CB radios
How far should I expect a CB to work from one MH to another?
Forum Discussion
Back in the 1970's I used to talk 15 to 20 miles on Single Side Band with a 102 inch steel whip antenna mounted on the left rear corner of a Datsun 610 station wagon. 5 to 10 miles on AM with the same setup was not uncommon.
With the co-phased mirror mounted dual antennas on my old Dodge one ton, in flat terrain, 10 miles to the front and 15 to the rear was not uncommon.
It depends not only on the antenna, but antenna placement on the vehicle is vital as well. The ideal place is right in the middle of the vehicle, but for many people this is unacceptable. Either they don't want the antenna sticking up there, or they don't want to put a hole in their vehicle!
Or both...
As I used to point out, the moon lander had a 4 watt radio (actually, I'm not sure what the power was, but it was low) BUT they had a $50,000 antenna system!
That makes all the difference!
With the co-phased mirror mounted dual antennas on my old Dodge one ton, in flat terrain, 10 miles to the front and 15 to the rear was not uncommon.
It depends not only on the antenna, but antenna placement on the vehicle is vital as well. The ideal place is right in the middle of the vehicle, but for many people this is unacceptable. Either they don't want the antenna sticking up there, or they don't want to put a hole in their vehicle!
Or both...
As I used to point out, the moon lander had a 4 watt radio (actually, I'm not sure what the power was, but it was low) BUT they had a $50,000 antenna system!
That makes all the difference!
