2 way radio and aeriel.

kezngaz · Senior Member

2 way radio and aeriel.

ozyinxtype13 · Member

I am also interested in a two way so watch this post
Noel

macka17 · Guru

You want the best.
ICOM.
of the cheaper ones. I remember reading the write ups on two most popular ones.
GME and Uniden.

I have Uniden.
The tests then, showed that Uniden signal transmitted clearer, and further Than GME.

In my eyes. when necessary. I'd rather transmit further. Legibly
. worrying about reception when whoever, got closer.
Than hear a longer distance and not get to whoever in the first place.

Cheap chinese units for $45 a pr will do short range ok
But I wouldn't expect to get too long a service out of them in general.

kezngaz · Senior Member

Hi macka.
I was looking at the gme 80 channel.
What is it im looking for in an aerial?
Mhz, is it the bigger the number the longer distance?
Cheers.
Kezngaz.

Vince · Senior Member

macka17 wrote:

The tests then, showed that Uniden signal transmitted clearer, and further Than GME.

I'd like to see that test and who performed it.

UHF radios off the shelf be it 40 or 80 channel transmit a maximum 5 watts and that is a law set by ACMA anything higher would be from personal tamper and deemed illegal.

As for clarity I have had Uniden and GME radios among others and neither stand out alone in signal strength or readability.

A lot will depend on the antenna fitted The Db rating is what to look for the higher the number the open area distance is greater.

If traveling around hilly or mountainous country use a lower Db as the parabolic wave is shorter which will collect from one side of a hill to another.

Just as a matter of wording - A Two Way radio is exactly that set on a selected frequency usually from a base station to either base or mobile station can transmit through a repeater in and out on auto frequency and on simplex.

Cheers

Vince

PeterD · Guru

kezngaz wrote:
What is it im looking for in an aerial?
Mhz, is it the bigger the number the longer distance?

The MHz figure is the band it operates on. The figure you need to compare UHF CB antennas is the gain in dB. Antennas get their gain by squashing the radiated field from a doughnut shape down towards a disk shape You can squash them down too far such that if you tilt the antenna a bit you just send your signal down into the ground or up in the sky. For mobile us you are better off not having too much gain. Certainly don't go over 6 dBi or 4.5 dBd gain.

macka17 · Guru

Antenna's....
Basically 6 or 9 meg for desert work.
But don't get a long skinny wire wand. it'll detract signal.
Shaking and vibrations. Fibreglass better.
In Metro. have a litle 6 in Taxi type.

Long gives flat, Long ranging signal.
stumpy gives, basically a circular/heart shaped signal
to cover penetration among tall buildings.
Ask at dealers.

A Better quality antenna will give better reception.
And can normally be tuned to indiv radio.
(I could be a little behind the times there though)

I have ICOM/Standard Horizon Marine. and Uniden land with Kenwood for HF
(2-30 Marine bands).
All Based on value for money and efficiency.

woolman · Guru

I have just abandoned my Icom because of lack of range and terrible speaker. Replaced with a GME and now don't have to ask the wife what is being said.

Icom is cheaper but I believe you would need to buy an external speaker, unless your hearing is good.

Neil

Dougwe · Chief one feather

I have had a GME for many moons now with a antenna fitted to left side of bull bar. All works great and clear as a glass of water.

Only this morning here in Townsville QLD I was sitting at the west side of Mt Louisa and spoke to a bloke who said he was sitting down at the strand near the rock pool. That meant there was Castle Hill and Mt Louisa between us. The signal wasn't perfect but very understandable.

He was able to tell me where a weighbridge I could put the Collie over and for free, even better. So I did just that.

Keep safe on the roads and out there.

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

I suggest GME. It is a good product an Australian company, so that is the best reason.
Mostly you don't want to hear anyone further away than 5 or so km. In fact it is a serious nuisance if you do, so choosing an antennae that has a 30km reception range will drive you crazy.
I choose to use the zero or 1dB gain little rubber antennaes. They are cheap, almost indestructible and give the clearest reception of all. I then carry a high gain antennae for longer range communications, but have never used it.
Where you mount the antennae is critical to get good performance. It should be central and in the middle of the roof. Mounting on the bull bar is a bad place as there will be a shadow of poor performance behind the vehicle, just where you don't want it.

Cheers,
Peter

GerryP · Veteran Member

woolman wrote:
I have just abandoned my Icom because of lack of range and terrible speaker. Replaced with a GME and now don't have to ask the wife what is being said.
Icom is cheaper but I believe you would need to buy an external speaker, unless your hearing is good.
Neil

Icom or Oricom?

If Icom, then I am very surprised as they are a top quality radio. I have just replaced a GME with one and it is exceptionally clear with excellent range.

C00P · Senior Member

As far as position goes for UHF aerials, higher is better. As others have said, centre of the roof is the best, but if you don't want to drill holes in the roof, off to one side on the gutter, or on the edge of a roof rack is also pretty good. An aerial that is flexible or one that folds back if you hit anything is a good idea if you intend to get off road.
If you are looking at HF (Ham radio band) then length is the primary concern, but you need a Ham Radio License for this.

I might be teaching you to suck eggs, if so, my apologies, but here's some basics:
MW band (Medium wave) eg: AM radio.
VHF band (Very High Frequency) eg: FM radio, Aviation radios, the old "CB" radios.
UHF band (Ultra High Frequency) eg: Current CB- Trucks, caravans, hand-held "walkie-talkies". This is what you are most likely to be using.

The UHF band is highest frequency and shortest wavelength. MW is the lowest frequency and longest wavelength. In general, the shorter the wavelength (and higher the frequency), the shorter the aerial can be. Frequency is measured in MegaHertz (Mhz) or Kilohertz (KHz). For example, the emergency frequency for aviation is 121.5 MHz, and our local ABC is 891 Khz. You don't need to be too concerned with this as UHF radios operate on fixed frequencies called channels.
Channels are important- there are 80-channel radios (modern) and 40-channel radios (older- usually only available now second hand). Don't buy a 40-channel UHF as they will soon be obsolete (although you can still use them at present).

Some pairs of channels are reserved for transmission through repeater stations ("duplex" transmission) which greatly extends range. "Duplex" transmission is a feature worth having but most radios have this these days. They are usually meant for use in emergencies to get help or for important information and should not be used for general chit-chat.

UHF CB radios are limited to 5 Watts (a measure of power). An efficient aerial will put most of this into signal (rather than heat). Transmission of UHF is "Line of sight" so the higher you are, the greater your range. But if the intended recipient of your transmission is behind a hill, then he probably won't hear you. Repeater stations extend this by being located on a high point where they receive your signal and automatically re-transmit it on a different frequency to a recipient beyond your line-of-sight (but within sight of the repeater).

Most UHF radio user manuals give more information about use of channels.

Hope you find all the above useful,

Cheers

C00P

-- Edited by C00P on Monday 22nd of August 2016 08:51:27 PM

macka17 · Guru

Will be Oricom Jerry.

Icom top of the line. (quality and price) they supply mainly commercial marine shipping.
My 5w marine handset out at the islands has range and clarity of the fixed ones with 6ft ant
at over 30km's. ) across water.

we travel together and I've played with it to check ranging.
at least we don't get the skip like 27meg.

On the Outrigger regatta's nowadays I do escort boat.
and my Icom has twice the range and crystal clarity even in the rain
over all the coast guard and club hand held GME. Uniden and others.
(they fishermans toys) That goes for land and sea.

ICOM, Standard horizon, Codan etc. Are commercial.

HF you need basically a 30ft 1/4 wave wire. or Barrett base unit (electronic)

we normally used 30ft of the backstay with insulators.

But in back yard I run a 30ft horizontal wire.

to "recieve" weather and airports only.

My Marine operators 0 to 30 meg ticket not valid on land with ham provisionals

keep mike in drawer.

-- Edited by macka17 on Tuesday 23rd of August 2016 06:25:18 AM

kezngaz · Senior Member

Hi guys. Plenty of info there thank you.
Some of it a little too advanced for me at the moment but thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge.
Im interested in aeriel position, in the sense of every bull bar made has a bracket for an aerial if not two and yet this is not the ideal place?
I dont have a roof rack neither am i planning on going too remote so im guessing a 1meter skinny fibreglass aerial on bullbar will be good enough?
Thanks once again for all your info.
Kezngaz.

C00P · Senior Member

Bull bar is convenient and cabling is simple. Also in view so less likely to hit something with it. Not best position for range, but range will probably good enough for your purposes anyway.

Cheers

C00P

Mutley · Senior Member

We have a Uniden hand held (UH720SX-NB) that sits in the centre console while we're travelling; it comes in handy on the bitumen talking to truck drivers, or other travellers. It lets us hear when pilots are talking about oversize loads approaching from the opposite direction. Especially good on those developmental roads, as I make sure I let anyone coming the other way know that we are there on bends/crests etc.

Not sure if you do, but we do a LOT of dirt road/off road travel; the hand held has worked extremely well in those situations too, even in sand dunes!

It fits your criteria of cheap & cheerful & the bonus is that it doesn't need a large antenna fitted to the bullbar that we don't have.

The down side is in the more frequented areas on the tar, you get to listen to those who think that the call channel is the place to have a chat about how bad the supermarket was in that last town, or where they're stopping for their next coffee & biscuit break!

voyaginator · Newbie

kezngaz wrote:
Looking at getting a two way for the tug and was hoping for recommendations from people who have tried and tested various models.Cheap and cheerful is the key, we dont go too far off the beaten track but we do understand its importance so reliability is paramount...over!!

Saw this new Midland MXT-100 Micro Mobile radio the other day, small portable, 5 watt output power.