CB or HAM

For my Az family​

So I'm sitting here board at work an thinking about this I have a CB but if most y'all run HAM I would want one... Anyway answer away

 

Both. Completely depends on what your objectives are...

NVM... Totally just saw that this is for Arizona people.

 

All good man
Just curious to see what my group runs for the future

 

Both.

 

Both, but CB is stupid by now.

Ham in the tow rig and Race Radio/Intercom in the buggy are nicely mounted/integrated whereas CB will be an afterthought (if at all).

Range, Sound Quality, Options, Performance are not even in the same zip-code, literally.

 

Yeahh I had a race radio in my ford ranger a few years back an me an my buddy would talk a good 15 miles away easy
Is ham/race radio the samething?

 

Almost, but no. Same FM transmit type, but slightly different frequencies.

Official Ham 2m frequency range is 144.000 to 148.000 MHz. My Ham is also a 2m/70cm dual band, so also covers 430.000-440.000 MHz.
Most can also be modded and mine can also transmit outside those ranges.

Race Radios are in the Commercial Radio range in the 150s.

Some gray areas there. Mods are kinda iffy, but also a hallmark of dedicated Ham's. Ham does require a license and will take some studying to pass the test. The levels are Technician, General and Extra. Tech mostly covers procedures/safety/general operation. General and Extra get into more technical/electrical theory of antennas/radios, etc. I passed Tech and General in 1 evening. I had barely started looking at Extra class study materials and knew I didn't even want to try at that point. Tech really isn't that difficult at all.

Commercial usage technically requires a license issued for that frequency and area. So most of the races/racers/spectators/pre-runners aren't covered for all areas if at all. But stepping on actual commercial use is probably pretty rare, so just be courteous.

 

I run both, but I'm getting away from CB and moving more to HAM. Need to get my license so I can ping those towers and get that range.

 

Go with Ham, I just found out you can set up your HAM to access CB channels, that way during offroading everyone can hear each other

 

eh, CB frequencies are around 27 MHz. A 10M Ham Radio could be modded to get into that range. The common Ham for offroading is 2M.

Ham Radios are often listed by their operating Wave Lengths. (2 meter, 10 meter, 70 cm) 10M is in the HF (High Frequency) group, 2M is VHF (Very High Frequency) and 70cm is UHF (Ultra High Frequency).

Antenna lengths for each band are different and based on a portion of the wavelength. Usually 1/4, 1/2 or 5/8 wave with variances in mounting, rigidity, ground plane, etc.

To get into a HF/VHF/UHF multiband radio (~$400+) plus adjustable screwdriver antenna (~$200+) that isn't very durable offroad versus just running a small CB (~$50 + ~$50) next to a average VHF/UHF Ham (~$150 + ~$50) is pretty damn expensive. Not to mention that running over the CB Frequencies with a modded HF Ham with way more power is the most likely to be noticed by the FCC.

 

The only issue I have with ham is that I need my wife to get her Technician class license and then I could communicate with her from most anywhere.

Also the easiest to get ham license is the Technician Class. This gives you priveledges to operate 2 Meter and 70 Cm basically.

Hams are real radio operators and abide by the rules. CB is mostly yahoos who don't know, don't care about rules and the chatter shows this. My only reason to own a CB is for TW trail runs, but any radio is MUCH better than no radio.

KG7DDR

 

A neat feature to most ham radios is remote mountable faceplates. I've got a Yaesu FT-7800 with the remote feature. So the faceplate is mounted in a lower dash pocket in the truck with the bulk of the radio under the passenger seat. Then currently running a NMO mirror mount with dual band antenna off the toolbox.

 

I have both but here in AZ if you get into a box canyon such as by Florence or Bartlett, CB is worthless. The only reason I have CB is if there is someone that only has that. I dont carry the radio or antenna on a regular basis but HAM is always going. So much clearer and much better reach. For the same cost practically, just get a ham and dont look back. If you wanted to test it, you can get a HT from Amazon for around $40-50. Still outputs at 5W. That will get you nearly 20 miles of range before needing a repeater. Of course the terrain can affect that.

 

I want to get a 2 Meter ham in my Tacoma. I have one in the TJ that does not get driven much anymore. Looking for the best option to fit nicely. W1VVK

 

When wiring in a cb radio for better clarity, i was told wire and ground at the battery. Is it fine if i oull power through my fuse block and ground it through the battery or should i just do an inline fuse to the battery.

 

Because the CB only draws a few amps you can tap in anywhere and have sufficient current capacity. I have mine on a cigarette lighter plug and keep the radio out of sight unless I am on a 4x4 trip when it sits on the passenger seat upside down so the speaker is on top so I can hear it clearly. Now if you want the utmost out of the CB it might have less RF interference if you wire directly to the battery, but IMO the limitations of CB (skip rolling in or range limitations) don't justify time consuming wiring.

 

all the wire is already pulled when i was adding other stuff. Wiring is so easy im surprised that turns so many people away because of the time it could take.