Tweet
Instead of mounting a fixed UHF unit into my dash somewhere, I'm thinking of purchasing a 5 watt GME hand held unit and running a cable from the external mounted aerial to it while underway. That way I can remove it to avoid possible theft, and also have the convenience of using it externally. Has anyone else gone down this track? Does a 5 watt hand unit have the same range/performance as a permanent unit?
-
[color=#BF0000][i]2016 200 Series GXL, Turbo Diesel, ARB BB, GME3520 UHF[/i][/color] -
In practice the handheld units are great for communicating with a driver, guiding over obstacles ... or short range comms that are generally line of sight.
The fixed units definately have a greater range .... depending upon the aerial fitted. A 9db gain aerial has a longer, flatter elipse of coverage and, hence, has a greater range ..... but that longer elipse has its disadvantages in hilly terrain where that elipse moves with the vehicle and you can often get dropouts.
A 3db gain aerial has a more spherical coverage and is more effective in hilly terrain .... but it loses out on range on the flats. I use a 6db gain aerial ... which gives me a pretty good compromise in most situations.
In a lot of our trips we have a wide range of combinations and quite a few guys using nothng but handhelds. We have often experienced guys at one end of a longer convoy not being heard by the guys at the other end due to the lack of range. But most of the handhelds (in fact, I think all of them) have been 1W units.
The only thing we haven't tried is to connect a handheld unit to an external aerial. Might be worth a try as long as the aerial you use is a freebie, or one that you would use if you bought a fixed unit .... just saves throwing money away if it doesn't work as well as you hoped.
Cheers
Chippy -
Thanks Chippy,
Being a "black hander" my knowledge of "things unseen" is pretty limited!! I would have thought a 5 watt unit either hand held or fixed would have the same output strength, so then it would have to come down to the aerial??[color=#BF0000][i]2016 200 Series GXL, Turbo Diesel, ARB BB, GME3520 UHF[/i][/color]Comment
-
Thats the thing ..... the 5 W unit should certainly have a greater range than the 1 W units ... but then the 5 W unit would eat batteries a lot quicker.
My only experience has been with the 1 W handhelds ... so I'm probably not a lot of help
Would love to hear how you go ... with a 5 W unit and an external aerial.
Cheers
ChippyComment
-
I'd sugest just getting a GME TX3440. It's easy to install up under the dash without cutting any holes. - there is a couple of threads on here showing how others have done it. Then you can just unplug the mic and there is nothing to be seen inside the car.
LeachyEX-Prado OwnerComment
-
Whilst I am a fan of GME gear (my in-car unit is a GME), I found the best handheld for me to be the Icom 5 watter.
I use it for back-up comms or to communicate with the driver as Chippy mentioned.
I got sick of the toy-like 1W units and their appetite for batteries.
The Icom has a beefy Lithium Ion battery that keeps its charge pretty well and I don't have to worry about reliability.Comment
-
I have both the Icom and GME electophone 5W handhelds. Performance wise there is not much between them, the icom is probably made a little tougher ? Both have hand mics, leather cases, car charges and an extended aerial for long range capacity.
I have a 'special' icom unit in the car, I give the handhelds to any contractors that come out in the bush with me to cover OH&S, so they cop a fair bit of abuse. They are the right size to fit in the drink holder for the old model hilux just below the dash, they also fit in the centre console drink holders of the prado. In the car the guys use the hand mics like any other radio.
There are heaps of accessories for both, such as longer aerials, car kits, cases and a hand mic. The 1W models are mickey mouse junk, but you get what you pay for.
The only problem with all handheld units is battery life. If you are doing any extended travel you will need to get a car charger, a camp solar panel charger or a genie !!
The range of the handheld is rated at maximum voltage, hence as the battery goes down the broadcast area reduces. This is still very academic with noticeable in situ evidence fairly poor.
They work pretty bloody good until the battery goes flat
"Ooops I just deleted the internet, lucky I was able to recover 99.7% of it out of the bin" :lol:Comment
-
Thanks all, my intention is to have the unit plugged into the 12v in car port as I'm travelling so battery life won't be an issue, and I've been told that the batteries are good for around the 8 hr mark which is also ok for what I want. Some good advice on aerial - thanks.[color=#BF0000][i]2016 200 Series GXL, Turbo Diesel, ARB BB, GME3520 UHF[/i][/color]Comment
-
battery life varies on how much transmitting you do. The unit may standby (listen/scan) for 8-12 hours but it may only have a 1-2 hour transmit time. Some of the car charges are trickle and other are fast so you need to make sure you don't fry your batteries or have enough driving time to actually charge the battery.
The air temp also has some effect on battery life, the colder it is the shorter the time. There are bigger batteries available but the cost are quite expensive."Ooops I just deleted the internet, lucky I was able to recover 99.7% of it out of the bin" :lol:Comment
-
I have been using the GME TX6200 for a year now for much the same reasons as you mentioned. I think Spurio has summed it up pretty well and would have to agree with his comment. Battery life hasn't proved a problem for me and you can always connect it to the 12v socket whilst travelling. The radio has low and high power settings 5W / 1W so you can switch between them as needed. Obviously high power drains the battery quicker but the difference in range is quite noticeable.
As for the external antenna I haven't needed one as yet so can't comment. As leachy suggested I will probably go for the GME TX3440 when I want a fixed aerial and in car install for longer range and hard wired power. Until then the TX6200 will do me. As for those who suggest that getting your passenger to use the handheld whilst scouting ahead etc. Good luck getting their bums off the seet and their feet wet. :twisted:Comment
-
i do like the icom, but i havent had a problem with my GME 1 watt handheld as far as batteries go. I have gotten 12 months worth of trips out of it (lending it to a mate as he didnt have a radio).Originally posted by Grandeman
thats probably about 150 hours of use per set of batteries.2004 GXL V6 5 speed auto. Cooper STTs, 40mm Lift, Scanguage II, Flyer batterybox, GME3400 UHF, Engel 40L, Safari Snorkel, IPF Xeon Headlight upgrade, Milford Cargo Barrier.
[img]http://users.on.net/matthewv/4wd/prado.jpg[/img]Comment
-
My 1 watters were Unidens... I suspect the GME's might be a little better built.Comment
-
I just bought one of those GME TX6100 5 watt handheld. Solid built. Quite small for a 5 watter....check it outThanks
Alan
07 120 D4D GrandeComment
-
I started with a GME TX6200 5W hand-held that worked well over shorter distances with other 4WDs. Later to overcome the usual limitations of a hand-held being used inside a car I added a MC004 speaker-mic and a CK6000A in car kit that provided power and an external aerial connection.
This set up provided far greater range due to the external antenna, clearer reception and the battery never went flat as it was being trickle charged whenever the car was running. It gave similar performance to other 5W GME radios with the benefit of still being portable, just unscrew the connector and slide the radio out of its holder.
Only problem I found was the difficulty in mounting the in car kit. I mounted it near my left knee which was great for using the radio but I found it a bit annoying as it rubbed against my leg.
I now use a GME 3420 and keep the TX6200 as a hand-held. The TX6200 with in-car kit and microphone is a good option if you can mount it somewhere that it is not too obvious but still accessible.
See
http://www.gme.net.au/land/transceivers/tx6200.php
http://www.lakecomm.com.au/radacc.html#ck6000
[/url]Mike
2005 GXL V6 Auto
8 years of modificationsComment
Comment