danoroth wrote:Well i just want to talk to randoms, truckies, people with CB radios in their house, just casual use. So basically the frequency must be nothing but 476-477Mhz? and 5W,
Yep, that's right. Five watts is the maximum permissible output power for a UHF CB radio. And it must comply with the frequency requirements which is that the radios must have either 40 or 80 channels and each one of those channels is on a specific frequency.
So for example, channel 1 is the frequency 476.4250, channel 2 is the frequency 476.4500, channel 3 is the frequency 476.4750 and so on, all the way to the other end (which is either 40 or 80 channels depending on if it's the old or the new standard).
The radio must lock onto those 40 (or 80) specific channels/frequencies and nothing else. So you can't have a radio where you can tune up any frequency you like between 476 and 477, it has to comply with all the regulations not just some of them
This is no different to those FRS radios that you've bought from the United States. The US regulations basically say the same thing, but with the frequencies slightly different. Other countries have something entirely different again.
if so the Australian government are once again stealing money from people making the only available CB radios EXTREMELY expensive.
The Australian government are doing no such thing, that's just silly. The government do not sell radios, and they don't set the prices. If you want to complain about the price of the goods, talk to the manufacturers or the retailers, don't blame the government.
The seller on eBay selling the LXT 118 has sold MANY of the products to Aussies, and all the feedback were all good, and that's just from this year. I'm now wondering if using it in my local area would be good because i can not interfere with any licensed channel, because the list that guy gave me had only 1 WA channel, far out 158km away from me. So what's the worst that can happen? are there government agencies ALWAYS listening to the same channel, hoping to find some teen on the wrong frequency?
If you use those handheld radios, you absolutely ARE breaking the law and you can be fined a lot of money and possibly jailed. The second you press the transmit button on one of those FRS radios you've committed an offence and yes, the ACMA are
very strict on that kind of thing. It doesn't matter if anyone else is licenced to use that frequency or not, the offence isn't "causing disruption to someone else", it's "transmitting on a frequency you're not licenced for".
And yes, the ACMA and private companies contracted to the ACMA can radio-direction-find you very very easily. Don't assume that nobody will care because when it comes to unlicenced use of a radio, they treat it
very seriously. Do you have a spare $165,000 lying around that you can pay off a fine with? Or how about spending two years in prison?
http://engage.acma.gov.au/acmai/radioco ... ons-iblog/
ACMA Blog Post wrote:Did you know that using or having non-compliant or unlicensed high-frequency radio equipment could land you in serious trouble? Did you realise that unlawful possession of this equipment or using it without a licence you could end up with a fine of $165,000 or two years in jail?
And there is good reason. Non-compliant or unlicensed HF radio equipment can potentially cause harmful interference to other licensed HF users, particularly Airservices Australia or state and territory emergency services.
So yeah - ask yourself, is it really worth it over a couple of cheapie walkie talkies? Getting a criminal record that will stick with you for the rest of your life, ruining your chances of employment, costing you tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, and spending time in jail? Is it really THAT important to you???
danoroth wrote:what does this mean, it is the actual law:
Conditions — general
A person must not:
(a) except in an emergency — operate a CB station on:
(i) carrier frequency 27.065 megahertz; or
(ii) carrier frequency 476.525 megahertz; or
(iii) carrier frequency 477.275 megahertz; or
isn't 477 and 476 the frequency we MUST operate on?????
Certain spot frequencies between 476 and 477 yes. For the full list, see
here.
Those two spot frequencies mentioned are UHF CB channels 5 and 35. These channels are reserved for emergency communications only. Out of the 40 or 80 channels that your radio is capable of transmitting on, you are not allowed, by law, to use 5 or 35 for general chit-chat because they are set aside only for emergency (safety of life) transmissions.
From the link above with the channels list, it mentions the penalties for misusing channels 5 and 35:
The Australian Government has legislated that channels 5 & 35 on the UHF CB Band are reserved for emergency use only. As at January 2007 the maximum penalties for the misuse of the legally allocated CB emergency channels are:
For general misuse - if an individual 2 years imprisonment, otherwise $165,000 (a $220 on-the-spot fine can be issued in minor cases); or
For interference to an Emergency call - if an individual 5 years imprisonment, otherwise $550,000