Is there any point buying a 5w UHF for hilly terrain?

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Is there any point buying a 5w UHF for hilly terrain?

Post by lowb » 19 Jan 2017, 12:59 pm

Hi guys,

I want to get a few handheld UHF radios for the herd for camping and day trip stuff.

It's only really for staying in touch with the group if people are wandering around, but not really travelling far.

We get to the beach with dunes, a bit of hills and forests. Never long open stretches.

Is there any point at all buying a higher watt UHF? Price goes up considerably.

Or do I just get a couple of cheap 2w hand helds?
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Re: Is there any point buying a 5w UHF for hilly terrain?

Post by SendIt » 19 Jan 2017, 1:20 pm

I'm assuming no one is going to go more than 100 or 200 metres by the sounds of it?

If so 5W would be a waste of money for that.
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Re: Is there any point buying a 5w UHF for hilly terrain?

Post by Gamerancher » 19 Jan 2017, 1:30 pm

If you want reliable radios you can count on it is hard to go past Electrophones. Unidens used to be O.K but are now just cheaply made Chinese garbage. As for the multi-pack, low wattage, "Wally-mart" specials, a couple of empty baked-bean cans and a bit of string would be a better option. :sarcasm:
Better to go higher wattage IMHO as it is usually when someone has strayed that the radios come into play.
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Re: Is there any point buying a 5w UHF for hilly terrain?

Post by juststarting » 19 Jan 2017, 1:53 pm

If you want cheap reliable radios, look on eBay for Baofeng 8W model. You will need to buy a separate antenna for it, because OEM one is horrible, but all included you'd still be under $90 for a radio. Works fine in hilly terrain, of course depends how hilly and how far, but for hunting in the hills it works great.

They do come blank or not programmed, so you will need to get Australian frequency list and import it into the device. If you are technically inclined, this is good rugged reliable model...

Alternatively, if you and your friends are cashed up, look at Rino 750 for out of the box convenience.
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Re: Is there any point buying a 5w UHF for hilly terrain?

Post by albat » 19 Jan 2017, 5:33 pm

The best value 5w in oz is the auscb handhelds me and a mate have used these for ages no drama and heaps of accessories for them http://www.auscb.com
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Re: Is there any point buying a 5w UHF for hilly terrain?

Post by doc » 19 Jan 2017, 6:24 pm

juststarting wrote:If you want cheap reliable radios, look on eBay for Baofeng 8W model.


Just be aware that those Baofang radio's are not C-tick certified. They are considered illegal to use for transmitting in Australia with the exception being in HAM bands by HAM operators.

http://www.acma.gov.au/Citizen/Spectrum ... -way-radio

Chances of being caught if used responsibly and limited to UHF frequencies are quite small - even moreso in remote areas with small wattage - but just giving you the facts so you can make an informed decision.

It's a pitty - as some of these cheaper radio's are excellent - and would make good UHF CB radio's.

That auscb website has legal radio's (c-tick) at similar prices you can get a Chinese one from so would probably be the better option unless you and your friends wanted to get a HAM license to experience with other frequencies.
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Re: Is there any point buying a 5w UHF for hilly terrain?

Post by brett1868 » 19 Jan 2017, 7:10 pm

I see a UHF radio as a piece of safety equipment and something that may one day be the difference between life and death. I have a GME TX6150 handheld and the GME XRS370c in the Ranger, both are 5 watt with 80 channels a piece. I also have a SA2G PLB from Kti just in case the faeces really hits the fan as a lot of the time I'm out bush I'm on my own.
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Re: Is there any point buying a 5w UHF for hilly terrain?

Post by albat » 19 Jan 2017, 7:28 pm

Im with brett on the plb if you cant afford one you cant afford to go hunting period, uhf isnt to be relied on under any circumstances for emergencies
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Re: Is there any point buying a 5w UHF for hilly terrain?

Post by juststarting » 19 Jan 2017, 8:06 pm

Speaking of PLB... I may have asked this elsewhere, but I don't remember. Anyway, in case of emergency, either lost or injured (genuine emergency of some sort) - is there a cost associated with the rescue, assuming you have ambulance cover?
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Re: Is there any point buying a 5w UHF for hilly terrain?

Post by albat » 19 Jan 2017, 8:26 pm

Really couldnt say but they will be in a better mood when they reach you after a plb alert rather than a week of searching costing thousands of dollars
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Re: Is there any point buying a 5w UHF for hilly terrain?

Post by on_one_wheel » 19 Jan 2017, 9:01 pm

5 watts is the maximum power you can legally run in Australia without getting a license.

There are some very powerful uhf radios avaliable like the TYT TH900 UHF that can be found on ebay which booms out 60 watts of speaker blowing illegal rf power... if you can get your head around how to program the 80 channels into it.
60 watts is great, people will hear you for miles but it won't help a bit if you can't hear them.

Hilly terrain is challenging for uhf radios but propper choice of antennas will help.
Try an antenna with 3db gain in hilly areas.
UHF antenna db gain explained here

Another thing to watch out for is all these stubborn pricks who are still running the old 40 ch uhf radios.
The old 40 ch radios run a wide band frequency and the new 80 ch radios run a narrow band frequency, the two are not very compatible and you will have big trouble talking between them. The 40 ch will also interfere with the 80 ch.
The ACMA initially said that the 40 ch radios would become illegal but their wording has changed somewhat.

ACMA 40 CH UHF RADIO PHASED OUT read about it here


In my opinion having a good quality 80 ch uhf is still a handy thing to have but you need to choose your antenna wisely.
Just dotnt expect it to perform over long distances. Thats where the old 27meg cb radios come in handy.
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Re: Is there any point buying a 5w UHF for hilly terrain?

Post by juststarting » 19 Jan 2017, 9:28 pm

Slowly walks away looking all innocent and s**t.
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Re: Is there any point buying a 5w UHF for hilly terrain?

Post by pete1 » 19 Jan 2017, 9:33 pm

lowb wrote:Hi guys,

I want to get a few handheld UHF radios for the herd for camping and day trip stuff.

It's only really for staying in touch with the group if people are wandering around, but not really travelling far.

We get to the beach with dunes, a bit of hills and forests. Never long open stretches.

Is there any point at all buying a higher watt UHF? Price goes up considerably.

Or do I just get a couple of cheap 2w hand helds?


The dB of your antenna will affect how well it works in hills, lower the better for hills and higher dB for flats. The wattage is the amount of power so you will output a stronger signal, further.

Instead of spending $500 on a GME (which are very good radios have one in the ute) I got a Oricom handheld uhf5500 5 watt at Repco for $149 works very well never tested how far it accully goes but does 5km easy say it would go 15+ on the flat. I'd rate it 8/10.

Theres plenty of good cheap ones out there in 2 watt range, and you can get two packs aswell.
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Re: Is there any point buying a 5w UHF for hilly terrain?

Post by Xerox » 20 Jan 2017, 12:55 pm

juststarting wrote:Slowly walks away looking all innocent and s**t.


I am suspicious... :lol:
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