UHF Radios, handheld or fixed

[oceanracer Moderated member Find all posts View Profile Close oceanracer]

With today's radios, would you fit one or have a handheld, im looking at three brands.
Icom, GME or Yaesu.
Thanks

[Mattfunk 120 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mattfunk 120]

I have one of each. In car is for when in convoy & handheld is a must when spotting a vehicle & coordinating a safe recovery. Also its common for one in your group to have a dodgy uhf & needs a lend of one.
Cheers Matt

Sent from my SM-J110F using Tapatalk

[Ribman Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ribman]

I've got GME & Icom. Both are great.
Having said that, I think the ICOM is a beauty (I love my toys)

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

For some field operations you need both. Hand helds are cheap as chips now. I have 2 x 2 packs (Uniden), 2 are 40 and 2 are 80 channel. I also have my old uniden 40 channel and the newer 80 channel mounted in the car.

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

As above, you need both.

[Guest Close Guest]

One of each would be ideal. For simple convoys, a 2W handheld would be fine. For long stretched out convoys, a vehicle mounted unit with external antenna will provide the best performance. A vehicle mounted unit will also mean you won't have to deal with batteries in the handheld. Before getting a vehicle mounted unit, my kids used to chat a lot with kids in the convoy. This meant carrying a bank of spare batteries or bringing along the battery charger if using rechargeables.

If looking for a handheld, ensure that the batteries are AAs (not AAAs as the capacity is significantly lower). Newer units now have a lithium battery of sort so are better again.

[oceanracer Moderated member Find all posts View Profile Close oceanracer]

Thanks all

[Corigator Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Corigator]

Agree - both. I have Uniden units - very happy with them, but they are not on your list.

[Mule Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mule]

Fixed and hand held for me too, both 5w 80ch Uniden. Previously had a GME 40 channel in dash and happy days. My only beef is that the 80Ch Uniden is not always easily received by some older 40Ch units who need to turn up the volume if they want to hear the transmission. The reason is that the 80ch units are transmitting on only 1/2 the band width as the 40Ch units. I enjoy bush walking and the 5w handheld is perfect in that settling. But as said the hand held also comes into it's own with reversing a caravan or directing a vehicle in a tight spot.