CB Radio Information and Installation

Cool

 

The uniden pro 520 is a bearcat?

 

No, his post was directed at Arrowshot and referring to the

$197 Uniden Bearcat 980 40- Channel SSB CB Radio with Sideband NOAA WeatherBand,7- Color Digital Display PA/CB Switch and Noise Cancelling Mic, Wireless Mic Compatible

Uniden Bearcat 980. The Pro 520 XL doesn't have SSB...just AM.

Arrowshot - as mentioned, the 980 will not do FRS/GMRS...two entirely different bands. The 980, being a CB radio, operates at 27 MHz and FRS/GMRS is at 462 MHz. There are no CB type radios out there on the market that will do both. That said, there are no antennas designed for it either.

 

Thanks, makes more sense to my non-technical eyes.
1. Assume you meant FRS and does the same thing apply to GMRS?
2. Do you have the same issue with ham radios? Are they unable to access the FRS and GMRS frequencies that the walkie talkies use?

Thanks and hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

 

Maybe this will help.

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/2003-allochrt.pdf

 

Frick me. You, your smiley face and your chart. I even worked with CTs as well as radio guys in the Navy on a regular bases and this stuff is still just as confusing to me. Bottom lines:

1. So there is no real good "base station" for linking up a number of individuals using walkie talkies and in particular not one that I would want to run in my truck as it is not compatible with CBs or ham radio.
2. I would think a CB is a more common device in use for communicating in groups when off-roading versus ham radios which are somewhat more complicated and not used by a lot of individuals for off roading and/or hunting.

Seriously, thanks for the help.

 

Your best bet as a base station would be CB. It's the most common and has better range than the FMR and GMRS.

 

The FRS and GMRS are UHF radios on FM in the 70 CM band, CB are AM and SSB in the 11 meter band they are worlds apart in frequency. We can listen to the FRS/GMRS but we cannot use a ham radio to talk to them legally. GMRS radios are licensed and have higher power than the FRS and can also use repeaters the FRS are not and have very low transmit power. The licensing for GMRS is a no test but you do need to have a legitimate reason for a license. The chepo FRS radios are really not much good for any distance and will not except an external antenna. As hams we use type accepted radios both hand held and mobile/base so they cover all of our needs.

 

CB radios are cheap and require no license there are better options but due to the fact there is no license all you have to do is go buy one hook it to a battery, twist the connector on the antenna and get on the air that is why they are popular. There are far better methods of communications than a CB but it requires work on the owners part and more money.

 

Great answers from all of you and appreciate very much your explanations. Makes a lot more sense to me now and will probably proceed towards obtaining a CB.

 

If money was not an issue, is there a CB radio system that would be "the best" and why?

 

Depends if you want it legal or not. A decent radio and a good ole 102 inch whip is about as good as is going to get for a mobile setup within the legal boundaries. From there it's as much as you want to spend for more power.

 

So the transmit power is what would be considered 'illegal' if it was over a certain power?
Is there a couple links so that I can start to do my research? this is new territory to me.

Safety > Legality in my book.,. If I was squawking at someone in a jam and my gear was NOT considered legal. I might be inclined to take that risk.

 

The limit is 4 watts AM, 12 watts for sideband. I'll send you a PM with some info.

 

Nice.

Understand.

Now to look at some actual Radios.

 

Send me that PM also please. Seems that I will be shopping for one in the future.

 

Chances are pretty high if you ran a kilowatt amp no one would hear you and if they did they probably would be in another state. I the case of an emergency you can use any form of communication but using illegal gear in your personal vehicle will still get you in trouble even after the fact. Years ago the FCC lost control of the 11 meter band but they still police over powered amps and for good reason. The band used to belong the the Navy they abandoned it because it was not up to their standards for communication.

 

Actually, even if you ran 1 KW, chances are you wouldn't be heard outside of town because the ionosphere would absorb the signal most of the time. The 11M band was actually an amateur radio band. There wasn't a lot of activity because amateurs were only permitted operation there on a secondary basis and it wasn't harmonically related to any of the other amateur radio bands. In the 50s the 11M band was allocated to Land Mobile operation by the ITU. When the new "Class D" citizen's radio service was proposed it complied with the ITU allocation at 11M.

 

Lots of great information on this site:

http://www.cbradiotalk.com/index.php?sid=88992e6086dd40e681bf99394b1b711e

 

That's a subject that's up for debate. I prefer the radios from the 70s and 80s. They're a lot easier to work on, highly modifiable and sound better. Most of the legal CB radios manufactured today use cheap components and a lot of plastic. The problem with radios from the 70s and 80s are that most are beat up and any that are in good condition fetch top dollar. I currently have a Cobra 138XLR, two Uniden HR-2510s (awesome radios) and I just acquired a Uniden Washington base on eBay for a great price. I'd like to find a Madison with the red LED digital clock but they go for quite a bit of money...more than I have right now.