what PMR actually means. I have also just received an e-mail back from the supplier of the product I listed and Ch. 40 is in fact programmed into this radio. Thanks again. Tiffiny.

The most direct response I have actually gotten.

Mike is of course correct,but PMR walkie talkies such as these (with only 8 channels)
are British spec. and usually programmed for so called PMR 446 Band. See: http://www.superiorsignals.co.uk/pmr446.htm

Hi Tiffany...just be sure that their channel 40 is the same, or shares the same frequency as at least one of our Australian UHF channels.
As a suggestion, perhaps ask them what frequency is their channel 40 and compare that to a list of Australian UHF channels to see if there is a match up.
Assuming there is a match and you're happy to get by with potentially only 1 channel, then go for it.
One last thing....if they come with a desktop charger, check that the mains power supply is compatible with the Aussie mains power. I guesss you'd need an adaptor plug also.

Best of luck, and let us all know how you get on......
Fab.

W stands for "watts" - how much power the transmitter puts out, which affects the range.

0.5w is half a watt.

Keep in mind that you would have to increase power by four times to double the distance - i.e. a 2 watt set would get twice the distance of a 0.5 watt set.

Increased power increases distance you will reach, but also increases battery consumption greatly.

I will only uses sets that use AA batteries - they have three times as much power as AAA batteries - but for virtually the same cost.

Thanks Mike.

Another one to keep in mind my uniden handhelds are 1 watt but can be reduced to as low as 0.1 watt when the distance is not needed this saves on batteries considerably and the batteries are rechargable

Steve

We have today tested the distance for the Doro WT87 we purchased, within the confines of the Port of Townsville. My partner switched his cb radio in the to Ch 39 and I did the same with the portable unit. Communication between the cb and portable was clear to a range of approximate 1 km before it started becoming a bit distorted on his cb. However on the portable his communication was coming through really clear. Why is that? Also, stupid us, forgot to test Ch 40. However, once we left the Port, we tried communicating with other users of Ch 40. Sometimes we would hear them reply really clearly, but other times the communication would come back distorted. Why is that? Is it because we are in a built up area? We are now back at the caravan park which is 17kms South of Townsville. We have both portable units programmed to Ch. 40 for monitoring. And without actually communicating with anyone, the communications also come through very clearly at times, and sometimes distorted. Is this because it is clear when they are close to my location and distorted when they are far away? What methods are available to increase the clarity of the voice transmissions??

AT, why not ask Doro?

Gary, I suppose its because I'm after responses from experienced CB radio users and not responses from some Sales Chick behind a counter.

AT,
With respect, you received honest, free and heartfelt advice from experienced CB radio users on this list and then bought the original prioduct from the supplier who you won't ask help from.

No further comments your honour.

Once again we have yet another member who is confusing the issue with this posting!!

If you refer back to my original posting Gary, the whole point of it was

"Hi all, my partner & I are interested in possibly buying a radio for our travels. We were wondering if anyone here can tell us whether or not PMR Radio's (aka walkie talkies) can pick-up CB Radio frequencies? For example, can we communicate with Truckies and other travellers using CB Radio's through a PMR Radio while we're on the road?"

It has absolutely nothing to do with the product I listed or anything anyone else on this posting has said. The only people who actually answered directly to my question was Fab and Mike.

And again I'd say the whole confusion started with Steve.

Members, if you're going the reply, disregard anything anyone else has said and READ READ READ the whole point of this posting!

Oh, and please only reply if you know what you're talking about. 1 says no, 2 says yes, and 1 agrees with the first just because he said no. which is it? and if we're refering to the product in question, it is now already a proven fact that steve is wrong and mike is right, because the portable DOES work!

And in response to your answer Gary, it is not a matter of "wont" it is simply a matter of opinion. I simply chose to choose the response that came from whom I felt was an "Experienced CB User". And let me stress again, the product has nothing to do with the whole point of this posting.