CB Question.

[jnelson]

A quality antenna and good coax go a long ways.



I prefer the Galaxy 77 HDXL dropped down to 3 watts on the low power switch pushing a 400 watt custom built kicker flowing out quality coax to a Wilson 5000 antenna. I can talk 20+ miles on a clear night. I have talked all the way to the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, South America and have heard radios from Japan, Eqypt, and South Africa on side band.



It is very addicting.

 

[Bertram65]

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.

Marine VHF is 25 watts max, check it out here, http://wireless.fcc.gov/marine/fctsht14.html

 

[MMeier]

Any of you guys running "40 below 40 & 40 above 40" out there!!??

 

[Blakers]

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... .

Yea, but I've been trying for 2 years to figure out where to mount my big Cobra in my 03.

 

[Spooled-up]

Any of you guys running "40 below 40 & 40 above 40" out there!!??

O. K. I give up. What does that mean?

 

[MMeier]

O. K. I give up. What does that mean?

On AM, I have 40 channels "below" the standard 40, AND 40 "above" the standard 40 ! Not sideband either! Makes for great talking when you have a buddy that has those extra channels also, let alone the kicker is turned on !

 

[Blakers]

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.

Will these type of radios - Galaxy or Connex, etc. - go 50 miles? My parents live about 50 miles from me and we're thinking of a means of communicating in an emergency. Like if the nuke plant by us melts down or if there's an attack of some kind. I'm sure cell phones will be one of the first things to go and regular phones will probably be out too.



Would this be a viable means to communicate or would it be better to just go with ham?



Thanks,

Blake

 

[Tim]

If a nuke plant goes down, anything with an antenna is going to be fried. Radio communication is out of the question.



No CB on legal power will talk for 50 miles. I doubt any mobile CB will talk that far even with illegal power because of antenna size restrictions, but I could be wrong.

 

[RoryTek]

With beam antennas and working SSB should be able to do it.

 

[BIG BOB]

Yea, but I've been trying for 2 years to figure out where to mount my big Cobra in my 03.

Bob Wagner doesn't make them for the 3 Gen's, But I do. Here is a picture with a larger CB on one of my mounts.



#ad






Here is my CB/Ham Radio Mount photo's:



Big Bob's CB/Ham Radio Mounts

 

[Udaloy]

If a nuke plant goes down, anything with an antenna is going to be fried. Radio communication is out of the question.



No CB on legal power will talk for 50 miles. I doubt any mobile CB will talk that far even with illegal power because of antenna size restrictions, but I could be wrong.

Tim,



The breadth of your expertise is astounding. How do you know so much?



You honestly don’t think that being in an area with radioactive fallout will somehow collect in your antenna, and melt your radio do you? Trust me when I tell you, short wave radio will be a very good way to communicate, especially if using Morse code. An electromagnetic pulse (EMP), caused from absorption from a nuclear weapon, on the other hand, would wipe one out, but a nuclear weapon and a commercial nuclear reactor are two different animals.

 

[ECappleman]

Yall are giving me the itch to go buy a radio. Never thought about getting one till I read this thread.



Trying to decide between one of the import 10 meter type or one with a weather band included.

Any suggestions on either? Also don't want to break the bank.



Thanks

 

[Blakers]

Anyone have any links to good online deals?

 

[BadDNA]

Uniden sells refurb'd radios through their website at a good deal less than retail with a 90 day warranty vs 2 year when purchased new. Mine came out of the box looking brand new (even had the protective film in place) and I've had no complaints with it.

 

[AUrban]

It depends on what you want to do. You can buy an import radio, but it's really overkill unless you want to do DX with it. You can get pretty good range with a single sideband radio. But, in my experience, there aren't many people out there on those frequencies and there's really no rhyme or reason (that I'm aware of) for DX operators on CB frequencies. You'd be better off investing some time and becoming a Ham operator. Maybe some of the other TDR guys can chime in about CB/freeband DX'ing.



I just use my CB on the highway and even if I leave I-80, I don't hear a whole lot of traffic on channel 19. Most of whatever else you find on CB is pretty incomprehensible to me. But, I just enjoy listening... whether it's ham, shortwave or CB. It's just more interesting to me than FM radio. I like listening to AM radio late at night when there's a better skip and I can pick up some east or west coast stations.



Here's a couple of CB places that I've dealt with in the past with good success:



http://www.walcottcb.com

http://www.copper.com

 

[Spooled-up]

What do you suggest?

I have a Cobra 29 WX NW ST . Could I do a quality linear setup with this radio? Where would I get the amp, and which would be the cleanest one to use? Would something else be better?



Another question:

If I can talk maybe 20 miles with an amp, can you only hear someone with a "big" radio from that far away? I assume the amp only works one way in that it doesn't amplify the reception of your radio.



The reason my radio isn't in my truck right now is that I can't find a decent, strong place to mount my antenna. I have a tonneau cover and the firestik pocket mount that goes under it flexes the sheet metal. I'd like to get it up on a headache rack like the one from B&W , but I lose the tonneau cover that way. I don't want to get into a magnetic mount because I don't want to scratch the paint.

 

[ECappleman]

To show my ignorance, what is DX-ing?



I thought the Weather Band part would be nice. Is Cobra the only one with it?

Any good suggestions on a model?



Thanks.

 

[AUrban]

Yes, an amplifier will not help with reception. Only a better antenna will do that. So, you'll most likely need someone on the other end that's driving an amp unless you are talking local... in which case the amp is just overkill. As has been mentioned earlier, amps can cause a lot of splatter across neighboring channels. Again, it's what you want to get out of it. DX or local. I have a fender-mount bracket for an antenna that's made just for dodge pickups. I don't know if there's one for the 3rd gen trucks yet. It's ok... i wouldn't do it for dx though. I'd definitely use a permanent mount or mag mount setup.



ECappleman... DX = distance (non-local)

 

[ECappleman]

Spooled-up,

What do you think of the Cobra radio you have? Looks like it has all the features I want. (except the 10 meter amp)



If you look on the Firestik site, they make a mount just for the Dodge trucks. I believe it mounts under the hood near the firewall and is shaped to come out the side.

 

[Spooled-up]

ECappleman,



I like the radio. I ran it in my '03 for a while until the antenna situation made me take the whole setup out. It's nice to be able to get weather wherever I am. If you make the wire to the radio to a constant hot, even if the radio is turned off, it will turn itself on if a severe weather warning comes over the system. The backlit display is great at night.



I had the firestik under hood mount on my '99, but the '03's hood rakes forward a little and would tilt the antenna forward.