Offroad-Express

TJ wrote:I have that unit, is there anything specifc you want to know. Its a UHF unit = PRS. Works great. Channel 23 is blocked for transmission, because its an emergency channel in Australia. Otherwise, been a wonderful piece for over a year now.

Um, not quite. Channel's 22 & 23 are data only channels - it's illegal to broadcast voice on them.

I've got an Icom 440. One bank of frequencies is set up for 25W, the other is set up for the legal 5w (legal over here anyway). Seems to be a solid little unit.

g'day all
just moved ova from aussie to northland an wondering will my gme 4400 uhf and uniden 27mhz cb's work ova here . also what channel on both radio's do 4wder's use in northland
cheers matt

UHF is ok, CB isn't as we use 26mhz over here.....

agh ok..thanks for your help mate
cheers matt

Yep, good old NZ decided to do something different from the rest of the world when it came to HF CB!!

John

re Communications in adverse terrain & conditions.

There is no specific type of Comms. that is an absolute to rely on especially with 4 wheeling.
Reason : Terrain - we are either on top of a hil (good) or down in a gully (bad), forests and bush suck the snot out of a signal, especially when its wet.

26 / 27 mhz (why 27 ??) antennae generally are that long they get bashed around as do any efficient HF antennae, 'cause they are long (and heavy).

The best results have been from VHF, both AM and now the new FM 4x4 Frequency approved units.

UHF (PRS) are also a good all rounder using gain antennae.

The HF SSB units (ie. Mountain Radio & 4x4 Approved) are fine early morning & evening, more often using wire antennae thrown up a tree, purely stationary. As long as atmospheric conditions are favorable, skeds can be set up with "base" stations elsewhere.

Through utter frustration of reliable Comms. and a long term involvement with SAR & oncall with Clubs etc., a lot of us ended up Ham Radio Operators, where we now have legitimate access to a far more reliable world of communications, legally.

Skeds can be setup for specific trips etc., and monitored via National Repeaters, and or local ones, and on either UHF or VHF, as well as having an HF option.

Others can be specially catered for via Special Purpose Repeaters that are placed in strategic positions for "convoy" access.

Have a think about the Targa Rally, its all run via a central location and repeaters.

Remember - there is NO reliable one stop option - especially Cell Phones.

Paul

Swaney wrote:Is PRS (Public Radio Service) the same as FRS (Family Radio Service)?

Swaney The New Zealand and Australian UHF cb service, I am not sure what name the Aussies give their UHF CB service but it is on the same frequencies as NZ and radios from both countries are compatible.
FRS is an abbreviation used by the Americans and their service is on totally different frequencies, from memory about 20mhz lower.
Another useless piece of information is that Aussie is soon to implement a change in channel spacing from 25khz to 12.5 khz to give 80 channels, I am not sure if Spectrum management is goint to go down the same road here. My feelings about this change is that it may very well create more problems than it solves by introducing adjacent channel interference especially around the cities. FM signals by their very nature are quite a wide band width and a 12.5 khz channel spacing is not very far apart.

Yes we are getting the same channel spacing in NZ.

Calvin

Does anyone know if there is a standard thread sizing for CB/PRS antennae?

Also are the plugs that go into the back of the units the same for CB and PRS? Or even for different manufacturers?

Reason I ask is that I've got a bull bar mounted antenna for a CB radio which I'm intending to sell, but ideally I'd like to leave the wiring and mount and sell the radio and antenna, then replace it with a PRS unit and screw a new antenna onto the existing male thread.

Being no expert I'm assuming CB/PRS antennae aren't interchangable.

The plugs on the unit are most often the same from what ive seen. The PL259 connector, big old screw on style. Ive got a dual band radio and the CB and UHF aerial both use the same plug type. The aerial bases theoretically can be the same, both my aerials are the same thread, but the bases are wired slightly different. From previous research it seems that the AM base has the center conductor wired directly to the aerial post, the UHF base is an inductor base and the center conductor stays inside its insulation and doesnt actually touch the aerial post. Having said that, the communications shop sold me 2 bases the same when I brought my first aerials

3VILC wrote:The plugs on the unit are most often the same from what ive seen. The PL259 connector, big old screw on style. Ive got a dual band radio and the CB and UHF aerial both use the same plug type. The aerial bases theoretically can be the same, both my aerials are the same thread, but the bases are wired slightly different. From previous research it seems that the AM base has the center conductor wired directly to the aerial post, the UHF base is an inductor base and the center conductor stays inside its insulation and doesnt actually touch the aerial post. Having said that, the communications shop sold me 2 bases the same when I brought my first aerials

Thanks, might get away with it then if I rewire the base. Best thing I do I guess is to take it to the comms shop when I buy the new radio. Cheers

is it fine to run a uhf aerial base/ wiring kit on a am cb radio? i just bought a kit and it sais its for uhf but my radio is am. the plug still fits into the back of my radio.
thanks

JONO250 wrote:is it fine to run a uhf aerial base/ wiring kit on a am cb radio? i just bought a kit and it sais its for uhf but my radio is am. the plug still fits into the back of my radio.
thanks

I wouldnt, the length of the aerial is vitally important. The aerial needs to be a "tuned" length to match the radio, if you use the wrong one some of the transmitted power will actually come back down the aerial into the radio and cause you tears

cheers

Fourbyfour wrote:

Swaney wrote:Is PRS (Public Radio Service) the same as FRS (Family Radio Service)?

Swaney The New Zealand and Australian UHF cb service, I am not sure what name the Aussies give their UHF CB service but it is on the same frequencies as NZ and radios from both countries are compatible.
FRS is an abbreviation used by the Americans and their service is on totally different frequencies, from memory about 20mhz lower.
Another useless piece of information is that Aussie is soon to implement a change in channel spacing from 25khz to 12.5 khz to give 80 channels, I am not sure if Spectrum management is goint to go down the same road here. My feelings about this change is that it may very well create more problems than it solves by introducing adjacent channel interference especially around the cities. FM signals by their very nature are quite a wide band width and a 12.5 khz channel spacing is not very far apart.

Check out this link to unlock/modify uhfs to the new 80 channel. This is also a good link to see if your uhf radio is capable of the new 80 channels. http://www.uhfcb.com.au/UHF-CB-Buyers-Guide.php