Hi Ma....I have Dave & Rosie UHF CH18 on the tailgate of our campertrailer.....UHF radio is worth the money....its helped me many times..

Dave

Thanks for the info guys.  Will make sure we have the correct "protocol" down pat and our monika on the rear of the van.

Maybe we will even hear the dulcet tones of your cheerful voices over the airwaves one day soon.

Ma wrote:

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Thanks for the info guys.  Will make sure we have the correct "protocol" down pat and our monika on the rear of the van.

Maybe we will even hear the dulcet tones of your cheerful voices over the airwaves one day soon.

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Dulcet cheerful tones? Who do you think I am - Peter Dawson

I'm not allowed to "install" a UHF in this car but I have a handheld which I keep on 18 for close manouvring.... So if you see a Coromal E615S with a GN sticker on the back of it that will be us....You will probably only get a fleeting glimpse as I streak past because I'm told I drive like "Fangio"

Peter Dawson Basil?    I would have thought Pavarotti gone grey at least.  

Ma wrote:

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Peter Dawson Basil?    I would have thought Pavarotti gone grey at least.  

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 Pavarotti - he was an Eyetie!!! Dawson was a patriot to the very end and grey

I often use a digit as well Basil to express my wishes to another driver, but alas it is not the thumb, but it is close,

maybe we could adopt the "I'm old, I'm grey, I crap my pants, bits of me leak and I'm a bloody nomad, so what are you gonna do about it sonny" stance and only use the middle finger with a grimace to go along with it, that way everybody would know one another

we have a uhf it is a gme tx3220, it's a great little unit and takes up minimal space, it's connected to a 7db antenny and all works very well, all purchased off ebay for about $250 if memory serves me correct,

I also got an external speaker with it which is very good, I mounted that on the right side of the vehicle, I am almost deaf on my left side which is a blessing as that is the side most commonly turned to the dragon

we also carry a small handheld for reversing purposes, the dragon jumps out and instead of waving her arms and shouting and calling me all sorts of horrid names and screaming something like "wind the bloody window down, so you can hear me" she calmly and systematically "guides" me in, we sometimes even use it for the vehicle as well,............. oop's lady's dont read that bit!!!

we dont use it in the citys only on the open road, we often give a hoy to the people with the numbers on the back stating "pep & pip uhf ch 16, say G'day" but more often than not are greeted with silence, most do not use the thing, and nary a G'day is ushered

then there's the drongoes in the puddle jumpers who must travel in convoy and are constantly yakking about this pothole or that pothole and who's cooking lunch, bloody nuisance they are, the only good thing about the constant crap is knowing where they are so as to avoid camping near them

the truckies have a very "colorfull" language all their own, if one was to hail one then more times than not it would be greeted with a mouthfull of abuse, well around here it is anyway, up north they are better and take notice of you

we have ours on "scan" all the time and just moniter in case someone is in trouble but overall unless someone wants a yak with us then we dont use it unless right up north where the crappy yakker traffic is less and contact far more important

there have been some very good posts regarding uhf and it may pay to look them up by going to "search" at the top of the page and poke in "uhf", some very good info in there regarding channels and ettiquette,

having said all that I would not be without it!!!

thank christ you explained that mongrel, he would have kept me awake for months, cant even pronounce the bludger,

just had a range rover pot hole dodger in here getting new brake pads as I was down talking with the boys, seems he replaced the original brake pads with alternative cheapies and now we cant get the warning light off, even after replacing with genuine one's, sounds like money to me, dont you just love technology, well my boss does at $100 per hour

but the two way was on and oh my god you should have heard the language, aparently two silver vt or vs holdens are having a drag out on main north road and the truckies are warning each other about them, estimated speed 160 - 180k's, hell's bell's my ears were burning neverlone the people who came in to pick up their little hyundai

Dave, gary put this on a fair while ago and it really is quite good and explains everything about channell selection, I suggest you highlight it and print it out for future reference

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 a clear 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

I wonder if it was at Northaven,Moonee Beach,The Sunshine Coast,Chichester Dam.I always fly two flags,Our National Flag and the Pirate flag.Just the larikin in me I guess.Our awning is always open to fellow Nomads so let us hope that we can say hello sometime in the future.Cheers.Ibbo.

Bugger..........Thought  that at last my statement had been seen.We are now starting to feel a sense of exitement as our first serious meander is only a week away.Funny we have travelled all over the world but I can say that this trip is something special..Cheers.Ibbo....By statement I mean the Skull and Cross Bones..............bit better than A Rampant Rubber Glove.

funny how different comments stir up the grey matter.Years ago whilst I drove interstate and intrastate before cb's were all the go truckies had a whole range of signals to each other,for instance if a long distance bus came towards you two blips on your right hand blinker said g,day always answered the same way.If it was safe to overtake a double blinker told the truck wanting to overtake that it was ok.Once overtaken a flash on high beam meant that it was ok to come back to the left lane.Hand wave to an on coming truck was another way of saying Hi.As I mentioned before this was before C.B,s became popular.Was a great thing to pull up for a break with two or three other truckies,fire going ,chuck on a chop or steak,have yarn,check your load and have a decent break.how times change.Cheers.Ibbo.

all these signals and more continue on our roads!!

my left hand has automatically come up for the last 40 years of driving, grew up a long way from snivilisation, came from a place where everybody knew everybody

Lady Truckies,gee I remember the very first Lady I saw loading a car carrier at Top Transports yard in Sydney.I must say that she was a good operator and not once did I ever hear her swear over the radio.I wish I could remember her name because at the time she was quite unique driving a semi.Strange I still use most of the hand signals to this day,plus the blinkers and a quick flash(of the headlight ,Rolly).9.deg here this am.CheersIbbo.

ibbo wrote:

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funny how different comments stir up the grey matter.Years ago whilst I drove interstate and intrastate before cb's were all the go truckies had a whole range of signals to each other,for instance if a long distance bus came towards you two blips on your right hand blinker said g,day always answered the same way.If it was safe to overtake a double blinker told the truck wanting to overtake that it was ok.Once overtaken a flash on high beam meant that it was ok to come back to the left lane.Hand wave to an on coming truck was another way of saying Hi.As I mentioned before this was before C.B,s became popular.Was a great thing to pull up for a break with two or three other truckies,fire going ,chuck on a chop or steak,have yarn,check your load and have a decent break.how times change.Cheers.Ibbo.

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I still use the blinker to advise the vehicle behind me it's ok to overtake.  Not everyone has a radio, and cars behind my van have to be given the same courtesy as trucks, to overtake and get on with their trip.  Otherwise they can make some really foolish and dangerous decisions to overtake when it's not safe, putting themselves and every other road user in the vicinity at risk.
Headlight flashing indicates there's radar (hair dryer) or the scalys or bbq plate is hot, (weighbridge open) and all that stuff.
Gee it's fun!  Chris