CB Radios??

[danj239]

Hello, I was wondering how many (if any) of you have a CB radio or have ever used one while traveling? Those who have used them, how useful were they? Any information will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Slowmover]

No one pays attention to CB (FCC). Those guys regulate to keep profit in the hands of the few. The exception is some guy with a 100K watt TV transmitter re-purposed to ruin CB for hundreds of miles around. Etc.

I figure we’ll use SSB with a hailing channel. 38-lsb , then off to somewhere else. Regional and local.

There are a few million CBs operable, and 10’s of thousands with some extra juice to run them. The airwaves are full of noise not present in 1957, thus, a little power goes a long way. (Takes 600W to make the next step in performance from 100W).

See eHam reviews on any gear.

Setup, gear, tools and tests are all part of a VG system. I have a dedicated GP bag with those items. Radio-only.

And a hamfest sounds great. Can I use your $$ card, mines empty from this hobby (ha!)

[wa8yxm]

The 70 watt amp might just get you in trouble if anybody authoritative is reading this. otherwise not a bad set up. Don't know about the antenna a I've no experience with that make.

Though I do agree SSB gives you a lot more 'Punch' than straight AM. it's only good if both stations are using it If you are on SSB and I'm on AM you are noise to me and likely the reverse (though if we are within a few hertz it might work)... I use SSB a lot on 80 and 40 meters.

And that West Mountain DSP speaker... Oh yes... That one is a first class product. It outperforms many of those thousand dollar ham radio DSP units.

On my way to a hamfest I am.

[Slowmover]

Uniden 980 AM/SSB on sale at Amazon at $99.00.
MSRP is $179.00.

This is today’s basic radio. Digital construction (don’t let anyone open the case), excellent receive. SSB means longer-range transmission in those settings. Don’t buy a radio without it.

To turn it into a giant killer:

1). West Mountain Radio ClearSpeaker $200.00

- features what the $1,000+ HAM equipment has, and that’s DSP (digital signal processing). Bye-bye noise. The radio has better ears than you suspected, but now with the noise removed, you can hear what you couldn’t before. (Also equipped with headphone jack).

I’ve had mine over five years and 400k miles including the first 100 through the oilfield. I regularly listen to transmissions other around me can’t hear. So much so that in distant rural areas I may have to back off the RF Gain as three conversations are all I can follow.

2). RM Italy KL-203 amp $75.00 eBay

— a realistic 70W amp size of a cigarette pack that will run WITH the radio and speaker off of a 15A circuit.

I’ve had one about three years. It’s cheap and dependable. Anything goes wrong, just buy another. Mines velcroed to the top of the radio.

With these two you can hear, and get heard like never before.

The high-zoot tweaked & peaked $600 10-meter export can’t match it in overall performance. And you’ve no need to let any backwoods tech touch your gear.

As always, the antenna SYSTEM is the thing. The SIRIO 5000 series on a BREEDLOVE roof puck is your choice. (Your truck has dozens of holes already; do this part right). The quality of both is such that they’re both WELL known to the HAM world.

Access to a pickup rooftop center can be thru an overhead interior light. Just snake higher quality coax down the passenger side.

A system of this caliber will dumbfound those who think they know what CB is and isn’t.

It’s also the best thing thing available should cell service fail.

Most radio gear lasts in excess of ten years. Twenty, when taken care of.

To that end, a Harbor Freight APACHE 3800 foam-lined transport case. $29 on sale. Compare to Pelican at over $100. (Radio gear gets damaged moved in and out of vehicle.)

Set up home and travel trailer with same. This radio price a steal.

I’ve decided this is the best back-up radio to fancier Yaesu and such where the hard work of an antenna system goes to naught if a problem occurs. Therefore, a minimum of three for my needs. It just sleeps in the transport case until I need it. Big truck, pickup, travel trailer.

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[Airstreamer67]

As noted, the CB has been very useful to me avoiding traffic hold-ups due to accidents, etc.

But even if I can't avoid the problem and I'm stuck in a long traffic jam waiting for the problem to be cleared, the CB chatter from other stuck truck drivers on Channel 19 is interesting to listen to, and it allows me to pass the time with much less aggravation.

A good example occurred a year or two ago when I found myself in one of those unavoidable traffic problems that turned the Interstate into a parking lot for a while. I was several miles behind the source of the problem, but it was very helpful listening to truckers on the CB who were up at the front of the line at the source of the problem. I sequentially learned from the guys in front a few miles ahead that:

there was a car and truck overturned in the northbound lane

police are on scene

there are injuries

looks like the truck is a haz-mat carrier with its cargo spread all about

ambulance is now on scene

a med-e-vac helicopter is arriving

the medics are busy

the med-e-vac and ambulance have departed with passengers

it will be awhile because of the haz-mat cleanup needed and accident investigation

state police have established a crossover lane in the medium to allow northbound to make a u-turn into southbound lanes

northbound traffic is now moving slowly to and through the u-turn

after you make the u-turn and are in the south-bound lanes, you'll see the Opelousas exit to US 190 a few miles down; make a right at the exit and another right on US 190, go a mile or two to the red light and take another right and stay on LA 182 and in a few miles it will intersect with I-49 northbound on the other side of the wreckage.

Besides this helpful information, there was a lot of truckers' banner going on, joking about the world in general and the situation in particular. One trucker broke into the banner, asked if anybody had any toilet paper; he said he needed it really bad. He was told to use pages from his Trucker's Atlas. I don't know if they were kidding. The guy making the request didn't say how it all came out for him.

Just another day in the life of a CBer riding on Channel 19 somewhere out there in the wild.

[DM6156]

I had a CB in my old tow vehicle and should install it in my new - just have not gotten around to researching the specifics where to mount, where to run the wire, where to mounnt antenna, etc.

Around here in GA, I've not found much traffic on CB in early mornings, but would sometimes pick up around lunch time. I believe many use SSB these days which mine didn't have.

There was the occasional foul language but most often, it was just 'normal' conversations - alot of local drivers and some OTR drivers. And, frequently, I'd pick up skip from all over - California, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Alabama, even picked up a one sided conversation from one of the islands in the Bahamas. Most times I couldn't talk back but could hear full conversations. The furthest conversation I had was with someone 30-40 miles as the crow flies (nice chat about trout fishing in north GA).

It was useful for traffic (specifically when it comes to identifying which lane was blocked). Most of the conversations I was involved was related to which exit had travel plazas or when was the best time to drive through Atlanta as to avoid the majority of the traffic.

I did have a couple conversations about where Cabela's was located when it first opened 😄

For me, it was more of the joy of conversation and helpfulness then learning about accidents/speed traps.

[wa8yxm]

As I have said. I've had cases where the CB alerted me to an accident or other obstruction and I was able to route around or otherwise avoid it (at least 3 times in all the years) as well as the odd long term chat while a group of us were all headed the same way.. I consider them well worth the cost.

Just one time avoiding a multi-hour traffic backup due to a fatal accident

Just one time avoiding a leaky radiator from rear ending someone on black ice

PAID FOR.

[Gjac]

I had one in the MH when I bought it so I kept it, I would not go out of my way to buy another one in a new MH. Having said that it is useful when coming into a traffic areas, the truckers usually know the best routes to avoid traffic delays. Usually the trucks coming from the opposite direction give you a good description of what is happening. I also use it when traveling in a group to communicate with fellow travelers. There were many areas out west and in Canada and Alaska where we had no cell phone service and the CB was very useful. The fellow I went to Alaska with was a full timer and he had been there several times before and he traveled ahead of me and gave me a blow by blow description like a tour guide which helped past the time of a long trip.

[Slowmover]

1320Fastback wrote:
Just completed a 4,200 mile round trip and this is the first time I left the CB at home. With phones and app based maps with traffic it just didn't make the list of things to bring.

Our last trip of 2,000 miles I took it and didn't hear one call while it scanned the entire time!

Scan function is variable. Depends on how much RF Gain and Squelch you have dialed in. If you have any at all, your system is too low performance to use Scan.

I run 400-650/miles per day. There isn’t any such thing as no signal available. Sure, some areas more so than others.

I’ve added Digital Signal Processing to my CB (nearly eliminating QRM; an increasing problem world-wide) and there are times I can hear SO MANY VOICES I have to back off the receiving range of the radio. Separately, during atmospheric skip conditions it can be a handful to keep reception to the local area.

About the only days when reception is next to nothing is Sunday morning and until noon the day of a major holiday. That’s it.

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[Slowmover]

philh wrote:
And Waze will quickly report "Smokey's" location.

WAZE is only good for knowing where the cars will slow and jam up both lanes. 70-mph has always been fast enough as an upper limit. But today’s idjits think it’s a minimum to maintain.

Illegal to travel in Interstate left lane. Or block access from right lane EXCEPT during the limited range of a pass. Always fun to watch them when I signal I’m coming over. And do. (There is zero R.O.W. In left lane. That’s travel lane ONLY . . . why did you think we built 43k miles of two-lane roads. Only the stoopid think the left lane is the fast lane as there isn’t one).

What WAZE won’t do is tell you anything worth knowing. GARMIN GPS and a UNIDEN 885 with built-in scanner trumps it handily.

Part of the value of CB is knowing how to use it. WHAT questions to ask. WHEN to ask them. Etc. Plenty of us have them on, but aren’t roused to yakkity-yak all day. So just listening opens doors to usage.

Traffic coming to a standstill in a metro area? My question is always, “Hey, is this normal?” if I don’t hear any chatter. (It often IS a norm on that road at that time of day). The GARMIN shows me the length and estimated time of the backup, but knowing the REASON is helpful. As in, what lane to be in. Etc.

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[Slowmover]

twodownzero wrote:

SidecarFlip wrote:
I have one as well but mine s a Single Side Band 10 meter radio and CB combined. We use ours in conjunction with handheld units when camping in the forest to communicate. Not so much on the road. Hard to distill the gibberish from factual information.

It is not legal to transmit on the CB bands with a radio that is capable of transmitting outside of band. In other words, there is no legal radio that can transmit on the CB frequencies and the 10 meter amateur bands. All CB radios must be type accepted by the FCC; the radio you describe is obviously not.

I took the CB out of my truck because I don't have any interest in talking on it. I do have a CB in my offroad truck because other offroaders use it.

Find us an Amateur Radio without a MARS/CAP mod NOT performed. Seems stupid (IS stupid) to not be able to TX/RX on the one band with millions of radios actually in use.

We all appreciate Radio license holders to obey the rules. Even if only in word, and not deed.

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[Slowmover]

DrewE wrote:

Slowmover wrote:

A proper thru-roof mount antenna on your tow vehicle will cause it to outperform nearly every big truck. I’d consider an AM/SSB Radio the minimum (UNIDEN 980 or PRESIDENT McKINLEY) and with an RM ITALY KL203 Amp — runs off 15A circuit; ck eBay — you’ll “get out” as far as you can receive. A SIRIO 5000 antenna. WEST MOUNTAIN RADIO CLEARSPEAKER to decipher faintest signals.

Aside from being illegal, that sounds like a fine setup.

The FCC imposes limits the output power of a CB radio; exceed those, and you're broadcasting without a license, and potentially liable to pay quite substantial fines. Many do get away with operating illegally powerful CB radios, but personally I would not chance it; the potential repercussions are far too great.

You let us know when that has happened. There’s a few million big trucks on the road and probably a half-million or more with higher-powered equipment. Some of them on the same roads at the same hours every weekday. For years. Easily found. But with zero problems. FCC ignores CB.

And, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, the baby amp has an on/off switch. So the amp is insurance. Up to 100W is great. But it’ll take 600W or more to increase the range past that. Even then it’s not impressive on the receiving end. The antenna system is what REALLY matters.

Ever run past the speed limit? Paid a substantial fine every single time you ran 33 in a 30? Fought it in court the times you did, didn’t you?

It’s a non-starter. And it would be plain stoopid to do without. In major metros and incrasingly rural, one can’t get heard AT ALL without some juice. It ain’t 1958 electromagnetically any more out there.

The guys who’ve gotten nailed have done things like hook up 100,000 watt TV broadcast amps.

What’s the difference between making incorrect change for a dollar and embezzling millions? (Only one rightfully gets the attention of law enforcement).




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[DrewE]

Slowmover wrote:

A proper thru-roof mount antenna on your tow vehicle will cause it to outperform nearly every big truck. I’d consider an AM/SSB Radio the minimum (UNIDEN 980 or PRESIDENT McKINLEY) and with an RM ITALY KL203 Amp — runs off 15A circuit; ck eBay — you’ll “get out” as far as you can receive. A SIRIO 5000 antenna. WEST MOUNTAIN RADIO CLEARSPEAKER to decipher faintest signals.

Aside from being illegal, that sounds like a fine setup.

The FCC imposes limits the output power of a CB radio; exceed those, and you're broadcasting without a license, and potentially liable to pay quite substantial fines. Many do get away with operating illegally powerful CB radios, but personally I would not chance it; the potential repercussions are far too great.

[Slowmover]

I’ve replied at length on other threads with this subject.

I’d no more leave home without a CB than without (fill in blank).

I’m sitting in OKC now. A “barely above stock” radio set-up. Listening to several familiar voices I know to be 12-14/miles away.

Much of the disappointment with CB comes from expecting poor installation and/or equipment to do a decent job.

If you’re an RV’er, then a pro quality install is, IMO, a requirement. The point to an RV is to get away. At some point you actually will be (no cell phone coverage, etc). Maybe that CB will reach someone. You’d willingly give that money or more at that point. There’s no guarantee you’ll be heard, but it’s frustrating to WANT to communicate but are without the means.

There’s not a week a CB Radio hasn’t saved me time, trouble or aggravation. I’m 14-days into the current trip. It’s also been a great source of amusement, but that’s partly due to the nature of the job and understanding others.

Amateur Radio has its adherents for travel, but few if any I’ve known travel without a CB as well.

Millions of CBs have been sold in this country. If cell phones fail, what then?

A proper thru-roof mount antenna on your tow vehicle will cause it to outperform nearly every big truck. I’d consider an AM/SSB Radio the minimum (UNIDEN 980 or PRESIDENT McKINLEY) and with an RM ITALY KL203 Amp — runs off 15A circuit; ck eBay — you’ll “get out” as far as you can receive. A SIRIO 5000 antenna. WEST MOUNTAIN RADIO CLEARSPEAKER to decipher faintest signals.

Looks expensive but spending more won’t really GET more. Not until you’re into Amateur quality.

More than once I’ve been about to leave a truckstop. And heard of a road stoppage ahead. So have the other drivers. I think I’ll keep my parking spot awhile.

Or because I have had (and in a different truck am working towards) high performance, I’m able to sidestep that problem far ahead of others. That I have a choice is what matters.

If it’s a wreck with fatalities (road closure) you work on why you ain’t interested in allowing tax parasites to use your RV bathroom. Or food, water and the rest. That’s your lawful obligation, isn’t it? A working lifetime of supporting the ones crowding your vehicle who can’t get by even when times are good.

Consider this example a preview; thus,

Be able to communicate with others already prepared.

“Wrong place at wrong time”, has many connotations.

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[Airstreamer67]

I still use one on the road. It has saved me a lot of time due to road stoppages that I was able to avoid by taking alternate routes.

Many truckers still use Channel 19 for such information.