UHF aerial

GME/POWERHOUSE/4WD MEGASTORE do a 6db gain black thin profile 6ft whip aerial which doesnt distract you too much, certainly not as much as the solid white one does.
I have one on my GXL Toyo and find it great.

I've got a big GME one, and I reckon it's great. Don't forget that most aerial problems have their root in the soldering of the plug.

Also, compring aerials of different gain will give strange results.

In a nutshell, the GME aerials are great, don't ditch it due to what could be an unrelated problem.

I cant go past a GME AE409, 6 or 9db selectable, slim profile, ground plane independant, excellent output, never had a problem and have had many on the farm.
Will.

It is all about gain. This link will help you make your own decision. http://www.gme.net.au/land/choose_ant.html

The roof mounted aerials always do better. I use a roof mounted stubbie most of the time, then put on the whip for the wide open spaces. If you don't have gutters then it may be a pain.

UHF is all about height. Especially in hilly areas (such as dunes). Your GME would do great on the Nullabor or if you were on top of a tallest hill in the land, however the roof mounted/gutter mounted ground independents will probally give you a slightly better performance because it is just that much higher. It won't seem like the 10-15cm is much but try unbolting your big GME and hold it up in the air a little, you'll see what I mean. You have to remeber that UHF transmits mainly from the base of the arial, so when someone behind you is trying to here you with your bullbar mounted arial it's transmiting through your car to get to them! If it's on the roof it has clear line of sight.

I use a 60cm whip. On a recent trip spoke to another mobile 115km away and one 235km away. Both distances were checked using "GOTO" on the GPS so were straight line distances. I think the quality of the set you use is of great importance. Mine is top of the range from GME and it performs brilliantly.