ham or cb radio
getting ready to spend this year travailing in US. Is CB radio a worthwhile investment ,also what brand best ,user with easy hook up
Forum Discussion
I think for traffic issues, CB even with the crudeness would be better because many more out there with established channels for the road and emergency.
For wilderness, I am not sure... As I have recently gotten my ham tech lic. KK6OUS and got a handheld and have been learning to use it. I have not found it that easy to make contact. Especially when we have been on the road or out in the field.
First, I have not found any frequency's dedicated to traffic or emergency.
Second, the range of the handhelds are not that far... Unless you are connecting to a repeater. Which, you need to know the repeater frequency where you are. Easy for where you live, but more difficult when out and about and far from home. I have an app on my phone that lets me know the repeater frequency's where I am. Except, this winter when we were far out an did not have cell service, and I did not look up the frequency's before hand. I let my radio search and waited to hear someone. Didn't happen. If we had an emergency, the radio would not have been much help.
I am working on practicing more, but finding, ham is not super easy to find the frequency and make contact.
For wilderness, I am not sure... As I have recently gotten my ham tech lic. KK6OUS and got a handheld and have been learning to use it. I have not found it that easy to make contact. Especially when we have been on the road or out in the field.
First, I have not found any frequency's dedicated to traffic or emergency.
Second, the range of the handhelds are not that far... Unless you are connecting to a repeater. Which, you need to know the repeater frequency where you are. Easy for where you live, but more difficult when out and about and far from home. I have an app on my phone that lets me know the repeater frequency's where I am. Except, this winter when we were far out an did not have cell service, and I did not look up the frequency's before hand. I let my radio search and waited to hear someone. Didn't happen. If we had an emergency, the radio would not have been much help.
I am working on practicing more, but finding, ham is not super easy to find the frequency and make contact.
