CB Radio

Hi Guys,

i am sure one or two of you can help me out a little or give me some advise. I am about to buy myself a CB Radio / Ham Radio. Now i have never had one so i am a total beginner.

What should i look for or if you have any Model nrs, names which you know are good for beginners and easy to handle, i would appreciate the input.

I've put this into the Survival Forum, as if the SHTF then one of those things will probably be a part of the equippement needed to stay prepared and aware.....

cheers
Basel

reply to post by Basel77


Good thread!

I too am planning on buying a couple of mobile CB radios and a more powerful home based radio. I'm not thinking of going all the way to HAM radio, just a powerful CB. Something that can be turned on and off and used if cell phone service is disabled.

I can't wait for the responses to come rolling in!

reply to post by Basel77


CB radio is fine for most purposes. I'm a ham radio operator, so I'm inclined to advise you try to get a license. I'd suggest you check out arrl.org... because they're very helpful. I've also found that being part of an amateur radio club gets lots of information from events with speakers like survivalists and problem solvers. And, the other people can really help you get your stuff together and keep in in working order since most of us are prepared for disasters and may even be part of an emergency communications network.

reply to post by getreadyalready


there we go, it seems i have really no clue at all, as i dont even know the difference between HAM and CB ?!?
well, i hope i will get some constructive input from experienced users of those machines....

Planning to head to a shop tomorrow and of course i hope they have a guy there which can explain me much more on sight.

reply to post by Basel77


The major difference between the radios are there operating frequencies and how they're allotted. CB has "channels" which are specific frequencies in the mid 20Mhz I believe. HAM radios operate on a ton of different bands and we're not limited to channels, we have freedom within the bands we're licensed for, although there are some frequencies dedicated for emergencies.

I use a 2M radio here, which covers 144-148MHz, this is perfect for local communication and the 2 meter band can communicate a long distance with enough power behind the signal. The HAM radio's have an advantage over CB in not only the operating space that's available, but also in the range of frequencies. A signal can go a long way in the lower 14Mhz range provide reliable communication across the continent.

It's a lot to learn about, but I find it fascinating. I really encourage you to at least look in to it.

You must have all radios disconnected from a energy source if they are to survive a EMP.

Otherwise you will have spent money on a expensive canoe anchor.

reply to post by Basel77


I'm glad somebody thought of this. To give us some advice.

reply to post by Mapkar


Thanks, that is already useful information. So i get it that a CB would be just fine, at least for a beginner.
and yes, i take your word for it and i am really interested and will certainly start looking more into this stuff.
better sooner than later !

Any idea how far you can reach with a powerful CB ? as you mentioned it is good locally....Does that mean you are limited to a City ? or a bigger Area ?

Anyway, i see i have to do a lot of research, but i am really interested so i hope i soon will have the knowlegde needed !

reply to post by Mapkar


The reasons I want to learn for won't require having a license.

reply to post by Basel77


There are a lot of factors to consider when talking range. I have a 5 watt handheld radio, and by itself it can reach about 7-10 miles depending on trees, hills, and buildings. With a better antenna on top I can easily talk 15-20 miles no problem. I would guess that a CB radio would have no problem doing at least that but the general limit is around 4 watts. People here in SC use CB a lot, and they can talk for a fair distance, but sometimes they struggle to get over 10 miles for some reason or another.

Height really affects distance, the higher you are the farther you can talk. So, from on top of a building you'll reach out further than you would on the ground with the same radio. Sometimes I'm surprised to find that I can talk nearly 25-30 miles when band conditions are going well, meaning theres something that's letting the radio waves go further. It's not common for my little radio to talk that far, but I have had conversations with people via a repeater that was up to right at 30 miles away.

Range is really hard to calculate though, at least for me, because there are a lot of variables. I wish I could help more there.

reply to post by ludshed


I understand. The main thing about the license is the fact that it means you're aware of how radio works, how to effectively use the characteristics of radio, and some proper radio communication safety guidelines. AKA, don't touch the antenna of a high power transmitter, don't be near high power antennas, how to make an emergency antenna, how cables vary, and how to handle lots of the technical stuff.

I know that in a SHTF scenario there's no need for a license, and the FCC won't be around in that type of situation, but at least knowing something about radio will help you in that sort of situation.

thanks again, really some good input ! I will have a chat with the shop guy tomorrow and hope i get some more details. Maybe i should have mentioned that i am not in the US but in HKG. So in regards of distance i might then just be able to reach most all of the city and some outer islands.

as i am lucky and life pretty much on top of a high rise building.

but of course it would be more fun to be able to reach Europe from here for example...anyway, lets take step by step. But i will certainly aim at some more exciting stuff later on once i get used to all of this....

From past experience I would listen to chatter on CB, not talk or ask questions.
Back in the seventies my friend had to get one it was the in thing, he was on vacation
got on CB asked for a bear report.
Got a response all clear, put the hammer down.
He did and the State Trooper that pulled him over asked,
did you enjoy my bear report, did you learn a lesson,
as he wrote him a ticket.

reply to post by Gmoneycricket


LMAO!!! I had the same thing happen to me on the way to work at 5 in the morning in Leadington, Missouri! I ran a cobra 25LTD with weather band and 102" whip on my dodge omni. I also had a texas star 500 watt linear amp. When I keyed that sucker up drivin down the road my headlights dimmed when I talked! Man that was fun talking on that radio.... Dang I may just get it out and put it on my 3/4 ton dodge just to get some old memories comin back.

A little tip; You can put a magnetic base antenna on a house trailer and get hella reception if you adjust the swrs and hook the cb to a battery inside your house.

That little cobra was peaked and tuned, On a clear night on top of cottner mtn in missouri I could catch skip and talk to a guy in texas. IDK how skip works but I was talking 974 miles away according to google earth!!

reply to post by agentblue


Yea I still have a Cobra too
I hook it listen to the chatter sometimes.

Aaaaaah, cb radios!
The smart phone of the 70's.
I have not bought one since the 80's so I cannot add anything useless, except to say it used to be fun to talk with total strangers and argue too!
Good times, my buddies dad was a huge cb troll and it was fun going over and listening to him scream at the box.
Better than TV.

Originally posted by Basel77
What should i look for or if you have any Model nrs, names which you know are good for beginners and easy to handle, i would appreciate the input.

I've put this into the Survival Forum, as if the SHTF then one of those things will probably be a part of the equippement needed to stay prepared and aware.....

cheers
Basel

For SHTF CB radio, you want a export 10 meter mobile radio.
A good brand name is Connex, the 3300 is solid. www.copper.com...
When you buy the radio asked to have the channels expanded and have it tuned.
It will cover CB channels and more.

You will need a good antenna:
For car mobile: Wilson 500 www.copper.com...
For a Truck: 102 inch whip....
For a home Base: Solarcon A99 www.copper.com...
For the base antenna you will need 50ft of 50ohm coax.

Maybe a cheap swr meter, lowering your swr's will prevent your radio from over heating.
www.copper.com...
You will need a coax jumper to add the swr meter:
www.copper.com...

Hook it up in this order:
Radio,coax jumper,swr meter then antenna.

You can hook it up without a swr meter, the Wilson 500 and Solarcon A99 come out of the box pretty much tuned up.

For power:
A simple car battery will do.
You will want maybe a battery bank and a small solar array for SHTF
12-volt DC power supply

Stay away from 40 channel CB's less you be stuck talking to truckers and a whole bunch of junk.

This is all basic stuff above...

You could buy a Ham HF radio and have it modified to cover 160 to 10 meters in upper and lower side bands, cw and am modes, still using all the same equipment above. It's the next step up.

When the SHTF FCC rules not apply, plus there is a good chance that Hams will be working with an unfriendly military. Be careful who you talk to, they may trick you and send you to some FEMA infested camp.

Copper Electronics is radio Heaven to redneck CB'ers.

Just so you know, a common CB that 98% of folks have and use, you will get 2-4miles tops out of it. An amp will help you get a signal farther, but you will not get anything back if the other end does not have an amp...Having an amp is highly illegal, sure in a SHTF world rules wont matter but who knows if that day will come in our lifetime...

So I will say a CB is better than nothing, but as a new guy or just a common user, a standard antenna and stock CB will get you 2 to 4 miles on average. Get a better rig and a better antenna higher up and you MIGHT get 10 miles. Now some will jump in here and claim they can talk 20 miles and receive the same. They are full of crap or happen to live in a place where there is nothing between them and the other end with illegal set ups. Plus you get something called skip once in a while that can actually cause a fluke and it can go a thousand miles....but its rare and out of your control when it happens.

If you want anything more than this, HAM is the only answer. They can get the 20miles usually or further again depending on your setup. Add in some repeaters that are out there and you can talk hundreds of miles. Will the repeaters be up assuming a EMP hits, I would not count on it. But you will not get better distance than HAM. Plus this is what is used currently for local storm chasers, and Emergency back up services, etc. You will need to get a license for HAM to transmit

Just so you know, a common CB that 98% of folks have and use, you will get 2-4miles tops out of it. An amp will help you get a signal farther, but you will not get anything back if the other end does not have an amp...Having an amp is highly illegal, sure in a SHTF world rules wont matter but who knows if that day will come in our lifetime...

If you use the equipment I posted above, the average range is:
2-5 miles mobile to mobile
10-15 miles base to mobile
15-25 miles base to base

Theoretically:
Assume that the height of an antenna for two stations is 20 feet and that each delivers a 5.5uv signal to the other. Increasing the height of the antenna at station A from 20 feet to 60 feet will cause a signal to be 10db stronger at station B (15.8uv). It will also cause the signal from station B to be 10db stronger at station A. Now, if the height of the antenna at station B is tripled, from 20 feet to 60 feet, the signal levels in both directions will rise another 10db to 50uv (uv meaning microvolts). If a radio transmits 4 watts (+36 dBM) and the earth plane transmission loss is 129 db when both antennas are 20 feet, each will recieve a 5-microvilt (-93 dbm) signal from the other (+36 dBm minus 129 db equals -93 dBM).

en.wikipedia.org...

Zero dBm equals one milliwatt. A 3 dB increase represents roughly doubling the power, which means that 3 dBm equals roughly 2 mW. For a 3 dB decrease, the power is reduced by about one half, making −3 dBm equal to about 0.5 milliwatt.

Just by adding a fancy Yagi antenna to a 4 watt radio could reach 40-50 miles easy without an amp. The more height it has, more surface area of an antenna and the more conductive, equal less resistance to your signal, it is one of the reason why a Yagi is so great.

However I wouldn't recommend an amp to a beginner, nor a fancy Yagi antenna.... just a fancy export radio with basic equipment. The junk at radioshack and Walmart should be avoided... Cobra, Uniden and Midland radios and cheap mag mount antennas should be avoided, other wise everything you said is true.

Having an amp could be a bad thing for a SHTF, it will drain your back up power supply. However it could be used for emergency DX.

As far as being illegal you have a better chance of getting hit by lightning than getting caught using a CB amp. Most Hams do illegal things and preach about not doing them.

Now some will jump in here and claim they can talk 20 miles and receive the same. They are full of crap or happen to live in a place where there is nothing between them and the other end with illegal set ups. .

This all depends on your setup, base to mobile can talk 20 miles with a good setup legal or not. However it is true, most CBer's are full of crap lol. When it comes to CB radio, there is only one rule-- that there are no rules! Theory and the real world never works the way you want it. some setups work perfect, and others that should work like perfect are crap. The only way for a perfect setup is by trial and error... illegal or not.

You will need to get a license for HAM to transmit

Zombies don't care if you have a license.
I would steer clear of getting a Ham license, what this could do is paint a target on you in a SHTF.
I would also add, most HAMS are full of crap lol.

Oh the good old days of Smokey and the Bandit and Convoy. My dad kept a scanner in the car to listen in on the fun.

Silver Tongue Devil... out...