wtb a cb radio... help

suba_dooba · Post by **suba_dooba** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 2:17 pm

hey,
i am interested in buying a cb radio that wont punch a hole in my pocket.
any help??/

Sideways Subaru · Post by **Sideways Subaru** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 3:43 pm

Hand-held or in-car? since ur in WA u should have a look at http://www.prestigecom.net.au they're pretty well priced. Personally i prefer gme over uniden and i've got a tx-3200-a VERY good unit in my books. got mine for $200 second hand which is pretty good.

Alex

suba_dooba · Post by **suba_dooba** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 5:06 pm

yeah a in car one. but ill check this site out. thanks

julian · Post by **julian** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 5:52 pm

Well you can pick up an AM

radio for spare change, but if you want an in car UHF then a reasonable option would be a GME or Uniden.
I would try and find a local company that does major contracts and talk to one of the techies who does installs or field work, it is more than likely that they have stock that has been removed from their contract cars and would sell it on for a reasonable price.
Failing that or if you dont have time then Dick Smith or equivalent should be able to help you.
Also consider installation as a factor; whether you want a DIN mounted radio in the dash, or smaller one on the transmission tunnel etc.

Good luck and let us know what you get.

suba_dooba · Post by **suba_dooba** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 6:03 pm

what about this one?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Uniden-PRO530XL- ... dZViewItem

Suba · Post by **Suba** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 6:39 pm

wouldnt waste my money on a 27 meg am radio even if it were for free, UHF is definately the way to go.

Mike.

SuBaRiNo · Post by **SuBaRiNo** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 6:51 pm

You want UHF... not 27mgz... i work at a Communications shop in Kewdale so i can get u a good price on a brand new one or i can see if we have anything 2nd hand laying about. Price can depend on size and brand of the unit your after.

Dave

suba_dooba · Post by **suba_dooba** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 6:52 pm

okt hanks i think ill do that then

julian · Post by **julian** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 7:25 pm

Sorry, didn't mean to mis-inform, AM (27MHz) is CRAP. UHF is what you want.

SuBaRiNo · Post by **SuBaRiNo** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 9:52 pm

Do what? do u want me to see what i can find?

Dave

suba_dooba · Post by **suba_dooba** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 2:05 am

o yes please if its not too much trouble

suba_dooba · Post by **suba_dooba** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 2:30 am

what about this one>? crappy? http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... %26fvi%3D1

SuBaRiNo · Post by **SuBaRiNo** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 9:26 am

That will do the job... but im no Uniden fan either. I like GME.

Don't forget u need to buy an antenna to suit also... this can cost a little over $100 for a good one.

Dave

Thalass · Post by **Thalass** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 10:05 pm

Having looked around for the last couple of days on websites and such, the GME ones look nice. Especially the 3420, with the separate head unit. Could mount the radio itself right next to the antenna to reduce losses! (not that they would be huge over a couple of metres of coax, but still.

That, and I could mount the head unit in the flap-cover of one of the storage bits in the dash, rather than take up the whole thing. I get a radio, and still use the storage space. Could probably fit a couple of hand-held radios in there, if nothing else.

SuBaRiNo · Post by **SuBaRiNo** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 11:58 pm

Thalass wrote:Could mount the radio itself right next to the antenna to reduce losses! (not that they would be huge over a couple of metres of coax, but still.

DUDE!!! are you serious?? I really hope your not knowing what your talking about here. There is about A LOT of things wrong with what you have said here. MAJORLY inpractable.

Dave

sven '2' · Post by **sven '2'** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 6:18 pm

owned both GME & Uniden - would go GME every time in the future

Suggest you head to a communication shop ASAP for advice - don't skimp on antenna dollars and installation is everything

SuBaRiNo · Post by **SuBaRiNo** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 6:48 pm

I work for a communications shop. And have been for over 5 years now.

I agree GME is better than Uniden... any other brand you will be paying too little cos they are dodgy or too much because they are overkill for what u need.

If you give me an idea on where your wanting to mount the unit and the antenna i can suggest what i would get... also what budget you have to work with. Or any other functions you want it to have... eg: Police channels etc etc.

Dave

Thalass · Post by **Thalass** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 9:40 pm

SuBaRiNo wrote:DUDE!!! are you serious?? I really hope your not knowing what your talking about here. There is about A LOT of things wrong with what you have said here. MAJORLY inpractable.

Dave

Well, most of what I work with functions that way. The controller is within easy reach, and the radio itself is downstairs. Not usually that close to the antenna, but that's mostly due to the designers wanting to keep all the boxes in one place rather than spread all over. You have lower losses with discreet inputs and digital data over a distance than you do with RF information over coax.

I admit it's probably not very practical, the head unit looks to be too thick to allow good access to the storage space behind it, and you'd have to allow the cable some slack there so it can flex. And as long as you had the right length of coax from the radio to the antenna (and it was protected from the weather - so, y'know, not under the bonnet or somewhere) it should work quite well. It probably wouldn't be worth it to save yourself two or three metres of coax loss, but still. It ought to work.

SuBaRiNo · Post by **SuBaRiNo** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 10:08 pm

Dude you pretty much loose nothing in coax under 10 meters. The antenna comes with about 4 meters... usually cut about a meter off it in every install.

Thats a 3 meter coax lead... conguet the coax through the engine bay, mount the unit under the dash just like it is designed to be.

Dave

Thalass · Post by **Thalass** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 10:16 pm

hahaha, yeah. You're right.