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Thread: CB Radio?
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October 15th, 2020, 10:18 PM #11
Re: CB Radio?
I can only speak with regards to a CB deployment in a vehicle. From my research and experience, there are 2 major things that matter with antenna mounting: proper ground and an adequate ground plane for transmission. If your antenna isn't grounded, your transmission isn't going to go anywhere and your SWR reading will be shit. The 2nd isn't having a proper surface around your antenna as a ground plane to reflect your transmission off of. Thats why so many people use magmount antennas in the middle of a car/truck roof. A magmount has the right grounding needed built in, and you can place it easily anywhere you need to get the reflection needed to maximize your transmission.
With all of that though, CB radio has a max of 4w transmission power, so you're really at the mercy of your physical setup and the surrounding geography to carry your signal for others to receive. CB does a great job on a highway while traveling because of the openness of the path the highway provides, but aside from that I'd stick with HAM for any other comms needs.-Brandon
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October 16th, 2020, 01:53 AM #12
Re: CB Radio?
I have a magnetic mount, steel antenna on a spring, on the roof of my Yukon. I've talked with vehicles in NJ about 4 air miles away I guess. Those who respond to a radio check say my signal is very strong. I tuned it with a power meter. It's not an expensive model either.
The radio itself is an old Realistic (Radio Shack) small set, has RF gain. But I've ridden many miles of turnpike never hearing a thing on it. I think the truckers are running 10 or 11 meter.There are two kinds of guns. Those I have acquired, and those I hope to.
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October 16th, 2020, 03:29 AM #13
Re: CB Radio?
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October 16th, 2020, 03:46 AM #14
Re: CB Radio?
I'll chime in. The cheap walmart ones are just that. They'll work if you want to talk to other cars close by or people in your group traveling together. They don't tune extremely well, so a good antenna will help them out. They usually don't even make the full 4w rating either without some tuning. That said, the tiny ones from midland are actually the best like this I've seen.
If you stop at any truck stop, you can usually find a cobra 29 or uniden 78. These will run tons better and are way more tuneable/upgradeable. They'll both be @ $100. Pick up a "little will" magnetic antenna from Wilson, it can allow some adjustment for getting your swr down and has a long enough cable. If you can find an old school cb shop, they can tune it up a little and get your swr's set for you for $50-75. I've talked 10 miles easily on a setup like this in my personal vehicle in proper terrain.
If your really going for shtf capability, get a 10 meter setup and convert it to pick up 11 meter frequency. These will be labeled as "export" radios setup this way. You can buy them and set them up, but technically it isn't legal to actually broadcast on 11 meter with them, because they are way more powerful (10-200watt) range depending on model. You can pickup frequency from miles away and send out signals 20-30 miles in an emergency. While technically not legal, half the truckers running out there have a setup like this. This needs a good antenna and setup by someone that knows what they are doing.
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October 16th, 2020, 07:58 AM #15
Re: CB Radio?
Thanks for the reply! I've always heard the "grounding" is better in a permanent mount, but as long as it is adequate, I'll stick with my Hustler magmount. Now I'm going to have to arrange to do some simplex with another mobile user to test range. Like I said, I can do 50/35W on VHF/UHF bands but I'm always on repeaters, so I don't really know what real world range is without a repeater.
That was helpful, though. Thanks to OP for letting me "borrow" the thread for a question. I agree, on not getting the cheapest radio around, the CB's simply do not get that expensive even at the top end. The Cobra 29 units at about $120 on Amazon, are considered some of the best. Just so you know, though, you should decide if you're more interested in the auto use or backpacking. Handhelds of any kind really just do not work well inside a vehicle. They get shielded by all the metal in the car.
As a ham, I don't fiddle with either CB or GMRS, but GMRS is interesting. No test, but the license does cost $70--however, it is good for 10 years and blanket covers all of your immediate family. Again, cheapest isn't the best, but a good GMRS handheld is not that expensive...the Amazon's Choice, BTECH GMRS-V1, is $60. GMRS has a growing number of repeaters, too.
I don't know enough about either CB or GMRS so suggest one over the other, but I do know enough that you may want to investigate GMRS before buying a CB radio. I'd do a thorough comparison before choosing a system.
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October 16th, 2020, 08:36 AM #16
Re: CB Radio?
Well, whaddya know? I made myself curious, so I went looking. Check out these articles. 15-50W in vehicles is no comparison to 4W. Plus, CB is AM and GMRS is FM (like ham VHF/UHF radios)--the CB is going to be much noisier, the quality on GMRS will be worlds apart. I'm not looking for either at the moment, working toward my General ham cert, but if I was, no way I'd get a CB after reading the below. I'd definitely go GMRS. Better range, better sound quality, much smaller antennas, similar price points on many models, much better handheld performance than CB handhelds, repeater capability and growing number of repeaters. There is simply no comparison. The license comes out to $7/year for 10 years.
And makes much more sense for both vehicle and handheld use, look at a Midland - MXT115 15W mobile unit, with antenna included is $150 at Amazon, and a couple of handheld Midland GXT1000's to go with it run $70 for a pair ($100 for a trio).
https://jeepjamboreeusa.com/cb-repla...wo-way-radios/
https://www.therangerstation.com/ove...vs-gmrs-radio/
https://www.popularmechanics.com/adv...o-ham-cb-gmrs/
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October 16th, 2020, 10:10 AM #17
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October 16th, 2020, 11:08 AM #18
Re: CB Radio?
Six years ago I bought a pair of the Midland GXT handhelds mentioned in two of the above articles and reading those, I learned 1) I should have FCC license to operate and 2) the high power xmit is only on certain channels (of which I never used). So much for not reading the manual.
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October 17th, 2020, 02:06 PM #19Banned
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Re: CB Radio?
Thanks for the replies. Mainly for vehicle and for traffic, use but can throw it in the backpack if needed.
I like the idea of no license being required, which is why I'm looking at that over HAM.
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October 17th, 2020, 02:43 PM #20Member
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Re: CB Radio?
The Amateur radio technician's license is not hard to get.
You can also get FRS, which is free to use. GMRS is a one time family license that you just sign up for and pay, no test and it's good for the whole family. There's a few GMRS repeaters throughout PA.
Seriously though, look into the tech license it's a lot more fun and much more useful in emergencies.
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