gafloss Posted March 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 That's good, for a while there I thought I'd have to spend the rest of my life just talking to Duncs!! Grant We wouldn't wish that on you, Mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zardez Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 For a first timer how much would I have to spend on an in car radio? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafloss Posted March 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 For a first timer how much would I have to spend on an in car radio? How long is a piece of string? It depends on what functions and quality you want and are prepared to pay for. Saw one advertised at Autobarn for $140 with a DIN kit. Uniden UH7700NB - $279 Icom IC400 Pro - $380 Antennas range from $20 - $200 depending on quality and need. Some stores offer Radio/Antenna packages that work out cheaper. Depending on what you get you may also need some brackets etc for fitting. Prestige Communications are pretty good: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncs Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 We wouldn't wish that on you, Mate! Some things are worse than death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zardez Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Thanks floss, so a couple hundred at least Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epitome Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Remember when the old AM CB's went from 18 channels to 40? The first 18 channels of the 40 channel units were the same, so people slowly changed over during the following 5 to 10 years. I have a perfectly good 40CH Uniden AM unit sitting in its box somewhere here. Barely used too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe.358win Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Remember when the old AM CB's went from 18 channels to 40? The first 18 channels of the 40 channel units were the same, so people slowly changed over during the following 5 to 10 years. I have a perfectly good 40CH Uniden AM unit sitting in its box somewhere here. Barely used too. When I was living in Healesville,me and some of my friends had AM CB set up in the house so we didn't have to use the phone.It saved a fortune in phone calls,because the wifes could rabbit on for hours to whoever for free.It was like call conferencing some nights.And all without having the need for the latest and greatest in communication equipment.I would still buy a 40 channel UHF,as they will still be able to be used after the 80 channel comes in.If you are talking to a hunting mate or between vehicles,then you only need 1 channel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epitome Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 When I was living in Healesville,me and some of my friends had AM CB set up in the house so we didn't have to use the phone.It saved a fortune in phone calls,because the wifes could rabbit on for hours to whoever for free.It was like call conferencing some nights.And all without having the need for the latest and greatest in communication equipment.I would still buy a 40 channel UHF,as they will still be able to be used after the 80 channel comes in.If you are talking to a hunting mate or between vehicles,then you only need 1 channel. Very true. Sometimes I hit the scan button or manually go through all the channels and it is a rare thing for there to be anything on more than about 2 channels. Generally the road channel (CH40) has chatter and maybe another one and that's it. I mostly just leave mine on channel 40 anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_bear Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Remember when the old AM CB's went from 18 channels to 40? The first 18 channels of the 40 channel units were the same, so people slowly changed over during the following 5 to 10 years. I have a perfectly good 40CH Uniden AM unit sitting in its box somewhere here. Barely used too. I had an old Cybernet from the early 80s that has 40 channels on the dial but by grounding cetain pins on the PLL chip you get more than 500 channels, although it would only TX about 240 of them.. Funny thing is by the time your uniden came about the manufacturers had moved to read only chips so it wasn't so easy to get the extra channels, but soon enough somebody came up with a daughter board that connected to the PLL circuit with jumper leads and hey presto, extra channels. Thing with UHF is it's useless for anything but close range communication. Get stuck anywhere remote and nobody will hear you. At least the old AM/SSB HF CB's signal could bend over mountains and the horizon and if the conditions were good 'skip' thousands of miles so you could be heard by somebody, some where, if you were really in the trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epitome Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Yeah. BB I well remember the days when I could "Skip talk" to people in Newcastle or Sydney from Perth and on a good night I could talk to Kiwis too. And it would be as clear as if they were one street away. Before my Uniden XL520PRO I had a Pierce-Simpson Cub. That was a great little radio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafloss Posted March 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Thought I would double check the upgrade status of the Icom radios directly with Icom. This is the reply: Thank you for your enquiry regarding our IC-400PRO and IC-440 UHF CB radios. At this stage, ICOM can confirm that both the IC-41S portable and the IC-400PRO Mobile UHF CB radios are upgradeable to the new 80 channel arrangements. Our dealer network will be provided with the upgraded software in due course, prior to the new laws becoming effective, to allow them to provide the upgrade to existing end users. However, we are awaiting a decision regarding the IC-440 at this stage. Good news for those with the IC-41s handheld. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncs Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Eeeeexcellent - thanks man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafloss Posted March 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 Well, after a lot of procrastination and a few chats with various users, installers and retailers I've headed down the same road as Samhuntvic and Duncs - the Icom IC440. The reasons: Firstly, it's much $$ easier to install in the Paj than the 400Pro. Apparently, what looks like a DIN slot isn't really one and requires the disassembly of the entire dash/console, custom brackets bla, bla, bla. As one istaller said "If you're happy to pay for it, I'm happy to do it." Secondly, while the 80 channel system sounds good, it's really only going to be the hard-core users (miners, truckies, loggers etc) that will be rushing to replace their radios. With them using the new channels it frees the existing ones up for everyone else. Average Joes, like most of us, will probably be able to get by on 40 channels for the next 10 years, or until our radios pack it in and have to be replaced. Thirdly, Icom reliability and countless recommendations from others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmgirl Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 80 channels? Geez, how many do you need? Can the GMEs be upgraded? We have 2 hand helds and a base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skull Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 I better add that our Uniden rep stated that Uniden UHF can not be upgraded unless they are the user upgradable versions they are selling now. Supposedly this is cause they are not just an Australian company.... the rep is a bit of a tool though so not sure how accurate his info is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncs Posted March 20, 2011 Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 I installed mine a couple of weekends ago. Piece of cake! All done in a couple of hours and the unit is secure and out of sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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