UHF Buying Tips

The UHF range has changed considerably in the last couple of years. We now see a lot of compact units on the market, which makes installation a lot easier in 4WD and recreational vehicles. The previous range were as big as a car radio, and that really limited the mounting options so you end up banging your knee against a transceiver box on rough roads. The good news is that the new ones have the same transmitting power yet they are not much bigger than a cigarette packet. Some have the screen and control buttons in the microphone. This can be handy as you don’t have to re-focus your vision to the dash-mounted transmitter, to change frequencies. The disadvantage is that these are a bit more expensive, and if you lose or damage that microphone, brace yourself as they cost around $200 to replace.

Club touring tends to be all on the one frequency, the leader declares a frequency and that’s it for the trip. A truckie might swap frequencies more often, chit-chatting with other trucks he sees going past. But for your use, the more basic units with the controls in the transceiver would probably be fine.

Don’t miss out on getting an external speaker, all the built-in ones are next to useless. Get a good one while you are at it, it will cost nearly $40 compared to about $15, but it will make a lot of difference in whether you hear people properly.

A good antenna is the other key element. A ‘ground-plane-independent’ antenna will cost from $70 to $100. The ground plane simulation is achieved by a coil or winding built into the base of the mast. This acts as if the antenna were mounted on a big sheet of iron, the radiation pattern of your transmissions is equal in all directions. A conventional antenna has an erratic radiation pattern which means your transmissions will drop in and out a lot if you are moving. The antenna should be mounted as high as possible, preferably above the roof-line. Therefore it should be reasonably short, have a strong spring base and the mast should unscrew by hand so you can take it off if driving under trees. We’d recommend something with a relatively inexpensive mast so you can carry a spare in case it does get broken or pinched.

The whole kit and installation will probably cost more than $500 and less than $600.