CB & Handheld Radios

[BC4277]

Do any of you use (or just listen to) a CB radio when travelling? If so, what kind do you use? I'm thinking of using a magnetic antennae to mount on the roof of my pickup. Any suggestions on brands and features I should be looking for?

Does your spotter use a handheld when you are backing up? Again, what kind works?

Thanks, Bryan

[Bumpyroad]

Bucky Badger wrote:

Passin Thru wrote:
Gdetrailer, WOW Average 360,000 miles a year? Thats 1000 every day. Boy, you must be Superman. I ran 230,000/year in the 70s running team out of OKC and was pretty well beat most of the time even with 1/2 of it spent in the bunk.

You better read his post again

drove for xxx years. averaged 360,000 mi. easy to misinterpret using the word average. "total" might have been a better word?????? but it was buried in among a lot of red BS so easy to slide over.
bumpy

[Bucky_Badger]

Passin Thru wrote:
Gdetrailer, WOW Average 360,000 miles a year? Thats 1000 every day. Boy, you must be Superman. I ran 230,000/year in the 70s running team out of OKC and was pretty well beat most of the time even with 1/2 of it spent in the bunk.

You better read his post again

[w8lpn]

ktmrfs wrote:

w8lpn wrote:
Another Ham here. I do use a CB when travelling though. In the past have got some useful info. I do use ham radio also when travelling though. As far as vehicle to vehicle and spotting FRS is a good option as well but you wont get real far range on those since they are only 500mW.

yup the downside FRS.

I believe GMRS allows 5 watts much better for range.

Also MURS with an outside antenna is good for vehicle to vehicle, but the low frequency really takes a hit inside a vehicle. Experienced that first hand last summer accidentally using MURS frequency for car to car instead of GMRS/FRS. But MURS is limited to 2 watts IIRC.

Yea GMRS does allow for 5 watts handheld and 50 watts mobile/base. Down side to GMRS is that you need to have a license. No test but the license is $65.00 for 5 years and covers the entire family. So it does have perks over FRS for sure.

[Copperhead]

Slowmover wrote:
Haven’t had a week pass that CB hasn’t saved me time, money or headache.

Two things really changed CB popularity with truckers:

1) speed limits upped to 65+.

2) lack of metal structure truck cabs.

The first lessens desire, and the second kills it.

Also, there isn’t as much OTR driving as in the past. Intermodal has cut it.

The requirement for electronic log books cuts “making elbow room” to get things done that day. Dispatch has to be done differently. Thus not the need to avoid LE.

I’ve about $1k into the present rig. This includes expert labor where needed (tools I don’t use enough; antenna analyzer, etc).

Were my results more easily obtained, CB would be more popular among truck drivers. That I often know about road problems well in advance of them (they can hear my end of a conversation) tells me the interest is there.

As to cars and pickups, where to mount the radio is a problem. Same for those who won’t use a proper NMO Mount.

Where it is done, the performance can be spectacular. I’ve had plenty of increasing distance conversations with pilot car drivers. Rural and metro.

I will concur that higher than 65 speed limits have been a factor. But intermodal has barely made a dent. Truck capacity (ratio of loads to trucks) is near 100% and freight rates are about 30% higher year over year. There is a lot of freight chasing few trucks. And intermodal doesn't change that. There is still a lot of JIT in the system that intermodal can't cover.

I have been using E-logs for about 7 years. That had little if any effect on CB use. I would think it would have driven CB use higher to keep abreast of road delays and such so as to divert around that sort of thing and not run out the clock sitting.

Actually, in my case, it has been smart phone and apps that have cut my need for CB. I have 511 road condition apps for a wide variety of states that give me detailed road events and even suggest alternative routes. Google maps is good in that regard too. Weather apps, etc. And I can just leave the phone mounted on the dash and quick touch it for what I want to see. No more of a distraction than reaching for a CB mic.

I have my CB on in my semi truck almost 100% of the time. I rarely have any need of it. I can go for weeks without even talking on it. Can go for hours and hours sometimes without hearing anyone on it nowadays. Yes, it is a good quality Galaxy CB with a tuned antenna / coax setup. I used to have one in my personal pickups, but not for the last two of them.

To me in the almost 40 years of commercial driving I have, CB was just a tool. No different that any other tool. I just don't need it near as much as in the past. Other tools have supplanted the CB in usefulness. I still keep it turned on, but that is just about it.

[Bumpyroad]

Passin Thru wrote:
Gdetrailer, WOW Average 360,000 miles a year? Thats 1000 every day. Boy, you must be Superman. I ran 230,000/year in the 70s running team out of OKC and was pretty well beat most of the time even with 1/2 of it spent in the bunk.

also might hold the record for number of longest posts. I did a search looking for 360,000 mi. and got a list of the longest posts I have seen. parts of some actually made sense however, unlike the CB ones.
bumpy

[Passin_Thru]

Gdetrailer, WOW Average 360,000 miles a year? Thats 1000 every day. Boy, you must be Superman. I ran 230,000/year in the 70s running team out of OKC and was pretty well beat most of the time even with 1/2 of it spent in the bunk.

[ktmrfs]

w8lpn wrote:
Another Ham here. I do use a CB when travelling though. In the past have got some useful info. I do use ham radio also when travelling though. As far as vehicle to vehicle and spotting FRS is a good option as well but you wont get real far range on those since they are only 500mW.

yup the downside FRS.

I believe GMRS allows 5 watts much better for range.

Also MURS with an outside antenna is good for vehicle to vehicle, but the low frequency really takes a hit inside a vehicle. Experienced that first hand last summer accidentally using MURS frequency for car to car instead of GMRS/FRS. But MURS is limited to 2 watts IIRC.

[w8lpn]

Another Ham here. I do use a CB when travelling though. In the past have got some useful info. I do use ham radio also when travelling though. As far as vehicle to vehicle and spotting FRS is a good option as well but you wont get real far range on those since they are only 500mW.

[ktmrfs]

since we travel in lots of places w/o cell service, cell phones don't do much good for communication when parking or between vehicles when traveling.

What I have found works best for us is radios with MURS or GMRS/FRS channels.

MURS gives good distance when OUTSIDE a vehicle, but since it is relatively low frequency, (140ish MHz) vehicles act as a faraday cage and limit range.

FRS/GMRS are higher frequencies (400ish MHz) so they work between vehicles.

MURS doesn't require a license. GMRS does. FRS doesn't but is limited to 0.5W IIRC, while GMRS allows 5 Watts handheld.

For off road motorcycle communication we use Standard horizon marine radios that we have eliminated the marine bands and reconfigured with standard horizon SW for MURS. very rugged waterproof radios but spendy. But we can easily get 1/2 mile range in heavy woods, 5 mile range in open area.

But as a in car or at the campground radio we use Baofeng UV-5R dual band radios. inexpensive, easy to configure for MURS and FRS/GMRS.
About $30 each on amazon or ebay.

IMHO either is way better than the box store GMRS/FMRS radios. with the baofeng or the Standard horizon you can set CTSS/DCS codes for each channel so you won't get interference from others on the same channel. And with the baofeng you can set it up or scan to listen on ham frequencies.

And yes, I do realize the baofeng is not type certified for GMRS/FMRS/MURS since they are preconfigured for those channels only.

[DustyR]

Slowmover wrote:
Haven’t had a week pass that CB hasn’t saved me time, money or headache.

Two things really changed CB popularity with truckers:

1) speed limits upped to 65+.

2) lack of metal structure truck cabs.

The first lessens desire, and the second kills it.

Also, there isn’t as much OTR driving as in the past. Intermodal has cut it.

The requirement for electronic log books cuts “making elbow room” to get things done that day. Dispatch has to be done differently. Thus not the need to avoid LE.

I’ve about $1k into the present rig. This includes expert labor where needed (tools I don’t use enough; antenna analyzer, etc).

Were my results more easily obtained, CB would be more popular among truck drivers. That I often know about road problems well in advance of them (they can hear my end of a conversation) tells me the interest is there.

As to cars and pickups, where to mount the radio is a problem. Same for those who won’t use a proper NMO Mount.

Where it is done, the performance can be spectacular. I’ve had plenty of increasing distance conversations with pilot car drivers. Rural and metro.

X-2

I still have my Cobra 29 LTD that was mfg in the late 90's and was 'redesigned' to give you the ability to talk down the road a fair number of miles. This radio never ceased to amaze me, on a good night you could talk to the world and the next day not be able to talk to the guard shack 1/2 mile away. Good radio, saved me from a lot of traffic tie ups and the the dreaded 'Bear'.

Times change and I still look for a CB antenna on a truck and think of the many long and boring miles that radio and driver interaction kept me alert and safe to drive another night.

[rbpru]

Duplicate post. Fast fingers slow brain. 🙂

[rbpru]

Sleepover.

What you say is certainly true. However as I learned in amateur radio, the folks move on.

Much of the gear I have built or acquired over the years still works just fine, but folks have move on to the data modes and software defined radio.

Fortunately with the elimination of the code requirement, code has become the forbidden fruit and is as popular as ever.

But back to the OPs question, it seems there are times and places where CB might be handy.

[Bumpyroad]

FrankShore wrote:
Midland makes the #1 portable CB Radio 75-822.

Midland on Amazon



It's peace of mind that if the cell phone isn't working or no wifi available, that a CB radio might be helpful in a jam

I have that one, hate it. with smaller hands it is difficult to hold and use. fine if you are stationary and don't have to juggle steering wheel, CB, smart phone, dunkin donuts coffee at the same time.
bumpy

[FrankShore]

Midland makes the #1 portable CB Radio 75-822.

Midland on Amazon



It's peace of mind that if the cell phone isn't working or no wifi available, that a CB radio might be helpful in a jam