I want to get in to CB radio?

Question

I work construction, and I am an Inspector. So shat I need is a radio but I dont want a huge whip hanging off the back of my pick up truck. I've also heard that the old radios are much more pwerful than the new one that they make today due to terrorism or some BS. Thats what a trucker told me once. What are my best options and what will it cost me?

Answer 1

Every CB antenna is exactly the same length, electrically. The short ones have coils of wire that make up the length so the whip doesn't have to be as long. There is very little difference among them as long as they are tuned correctly, which is done with an SWR meter.



Adding an amplifier (linear) is actually illegal. It is also illegal to attempt to operate a CB over 20 miles. Like either of these are ever obeyed.

Answer 2

I take it that you are in the US , in which your normal option for CB is a 27mhz radio.

The power output for CB radios is 4 watts in the AM mode and 12 watts for a sideband radio.



This hasn't changed since ever. , so the idea of radios being more powerful in the old days simply isn't true.



But 4 or 12 watts of power isn't a lot , so to make the most of it and get the greatest range you must use a good sized antenna.



A small 2 foot whip just wont get you very far at all and are really only suitable for short distance car to car contact , like if your in a small convoy.



A 5 or 6 foot helical whip makes for quite a good signal and if you want a good range , this is what you have to have.



CB whips are not that expensive , perhaps only $20 for the antenna and lead in cable.



http://www.swdxer.co.nr/







*Truckers drive trucks for a reason , and it seems you now know what it is. :-)

Answer 3

I have been having my CB radio in my car for about 6 years now. I have a Radio Shack one and it is still working really good I haven't had any problem with it.



The cost will depend on how for you want to get out, I mean you can always buy an amp for it that way you can be heard further. The cost will basically be decided upon all that you want to get. Some people buy toy boxes and stuff for theirs.



I feel that the "Lil Wil " antenna's are the best. You can always mount your antenna on under side of your bed rail on the inside, you can get different heights of the antenna's so that way you don't have a huge one on the back of your truck.



I would suggest locating a CB shop out in your area or you can even stop in at a truck stop and pick up an antenna and get information on them. They usually have some people working at the truck stops that know a lot about the CB's and accessories they have.

Answer 4

The most efficient antennas are the monster 102 inch whips; that said, much more modest whips can be quite good without all that length hanging up in the air.



You might try some of the trucker newsgroups and see what folks are running. I was very surprised a few years back when I was working rotating 12 hour shifts and wanted some amusement during lunch on the night shift. I had taken my HT (hand-held) amateur radio 440 MHz transceiver with me to work and chatted with a number of *truckers* in Toranto. It seems a number of truckers are now using *both* cb and amateur radio. I am located in Rochester, NY and simply hit the Rice Lake repeater in Canada. My antenna was a 14 inch whip (equivalent to a 204 inch whip on cb) and my power was supplied by six aa alkaline batteries. One uses the repeaters to get the high antennas and more power for the distance. BTW, my HT has opened repeaters right from Rochester in Canada, New York, and Pennsylvania. All on battery power. I chatted with one guy through a repeater likely 60 miles away from me.



If you are traveling some distance, simply checking which repeaters are along your route will give you a *lot* of distance (our typical repeaters in Rochester will reach a mobile from Syracuse to Buffalo - figure close to 50 miles in any direction using a mobil radio at perhaps 30 watts or more - with a modest antenna. This is available almost any time. No interference during the day. They are also capable of Internet access whereby you can connect to any other repeater in the world connected to the Internet. You simply press the proper codes into the keypad and get connected. Some also have local telephone access. Heck, my HT fired up one day and I heard a friend calling me. He needed me in our Yahoo group. He called me on my handheld from Nazko, British Columbia, Canada (West coast). He used his computer to access the repeater that I monitor locally.



If it would have done your heart a wee bit of good to hear me using only radio - no Internet - chatting with Australia one day .... :)) That was through a linked repeater which took my 440 MHz signal and relayed it to another local repeater which transmitted the signal on 30 MHz (ten meters). The other repeater picked up the Australian on 10 meters and relayed it to my walkie-talkie on 440 MHz. I was running 1.5 watts.



It does give you the best of both worlds - local road conditions via cb and long distance via ham. 2 meter rigs are very popular. I like 440 as the antenna is quite small and we have a ton of those repeaters locally.



Check the truckers in the newsgroups and find out.





Best regards,

Jim