Purchase of a new UHF

Gday
If you go back to post 134239 and have a read it might be helpful.

veight
I think you have to look at 80 channel units, haven't seen any 40 channel for sale for quite a while.
I only have GME.
If you want range the aerial is better up on a roofrack or roof bracket so it transmits reasonably equal pattern both front and behind and further too.
Bull bar is convenient but not as effective. Some radios are deaf and don't transmit to the rear very well from BB.

Twice in recent years I have had cause to make contact for assistance for a crash and both times the higher aerial worked well. 45km to Oodnadatta,+ 70km to Nilpinna STN rptr. and from a QLD mountain range about 130km to Undarra Lava Tubes reception.

The general consensus when reading the many threads on this topic is that Icom is the best followed by GME
GME are a bit more user friendly though compared to two.

I can vouch for the excellent backup service from GME and they are an Aussie company although a number of their units are now made O/S.

Another good thing with GME is that they are probably the most stocked brand across Australia so you have a better chance of getting replacement parts if needed

No doubt others are happy with their brands as well

I've used Uniden for 20 years. I'd also recommend Icom based on friend's experiences. I've installed a couple of the latest Uniden 5060 lately - they are the remote units with all in one microphone. Very compact and get good volume and clarity out of the unit. The advert below has them at $273 including a elevated feed aerial . If you want a more robust aerial for the roof, consider the Uniden AT380.(One Uniden aerial I installed recently was Australian Made).
http://www.prestigecom.net.au/uniden-uh5060-s-80-channel-uhf-cb-radio-at870-6-5dbi-antenna

Have always used GME for many years. Except for hand piece problems which are normally operator abuse and aerials, I have never had one fail.

There's a new Oricom one out which can listen on two channels at once - could be handy if you want to listen to both caravans & trucks.

Search for DTX4000 & DTX4200.

Our CFA brigade recently bought a few of the Uniden UH5000PNP. These can be mounted on the windscreen with a suction mount and plugged into an accessory socket, with a magnetic base aerial for the roof. No wiring in required and the range we got during testing was pretty good (about 10-15km with lots of pine trees in between). Cheap (about $220) and simple to set up and use.

http://www.uniden.com.au/australia/p_uh5000pnp_index.asp