[welchy_24]

I am thinking of buy a UHF . Do i NEED an Ariel for it to work?

How much distance would i get out of a decent ariel?

Cheers

[BLZUK]

definantely need an antenna!
There are many different kinds of antennas and depending on where your mounting it and what terrain your using it in.
RFI and GME are the better antenna brands imho

[dj181]

depends on how much money you want to spend as well.....you can spend heaps, (over $100) or you can spend $20.......i spent $20 on mine and it works well enough for 4x4ing trips....keeping in mind on most trips you arent going to be very far away from everyone else......so personally i went for the little 4.5db gain antenna from supercheap.....or you could go for a 6db if you want a little more.....personally i dont see the point in going much bigger (eg 9db gain) they will work better on flat ground but a 6db gain antenna will work better around hilly areas

[foolsp33d]

lower gain, better short distance coverage...to an extent... best thing i suggest is grab a GME broucher(sp) it has a basic guide to what the differnt db of antenna's are.. a quick read over it and you will kick yourself as its pretty obvious.. it might even be on their web site...

edit: wanst on the site(that i could find) so I scanned the copy i have, now its here for future referance

[welchy_24]

Cheers guys the UHF im getting comes with a free 6 db ariel.

That plus the brand new UHF is $338




I think this one is good one for me

[foolsp33d]

yep, was torn between the 3420 and the uh015(uniden) myself... have put it on hold atm, and just sticking to my cheapy hand held in relation to this topic:

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/ftopic139435.php

Thinking it through a little more id be more inclined with the 6220 hand held.. 5watt, hand held(so can remove from car in those not so safe areas) and also when walking up inspecting a track.. there is an incar kit available(so you can connect a high gain antenna to the veichle yet still have the functionality of the hand held when you need it

[sp1086]

OK Radios first..

GME are better quality over UNIDEN these days. Years ago it was the other way around but personally if I was buying a CB new it would be a GME. The ICOM IC-400Pro you see 4WD Action raving about are a good strong radio too, but I find the Microphone breaks if they fly across the dash and hit the A piller or you drop them onto a hard surface. Also the mic buttons get stuck in and their audio has the talking into a bucket sound to it.

Something like a TX-440 which is DIN size or same size as you stereo so it mounts nicely in the dash pocket hole.

Or if your looking for something smaller I'd go a TX-3420 which is remote face mounting so it can go anywhere.

GME have a 3year warranty too.

Both these radios can be found brand new for under $350 on eBay. Check out his guys eBay store 4x4 accessories for 4WD's

Antennas..

As foolsp33d said lower gain antennas are better for short distances but they are also best for 4wding because of several reasons, low gain antennas let the UHF signal get over hills and out of valleys better as the radiation pattern is omni directional (goes in all directions). Also these antennas are not huge white flag poles that just say look at me mines bigger than yours. Oh and they are cheaper too...

Hi gain antennas 6db+ are great for use in the outback where the landscape is flat and there are little or no hills for the signal to get over the top of. But these antennas compress the radiation pattern down so there is less signal going up in the air and down towards the ground. You can see this in the diagram foolsp33d has posted.

Don’t forget just because its a small antenna doesn’t mean its going to work any worse than the big white ones. You'll find in most cases the smaller antenna will out perform the big ones due to signal loss in the materials they use to make the big white antennas..

My personal choice is this -->AE4012K2

Nice small antenna with a spring base and can be mounted on a bullbar or Z bracket on the guard even on a roof rack or gutter mount. Will not break off when you go into a undercover car park or hit a low hanging branch whilst hooning down that favorite track. Just look at how many of them big white antennas have bushman’s repairs done on them with sticky tape 1' down from the top.

Sorry to rave on but this is a important topic and something I have alot of experience in.

[magnat]

I use a UH089sx Uniden with a $30 DSE 4.5db gain Aerial and its clear and the range is around 15K in my Area (curse those hills)

I have a mate with a GME unit and a 6db gain and he pushes his luck to get 8K.. His fishing pole also seems to collect spider webs galore on the trails...

[dank]

The GME 3200 series make a perfect fit into the ashtray sucks if ur a smoker! I don't let ppl smoke in my car.

[Jaffa]

x2 almost everything sp1086 said.

Only thing I dont quite agree on is the Icom, I havn't broken my mic yet and to fix the sticky ptt button you only need to file a small plastic molding ridge off the button. The Icoms are also more sensitive they will pick up a weaker signal and allow you to hear it clearer than a GME or Uniden. I do agree on the tinny speaker though, but an external speaker will fix that.

Best piece of advise I can offer is, if you are sticking to a budget spend more on the aerial than the rather than more on the radio, you are only paying for features with the radio's not performance.

My personal preference is the Polar aerial (same as the Vic police run on the cars, but with a 4.5dB whip) you can literally bend them in a circle and they dont break.

[welchy_24]

K cheers guys, the only reason i am looking at the Uniden one is because it has a Cop and ambo scanner in it which i would have fun with
I might pick up a 3DB ariel now thanks guys

[Bruce]

You can get the 3420 with scanner channels added. Hey SP1086

[Jaffa]

Or the Icom

[CairnsZook]

So how does the TX-3420 face connect to the unit?
Obviously it plugs in, but which end is the plug?

I would like to position the main body right up behind the dash and was hoping the plug is at the remote face end, making removal easier.

I reckon the remote face unit is good in the soft top for security reasons, otherwise I would just get the 3200 series.



sp1086, do you work with radios? Or just a bit of a radio nerd? I'm doing a GMDSS course at the moment, and what you posted earlier is spot on!