Trail Radios - What are you using

[Joe In Montana]

............<snip> There's also a general perception that CBs sound terrible because all over the highways there's jibberish, stupid reverb boxes, over-modulated signals, etc. In my experience, the people I'm actually travelling with come across the radio sounding just fine, though.

The CB freqs are pretty much silent any more what with cell phones and FRS stuff out there. The welfare skip is all but gone and the heavy 100KW channelmasters from below the Mason-Dixon all seem to be dead or gone now anyway. Maybe it's just the old CBDX operators that died - I dunnow.

I kept a 40 +Sideband in each of my vehicles with 180" steel whips and a lot of friends have them now too when we found that the handheld FRS and even Marine Radios were not getting through the trees and canyons here in Montana.

CB - however, seems to punch through and since they aren't digital, they don't mind a little drop out of two - which shuts down most digitals instantly.

Any communication that works is best - but it may change with weather, tree count and how far you are into a box canyon.

One other thing I keep in all my vehicles is an old analog portable phone (a brick) as they are all able to get a 911 or OPERATOR call even without any paid service running. That's the law!

Analog phones are so-o much better than digitals - again like I said above ( ^ ) - for getting a call out of the woods or up a river.

Like I also said - having more than one communication device is always best.