cb radios?????

ok firt i didnt know what section to put this in.

Anyways ive been seeing alot of people wanting or having the cb radios in there vehicles. What exactly are they used for, and the benefits, and also where do the mount in the truck? im kinda interested in figuring out if this would be something good to invest in. so looking for some details. Thanks a bunc

 

I use mine to communicate when wheeling.

Cobra 19 DX IV with a Lil wil Antenna.

Go to www.rightchannelradios.com

Good info there... Good luck

 

great for fast communication btween point a nad point b... as long as point a and b are within 3-4 miles without obstruction. I use mine to listen to the truckers (channel 9) for info on police hiding out or if certain roads have traffic and whats causing traffic. Alot of guys here use them to communicate from truck to truck while offroading (original reason i got one). Easy to mount, easy to wire, easy to tune... ive been researching this topic for a while to learn the ins and outs...

 

Roland...is there a specific SWR meter i should get? I want to make sure mine is tuned...I was not getting the range that I hoped for last time out...but my friend did have a handheld so I am not sure if that was powerful enough.

 

sweet. still thinkin about putting it on my christmas list

 

Frys sells a pretty good swr meter for $12. The reason you have bad range is the same reason i have bad range... we cheaped out and got shitty cobra 19s. They receive good signal because truckers have good radios. All CBs transmit at 5 watts, by law, so many people will say that these radios are just as powerful as others out there. Yes, but the quality of the signal has alot to do with it. If you want a good radio you cant pay $45. Cobra 29s are excellent radios but are $100+ There is a guy at the CB radio store in Riverside that advertises on the radio and i can hear him from Grand terrace... 15miles away. he has a linear amplifier allowing him to broadcast at 100w. Im going there tomorrow to try and learn more.

 

Rightchannelradio said that they are all 4 watts and the power is from the Antenna not the radio. I have read on the internet and have heard from a bunch of people as well. I just need to tune it...actually when I was on the freeways on my way to Corral Canyon I can hear a group of guys talking for miles...and they were stationary not moving. I think when I tried to tune my radio at the mod day there was a lot of interference...so I am going to get the meter and tune it right. My friend runs the same set up and he gets 2-3 miles of range.

 

yeah let me know what he says

 

the range of our Cb's is alot less than you think, ALOT! Like Roland said, and I will correct , our radios can transmit at 4 watts max which isnt much. On top of the fact that we often use them in mountain ranges, among bushes, and at different elevations, it all adds up to a pretty crappy range. I forgot who told me this, but the statement ends up being pretty true: If you cant see the truck, chances are your not gonna be able to transmit to it nor will it. I was pretty discouraged with the range I was getting too, and thought something was wrong with my radio, it ends up being just fine though.

 

From what i under stand there is no limiting done by the antenna. The tuning is setting the frequency to limit standing wave ratio SWR. The amplitude of the wave is what is limited and the power used to amplify is measured in watts...kinda like a car speaker. higher the amplitude wattage the louder and farther the waves travel and can still be heard. linear amplifiers boost the signal transmitted. When amplified the whole line of site goes out the window. Like i said i could hear this guy from the cbstore and he was 15miles away. not even close to line of site. He also mentioned he can manipulate the frequency range of a cb and make it an 11meter radio and talk to people as far as hawaii.

Ill keep you all posted tomorrow because i HAVE to go to this place and learn their ways...

 

Yeah, I guess it is good for what we use it for...if I am going to spend the money on a really nice radio it will be a 2m or race radio. Problem is no one runs them that I wheel with. I'm gonna make sure I am tuned right though just incase...I did get a lot of range but i guess that was on the freeway.