UHF RADIO WITHOUT BLOWING THE BUDGET

Liltacker · Veteran Member

UHF RADIO WITHOUT BLOWING THE BUDGET

Dougwe · Chief one feather

I use a fixed GME 80 channel with a antenna fitted to the front left of bull bar. Works a treat. I have used it a lot over the last three days communicating with truckies to get them past me safely. Not expensive and I got mine from Autobarn.

Liltacker · Veteran Member

Thanks Doug have had a look at Autobarns range will decide soon!

exa41 · Guru

I have the same unit , got it of the net from Bairnsdale Vic about $200 ,mounted on the solar panel mount . Got a range of 15-20 kms.

Liltacker · Veteran Member

Thanks Dennis appreciate the advice...

03_Troopy · Guru

GME make a whole range of 80ch UHF CB radios at various prices depending on the options included. Check out this page for some ideas - GME UHF CB. You should be able to find better prices by doing a bit of a web search too.

Uniden is another well respected manufacturer for UHF CBs, their website doesn't include prices however. This mob seem to have some good prices. Prestige Communications Uniden UHF.

There are cheaper brands like Oricom that may also suffice. Whether there is the same quality control in manufacturing of the cheaper brands is an unknown.

Bruce and Bev · Guru

You get great UHF deals at 4x4 and RV shows. Suppliers sell off all these extras SO cheap !

Liltacker · Veteran Member

Thanks Bruce and Bev we are heading to the show at Sandown Ravecourse in Melbourne in early October so will try a wheel and deal there and if no luck have been given some good contacts from other Nomads

jose · Member

check your local auto spares stores catalouges for specials

MichaelH · Member

I was looking to upgrade mine and went and spoke to the ARB store.. He suggested that I wait as current analogue CBs will be replaced with digital in 2017. Similar to what has happened with TV - analogue becomes redundan. If you can may be worth a wait or buy something at the lower end of the price range just to cover the short term.

cheers

03_Troopy · Guru

MichaelH wrote:
I was looking to upgrade mine and went and spoke to the ARB store.. He suggested that I wait as current analogue CBs will be replaced with digital in 2017. Similar to what has happened with TV - analogue becomes redundan. If you can may be worth a wait or buy something at the lower end of the price range just to cover the short term.

cheers

He is wrong there Micheal. What he is referring to is that in 2017 ACMA is likely to ban the use of the older 40 channel radios that use wideband (25KHz) channel spacing. Currently, only 80 Channel UHF CBs with narrowband (12.5KHz) spacing can be sold.

mjt57 · Senior Member

Autobarn has a few CB radios in its current catalog, most under $200 with antennas. They're 5W models. Dunno if that's the norm for power. Brand called "Oricom". Are they any good?

I'm familiar with the GME brand, having owned a 23Mhz CB way back when. I think that it was an "Electrophone" or something like that.

At work we use Motorola radios, but they're heavy duty industrial strength digital radios. What are their consumer products like?

Finally, when we were inspecting vans down at "World of Caravans" in Bayswater, an eastern Melbourne suburb last week, a couple of vans had CB radios in them. I wondered why that would be. I thought that they'd be in the towing vehicle.

03_Troopy · Guru

motorola are an excellent brand of radio, but normally on the bit more expensive side. Oricom are like many of the Chinese imports, cheap as chips, some say they work well, others don't. Of unknown quality control.