WHICH DAM 2 WAY DO I GET UHF,CB,BOTH...NO IDEA

Joined: 01 May 2008 Location: melbourne

GOTTO FIT ONE ,WHICH ONE IS THE BEST I CAN PUT IN AND WHAT BRAND IS USER FRIENDLY THANKS GUYS

Joined: 13 Jun 2005 Location: Riverina

You want to just talk to your mates in a convoy while your 4x4ing/touring?

You want UHF.

Now be prepared for many a longwinded post from others about how with tweaking, and tuning a AM CB will still get better range and if you want to really go touring you need a sat phone, etc etc and some other jabber about duplex and simplex.

But basically, u want UHF

Very Happy

User friendly and generally good, GME. TX440, or something cheaper depending on budget.

Best prices can be found here: http://www.prestigecom.net.au/

ICOMs are the ducks nuts but not the most easy to use.

Joined: 01 May 2008 Location: melbourne

NO JUST WANT ONE FOR EMERGENCY ROCKY GENERALY JUST THE MATE AND I GO ADVENTURING ON OUR OWN AND ITS FOR JUST INCASE SO A UHF WOULD DO THE TRICK YOU SAY

Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Location: Found

Mate, welcome to the forum... Just a heads up that you shouldn't type in all caps, its considered impolite... Also you may get torn to shreds by the regulars if you keep it up. Confused

Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Location: Found

On topic though, it really depends on WHERE you are going... If you're going to be more than a kilometer (I say kilometer because it is really a line of sight thing, I find that alot of the time off road (for me atleast) is in mountainous terrain) away from civilization, than a UHF isn't for you... I'm no expert on AM, so I'll leave it up to the others to make their recommendation on that...

If you're truly going long distance though, my understanding is that HF is the way to go.

Joined: 01 May 2008 Location: melbourne

sorry mate didnt look at it in caps half charged and tired workn my ass off lately, bit blurry on the keys , my appolagies to all

Joined: 13 Jun 2005 Location: Riverina

Your average UHF generally only gets around 40k range MAX and that depends on the terrain, the type of aerial, type of radio, where the aerial's mounted on your truck, which way the winds blowing, etc Very Happy

So for an EMERGENCY. I'd prolly not put all my trust in a UHF.

When you say adventuring, you mean out to some local 4x4 tracks that would probly have other people nearby? Or you mean, properly deserted outback stuff?

Joined: 13 Jun 2005 Location: Riverina

Froon wrote:

On topic though, it really depends on WHERE you are going... If you're going to be more than a kilometer away from civilization, than a UHF isn't for you.

You only get 1km out of your UHF?

Somethings wrong Confused

you can shout about that far if you've had your weatbix Very Happy

Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Location: Found

RockyF75 wrote:

Froon wrote:

On topic though, it really depends on WHERE you are going... If you're going to be more than a kilometer away from civilization, than a UHF isn't for you.

You only get 1km out of your UHF?

Somethings wrong Confused

you can shout about that far if you've had your weatbix Very Happy

Edited to elaborate.

Joined: 01 May 2008 Location: melbourne

deserted type outback stuff and civilisation only to restock rocky

Joined: 13 Jun 2005 Location: Riverina

hollywood wrote:

deserted type outback stuff and civilisation only to restock rocky

Then UHF probably isn't for you. Might pay to have one installed aswell, cause more people use it and on flat terrain it can get some decent range.

But, yeah... await longwhinded confusing responses from others. Sat phone, and HF come to mind. But i know only this much <...> about them Very Happy

Joined: 01 May 2008 Location: melbourne

you say u can get about 40k distance with a uhf do outback stations use uhf or cb if you can reach one of them surely thats not so bad ?

Joined: 15 Jan 2004 Location: Melbourne

hollywood wrote:

you say u can get about 40k distance with a uhf do outback stations use uhf or cb if you can reach one of them surely thats not so bad ?

Outback station use HF radios which from the sounds of things is what you want. Codan or Barrett are the brands to look out for.

Joined: 01 May 2008 Location: melbourne

what kind of range has the hf radio emo any idea mate

Joined: 15 Jan 2004 Location: Melbourne

hollywood wrote:

what kind of range has the hf radio emo any idea mate

Depending on set up can be Australia wide.

Joined: 11 Jan 2003 Location: SOR Perth

Depending on atmospherics and freqs... pick a spot.

I was pinging a bloke in USA from the Simpson every night... could reach each states transmitter each and every time with a Barrett 550 set.

There was never a time (day or night) I couldn't reach somebody and thats what you want for remote travel. Just need to keep an eye on the freqs and time of day if comms is marginal.

Good sets come up pretty often on Ebay.

Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Location: Nepean

HF or sat phone (get a UHF for car to car, don't bother with CB not enough use it)

HF requires licencing

http://www.vks737.on.net/

VKS737 FAQ

Joined: 11 May 2004 Location: Melbourne

Emo wrote:

Outback station use HF radios which from the sounds of things is what you want. Codan or Barrett are the brands to look out for.

My understanding is with the Codan, that they are programable so that you can have uhf and RFDS in it as well.

But a few years ago the Codan with a self tuning areal was about 4k, if memory serves correctly.

hollywood, the reason about the use of caps is that it's classified as shouting in forums and chat rooms etc. Will that is my understanding.

Mere

Joined: 11 Jan 2004 Location: Adelaide

MereMale wrote:

Emo wrote:

Outback station use HF radios which from the sounds of things is what you want. Codan or Barrett are the brands to look out for.

My understanding is with the Codan, that they are programable so that you can have uhf and RFDS in it as well.

Sort of... Yes, programmable, but you need the software to program them, and it's not widely available. UHF, no. UHF is 477MHz, frequency modulation. Codan/Barrett radios are HF, 2-30MHz, amplitude modulation (single side band - "traditional" AM is synthesised, apparently.)

Not sure if RFDS frequencies are "free" - I think you need a subscription before they will be programmed in, but I could be wrong.

Joined: 02 Apr 2004 Location: Central Victoria

MereMale wrote:

Emo wrote:

Outback station use HF radios which from the sounds of things is what you want. Codan or Barrett are the brands to look out for.

My understanding is with the Codan, that they are programable so that you can have uhf and RFDS in it as well.

But a few years ago the Codan with a self tuning areal was about 4k, if memory serves correctly.

hollywood, the reason about the use of caps is that it's classified as shouting in forums and chat rooms etc. Will that is my understanding.

Mere

You won't be able to get UHF (its around 477Mhz) but almost all HFs Codan, Barrett and Qmac can Recieve 0.5-30Mhz and transmit between 1.6-30Mhz - the reason for the difference in the bottom end is due to commercial AM stations having that range set aside for them.

A Barrett 550 is user programmeable to listen to any freq between 0.5 and 30Mhz (that includes AM radio saigon, america, abc etc), you can get it set to transmit on rfds, vks737, and 40 am cb channels, no point transmitting on channels you aren't licensed for.
You can pick up a good used 550 for about $1500 thats with autotune (they're about $1500 new themselves) or cheaper with a multitap antenna.
A HF radio basically works by skipping the signal just under the ionosphere - that way it can reach over the horizon 3000ks etc
You can also sign up to a service to make phone calls with the HF (if the HF supports it (radphone radtel etc)
A new HF is 3-4k complete with autotune thats a barrett 2050 or codan NGT

Don't be confused with the HF's on ebay either (except codan barrett qmac) they are mostly classed as amatuer radios and won't transmit the exact frequencies for rfds and vks, also not legal to use them on the vks network and they possibly aren't built as rugged.

Another option is a satphone, not as good all round as a HF (imo) but more portable and can be hired if you don't need it all the time.

Joined: 21 Jun 2004 Location: Brisbane

A little offtopic...

I wonder if the PC-based radios can be used like a Codan.
A car-PC would not cost much, and have a lot of other uses.

Any PC-radio hams out there?
Maybe they are only used for listening, I dunno.

Joined: 02 Apr 2004 Location: Central Victoria

grazza wrote:

A little offtopic...

I wonder if the PC-based radios can be used like a Codan.
A car-PC would not cost much, and have a lot of other uses.

Any PC-radio hams out there?
Maybe they are only used for listening, I dunno.

Not sure, but i do know that vks737 doesn't permit the use of amatuer radios on its frequencies, i'm sure people have done it tho.
Half of the battle (probably more) with using a pc program - if you could would be having an amp to transmit at 100 watts and then, you'd need a antenna that could cover the wide freq range 1.6-30mhz, multi tap could work ok, but an autotune generally has a servo inside and is controlled by the transmitter, tunes off a carrier wave from memory.
The reason for the wide freq range and hence the need for expensive antennas is to make best use of ionospheric skip (reliably) during all atmospheric conditions.
Gets a trifle complicated transmitting at high power outside of the normal citizens band(free) ranges in that you either need approval from ACMA(licence) or subscribe to a network and use their frequencies.
In theory an emergency situation would allow you to transmit via any means necessary, but that limits what you can use the radio for.
I personally looked into all of the above and ended up shelling out 1500 clams on a HF, well built, remote head, built to mil spec (reliable) excellent resale value if i decide i don't need it, and excellent customer servive and parts availability.
Also If you had a PC based or amatuer system it wouldnt have the alarm/beacon/selcall function which is the designed for emergencies, in that a lot of the hf bases aren't manned 24/7 and the use of the alarm beacon will 'wake up' some repeater systems which can be set to call an operator and alert them of the emergency.

Joined: 11 Jan 2004 Location: Adelaide

Patroler wrote:

Not sure, but i do know that vks737 doesn't permit the use of amatuer radios on its frequencies, i'm sure people have done it tho.

VKS737 doesn't have exclusive use of their frequencies, so I guess it would be easy for a user to claim they're licensed elsewhere. Essentially, it's very hard to catch and prosecute somebody for using the frequencies illegally.