Tested: Icom IC-450 UHF CB

One of the main attractions of caravanning and camping is being able to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, find a picturesque and peaceful location and turn off from our ‘switched on’ lives.

However, escaping the crowds doesn’t preclude staying safe nor keeping in touch, whether it’s with friends or family, fellow road travellers or local emergency services in more dire circumstances.

Away from mobile phone and Wi-fi accessibility, the options are limited to expensive satellite phones or more affordable CB or two-way radios, with the UHF frequency now used almost as much by recreational users as professional truckies and emergency workers for short-distance communication.

While portable walkie-talkies are the cheapest and simplest option, a more permanent unit fixed into your 4WD or tow vehicle with separate, roof or bull bar-mounted aerial makes most sense for regular travellers, providing better range and ensuring it’s always there and powered up when you need it.

Leading Japanese company Icom has been offering its extensive range of quality communication devices on the Australian market for decades and one of its more popular units, especially among the caravan and 4WD crowd, is the recently upgraded IC-450 UHF CB transceiver.

Working off the popular UHF (ultra high frequency) network, with access to 80 CB channels plus up to 35 receive-only channels, it comes with a host of features not always found on similarly-priced rival units including voice guidance (announces the channel type and number when selecting a channel), a noise-cancelling microphone that reduces surrounding noise, and a voice recorder that allows up to 10 messages and a total recording time of five minutes.

Other main features include selectable output power ranging from one watt (low) to five watts (high), and a built in DC-to-DC convertor that provides 12 and 24 volt automatic switching.

Importantly for those with limited storage space or who don’t like to cut too many holes in their vehicle’s interior, the slim ‘black box’ main unit is compact enough to be installed out of sight in most vehicles, with the most logical spot under the driver’s seat or perhaps the centre console.

All essential items required for installation are in the box including mounting brackets and screws for the head unit and microphone, and various cables including a 2.5m long microphone cord that should be more than long enough for most applications.

For testing, we powered the unit via a cable plugged into the vehicle’s 12V ‘cigarette lighter’ socket and connected a portable, magnet-mount aerial on the roof, but most owners will wire the main unit directly into the car’s battery system for a more permanent set-up.

Chatting with a nearby hand-held unit as well as other road users, performance was good in a range of conditions. The volume level was easily adjusted from the handset to get a decent sound from the in-built speaker, but a separate, external speaker is also available as an option.

Ergonomically, the speaker/microphone was also excellent; it sat nicely in the hand and the menu was relatively easy to navigate thanks to decent sized buttons and a reasonably clear display.

To make life easy many of the functions are now programmable on the hand-piece, while the voice guidance when changing channels is a great safety feature to keep your eyes on the road.

We didn’t need to refer much to the manual to get up and running, but a few extra minutes reading will help make the most of more advanced features such as repeater, open, group and priority scan modes, and ensure optimum performance from the unit.

Just as importantly, the Icom unit looks and feels solidly built; more like something you’d find covered in dirt and grease in a truck or emergency vehicle, than a more flimsy, scaled-down ‘enthusiast’ version built to a price.

It’s backed by an impressive five-year warranty, and there’s support from a large network of stockists around the country.

Available for less than $400 online, the Icom IC-450 is not the cheapest option on the market but with its compact and user-friendly design, clever features and robust construction it promises years of fuss-free service.

See the
Icom Australia website
for more.