Cb radio/ ham operator

pa traveler wrote:
Cobra CB with weather alert,has saved us from a lot of backed up traffic,someday might try ham radios if I get a chance.

how many truckers are on ham radios so you can get traffic information from them?
bumpy

Cobra CB with weather alert,has saved us from a lot of backed up traffic,someday might try ham radios if I get a chance.

We have a class A and in that we have a dualband mobile, CB with weather alert, HF thru 70cm radio and an APRS station with mapping. The mobile and APRS radio have Comet antennas on the roof with a Firestick CB antenna. A screwdriver antenna is on the ladder for HF. All those antennas are tipable for low clearance by a Honda window regulator motor controlled from the drivers seat. Also, for HF, I have an antenna that is three nested PVC pipes with a wire inside fastened at the top. I can pull a cord that extends the sections to nearly 30'. I then connect an ugly balun to the wire and lay about ten radials on the ground.

DW is also licensed so we have several HTs that are useful if we are separated and for backing.

Toad has a dualbander.

Often use ARRLs TravelPlus Mobile GPS on Garmin Nuvi or RepeaterBook on phone to find nearby repeaters for contacts or Skywarn.

73 de W9CMG

Good morning, "d-n-17;"

I am also numbered among the radio users. Currently, they consist of a 40 channel CB radio, a Kenwood TS-480SAT with the VGS-1 Speech Synthesizer Chip feeding a Hi-Q 5/80 screwdriver type antenna on 80 Meters through 15 Meters, a Radio Shack HTX-100 with a 98 inch whip for 10 Meters (the Hi-Q 5/80 will not tune up to 10 Meters without changing the top whip), both for mobile HF operation, and an Icom 2 Meter/70 Centimeter dual band mobile. Then back in the dining area or main operating area, is another TS-480SAT, another VHF/UHF dual band mobile, a marine VHF FM radio, an air craft VHF AM radio, and a business band VHF FM radio for SAR. The driver's area Icom dual band VHF/UHF radio probably will be replaced with a Kenwood Dual band with APRS capability. The CB radio antenna is a 5 foot long "ham stick like" helically wound antenna mounted to the left of the windshield about 18 inches below the roof line. The main ham HF antenna when parked is a 27 foot long Hustler-Newtronics 6BTV that goes on the 2 inch square tube receiver in the back. There is also another coaxial cable up on the roof for attaching an NVIS dipole down on 40, 60, or 80 Meters. Most of the VHF/UHF antennas are mounted on the plastic air conditioner and vent covers on the roof so that I do not need to drill any holes in the roof. The coaxial cables go inside mainly by passing down through the refrigerator condenser heat exchange air shaft. The 1987 Winnebago Elandan has been extensively modified by changes and additions in the wiring, and I did a lot of rewiring in the engine area to clean up the wiring and make up the proper length cables to help things work better and physically fit better. Yes, it actually is a mobile communications station, and I can sleep in it too.

And I do recommend the Kenwood TS-480 with the VGS-1 Speech Synthesizer as a mobile radio. That radio will tell you what button you have pushed, what parameter you are about to adjust, and by how much you have changed it. You do not need to look at that radio while driving.

So, yes, there are some of us out here who are "radio active." And I do agree that the CB radio is not like what it was back in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. It is much quieter now. But then, 2 Meters is not the same as it was back in that time period either. Often when driving, I do not hear anything on 146.52 Mc.

Enjoy, and 73;

Ralph, N7KGA
Latte Land, Washington

I don't think I have ever heard another RV'er on the CB band... Do hear some occasional truck traffic.

On the Ham Radio side I am pretty much wired for Emergency Radio Comms working with SKYWARN-RACES-NAVY MARS and have HF-VHF and UHF radios from a console near the wrap-around seating in my OFF-ROAD POPUP. Have multiple antennas available on the roof and a easy up 3 inch triangle fold up section to support an ALL-BAN OFF-CENTER dipole setup or a regular DIPOLE for 40M/80M operations.

This is what my floorplan looks like showing the locations of my mobile type mounted radios...




Have even bigger plans coming up when I get more battery AHs capacity and some SOLAR PANEL battery charging incorporated...

When on ECOM alerts here I am usually up on the VA/WVA Wooded State line near a place called FLAGPOLE KNOB in the George Washington Forest service roads area.

Roy Ken

102" Whip needs a good solid metal mount, Extend a frame rail and put it on the back of the bus. Or mount on hitch.

LIke someone said, not much traffic on 13 but my 13 antenna is kind of low down and buried. I am really only interested in hearing someone I can see. The Radio Shack NGP that is currently behind the couch I may mount on an "L" bracket on the outside of the "A" pillar some day, but have not done so yet. There really are only 2 places I can put it and that's the easier one.

I have been on the radio for the last 10 years solid and I don't hear nasty talk but there is a lot of skip that comes threw from east coast and southern states ham I haven't ran still trying to get my golden ticket (ham license) I run channel 6-11-13-17-24-38lsb ...... I run 2 different radios but I was curious on who runs cb radio and what antenna and where is it located I was thinking of running 102 steel whip but don't know where to locate the antenna..

No CB, use a dual band (2m/449) in the rig, and when out and about use it as a repeater. We also have a dual band in the truck and a few HT's.

might get more traffic on 19 than on 13. I have mine on all the time. can't remember the last time I heard some "nasty" talk on it.
bumpy

I had one but it went belly up so we got a new Cobra. Still need to get it installed but I use it to monitor ch 13. Unfortunately it is not like the old days where it was used extensively, but I am hopeful that more RVers will start using it and make new friends along the road.