CB Antenna Mount
I tried searching for an answer but could not find anything so here is my question. How are you mounting a CB Antenna on the Truck once you have you Truck Camper on the Truck? He has a 2012 Chevy 3...
Forum Discussion
Mike and Terry Ann wrote:
what is the difference between a cb and ham radio? what do the big trucks use?
Semi trucks generally use a CB. CB is at ~27 MHz, is AM only, and you are limited to 4 watts (or 12 watts on SSB, but that is rare). Communication is line of sight or perhaps 5 miles at most.
Ham radio requires a license to operate. There are allocations from 1.8 MHz to beyond microwave range and can use any mode (CW, AM, FM, digital modes, etc.). The cheapest/easiest to install radio would be a VHF radio on the 2 meter band, which is usually used in FM mode with a repeater. The typical radio is 50 watts and if you can hit a repeater, you can usually talk to everything around you within 30-50 miles. A radio costs about $150 for a new (mobile mount) one, but antennas are cheaper, shorter in length and hams are allowed to run up to 1500 watts on most bands (although on 2 meters, 5-10 watts will usually get you into the repeater, and 25 will nearly always do the job). A handheld radio for the same bands costs about $40 and can be used portable when you're away from the truck. The test is 35 questions and can be passed with 4 hours of studying.
I have talked to people on every continent all over the world with various types of ham radios. CB is great if you want to talk to the semi truck in front of you but for genuine emergencies, you really will be much happier talking to someone who knows what they're doing?
By the way, a "ground plane" has nothing to do with electrical ground. "Grounding" a mount will not create a ground plane.
