Very helpful site with the best & most comprehensive Australian caravan park reviews which members can add to if they wish (membership is free with no strings attached).
-- Edited by ozjohn on Friday 8th of April 2011 01:15:17 PM
Thanks John, I goofed with one of them, I put the 'My Parks List' web site but it didn't work unless a member does it so going in via Badgers then selecting the 'My Parks List' as you suggest via the link on the bottom left is a good idea.
I actually go direct to it now via: http://myparklist.com/default.asp?iPostID=&pageAction=BinnenI&iId=GJFIFJ I guess it would be the same for other members.
Cheers
Jon
-- Edited by Hylda&Jon on Friday 8th of April 2011 02:12:43 PM
ozi2 said
02:51 PM Apr 8, 2011
Hylda&Jon wrote:
As we have quite a few new members on the forum I thought it might be a good time to mention a few essential internet sites for the modern day nomad.
Very helpful site with the best & most comprehensive Australian caravan park reviews which members can add to if they wish (membership is free with no strings attached).
www.131940.qld.gov.au [You can ring 131940 also for updates.]
http://www.police.tas.gov.au/community-alerts/
Arald and Desleigh said
08:07 PM Apr 8, 2011
Thanks for all the info. We have not set off yet but pick up our van next month. Then the fun starts
Cruising Granny said
08:31 PM Apr 8, 2011
I'm not sure I get the relevance of the repeater station information for the UHF C Radio. Somewhere I've seen a list of all the 40 channels and who uses which for what, if you know what I mean. eg truckies and nomads Ch 40 and 18, then some use ch 14, others are for other uses, and some are not for public use, but I've lost track of the list. Can anyone enlighten me where I can find it, or better still maybe you have the list?
Happywanderer said
08:41 PM Apr 8, 2011
CG. It might be the one entitled "Advice on CB radio please".. Half way down there is a post by Gary and Kerry. I printed it out at the time as thought it would come in handy.
Sheba said
08:53 PM Apr 8, 2011
Used the Search button and found this. If it's not the right one, have a look there yourself CG. There are 5 pages of Posts relevant.
Cheers,
Sheba.
Reply Quote
"The UHF Cb comes with 40 FM channels,requires NO licence,and basically has a range varying from 5 to maybe 15 kilometers depending on landscape. The flatter the further you'll talk.
Channel 1 to 8 are known as REPEATER channels,you program the radio for repeaters by going to ch1 then press and hold the DUP button on the front of the radio till it beeps and you'll see DUP in the display.continue this programming through to and including ch8.
repeaters work very simply,on ch1 DUP you transmit ch31,then,receive ch1...its automatic when you press the press to talk button...ch2 transmits 32 and receives ch2.ETC ETC to ch 8 .
repeaters give you VAST improvement in range cause repeaters are usually mounted HIGH on a nearby mountain etc. Range through a repeater can EASILY reach 80+kms...
so,if youre travelling with your friend 300 meters in front of you,go to a channel other than 1 to 8 otherwise you'll interfere with long range traffic..
Channel usage::: ch 11 is the CALLING channel if you want to talk to a stranger. CH 5 is the Emergency channel [in cities] and uses the repeater for longer range emergencies. ch18 is the caravan ch ch20 is the motorhome ch ch 40 is the Truckies ch
DONT use ch 22 and ch 23 as these are data channels used mostly by farmers to turn on remote water taps to water their stock etc etc,infact the NEW UHF cbs WONT transmit 22 and 23...
using the calling channel if you want to talk to a stranger,put a call out in NORMAL voice in NORMAL english,then IF or ONCE youve got someone you both agree to meet of aclear channel,avoiding the nominated ones above.
Emergencies,in the cities its a simple matter of going to CH 5 ,MAKE sure the DUP is ON,then in plain english call for help,explain your location,if youve got a gps navigator it will display your EXACT position in lat/long so you pass that onto the operator,operrators are volunteers so treat them nicely. Emergencies in the OUTBACK call ch5 ,if nothing look on ALL 40 chs for someone chatting and break in...
most newer sets comes with scanning,thats the radio checking all 40 channels in less than a second,if it finds activity it STOPS on that channel so you can listen,waits a few seconds then starts scanning again.If you want to stay on a scanned channel simply press the press to talk button ONCE that stops the scanning and you can join in the conversation
OUTBACK Travellers ARE encouraged to travel,if youre NOT talking to someone,then put your UHF cb on SCAN. Reason is if someone has an emergency and does NOT know the proceedure they might call on any channel.You might be the only one to hear them,if you werent scanning youd completely miss their call.
Now,having said that,USE CAUTION if you hear a distress call,you can usually hear the sense of urgency in their voice if its genuine.if in doubt,respond and say you'll notify police at the next town.
in the outback truck drivers [ch 40] will ALWAYS respond to you providing you use plain english ,otherwise they might disregard you as a clown.
talking to a truck driver on 40 is easy,get his direction of travel even if it opposite yours. and say "southbound transport can you hear me",he will know by your strong signal you mean him and he will respond,sometimes a few will respond.
Lastly,in Cities [large cities] i recomend you turn the cb OFF unless you really need it. Theres hundreds of ppl on repeaters all abusing each other,swearing,its NO place for family to listen ...trust me
but PLEASE,outback travellers,if youre not already talking then SCAN,someones life might depend on "
__________________
-- Edited by Sheba on Friday 8th of April 2011 08:55:58 PM
Happywanderer said
08:56 PM Apr 8, 2011
Yep, thats the one I printed out Sheba.
Cruising Granny said
09:06 PM Apr 8, 2011
Thanks girls. I knew I'd read it somewhere. I'll check it out. There's just so much info on this site that one forgets what's been covered, when and where. Gotta remember that "search" function. Thanks again.
howdrink said
07:30 AM Apr 9, 2011
good post will be using some of those thanks, you have been bizzy
gillyb said
09:32 AM Apr 9, 2011
Perhaps someone can help me with this problem, before leaving on my trip I purchased a 5w Handheld Unidon cb in case of an emergency, fortunately so far I've never had to use it but I did try it out one day to have a listen in on the truckie ch40 but there was so much interfearance that I couldn't hear any conversations, my instruction book told me to turn squelsh knob to reduce this but I found it also got rid of any voices.......am I doing something wrong? or are the handhelds really not much use!!
jonathan said
11:27 AM Apr 9, 2011
Hi Gilly ..
.. the radio will appear 'dead' to your ears when the squelch is on correctly .. set the squelch so that it just cuts out all incoming noise and leave it there .. in practice, another operator that then transmits is usually close enough to you to 'break' through the squelch which allows you to hear his/her voice ..
Trial/ testing with another radio op will demonstarte to you that is how it works .. Its quite normal to hear nothing until the squelch is opened by another person .. or also by other electrical interferences .. in these circumstances, you might just need to further advance the squelch til itremoves the interference ..
note .. this could also stop you from hearing stations that are quieter than the electrical/atmospheric interference ..
best bet .. just have the squelch just set so that all noise is eliminated .. dont put on any further than needed as it restricts all incoming signals ..
hope this helps ..
Jon
Travel Bug said
01:18 PM Apr 9, 2011
Good post. Thanks for that very useful info.
Happywanderer said
08:24 PM Apr 9, 2011
You are doing better than me Gilly. I'm still to work out how to turn mine on.
As we have quite a few new members on the forum I thought it might be a good time to mention a few essential internet sites for the modern day nomad.
http://www.racq.com.au/travel/Maps_and_Directions/trip_planner
Great site for planning to get from point A to point B. Also tells you the distances & time the drive will take (NRMA has one too).
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~badger04
Very helpful site with the best & most comprehensive Australian caravan park reviews which members can add to if they wish (membership is free with no strings attached).
Also for a good list of caravan parks try this: http://www.goseeaustralia.com.au/caravanparkspage.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://ozcamps.net/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=29
Handy site for bush camp sites (I use in conjunction with the Camps 5 book).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://ozcamps.net/test/tvstations2.html
Good site to check if a place has a TV or Telstra aerial (for phone or internet) nearby.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.sanidumps.com/sanidumps_australia.php
http://www.toiletmap.gov.au/find.aspx?type=caravan
2 toilet dump point finder sites to choose from.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/tv/
Australian Television Guide.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://weather.ninemsn.com.au/
Type the town in & get a full weather report & 7 day prediction.(for a more comprehensive report http://www.bom.gov.au/ is the place to go
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/radar/index.shtml
Great map to see what rain will fall where.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://australia.gov.au/topics/australian-facts-and-figures/school-term-dates
Always handy to know the dates of the individual state school holidays to avoid those increased crowds & prices.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.mydr.com.au/
Good Aussie site for health issues
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hope you can put use to some of them
Cheers
Jon
-- Edited by Hylda&Jon on Friday 8th of April 2011 01:34:25 PM
Thanks for that info
Hi H & J, good post, thanks for that,
cheers
ozi2
Badgers!
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~badger04
Cheers, ozjohn
-- Edited by ozjohn on Friday 8th of April 2011 01:15:17 PM
Thanks John, I goofed with one of them, I put the 'My Parks List' web site but it didn't work unless a member does it so going in via Badgers then selecting the 'My Parks List' as you suggest via the link on the bottom left is a good idea.
I actually go direct to it now via: http://myparklist.com/default.asp?iPostID=&pageAction=BinnenI&iId=GJFIFJ I guess it would be the same for other members.
Cheers
Jon
-- Edited by Hylda&Jon on Friday 8th of April 2011 02:12:43 PM
A good one for a complete listing of caravan parks is
http://garystratton.com/default.asp?iId=KKILM
You will have to copy and paste. for some reason I can not access the URL link.
-- Edited by PeterD on Friday 8th of April 2011 03:13:35 PM
There will possibly be some-one who doesn't have these Road Condition Links yet.
Cheers,
Sheba.
You can check Road Conditions in all States on these Links.
http://www.racq.com.au/travel/maps
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au
http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au
http://www.transport.sa.gov.au
http://www.mainroads.wa.gov.au
http://www.roadreport.nt.gov.au
www.131940.qld.gov.au [You can ring 131940 also for updates.]
http://www.police.tas.gov.au/community-alerts/
Somewhere I've seen a list of all the 40 channels and who uses which for what, if you know what I mean.
eg truckies and nomads Ch 40 and 18, then some use ch 14, others are for other uses, and some are not for public use, but I've lost track of the list.
Can anyone enlighten me where I can find it, or better still maybe you have the list?
Used the Search button and found this. If it's not the right one, have a look there yourself CG. There are 5 pages of Posts relevant.
Cheers,
Sheba.
"The UHF Cb comes with 40 FM channels,requires NO licence,and basically has a range varying from 5 to maybe 15 kilometers depending on landscape. The flatter the further you'll talk.
Channel 1 to 8 are known as REPEATER channels,you program the radio for repeaters by going to ch1 then press and hold the DUP button on the front of the radio till it beeps and you'll see DUP in the display.continue this programming through to and including ch8.
repeaters work very simply,on ch1 DUP you transmit ch31,then,receive ch1...its automatic when you press the press to talk button...ch2 transmits 32 and receives ch2.ETC ETC to ch 8 .
repeaters give you VAST improvement in range cause repeaters are usually mounted HIGH on a nearby mountain etc. Range through a repeater can EASILY reach 80+kms...
so,if youre travelling with your friend 300 meters in front of you,go to a channel other than 1 to 8 otherwise you'll interfere with long range traffic..
Channel usage::: ch 11 is the CALLING channel if you want to talk to a stranger.
CH 5 is the Emergency channel [in cities] and uses the repeater for longer range emergencies.
ch18 is the caravan ch
ch20 is the motorhome ch
ch 40 is the Truckies ch
DONT use ch 22 and ch 23 as these are data channels used mostly by farmers to turn on remote water taps to water their stock etc etc,infact the NEW UHF cbs WONT transmit 22 and 23...
using the calling channel if you want to talk to a stranger,put a call out in NORMAL voice in NORMAL english,then IF or ONCE youve got someone you both agree to meet of aclear channel,avoiding the nominated ones above.
Emergencies,in the cities its a simple matter of going to CH 5 ,MAKE sure the DUP is ON,then in plain english call for help,explain your location,if youve got a gps navigator it will display your EXACT position in lat/long so you pass that onto the operator,operrators are volunteers so treat them nicely.
Emergencies in the OUTBACK call ch5 ,if nothing look on ALL 40 chs for someone chatting and break in...
most newer sets comes with scanning,thats the radio checking all 40 channels in less than a second,if it finds activity it STOPS on that channel so you can listen,waits a few seconds then starts scanning again.If you want to stay on a scanned channel simply press the press to talk button ONCE that stops the scanning and you can join in the conversation
OUTBACK Travellers ARE encouraged to travel,if youre NOT talking to someone,then put your UHF cb on SCAN. Reason is if someone has an emergency and does NOT know the proceedure they might call on any channel.You might be the only one to hear them,if you werent scanning youd completely miss their call.
Now,having said that,USE CAUTION if you hear a distress call,you can usually hear the sense of urgency in their voice if its genuine.if in doubt,respond and say you'll notify police at the next town.
in the outback truck drivers [ch 40] will ALWAYS respond to you providing you use plain english ,otherwise they might disregard you as a clown.
talking to a truck driver on 40 is easy,get his direction of travel even if it opposite yours. and say "southbound transport can you hear me",he will know by your strong signal you mean him and he will respond,sometimes a few will respond.
Lastly,in Cities [large cities] i recomend you turn the cb OFF unless you really need it. Theres hundreds of ppl on repeaters all abusing each other,swearing,its NO place for family to listen ...trust me
but PLEASE,outback travellers,if youre not already talking then SCAN,someones life might depend on "
__________________
-- Edited by Sheba on Friday 8th of April 2011 08:55:58 PM
Gotta remember that "search" function. Thanks again.
good post will be using some of those thanks, you have been bizzy
Perhaps someone can help me with this problem, before leaving on my trip I purchased a 5w Handheld Unidon cb in case of an emergency, fortunately so far I've never had to use it but I did try it out one day to have a listen in on the truckie ch40 but there was so much interfearance that I couldn't hear any conversations, my instruction book told me to turn squelsh knob to reduce this but I found it also got rid of any voices.......am I doing something wrong? or are the handhelds really not much use!!
Hi Gilly ..
.. the radio will appear 'dead' to your ears when the squelch is on correctly .. set the squelch so that it just cuts out all incoming noise and leave it there .. in practice, another operator that then transmits is usually close enough to you to 'break' through the squelch which allows you to hear his/her voice ..
Trial/ testing with another radio op will demonstarte to you that is how it works .. Its quite normal to hear nothing until the squelch is opened by another person .. or also by other electrical interferences .. in these circumstances, you might just need to further advance the squelch til itremoves the interference ..
note .. this could also stop you from hearing stations that are quieter than the electrical/atmospheric interference ..
best bet .. just have the squelch just set so that all noise is eliminated .. dont put on any further than needed as it restricts all incoming signals ..
hope this helps ..
Jon
Good post. Thanks for that very useful info.
Thank's to everyone for all this great info.