CB Radio - Anyone still using them?

[ml4moore]

Sad that CBs have all most disappeared. Used them in 70s and 80s, but not so much in the 90s. Still have one in pick-up that came out of a big truck. Some times useful in bad traffic or when you see something out on the road. Worst thing is the language has gotten so bad I don't like to have it on. Use to be more fun and compony on long hauls.

[bdreinv]

We used are CB just last week on an off roads 4x4 trip. Having both cell and radio are help full in the canyons and mountain areas of Arizona.Usually one or the other will work. been off roading since 1993!

[mikensue]

If you want to travel with a CB, you can purchase a handheld unit for very little money. I carry one "just in case"// had a couple of times I used it to verify why traffic was stopped ect.

[viking42]

I have a portable CB and a magnetic mount, anyone have any ideas on how to mount it on a class A Jayco Alante? I don’t want a permanent installation but would like to have it available in case.

[Flight Control]

Originally Posted by viking42

I have a portable CB and a magnetic mount, anyone have any ideas on how to mount it on a class A Jayco Alante? I don’t want a permanent installation but would like to have it available in case.

You might try mounting a small metal plate to your ladder to serve as a metallic platform for the mag antenna. Then your only challenge would be to run the antenna cable, and they have limitations regarding length. Possibly, you could find a way to mount a metal plate to your side view mirror. That would put the antenna a lot closer to where the mobile radio would sit. Regards.

[Hog3loves]

Originally Posted by Flight Control

...Possibly, you could find a way to mount a metal plate to your side view mirror. That would put the antenna a lot closer to where the mobile radio would sit. Regards.

X2

[WeRJuliian]

Keep in mind that an antenna requires a ground plane.
If your mag mount antenna was originally for use on a car, then it is most likely designed with the assumption that the metal car roof - indeed, the whole body, is providing the GP.

Using the wrong kind of antenna will, in the best case, give you little or no radiated signal (You won't be "getting out", as they say :-) or, worst case, could damage your transmitter.

What you would need, for a non-metallic surface like a plastic cab, is a Non-Ground-Plane antenna. They're easy enough to find, and can still be attached to a magnetic base* or, as you'll often see on trucks, clipped to something like a wing mirror.

*Gluing a metal plate to the roof is a valid idea, for the mechanical attachment but keep in mind that there will be a significant wind load on the antenna, so be sure you glue to something solid.

If you ever hear "Magician" on the road, with a rather odd accent.. that's me!

[Marine71-76]

Originally Posted by oldmanAZ

I install ours only for long trips. It takes 2 minutes to do and we have magnetic mount CB antenna. I usually leave it OFF unless we see something troubling ahead - congestion, smoke, whatever. There are enough folks talking with CBs that it is often possible to get an idea of what's going on before getting deep into it.

I install it primarily as a plan 'B' just in case we have a serious problem and are in a cell phone 'dead zone'. Thankfully, we haven't had to put that use to the test.

X2...we have been in cell phone dead zone & broke down...was able to communicate with trucker who notified the state police of the issue.

[ctbailey]

Originally Posted by mraplx

Don't these require a HAM or GMRS radio license to operate?

FRS (limited to 2 watts output) do not require licenses to operate. but this is very short range.



GMRS (Handhelds up to 5+/- watts) technically do need a GMRS license to operate on the "GMRS" frequencies. The FRS & GMRS freqencies do overlap some. Obtaining a GMRS License is extremely simple: just go to the FCC ULS (Universal Licensing System) and pay $50 for a 10-year license. GMRS is still fairly short range, so you'd have to have a "convoy" of people. A single GMRS license is valid for every immediate member of your family. So, Dad could ge the license and Mom, kid1 and kid2 are covered. Uncle Jimmy or GrandDad would need their own GMRS license, each forking over $50 to the FCC every 10 years.

Both FRS and GMRS are channelized radios, meaning you get a certain set of exact frequencies to use. Hence the extremely limited "license" needed to use these.



Neither of these radios require an Amateur License (Ham Radio.) Hams are not restricted to channels, and we can tune any frequency within the band - this is the reason for actual licensing. So, if you want to use amateur bands then, yes... you'll need a license. Even the Ham license is pretty straightforward to get nowadays. The exam is a 35 question multiple choice exam.


As to CB - I disagree that it's dead! There are folks out there still using CB. There is nothing more simple than a radio for communications while on the road, and for company while running long hours over the road.


When's the last time anyone called a random phone number just to chat, and the person who answers didn't hang up on them? LOL


Seriously Put that ole CB back in the truck, you'll be glad you did.



Craig

[ctbailey]

Originally Posted by NickM

@Flight Control



I am fairly sure that for General or Extra (seems like they dropped Advanced) you need 5 WPM morse. Back when I started General was 13 WPM.

Someone has introduced a new class to the FCC, sort of like Technician plus that gives HF privileges and all frees above 50 mhz. The concept was given the green light by ARRL so the FCC will stew over it and put it out for general comments before making a decision. Even with internet, texts and cell phones the U.S. ham population is showing growth.

All code was dropped as of February 2007.



They aren't proposing a new class, but rather simply an extension of the Technician class for those expanded privileges.



Technitian
General
Extra



that's all we got now.

[Jacotim]

Originally Posted by MikeyInNY

Found my old CB radio (40 channel). Before I go through the effort of installing it, I'm wondering if anyone other than truckers still use them. I tried to search the forum, but it didn't like "CB" so I had to start a new thread. So what do you think, install or not?

I was thinking the same as you when I looked at my old CB radio. Out here in the west there are some remote areas that a CB could be a lifesaver.

[berwin]

CB radios used to require a license until the early 1970s at which time, as long as your radio was under 5 watts, you no longer needed a license. I had one prior to the change over and still remember my FCC-assigned call sign: KAVN-0544.

[Jacotim]

Originally Posted by berwin

CB radios used to require a license until the early 1970s at which time, as long as your radio was under 5 watts, you no longer needed a license. I had one prior to the change over and still remember my FCC-assigned call sign: KAVN-0544.

I didn't know that a license was required back then. I can remember when the CB radio was all the rage and when we got a base unit we were it.

[Hog3loves]

Originally Posted by ctbailey

Seriously Put that ole CB back in the truck, you'll be glad you did. Craig

X2

[wilderness john]

I do the same. Good backup to have