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CB Question.

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most any cobra/gallaxy/connex/magnium brand of cb's talk pretty good. I personally run a connex 3300HP with the big tune up, and it works very well. finding a good ground on your antenna, and quality of coax will help out the distance you will be able to talk.
 
If you mean legally, then none of them will get long range. If you don't care about the legality, then the way to go is a linear amplifier (avoid class C and D, they splatter and are basically junk). The best way to not get caught is to use equipment that is not going to cause others to complain about your operation and splattering is one sure fire way to get people upset (it bothers me at any rate). Also out of courtesy the best way to use power is to use the absolute minimum amount of power you can which still allows you to carry out your conversation. There are too many idiots out there who keep their amps cranked up all the time even if they're just talking to somebody a mile away which they could easily do with just the bare radio. It's another way to help avoid getting reported and/or caught. And finally if you happen to aquire one of them there "export" radios, make sure you stay in the 11m band, otherwise your chances of getting caught are going to increase, possibly significantly.

A good antenna setup is important as well. Make sure to set the SWR's properly or you may fry your equipment.
 
Fellow here In town had CB that knock out every TV

He knock out every TV our town then one night someone shot down his rig that he had sticking uo In the air. The cops just laugh about It and said It was lighting that done that. He put up another big stick and starting comming In every TV In town again, guess what lighting struck again and that ended that. He gave up after that.
 
Well, unless you're getting out there and acting stupid, your chances of getting "caught" are slim to none. The export radios (Galaxy, Connex, etc. ) are normally the only thing that truckers run. Most have linears to really crank out the power. As long as you keep it clean on the road then you shouldn't have any problems.



I've always run a Connex and right now have a 4800 DXL. It's a great sounding radio but really has more features than I need. Connex came out with a really powerful single final radio several months ago and it's supposed to do 80 clean watts by itself (some say over 100). That one is the 4300HP.



The big brother to the 4300HP is supposed to be released in August. It will be the 4600 Turbo with 2 SC2290 finals. It'll probably do 150 watts or more by itself. I'll probably end up with one of those assuming that I don't hear of any major problems right off the bat.



As mentioned above, the Connex 3300 and 3300HP are classics. You can't go wrong with them. Get you a good Firestik antenna and you'll be good to go.



One thing to remember, all that power that you want won't do you any good if you don't have someone on the other end that can get back to you.
 
Here is a dumb question.



What is the diff between a CB and a VHF radio?

I have the a VHF on my boat and know its is marine only.



Thanks
 
I have the Cobra w\ the controls in the handheld unit. It has a very small box that i put under the seat. Nothing shows exceptm the hand unit. I use the magnetic antenna. They both seem to work fine.
 
ECappleman said:
Here is a dumb question.



What is the diff between a CB and a VHF radio?

I have the a VHF on my boat and know its is marine only.



Thanks



Different set of frequencies, the CB is capped at 5 watts, the VHF at 25 watts, if I recall correctly.
 
I figured this is as good a place as any since we're talking CB. I've got a Uniden PC78LTW in my truck with a 4' Firestik II mounted on the fender. I'm pretty sure it could perform better than it does currently and I'm guessing I would just need to have it "peaked and tuned". Am I correct and if so, does anyone know of any shops in southern New England that I could take it to?
 
If you listen to channel 19 long enough, you'll hear a commercial for a "CB Shop". You could always ask the truckers in your area where the local CB Shop is located.
 
I've been wanting to ask the experts on here about this for a long time. If I were to get a ham radio license and get a quality ham radio, I wouldn't have to worry about an illegal CB and the unlikely chance of getting caught correct? Would I be able to listen to the CB channels with a ham radio?
 
You can listen to any frequency, whether or not you have a HAM license; you just can't transmit. My handheld does not transmit in the CB frequency range, it only receives. That's not to say there isn't a radio out there that would. The thing about having the HAM license is to allow you much better freqs to work. You won't want to use the citizen band, when you have the licensed bands to use. Besides that, dits and dahs are much better to listen to than voice, IMHO.
 
While having a ham license will allow you to get local information and such from VHF repeaters, very few (if any) hams will be talking about traffic, speed traps, construction, etc. That's why I keep a cb in my truck. Aside from bad trucker language in general, it's a good tool to know what's coming ahead of you. I'd like to find an HF ham radio that could transmit on CB (legal?) just so I could reduce the number of radios I carry with me (usually CB and a 2M radio... used to carry an HF radio too but I sold that).
 
You're right about that one AUrban. I keep a CB in the truck when I go on trips. It's invaluable for knowing where the police are located. One thing I can't figure out is why some truckers can quote you 30 different mile markers where one is sitting, and others let the bears go by without mention...
 
I had a peaked and tuned Cobra 148 GTL until someone broke into my truck, while it was sitting in my driveway :{ , and stole it, a 6-D Maglite, and about $5 in change. My Cobra was only putting out about 10 watts but I could get out a good 8 miles with it on a clear day. That was plenty far enough for me to find out about the Kojacks with the Kodaks.
 
VHF (Very High Frequency) on your boat is FM transmission on 156 to 158 MHZ. CB is AM at 29. 965 - 27. 405 MHZ. Lots of difference, the higher freqs. does not have the "skip" rollng in that the CB band has. Quieter, more power, legal CB is 5 watts, Marine VHF is 50 watts.
 
I really like ham radio and have for over 45 years. Having said that I also see the need for having a CB to keep up with non ham friends and truckers for road info.

If you have the urge able to talk along way (perhaps around the world) you might want to look into getting a ham liscense. Years ago being a ham meant you had to learn morse code, a condition that discouraged many. Now, however, a "no code" technician class liscense will allow you to operate many bands including the popular 2 meter band (144 to 148 Mhz) which works very much like the vhf marine band (both fm). Most areas have ham clubs that can help and have folks who can administer the test.

You won't be able to work around the world on 2 meters, but when linked with several repeaters you can cover several states.

Sorry guys, just had to plug ham radio. BE careful though, like our Cummins trucks, these things can become habit forming.

K5IP

Rog
 
Are the remote Cobras, 75WXST, any good?



I like the small space it takes, and the weather band feature. Also does the mic also act as a speaker?



Thanks
 
I had a 75wxst a while back... not a bad little radio. It serves its purpose but the audio was very tinny and difficult to understand (yes, the mic was the speaker). Maybe if you hooked it up to an external speaker, it would sound a little nicer. It was great when I had no dash space (I was driving an S-10 at the time) but I now prefer the big trucker-style cb's. Good audio, good reception/transmit out-of-the-box. Bob Wagner's CB mount was perfect for the inside of my 99.



K5IP, I agree with your sentiments for ham radio. I've only been licensed for about 5 years or so but I chose to go the morse code route to get HF access. I've had several mobile HF rigs but sold my last a while back. I just didn't have the bug to go chase DX all of the time (I have young children which restricts free time). CB isn't the same but it's still kinda fun sometimes. I hate "handles" though...
 
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