[MINI.CLUBS]

TASMINIA 2004 was a great test for how useful radio communications can be between vehicles. Thanks to David 'dfour' Cochrane all vehicles had two way comms and it proved to be one of the highlights of the tour as I'm sure our TASMINIANS will agree.

UH075

We would recommend the UH075 UHF Waterproof Handheld Radio. It is a compact 5 Watt UHF radio featuring rugged waterproof construction to operate in the most intense environments. The UH075 is an ultra compact unit consisting of 40 License Free Channels, CTCSS, Long life Super Switch and many more features. It has a range of up to 12km and with its Range Extender (Duplex) Capability the unit can achieve even further range depending on the location of local repeaters and topographical conditions.

Feature List:

• Ultra Compact Design
• 40 UHF Channels
• 5 Watt Maximum TX Output Power
• Waterproof
• Long Life Super Switch.
• Range Extender (Duplex) Capability
• VOX Hands Free Capable
• Interference Eliminator (CTCSS)
• Backlit Keypad and LCD Display
• Auto Battery Save
• Open Scan
• Group Scan
• Battery Level Indicator
• Busy Channel Lockout Function
• Roger Beep
• Keypad Lock
• Rubber Grips / Seal and built-in Headset Jack
• Includes Belt Clip, 1 X Lithium-Ion Rechargeable Battery, Desktop Charge Cradle and AC Adaptor

[ChilliRedS]

excellent idea. I was going to raise this on the Hunter run next weekend.

Myself, poki and a few of the Central Coasters used them last week on the trip to Wisemans. Makes the journey a bit more interesting and saves everyone pulling over to check directions or whatever.

[-blacky-]

I love my UHF! ChilliRedS had a great intro to Kerrie and I talking on the way from Pie to Wisemans' the other weekend.

I have a small Uniden Handheld 040 and it's great - I even have the earpiece (very italian job) and makes it heaps easier to drive and talk at the same time.

[cityclinic]

Quote: Originally Posted by ChilliRedS

excellent idea. I was going to raise this on the Hunter run next weekend.

Myself, poki and a few of the Central Coasters used them last week on the trip to Wisemans. Makes the journey a bit more interesting and saves everyone pulling over to check directions or whatever.

Our first run where all vehicles had radios was TASMINIA. This was all thanks to 'dfour', our Club's Communications expert. The ability to communicate to all vehicles on the various Runs proved invaluable on tour and also proved to be a fantastic safety tool. The ability to warn vehicles on road conditions and oncoming traffic . . particularly the big loggers was a major factor on the tours success.

[warped]

Quote: Originally Posted by cityclinic

Our first run where all vehicles had radios was TASMINIA. This was all thanks to 'dfour', our Club's Communications expert. The ability to communicate to all vehicles on the various Runs proved invaluable on tour and also proved to be a fantastic safety tool. The ability to warn vehicles on road conditions and oncomming traffic . . particularly the big loggers was a major factor on the tours success.

With the added bonus that if you ever got bored you could always be entertained by a witty dialogue between Vic and Gary

[TRELO]

Quote: Originally Posted by cityclinic

The ability to warn vehicles on road conditions and oncomming traffic . . particularly the big loggers was a major factor on the tours success.

Didn't anyone see the poor cat?

[cityclinic]

Quote: Originally Posted by TRELO

Didn't anyone see the poor cat?

I did . . . as it bolted under the front spoiler about 2 metres in front of me while travelling at about 110 kph At this particulr time I was the lead vehicle . . (make a mental note not to be lead vehicle anymore )

[cityclinic]

Quote: Originally Posted by warped

With the added bonus that if you ever got bored you could always be entertained by a witty dialogue between Vic and Gary

or the dulcit tones of an 'Alta Cold Air Filter' under load . . .

[dfour]

Quote: Originally Posted by cityclinic

or the dulcit tones of an 'Alta Cold Air Filter' under load . . .

Not that pestie mosquito again I thought it got swatted in tasminia

[dfour]

Quote: Originally Posted by ChilliRedS

excellent idea. I was going to raise this on the Hunter run next weekend.

Myself, poki and a few of the Central Coasters used them last week on the trip to Wisemans. Makes the journey a bit more interesting and saves everyone pulling over to check directions or whatever.

For those with cb radios we will start out on channel 25 cb on sunday and work from there.

[IML337]

I have a GME TX6000 that has 5 watts TX power also - it's a little larger than most units but I've had it for years and it's incredibly handy on group drives and such.

The only weird thing is that on channel 17, when it's switched up to 5W (instead of 1W) and I hold it in a certain position when I transmit, pressing the transmit button makes my speedo and tacho go BESERK! Usually they will both drop down to zero, it's really strange - obviously some kind of interference.

Now I just avoid channel 17 I've been using it in the MINI for almost 2 years and have had no other problems. It freaked me out at first but once I figured out how it was caused, it's not a worry.

[Todd!]

I have the same Uniden handheld Karen has as well as a new 5W GME, with all the attachments. Great on the highway talking to truckies, they know whats ahead!

Todd

[gazah]

can someone explain the differences between 'UHF FRS Radios' [as in karen's UHF040] & 'UHF 2 Way Radios' [as in the UHF075 on offer here]!?

http://www.uniden.com.au/v3/PROD_index.HTM

[snoopy]

The UHF FRS in Oz is a marketing term. In the USA is stands for Family Radio Service. Here is Oz we don't have FRS freq, so you can use the CB freq or some other low power freq.

In Oz the FRS is the cheaper end of the CB market, more for people that just want to talk eg walkie-talkies type of thing. Vs the top end people were CB is there hobby and life blood and to be taken very serious.

Tim you say that MINI speedo's don't like ch 17...........hmm will have to look at that.

[swamos]

ClubMINI just bought two radios (not uhf) for the club for $100 for the set including re-chargeable batteries. Should do the job for us

[warped]

Well I have faxed off my order ... hopefully should have it by the weekend

The extra dollars for the 5W unit seems well worth it based on the Tasmania experience ... in fact thanks to Dave I was completely sold after the UHF handsets proved so useful down there ... it is amazing the impact the terrain has on the range of the radios

Twisty roads (typically hilly terrain) and a reasonable number of cars (1-2+ km between front and back cars) means that even the 5W units can struggle in certain situations ... didn't seem to phase Dave with his 25W basestation though

[Mini2v]

Quote: Originally Posted by warped

With the added bonus that if you ever got bored you could always be entertained by a witty dialogue between Vic and Gary

And of course if the radio donsn't work you can still hear Gary snoring

I have 10 GME TX 6000's which i use on my 4WD Tag-along tours and they are excellent, I personally find the voice translation of the GME to be very good, but the new 5 watt Uniden's may have addressed this. Don't be confused by saying that you can purchase UHF or CB (AM) sets for a lot less than the club offer, These units will either be only 1 watt and not very good for convoy work or a CB (AM) which has lousy voice translation, UHF is best and superior and used by most road travellers these days.

You may need to also purchase an AC cigarette lighter adpator (power and charger) if available, as one day's use usually flattens the battery and you may not always remember to recharge it overnight. Mrs Alan knows all about this.

The club price looks to be very good.

Vic

[warped]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mini2v

You may need to also purchase an AC cigarette lighter adpator (power and charger) if available, as one day's use usually flattens the battery and you may not always remember to recharge it overnight.

Based on my experience you only run the risk of running the battery flat in a single day if your doing a lot of TX <hint hint>

You can listen all day long without fear of your battery draining

Lithium Ion battery pack in these units should give pretty good usage too ... definately lower power consumption than the GME TX 6000 in RX mode with similar power consumption in TX ... really hope I get this thing before the weekend

[IML337]

Quote: Originally Posted by snoopy

Tim you say that MINI speedo's don't like ch 17...........hmm will have to look at that.

yeah - it freaked me out the first few times - both speedo and tacho drop down to zero and randomly flick back up and down while I press the TX button in 5W mode (switching down to 1W stops it) and holding the CB in front of my mouth

Would be interesting to see if the tacho drops in a non nav car, but it was definately the radio interference, as I could reproduce it one day it happened.

[poki]

Quote: Originally Posted by swamos

ClubMINI just bought two radios (not uhf) for the club for $100 for the set including re-chargeable batteries. Should do the job for us

Karen and I bought our cheapie radios at Supercheap Auto. For $80 we got the handset, earpiece, rechargable batteries, A/C charger and 12v charger. They are pretty dinky though, very toy like. They do OK around here where we are not too far from each other - when we start straying further from home I will be investing in something a little more solid.

I reckon they would definately enhance any runs I undertake without a passenger to chat to!