Time to Roam Magazine Issue 13 - February/March 2015 | Page 27

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feature UHF radio

Australia’s mobile phone
networks claim to cover
more than 90 per cent
of the population, but
in actual fact even the
biggest network only
covers about 20 per cent
of our landmass

the dashboard or even the glovebox.
Providing it doesn’t obstruct driving
vision, create a hazard and is easy to
use, the UHF can be positioned almost
anywhere, especially with the smaller
radios now available. I have a compact
model and find the convenience of
the hand piece control buttons being
at your finger tips more user friendly
than scratching around under the
dashboard to change channels.
Next on the shopping list is a reliable
antenna. Some antennas will have a
wider, but shorter range whereas others
project further but in a much narrower
zone. The most common type in use
is the high gain antenna, normally
ranging from 4.5 to 6dB (decibels).
This type is easily recognisable by the
coils wound into the steel or fibreglass
rod which in turn increases its length.
For example, a 6dB gain antenna
will provide four times more power
therefore allowing a standard 5 watt

Using channel 40 on the open