Handheld UHF opinions please

[platypus]

ok geebus

the radios thing is goign crazeeee atm!!!

1w is enuff for a car club situation, this is enough to access repeaters (duplex) provided your in range of the repeater!!!

second GME are as much a reputable brand as are Uniden

and why not mention i have a good .5 w and people hear me fine, with repeater access, but i have to be reasonably close to the stations....


having 50 million w will not guarantee what you can recieve, only how powerfully you can send - this will also have an adverse affect on your battery life

[chicaboo]

Hehe, no need for anyone to go nuts

After looking at all the possibilites I do believe that the GME TX610 is the best value 1w unit available, this I have no doubt in. I am just concerned that when repeaters are not available on a car cruise that it comes down to the all out grunt of the handheld alone. I found this to be a problem on the way to Somerset Dam, where I could see every car from the back of the pack to ~1.5-2km to the front, but I got no signal from anyone except within a few cars away... Going around Mt Coottha was good because there were repeater stations, I know because we were making fun of Nate when we were passing ch7. :P
http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-co...section-02.htm

Hey James, it's a nice day for a drive to Chippingnorton! :wink:
Gav.

[Mizda_Mazda]

Tell me if your one short of a buyer. I've already got a CB, .5w, works fine & am happy with, but having a second one @ 2w could be handy. I live in canberra so it'll be easier for you guys.

Oh yeh,
how much is it discounted from the original price?!?
Could you use it in conjunction with a woolies discount card(dse is owed by woolworths)?!? If so, I've got a mate that could buy it for us.
How many more buyers do you need?!?

[mrpayner]

Dayam! The GME TX-610 is heaps cheaper on the Andrew's Communications site over the Prestige Communications package.. And it looks to be the same package.

Hmmm, interesting.

AP

[chicaboo]

Yeah MrPayner,

I thought the $78 TX610 looked pretty good with free shipping within AU too. It says it comes with an A/C charger and batteries so I guess that's all you need? They also match the price on the Uniden uHo44xr at $138 that DSE wanted for a 5+ group buy (reg $158 I think?).
I'll contact these guys to chase a GB discount for either of these models. It looks like we might be able to get a pricedrop on the Uniden, but at $78 I doubt they'll move much more on the already good deal for the GMEs. Maybe if a few of us hit them up we'll have a better chance at striking a better bargain?

Do you think we should send them a link to this thread in an email to show that we mean business?
Gav.

[Red Frog]

me thinks i'm gonna go for a look-see at adam's suggestion of 'andrew's communications' at greystanes. + my pop lives round the corner so i can score a free lunch and biscuits hehehe

if neone is interested in getting the $78 GME TX-610 for the kiama cruise (i will bring it down nxt sunday with me), send me a PM (b4 monday) and i could pick one up for you this week. + it comes with the AC charger and rechargeable batts which is awesome!!

edit: okay after much deliberation (and properly reading this whole thread!) am definately going to purchase the above from greystanes. going to head over there 2moro morning, so if u are interested and want it now, def. PM me before 2moro!!

[Red Frog]

have done a bit of researching:
Prestige communications are selling the same pkg, as the $78 TX610 andrew's communications one, at $94:
TX610 Package 1
Fantastic value.... Package includes
1 X TX610 UHF CB
4 X AAA NimH Rechargeable 650mAh NiMH Batteries
1 X 240 Volt Plug Pack Charger
Free express courier delivery Australia-wide
PRICE: $94.00 (Including GST)
CB on it's own for $78.

so u can see that andrew's communications is far better!! u're geting the charger and batts 4 free....and i always like free things love bargin shoppin!!

[chicaboo]

Yeah thanks Adam :roll:

At $78 you can't go wrong really, even if it doesn't have a decent range I'm sure it'll fit in the picture somewhere. But I just think spending the extra money garuantees a better result, and gives more application for driving, bushwalking, etc...

[Red Frog]

well if that's wot u need it for. i only need it for cruises. i have used james' 0.5 watt and that is excellent (apart from newcastle :? ). so a 1 watt will be doubley good u'd assume.
and considering most places are asking $120 for it, it's a good bargin!

[platypus]

Originally Posted by Red Frog

well if that's wot u need it for. i only need it for cruises. i have used james' 0.5 watt and that is excellent (apart from newcastle :? ). so a 1 watt will be doubley good u'd assume.
and considering most places are asking $120 for it, it's a good bargin!

what happened there? no batteries was it?? i can't remember!!!

i remember we had trouble picking up other people with ****ty radios

[Red Frog]

no....remember? the dorks all left their CBs in the car when they weren't IN their cars;P

and a OT note to all ppl: when on a cruise, PLZ put ur headlites on! even if they're parkers, they still make a diff when the leader is trying to keep everyone together.

[KittyKatSmack]

When on a Cruise:

Stay together!

Put a bright, stand out car at the end of the pack.

Stay on the speedlimit, imagine the glee if everyone gets booked at once!

Don't rely on the leader to keep an eye on everyone, keep checking your mirrors and make sure that everyone that is supposed to be behind you IS behind you.

If you get seperated by traffic lights etc, then pull over to the side of the road and wait for ppl to catch up.

Cruising isn't a competition, and in fact, spending time on dual lane roads can be quite fun too, and handy for photo opportunities...

Even when I went on motorcycle cruises, we all kept together.
That is the spirit of the club, and the point of a cruise is to stick together.
You can't look awesome if one person drives past at stupidmilesperhour and then several minutes later, someone else drives past etc.

All of that said, I am really looking forward to seeing everyone at Kiama this weekend.
What was the decision about the uhf channel everyone was going to use?

[chicaboo]

Hey all,

This is the reply I got from Mr. Andrews:

Hi Gavin,
Best is $77 each for TX-610s and this package currently includes 4 x AAA rechargeable batteries and an AC trickle charger in the box.
Best price is $138 for UH-044 radios.

Regards,
Lee.

BTW: I left no room for error in my email that this would be for an undetermined sized group buy.

Gav.

[Red Frog]

bought my tx610 today from lee andrews. he's a nice bloke, and seriously $77 would be his best price. he's only got a little shop so support the little guy! don't try and push him past $77 considering the deal outweighs NETHING i have seen at all. no one has been able to come near to even $80 for that whole package except for him. as of when i picked the cb up, there is now only 1 left in the shop. he's order another dozen in that will arrive shortly and said this deal will always be on. so don't panic if u want one and can't afford it atm, or woteva.

neways, feedbak! am v. happy with my cb. it's choice! + i met a strange lady at the shop (i think she was a lady....hard to tell under the showercurtain she was wearing :shock: ). she told me all about the diff channels and all and it was quite interesting. she told me to tell EVERYONE in the car club NEVER to use channel 5 - u can have a guess at y *touches nose*. channel 1-8 are repeater channels and the rest from 9 - 31 can be used for commericial or recreational purposes.

+ i got a free feed from my pop who lives around the cnr. all up, i had an excellent day!!

[chicaboo]

That's good to hear Redfrog,

It looks like we've exhorsted the prices as far as we can go, so much for the group buy theory. Well, with Mr Andrews is offering the equal lowest prices with free delivery I think we have found our best bargains.
Hmmm, the price is tempting on the TX610, I will wait for the feedback from the other QLD members, and then flock to the heard I guess?
BTW: I think ch35 is also an emergency channel? And I found up here that ch7, 17 and 37 are all very popular, with some occasional use on ch8.

Cheers,
Gav.

[Red Frog]

it's a good cb for the price! batts and recharger and all
yeah this lady was saying that ch31-40 aren't really sposed to be used, that's y they're so quiet. however, the truckies are abusing all the rules. they're buying their own handheld cbs and finding their own channels etc to talk to mates on the rd, but they're disregarding the rules to those channels that are meant to be left free - so says showercurtain lady, neways.
she was v. manly looking... :shock: i managed to shuffle out of the shop b4 she was about to gobble me up for her lunch...oh and she also felt is necessary to explain to me the pronounciation of the word 'mazda', how the japanese and americans pronounce it. it sounded quite similar.... :?: then she ranted about the americans and how they can't pronounce things properly...i feel slightly scarred... :?

[twilightprotege]

i still prefer a more powerful model. otherwise there is no reason for me to upgrade. i can hear everyone fine on my radio except for those with the supercheap brand radios (gets very distorted)

[platypus]

channel 35 is a marine dedicated emergency channel - ie not a prob on the road!!!! as is channel 8 on the water

land channels 1-9 are repeater channels and can be accessed by pressing the duplex button on your CB - which will drain the battery faster, given that your in range of a repeater

as to emergency channels this is all dependant on the area your in, but generally with handheld radios being on any of these channels will get you no response unless you have a 5w or above model, with sufficent gain etc

channels 31-40 are marine emergency, but in general are fairly free.... this is where you will find most truckies, and road workers

and in case you didn't understand the thing with marine channels, you cna't pick them up on your hand held, and they can't pick up you

those with marine UHF (why did you bother?? - shoulda got VHF for the same price) your channel 1 is equal to that of land channel 70

[sacah]

Yer, I'm going for a 2w or more model...
If people still want to GB a 2w model, I'm in, else go with the 610 its not a bad little unit and I'll buy myself a 2w model
(-;

[Aaron]

I think the most important thing to remember is whatever you buy it's worthwhile buying a quality unit.

One that doesn't distort the audio at higher volumes, preferably 1W or greater.

Uniden, GME, all make good units 1W and greater and they probably should be the benchmark. In many ways radio gear is like car stereo stuff.

You can buy a 1000W amp and it sounds liek sh!t compared to a decent 500W amp. Sometimes 2x the power doesn't mean 2x better performance.

Most of all though buy somethign you're comfortable carrying with you in the car and out of the car on a cruise. It could mean the difference between being left behind in the sh!tter or being part of the next leg

A.