CB Radio

[350ypvs]

I'm thinking of fitting a CB radio but know nothing about what to look for.

What spec would be ideal (price range up to £70).

Any helpful advice would be appreciated.

Gary

[western]

have look/chat with

http://www.thunderpole.co.uk/

http://www.4x4cb.com/

[cipx2]

previous threads:

- http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=11934

- http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=15008

[rocky]

Hi,if you are going to use it abroad am as well as fm is handy. Regards, rocky

[FridgeFreezer]

Most things these days do most things. I'v got an Intek one from X-Eng (the ~£100 one) and I have to say it's really good, and the speaker is loud & clear which goes a long awy in a LR.

[SacredDog]

Most things these days do most things. I'v got an Intek one from X-Eng (the ~£100 one) and I have to say it's really good, and the speaker is loud & clear which goes a long awy in a LR.

Make that another vote for Intek.

I have the M-495 (but I use an Export spec one for 10m AM/FM Ham use rather than CB) and the H-520 Handheld which works perfectly well with the supplied mobile adapter for in-car use and even better with the addition of a fist Mic.

The H-520 is particularly useful to use handheld either in a convoy situation or away from the vehicle but I find the power soon drops to 1W when on re-chargable batteries although that seems plenty for a 1-2 mile range in the open.

Colin.

[gripper]

think about what you want it to do? how far to transmit, will it just be when laning in a group or round a quarry etc? only time i ever use mine is in those situations and it's always on normal 40 channel fm frequencies.

with that in mind i just got one from ebay for £2.20, does all i ever need it to, and not too big either plus it has a pa output for having a laugh when out and about.

[350ypvs]

Thanks for the help.I'll have a look and decide what i need.

[stewh]

Here's a serious suggestion:- Forget CB and take the Amateur Radio Foundation Course. Once you have passed the exam, which is very easy & not designed to fail you, you will have access to lots more bands than CB allows. If you fit a dual-band FM 2M/70cm (VHF & UHF)transceiver in your vehicle you will have access to a system of repeaters covering almost all of the UK. Even working simplex, you will have greater coverage than a legal FM CB. You will be legally allowed to use higher power than CB.

The biggest difference you will find is the people you will talk to on the Ham bands. As bad language (bucket-mouthing)isn't allowed, and the CB-type pseudo-American lingo is frowned upon, you will find conversation more meaningful and easier to understand. If your children or you granny are also in the vehicle, you won't have to turn the rig off for fear of them being subjected to the filth that is unfortunately all too prevalent on CB.

I know for a fact that all CB'ers aren't IQ zeros, but unfortunately due to there being no enforceable regulation of CB, the serious users are in the minority. I used to be a CB'er myself, until I saw the light in 1984.

Further information abut Amateur Radio can be found at http://www.rsgb.org.uk/

Regards, Stewart GM0GTU

Thanks for the help.I'll have a look and decide what i need.

[gripper]

good comments there stewart but if gary wants to talk to people he's out with the chances of them being on cb rather than ham radio is quite high, can you pick up and talk to cb's with a ham set? do they have the frequencies to do so? if so then he would have the best of both world, cb frequencies to chat to his mates when with them and ham frequencies to chat to others when on his own. everyones a winner.

[stewh]

Hi Gripper,

He wouldn't be able to use a VHF/UHF rig on the CB frequencies as CB is on 26 or 27 MHz, which technically speaking is an HF band. I also have an HF rig in my Disco which covers all the amateur bands from 1.6MHz to 29.6 MHz. It will also transmit & receive on the CB frequencies, but legally I'm not allowed to transmit there as my license is only to transmit on the allocated Amateur bands. My radio is also not type approved for the CB band either. Strange & wonderful rules, as I'm allowed to design and build my own equipment running up to 400 watts.

I take your point about talking to the other people he's out with. Another option would be the license-free PMR hand-held radios. They are UHF, quite small, and fairly cheap. Also you can use them outside the vehicle, which adds to their usefulness.

ATB, Stewart

good comments there stewart but if gary wants to talk to people he's out with the chances of them being on cb rather than ham radio is quite high, can you pick up and talk to cb's with a ham set? do they have the frequencies to do so? if so then he would have the best of both world, cb frequencies to chat to his mates when with them and ham frequencies to chat to others when on his own. everyones a winner.

[ThreeSheds]

To elaborate on the point further for those new to the topic:

The whole radio spectrum is split into 'bands' which are allocated to particular users with appropriate conditions applied to their use.

On the CB band you are only allowed to transmit with a type approved and unmodified CB transceiver (although you can build your own antenna system).

On the PMR band you are only allowed to transmit with a type approved and unmodified PMR transceiver, which must be hand-held and have it's own OEM fitted antenna.

Although as a fully licensed amateur you can design and build your own transceiver capable of transmitting on any frequency, you are only allowed to transmit with it within the allocated amateur bands. CB and PMR bands are not allocated for licensed amateur use.

I have often thought it would be nice if more 4x4 enthusiasts would take the foundation course and get into ham radio - this would benefit both themselves, with vastly improved comms, and the amateur radio community which is suffering a decline in numbers. But the bottom line is that for virtually no effort, and little cost, any reasonable CB will give adequate off-road comms. When you compare that to joining a club, doing a training course and taking an exam (even though it's an easy pass) it's a no-brainer for most people. The final clincher would be the 'critical mass' issue alluded to above - If I have a 2mtr rig and nobody else does then it doesn't matter how brilliant it is, I still can't talk to anyone!

On PMRs: They are quite good now (much better than they used to be) but don't believe the bllx about 12km range - they will get a mile or so in the real world (sometimes more, often less) but the big problem they have compared to CB is the difficulty of hearing/using them in-car on the move, and you are not allowed to add an external antenna for PMR so you will never match the CB with it's base-loaded whip... And those whips look so cool too, don't they

So - I would advise anyone to do what I have done:

• Buy a CB with UK and European frequencies (and a couple of PMRs?)
• Realise that green-laning is the only time you will use it and that the world is full of foul-mouthed 'people' who won't talk to you anyway.
• Get into amateur radio and discover a courteous world of people happy to chat to you, even as a newbie

Regards (73 in ham-speak)

Roger (callsign: 2E0BZL)

[stewh]

Very eloquently put, Roger. A far better explanation than mine, and done in plain English.

Best regards, Stewart GM0GTU

To elaborate on the point further for those new to the topic:

The whole radio spectrum is split into 'bands' which are allocated to particular users with appropriate conditions applied to their use.

On the CB band you are only allowed to transmit with a type approved and unmodified CB transceiver (although you can build your own antenna system).

On the PMR band you are only allowed to transmit with a type approved and unmodified PMR transceiver, which must be hand-held and have it's own OEM fitted antenna.

Although as a fully licensed amateur you can design and build your own transceiver capable of transmitting on any frequency, you are only allowed to transmit with it within the allocated amateur bands. CB and PMR bands are not allocated for licensed amateur use.

I have often thought it would be nice if more 4x4 enthusiasts would take the foundation course and get into ham radio - this would benefit both themselves, with vastly improved comms, and the amateur radio community which is suffering a decline in numbers. But the bottom line is that for virtually no effort, and little cost, any reasonable CB will give adequate off-road comms. When you compare that to joining a club, doing a training course and taking an exam (even though it's an easy pass) it's a no-brainer for most people. The final clincher would be the 'critical mass' issue alluded to above - If I have a 2mtr rig and nobody else does then it doesn't matter how brilliant it is, I still can't talk to anyone!

On PMRs: They are quite good now (much better than they used to be) but don't believe the bllx about 12km range - they will get a mile or so in the real world (sometimes more, often less) but the big problem they have compared to CB is the difficulty of hearing/using them in-car on the move, and you are not allowed to add an external antenna for PMR so you will never match the CB with it's base-loaded whip... And those whips look so cool too, don't they

So - I would advise anyone to do what I have done:

• Buy a CB with UK and European frequencies (and a couple of PMRs?)
• Realise that green-laning is the only time you will use it and that the world is full of foul-mouthed 'people' who won't talk to you anyway.
• Get into amateur radio and discover a courteous world of people happy to chat to you, even as a newbie

Regards (73 in ham-speak)

Roger (callsign: 2E0BZL)

[SacredDog]

Make that another vote for doing the Foundation Course & Exam. The 2m Band running 10W into a decent 5/8wave mobile antenna (about the same size as the average Mobile CB antenna) blows the socks off of CB for local use (up to 50miles simplex and double that through a repeater). But like you say you can only talk to other Amateurs.

You can get CBs that when in export spec can cover both CB & 10m band like the Intek H-520 but you have to turn it off and back on (with Menu pushed in the case of the H-520) to select the different bands.

The Intek M-495 is similar but also runs more power in Export spec so only legal to use on the 10m band. And not many Hams use 10m until the sunspots are very active, so even less people to talk to.

Also the 10m AM/FM band is not much better than CB even with 10W available (2.5 times the power is less than one S point) apart from the lack of 'bucket mouths'of course.

I would still recommend the H-520 Handheld though which works perfectly well with the supplied mobile adapter for in-car use and even better with the addition of a fist Mic for either CB or 10m use.

Colin

2E0XSD.

good comments there stewart but if gary wants to talk to people he's out with the chances of them being on cb rather than ham radio is quite high, can you pick up and talk to cb's with a ham set? do they have the frequencies to do so? if so then he would have the best of both world, cb frequencies to chat to his mates when with them and ham frequencies to chat to others when on his own. everyones a winner.