They should all have a little stick on label that gives Protocols and chanels.
Short range. most value will do.
Longer range, with BESt quality sound, distance.
stick with the ICOM. Standard Horizon.
Cheaper- GME. Uniden. and a new Aust model?.
Go on net. there will be UHF clubs.
Inter car radio's. any Cheap pr's of will do the job up to a km or so.
Some, better clarity than others. TRY first.
External antenna's make a difference too.
Ask about them to match whichever set you get. WITH ground Plane.
Some use a Better Quality 5w Handset with EXTERNAL ant connection.
Use both for walkabout and IN car.
Enjoy. It's a whole new life out there.
Just ignore the language of the idiots
"I can swear MORE than you", crowd. In towns mainly
If you have touchy missus, or kids on board.
A set of ear plugs sorts that.
Channel 40 is the recognised trucky channel however, when on the Pacific Hwy NSW it is channel 29. Something to do with nearby frequency. Always 'chat' to the trucks and let them know you know they are there and you will assist with getting them past you safely.
18 is for travellers etc but not many seem to use it, including me most of the time.
Channel 5&35 are designated emergency channels only and in some areas are monitored by C.R.E.S.T. Citizens radio Emergency Service Team. Please give the channels and CREST the respect they derserve as YOU might need them one day.
I scan 5, 35, 18, 25, 29 and 40.
I have DOUGWE......UHF 18/40 on the back of my van so trucks can call me if needed, many have just to let me know they are about to come out to overtake, I then slow down for them.
I have had many a chat with the trucks and them me, they are great people and a thankyou in most cases comes my way.
Just turn the radio down or off when going through the big towns or cities as many idiots are in those areas. Including if your young grandies are in the car, I forgot one day, oooops.
-- Edited by Dougwe on Wednesday 30th of August 2017 08:27:58 PM
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DOUGChief One Feather (Losing feathers with age)
TUG.......2014 Holden LT Colorado Twin Cab Ute with Canopy
DEN....... 2014 "Chief" Arrow CV (with some changes)
can someone give a a brief overview on UHF caravanning protocol. What channel are most people on? What channel do most caravanners switch to if everyone is usually on the emergency channel. any other useful tips, like is it useful to put a uhf channel on the back of the van?
thanks
G'day mate
Doug has given you some useful stuff - may I add a bit too
Many truckies look for a sign "18,40" on the front and back of your RV ... mostly the back sure, but sometimes if you are heading into a smash zone and the truck is coming towards you, then they know that they can call you up >>> So long as your radio is turned 'on'
In the last 13-14 yrs of my travels, I have never had anyone using ch-05 for emergency use, even though it is designated as such. If you drive thru Sydney [for example] ch-05 is used by all and sundry for general chattering. Also many outback communities have a repeater station in the shire for community use, and the road signs advise people "use ch-xx or phone 000 in emergency" where xx is whatever they have in use
For you and others here, any polite conversation is okay ... you might see others on the road and call hem up saying "calling Dougwe, calling Dougwe, are you on channel?" and then have your conversation about whatever it was of interest to you
If that conversation starts on ch-40 and is likely to continue for a while, then you or the other person might suggest 'hey let's go down to ch-38 and leave the truckies alone' - so a small twist of the channel knob to ch-38 and you can chat away for as long as you are in range
Also remember if you drop down a couple of channels, a bad idea, on UHF channels thirty one to thirty eight they are the inputs to the repeater channels.
so if you are in range of a repeater, you are coming through on the repeater. (output) 1-8 (input) 31-38.
so in fact what you thought was a conversation between you and your mate will be possibly going for miles.
I used to talk from central Victoria to a mate in Deniliquin which is over 200 miles ? (via a Quad yagi beam)
Pomme.
I used to talk from central Victoria to a mate in Deniliquin which is over 200 miles ? (via a Quad yagi beam)
That kind of range (320km) will only occur on UHF CB (477MHz) with the aid of an odd phenomenon called tropospheric ducting which is random and unpredictable.
A more usual maximum range for UHF CB with a beam antenna at good height will be around 20km to 50km. And for a handheld or vehicle antenna the maximum range will be of the order of 1km to 10km.
Never, ever consider UHF CB to be a system which can raise help in the event of an emergency.
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"I beseech you in the bowels of Christ think it possible you may be mistaken"
Oliver Cromwell, 3rd August 1650 - in a letter to the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland
To use repeater channels you need to set up your radio for DUPLEX operation
Do not use the DUPLEX channels for normal conservation
Channels 1 to 8 and 41 to 48 - Repeater Channels Press the DUPLEX button on your radio to used any available repeaters
Channel 5 & 35 - Emergency use only - Monitored by Volunteers, No general conversations are to take place on this channel
Channels 22 & 23 - Data transmissions only (Excluding Packet)
Channels 31 to 38 and 71 to 78 - Repeater inputs - Do not use these channels for simplex transmissions as you will interfere with conversations on channels 1 to 8 and 41 to 48
Never, ever consider UHF CB to be a system which can raise help in the event of an emergency.
Maybe so, but it does work. I was off the beaten track once and had a light aircraft crash in front of me, badly injuring the pilot. I raised help using channel 5 and used it to direct medical help through the correct gates ect.
Cheers, John.
__________________
"My mind is made up. Please don't confuse me with facts."
I used to talk from central Victoria to a mate in Deniliquin which is over 200 miles ? (via a Quad yagi beam)
That kind of range (320km) will only occur on UHF CB (477MHz) with the aid of an odd phenomenon called tropospheric ducting which is random and unpredictable.
A more usual maximum range for UHF CB with a beam antenna at good height will be around 20km to 50km. And for a handheld or vehicle antenna the maximum range will be of the order of 1km to 10km.
Never, ever consider UHF CB to be a system which can raise help in the event of an emergency.
As it has been said.. using duplex and a repeater one may talk much longer distances than 20 to 50 kilometers..
I worked extensively on the Eyre Peninsula in the 80's and 90's and our fleet of trucks easily communicated with our bases and various silos through channel 8 and channel 1 duplex.
Fortunately I have never had an occassion to use chanel 5 in an emergency but I have heard of it being used in times of trouble by smaller vessels in Spencer Gulf.
__________________
"Seek the truth or bury you head in the sand, both require some digging"
I used to talk from central Victoria to a mate in Deniliquin which is over 200 miles ? (via a Quad yagi beam)
That kind of range (320km) will only occur on UHF CB (477MHz) with the aid of an odd phenomenon called tropospheric ducting which is random and unpredictable.
A more usual maximum range for UHF CB with a beam antenna at good height will be around 20km to 50km. And for a handheld or vehicle antenna the maximum range will be of the order of 1km to 10km.
Never, ever consider UHF CB to be a system which can raise help in the event of an emergency.
While i accept your comment what i used to accomplish on UHF CB i can assure you it was not random,
My mast is approx 100 ft up with four co-phased folded dipole beams with 24 director elements each and only the max of 5 watts going through i talked regularly to my mate.
As you know being a VK teaches people to experiment,like a good friend up at Birchip who had the privilege of moon bouncing successfully, by the way he made up my antenna system for me.
As you know being a VK teaches people to experiment,like a good friend up at Birchip who had the privilege of moon bouncing successfully, by the way he made up my antenna system for me.
Pomme.
I remember the Birchip guy when I was an active amateur way back in the the late 70s early 80s. I had a Motel in Ballarat and he called in late one night and I gave him a feed and had a chat re his moon bouncing stuff. I used some of his gear to work the Oscar B satellite. I believe has had a serious accident while trying to save his antenna array in a storm.
While there is some discussion above re- 'special cases', may I offer my personal experiences with UHF radios & distances covered
1) Some years ago near Atherton Qld, and using the 2watt hand held I was talking to a mate coming into town and he mentioned that "we've just passed the 20km sign" ... therefore from the hill I was on to him was probably 22km away
2) yesterday I was approaching Lightning Ridge, NSW and was talking to a woman in the town about caravan parks etc. when I passed the 35km road sign. This time I was using the 5w radio built into the vehicle
You got lucky and were probably working short distance over good ground.
*Never* rely upon UHF CB for emergency use.
I agree not to rely on it, but yes it does work, I gave a real life example of it! Whilst still not 'relying', anything should work, within it's limits.
And to avoid any arguing, lets all just assume you are right.
Cheers, John.
__________________
"My mind is made up. Please don't confuse me with facts."
I used to talk from central Victoria to a mate in Deniliquin which is over 200 miles ? (via a Quad yagi beam)
That kind of range (320km) will only occur on UHF CB (477MHz) with the aid of an odd phenomenon called tropospheric ducting which is random and unpredictable.
That depends upon which repeater you are using and whether or not the two ends are on high ground. hat sort of range is available using 4.5 dBd whips through the Mt Canobolas repeater.
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PeterD Nissan Navara D23 diesel auto, Spaceland pop-top Retired radio and electronics technician. NSW Central Coast.
