UHF protocols and behaviour

[Wapiti]

So yesterday I was in the workshop extending a few gates and the UHF is always on there via a high long range aerial.
We have one in the kitchen in the house as well, base station. With a bigger aerial on a pole.
We use this on all vehicles for safety and management purposes.

Yesterday I could hear what was obviously a hunting party, a few vehicles, running around all day chasing stuff and generally being what I would respectfully describe as being very excited, and certainly not hunting from the behaviour of what they were describing.
Yeah, I thought nothing much of it, Easter holidays for those who can afford it, and good on them.

It was on a channel we call "our " channel, as other properties have picked others and we communicate amongst ourselves with this and know that anyone else can use them who's passing through. Just the way it is. By picking certain channels and knowing your neighbours channels, you can avoid annoying them when you are mustering with a few vehicles, and communicate amongst ourselves to get things done.
Another place, just out of vehicle UHF aerial range also uses the channel we use, they moved into the area and didn't know we used it also but we can only hear them on the two base stations with the big aerials.
They only discuss farm issues, no drama.

Later that arvo I get a phone call from a neighbour who was quite annoyed, apparently this inane chatter about running animals down against fences, chasing animals down until they drop from exhaustion, general high-level swearing and just amateur, juvenile behaviour. Most of that I didn't hear, I just think, of well it's obvious they are from the city and are very excited, what can I do?
So the neighbour is after blood, and is absolutely whipping up a virtual posse and just vowing never to let shooters on again. I said, have you spoken to them and asked them to pick another channel?
He said he had, but they told him to go and get fornicated, so it was on.
All they had to do was think about others, think about the image they were presenting, and tone it down and change to one of the other 79 channels out there. Yes, I know about repeaters. AND half-channels too.

So when I was back in the shed and they came back on excitedly discussing some other incident they had found themselves in, I got on and got their attention.
Explained to them that there were two properties using that channel for work and safety, and that we had been listening to their childish animated chatter all day, and we are sick of it. And just for a second, think of our position.
I mentioned that they had asked to find another channel, there were 70 others out there, and it's no wonder the words going out to everyone including their hosts that they should not show their faces anywhere else and that we do not appreciate rude replies from interlopers who've been gifted somewhere to get excited. And to please consider before things go too far that we do not deserve to listen to their activities and to put themselves in our position.

There was a long silence, then someone else got on and said "Let's go to 18, try that one for the trip" then silence from then on.
I got on and said, thank you.

Yes, anyone can use these channels, that is why there is a radio etiquette. Find out from your hosts what UHF channel they use, and what their neighbours withing range use too, and keep your chatter between yourselves and private, and remember people may be listening.
Use their channels only for emergency, and to inform them of any issues you find, and instead of p*ssing everyone off, build a rapport.
There are a few ways that people ruin it for others. Why can't visitors be polite and appreciate what they have, and how they affect others future access?
Just a tip, and please think about it.

[mchughcb]

When I leave my UHF on all I hear is Vietnamese on channel 18.

[Die Judicii]

I have one,, but due to the degraded sh!t conversations that seem to prevail these days I hardly ever bother to turn it on.
99.99 % of the time I'm out there on my own, and always had a PLB just in case of a "real" emergency.
But,,,, it has now come to the end of its serviceable life, and the cost to replace it has now skyrocketed to the point I won't bother.

Maybe the UHF might be called upon one day (if it's in range,, and if there's someone that would reply,,) otherwise the day might come when I don't
return home and the resultant search party might find me cold and stiff.

I guess I'll take my chances,,,,,,,,,, cos the rude and ungratefull idiots you describe certainly wouldn't be worth a cup full of cold water.

[Damo300]

I have one on my channel and it only gets switched into 40 outside of major cities.

The amount of weak "men" using a UHF as some kind of sexual power stimulation in the city areas is beyond belief.
You cannot communicate with another vehicle without some clown interjecting.

I've maintained that these things need to go digital so they transmit an I.D or position of the radio in use.
It would cut that crap out instantly.

[bigrich]

I have one on my channel and it only gets switched into 40 outside of major cities.

The amount of weak "men" using a UHF as some kind of sexual power stimulation in the city areas is beyond belief.
You cannot communicate with another vehicle without some clown interjecting.

I've maintained that these things need to go digital so they transmit an I.D or position of the radio in use.
It would cut that crap out instantly.

that's a good idea , but a bit too "big brother" for me . listening to some of the "kenworth cowboys" on the highway out to toowoomba is enlightening at times . heard one fella talking openly about how hyped up on meth he was some of these "cowboy" truckies argue and abuse each other like you wouldn't believe. i just listen in and have a laugh . further west i go , less of that i hear .
i use my cb a lot when i'm headed west , great for heads up on "flash for cash" sites , road trains warning when their headed down some back roads , came in handy when a triple was headed down stanthorpe-texas road , one lane of tar and no way he was going off on the gravel with 3 trailers . great for when you have to overtake a semi or B double too .
also use my cb when i'm "on property" , notify the owner when i see stock where they shouldn't be , or they let me know when they're headed out so i only shoot in a safe direction . cb's are a great tool that improve safety in areas where there's no phone reception. a lot of yahoo's don't realise their messing with a essential tool when they play up on air . older cb's had a signal strength meter on the front of them . when people are transmitting you used to be able to track them down from signal strength
i'm old enough to remember when the movie "convoy" came out boosted cb's popularity ,was massive with the general public in brissy back then . this was the tail end of the custom "panel van" era too, they all had them back then . great tool for knowing where the cops were when street racing was on in industrial estates back when . i'm reminiscing and waffling i know , but i hope some of you found my memories interesting . cheers

[Damo300]

The signal meters are still on the uhfs, well mine has one.
To many users now and it's not obvious as to who is the problem.

The ID is more so everyone can own their speech.
No more hiding. Less chance of someone flipping out over an argument on the radio etc.
The funny stuff will still remain, but the shyte talk and abuse will evaporate.
Antagonisting other road users is just dumb imo.

Less chance of dead arms from the missus too when the kids are in the car and some clown has a blast about his crotch condition.

[Jorlcrin]

We dont get a lot of nuisance chatter as such in our area, at this stage at least.

What we DO get, is for about a week after heavy rain while there is a heap of moisture in the air, we get a form of 'skip', where the UHF signal travels a lot further than normal.
During these times, we often hear a few of the repeaters hundreds of kms away, but they arent an issue.
But some freaking village idiot(not accessing the repeater, but must be some distance away) has set up some sort of monitoring device, that is reporting non-stop (like a digital Rain-Gauge or flood level gauge or suchlike), and we get hours of machine noise drowning out any other transmissions.
Wouldnt be a problem if they had installed it on on of the designated data channels, but they have instead have it running on one of the open channels.
End up having to turn the volume right down on the base stations, as the noise drives you mad.
Considering setting up some sort of RDF antenna, but then have to figure out how to track it, but I guess a helicopter would work.

If I could find the culprit, then at least I'd know whom I could get the ACMA to yell at.

VERY annoying, and only happens when it's difficult to go anywhere to track it down (wet/extremely muddy)..

[Wapiti]

Interesting, thanks fellas for your replies.
The UHF is a great tool for safety and business, it's actually amazing to me that the politicians haven't found a way to tax or license this too. For our own good, of course.

We always use UHF for hunting too, great safety tool. With two or more people I reckon it could save a nasty accident.
Luckily, we never get any interference in wet or humid weather. Dead quiet.
Except when the visitors come that don't do their due diligence before using it in a way that is not good for their future hunting in the area.
Only thing to open the channel is a transmission from somebody else. Thank goodness.

But it doesn't take more than a few transmissions coming on to tell us what the users are doing, their behaviour and their character.
I post this up to just remind people that others are probably listening, so remember it and be polite and respectful. Because if you annoy or abuse the neighbours or embarrass your host by being rude, or disrespectful of others, you might lose very valuable access, because it's being given out less and less nowadays.