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Dust off your CB Radio!!! (and stand back...I have a plan)

jonathon said:
What's a decent radio and antenna setup for a truck?
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Any stock CB , and any name brand hard mounted antenna or stainless whip .

Close second is any stock radio and a magnet mount name brand antenna .

Anything else is useless most of the time . The band is only open for far distances once in awhile . And for a few years at at a time every solar cycle .

Its nature , she controls when you hear far away signals .........Which is why man has invented satellites and antennas with lots of pointy thingies on them :D
 
pauly383 said:
They dropped the Morse Code requirement . All you need to do is:

Just go and take the test ( Like my Dad the broadcast engineer , this was stuff he knew already ) :p:

Or , take practice tests online and memorize the answers ( people who want the license but don't wanna study ) :laugh:

Or , study and take the tests ( best way , you learn something :) ) :D
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oh crap i didnt know they dropped the morse code stuff my whole family has been big into ham radio since the 60's
 
I thought cb's only worked up to like 5 miles or so? I know nothing about cb's but I have been wanting to get one for My blazer and CC.
 
Location/weather has everything to do with distance. I used to be able to sit ontop of a mountain on a clear day with a 102" SS whip and talk to folks almost 15 miles (guesstimated by location) out. Same deal with heavy fog, nothing. Get down into the valleys and range went down to around 2-3 miles at best.

Just remember that CB's are line-of-sight. Anything that blocks the direct line will affect the signal. That doesnt mean you cant talk to someone on the other side of the mountain, but capabilities will be severly limited as opposed to talking to someone on flat open ground or mtn top to mtn top.

Weather plays a part as well. Any condensation (rain, snow, heavy fog) reduces the signals ability to travel. Heat can also distort the signal, but not as much as condensation. :D
 
Xtremjeepn said:
While HAM is a better set up, I think it is too much to ask for general local conversation of the average 4x4 guy.

Anyone can buy a $10 CB at the flea market and participate, no lisence, no expensive equipment, and MOST already have it.
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I think it's a great idea, my buddies all have handhelds while quading and hiking and before a run through the Rubicon in August we bought CB's and set them to channel 4 - appearently so did everyone else on the 'con and we were able to communicate with the relivant vehicle(s) - usually the one I was blocking.

Anyway I use channel 4 and turn it on every time I start my Jimmy. So if you're wheelin' Northern Nevada - give it a try.
 
my friends and i all have CB's around here - it isn't dead in Buffalo...! we use ch. 30... i've got a Uniden that i grabbed at the flea market when my old Uniden with uppers and lowers smoked out... also use a K40 on my roof...
 
FWIW I posted this idea on several other 4x4 sites all with the channel 4 suggestion and it seems to be the general consenses.

For it to really take hold you should cross post the idea to other 4x4 sites you visit.
 
Great idear. I always thought they were dorky til I got one and used it. Veeery handy and fun on the trail.
 
I've got one in my wheelin' rig and in my daily driver. I always sit on channel 19 as it is the most active. Most big rigs that still rock a CB use channel 19, then move off to another channel if needed.

Having a CB is a club requirement for the guys I wheel with, we use channel 14 or 16 offroad all the time. Once we hit the street, most guys switch back to 19 again, unless we are traveling in a convoy together and yacking up a storm.
 
Sure, the range of a CB isn't AWESOME, but it's a lot better than those hand-held family-band radios that advertise "miles" of range. I've tried those for wheeling and they are about worthless. The key to the CB is that you're actually mounting an antenna to the outside of your vehicle.

There are lots of good wheeling places that don't have cell phone service, so CBs are still a great idea.
 
If you read the fine print for the FRS (family radio service) radios, the range is under "ideal conditions". So if the package says 12 mile range, that's 12 miles if on flat ground, overcast, moderate temperatures, low himidity and no other RF interferance. Otherwise, you'll be lucky to get 3 miles in rough terrain, full sun, high temperature and high humidity. CB's on the other hand are pretty consistant for range, or at least mine always were. If I got 5 miles, it was five miles regardless of weather and terrain.

Here's a question: does anyone here use one of those fold-over deals at the base of the vehicle antenna? I want to permanently mount a CB in my wife's truck, but it has to be able to go in a grage and I dont want to pull the antenna off every time.
 
since I got the cucv holes in the back of my blazer i was thinking of getting the mounts. good I dea or no?
 
jonathon said:
What's a decent radio and antenna setup for a truck?
Click to expand...


K40 is pretty good. They pretty much come tuned out of the box, and also have a 2 in movement in case it does need to be tuned thus eliminating the need to be cut. Plus they will hand a descent size linear. I have a old super star 1700 with a 300 watt bi-linear. On good days I can talk to people in other states but it varies with the skip. But with the linear I can easily talk to people anywhere in my county. Galaxy is also a good cb. Just need to have someone properly tune your set-up and it will make it much better.
 
most common radio is the cobra 29.is a good radio for the price(usually under a 100 bucks).you can add on power booser capabilitys and get somewhere into the 25 mile range.there are also booster antennas that jusp up the out range also.i have the simple cobra 19 ultra 3 radio,which is the smaller version since i have to move in and out of trucks as the mechanics need them.it has about a 3 mile capability in most weather conditions with a 6 ft antenna.i got it for 35 bucks at wallmart.it is 40 band and has a internal speaker and also comes with a mount.i like that its compact and only weighs about 1/2 pound.it is a must for us truck drivers to have them as most of the places i load and unload out of use them for staging trucks at their warehouses.also on the road channel 19 is the universal frequency used by truckers to talk to each other.its nice if there is traffic accidents or just general traffic to see what is going on ahead,or if weigh stations are open.:haha:it is also a nice thing to have on the trail as was said already to keep everyone together and not have to get out and go lookin for someone on the last opstacle.in that instance we always put the guys without cb in the center of the pack with the leader and tail guy having a cb to not lose anyone.
 
does anyone here use one of those fold-over deals at the base of the vehicle antenna?
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My son-in-law uses one. It works ok, but he has to periodically clean up the hinged part and tighten it, or he has some static.
 
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