CB Radio

[Trav454]

Looking to get a cb for the vehicle. Any thoughts on brand and portable vs mounted? Is there a difference in range?

[Outpost75]

Uniden is a good brand. Look at a mounted mobile rig. Forget the portables.

https://www.wearecb.com/top-ten-mobile-radios.html

[smithnframe]

CB-Children’s Band?

[pworley1]

https://www.lifewire.com/best-cb-radios-415938 This link might help.

[Scrounge]

CB-Children’s Band?

Most of the children dropped out of CB about 40 years ago, I think. I do have a portable that I bought when I got back to the US in 1996, so I'd have something for long trips, but by the time I could have actually used it, I'd gotten SWMBO a cell phone. They're not perfect either. Ah, well!

[metricmonkeywrench]

Got 3 on standby, a Cobra 29, a Cobra HH-70 mic type and a handeld of some sort. I'm still planning on burying them in a lead lined safe for when the commies drop the EMP and take out all the cell service... I'll eventually get around to finding a lead lined safe and digging a deep enough hole.

Oh just remembered I have two of the stealth adaptors to go inline with the normal radio antenna, now if i can just find the coax connector under the dash..

[one-eyed fat man]

REAL radios glow in the dark.

[OS OK]

Looking to get a cb for the vehicle. Any thoughts on brand and portable vs mounted? Is there a difference in range?

It's been many years since I ran a CB in the truck but if you choose to mount it, have the antennae tuned to the output of the set when the set is on a channel 1/2 between the lower and upper extreme. You'll get much better performance this way.

[smithnframe]

REAL radios glow in the dark.

I restored a Hammarlund HQ 140X a few years back! Currently working an HRO 50.

[Petrol & Powder]

It's been many years since I ran a CB in the truck but if you choose to mount it, have the antennae tuned to the output of the set when the set is on a channel 1/2 between the lower and upper extreme. You'll get much better performance this way.

Yes, the practice is setting the SWR [Standing Wave Ratio] and the goal is 1:1 (which isn't what you will get but that's the goal). Matching the antenna to the radio is key to good performance.

The (legal) power output of a CB radio is 4 watts and with a good antenna that gets you some decent performance over flat ground.
The antenna is about 95% of the game, so put most of your effort (and funds) into that part of the system. Keep the coax short, use high quality coax and connectors and use a good antenna. Now, if you just want to talk with other members of your traveling group (dare I say, Convoy?), you don't need much in the way of gear. But if you want any useful range at all, the antenna is where it's at.

You can get every bell and whistle known to the radio world but 99% of the time, those gizmos will sit idle. A decent mobile radio, a good antenna matched to the radio and a good install will payoff far more than dumping money into a fancy radio.

You're dealing with frequencies close to 27 MHz, 4 watts of power and AM (amplitude Modulation), so don't expect reliable communications over more than a few miles in most conditions. That doesn't mean longer ranges are impossible, it just means you probably shouldn't depend on it always being possible.

And for a good, basic radio that isn't overwhelmed with gizmos - check out the Uniden Pro510XL.
4 watts of power (which is the legal max and what you get from just about every supplier)
There are several basic radios offered for around that $50 price point, take your pick.

If you want a lot of bells and whistles there are more expensive sets available.

[one-eyed fat man]

I restored a Hammarlund HQ 140X a few years back! Currently working an HRO 50.

I like restoring and operating the old tube rigs as well. Here's a few more. The Johnson Viking 1 and the National 183 are in the sunroom. The Knight T-60 and the SX-110 were a slick setup about 1959. My favorite is the Globe Scout. It uses Heising modulation to make a quite nice AM signal. I am looking for a 1936 National NC-101X like a neighbor had when I was a kid.

[Petrol & Powder]

Those are some nice rigs.

Love that old vacuum tube tech.

[smithnframe]

I like restoring and operating the old tube rigs as well. Here's a few more. The Johnson Viking 1 and the National 183 are in the sunroom. The Knight T-60 and the SX-110 were a slick setup about 1959. My favorite is the Globe Scout. It uses Heising modulation to make a quite nice AM signal. I am looking for a 1936 National NC-101X like a neighbor had when I was a kid.

I have a National NC-44 that looks like it did when it left the factory that was owned by an old timer from PA. W3WCF/WA3HVP that I might be able to part with.

[BucketBack]

I saw my SWR meter the other day, and a antenna that clips on a window drip rail. Blast from the past.

Looking to pick up a CB now. I'll look at the links.

[Mr Peabody]

REAL radios glow in the dark.

I used two tube radios at a time in the army. We called them R-390's, close to a 100 pounds apiece. Way better than the solid state items we moved to.

[one-eyed fat man]

I used two tube radios at a time in the army. We called them R-390's, close to a 100 pounds apiece. Way better than the solid state items we moved to.

I am quite familiar with the R-390 and R390A. I have a Korean War vintage R-388. Those old Collins radios are still hard to beat. Very few of even the latest solid state receivers come close.

[DCB]

CB is ok I have Stryker 11 meter 955 with a stryker A10 mag mount antenna in my truck.

[lksmith]

Yes, the practice is setting the SWR [Standing Wave Ratio] and the goal is 1:1 (which isn't what you will get but that's the goal). Matching the antenna to the radio is key to good performance.

The (legal) power output of a CB radio is 4 watts and with a good antenna that gets you some decent performance over flat ground.
The antenna is about 95% of the game, so put most of your effort (and funds) into that part of the system. Keep the coax short, use high quality coax and connectors and use a good antenna. Now, if you just want to talk with other members of your traveling group (dare I say, Convoy?), you don't need much in the way of gear. But if you want any useful range at all, the antenna is where it's at.

You can get every bell and whistle known to the radio world but 99% of the time, those gizmos will sit idle. A decent mobile radio, a good antenna matched to the radio and a good install will payoff far more than dumping money into a fancy radio.

You're dealing with frequencies close to 27 MHz, 4 watts of power and AM (amplitude Modulation), so don't expect reliable communications over more than a few miles in most conditions. That doesn't mean longer ranges are impossible, it just means you probably shouldn't depend on it always being possible.

And for a good, basic radio that isn't overwhelmed with gizmos - check out the Uniden Pro510XL.
4 watts of power (which is the legal max and what you get from just about every supplier)
There are several basic radios offered for around that $50 price point, take your pick.

If you want a lot of bells and whistles there are more expensive sets available.

4watts from a CB with a good antenna, is actually pretty darn reliable. But the handhelds are limited by their antennas (or lack thereof) When I was in high school in the early 00's my buddies and I all ran CB's, usually with a 1/4 wave whip or a well tuned firestick. We routinely talked 10miles, barefoot in our area which is mostly woods and hills. We generally ran cobra 25 or 29's. When we put our boots on, naturally range was extended significantly, and a few alarms might have been set off by them. Not saying cobra 29's or 25's are the end all be all, there are better radios sure, but they are good without breaking the bank

[cas]

[Baja_Traveler]

CB is dead - all the off-road clubs have moved to the more modern GMRS radios. Better sound, better range.