Which UHF channel these days ??

Wayne / Julie, that is the channel for campers / caravans convoys.
Ch 40 is general hwy channel.

See this chart here for UHF channels list

Personally I would leave it on scan as people use all sorts of channels these days, if you want to try contacting a truck ahead, call up 40, a camper, try that or 18, etc.

Enjoy your renewed travels :)

If on Channel 40 be prepared for some language. Ear muffs on kids.
Regards Philip A

You'll also find sometimes that localities have signs indicating the channel that applies. Eg. state forests with current logging.

Hey guys,

I too have the older 40 channel UHF. Works fine for me.

Personally we leave ours on Ch 40. I have tried 18 in quite a few locations around Oz without any success.
Yes it's the truckies channel and occasionally the language can be a little colourfull.
We have found that apart from assisting a truck to overtake, the advice from oncoming pilot vehicles warning about wide loads is very handy.
We generally either turn ours off or the volume right down around large towns to avoid having to listen to the limited vocabulary of the linguistically challenged.

Cheers
Pop

Sometimes it's Ch 40, sometimes it's 18, or 10, and 5 for emergencies then 1 - 8 in duplex mode to pick up repeaters. Sometimes a road specifies a particular channel, usually for logging.

Then there are any of the other 70 odd channels that people use now. I tend to use 28 when there are people with 40 channel units on a trip, or 68 otherwise.
You *could* use a Group Scan to capture many of the popular channels but that is a guess at best. Open Scanning has been too slow to work effectively in the past, especially now there are 80 channels to cover.

I have decided to upgrade my CB with the main feature being scan speed and flexibility. Some radios like the famous ICOM 410 Pro take up to 40 seconds to scan 80 channels. Most take 8 to 15 seconds.

Only the new GME XRS range met my requirements with 50 channels per second or about 1.5 seconds for all 80 channels. IMHO a fast scanning device on Open Scan is the only way to really monitor traffic in remote areas.
The XRS allows you to transmit on your chosen channel while scanning. When it stops on a channel, and you transmit, it changes to that channel. You can go back to your original channel with a press of one button. Nice. Someone has put some thought into that.

When on a Highway then 18 and 40 are usually the only ones you need on group scan. In the metro and urban areas OFF is the best setting.

Just to add. Ch29 Sydney to Brisbane on the Pacific is the highway channel.

Sadly I rarely turn mine on any more, can't stand the bogan language & kids chatter.