CB Radio

[Loomis]

What is eveyone's take on CB Radio ? Do you think it would come into play when the shtf ? Would it be useful communication?
A legal CB Radio is only 4 Watts. Range would be limited, 5 miles maybe, but there are some out there that are pumping out more Watts then the Legal Limit. I pick up people all over the country.
So what's your take?

 

[Fordrocks1986]

I want one but I don't want to get my license I want one just in case

 

[Loomis]

I want one but I don't want to get my license I want one just in case

No License required for CB Radio

 

[Colt 1911]

I think any communication is better than none, It's just everyone on your channel that is in range can hear you. Could be good or bad. I am no expert just used to screw around with them when i was a kid. breaker breaker !!

 

[Loomis]

Ture, it's the same with Ham Radio, CW (morse code) or even a scanner. You still need a receiver to hear what's going on.
I got this in a Thrift Store for $ 10.00 in great working condition. It's a Cobra 29 NW LTD Classic. The lesson I learned in thrift stores is that if you pass it by figure it's gone. Put it in your cart if your not sure. You can always put it back. You can use a Magnet mount antenna, or any other antenna. I've hooked this up to 10 Meter inverted Dipole and it brings in signals really good.

 

[Colt 1911]

That's a good find, you have me thinking about putting one in the truck,

 

[Clyde]

What is eveyone's take on CB Radio ? Do you think it would come into play when the shtf ? Would it be useful communication?

A legal CB Radio is only 4 Watts. Range would be limited, 5 miles maybe, but there are some out there that are pumping out more Watts then the Legal Limit. I pick up people all over the country.
So what's your take?

I have a CB from when I drove a semi cross country. Yes a stock one is only 4 watts unless you use the USB (upper side band) or LSB (lower side band) then you get 12 watts. I think these days it is reffered to as SSB (super side band). However, others have to be on either USB, LSB or SSB to clearly hear you. If not you sound like you are talking under water.

Sometimes you can catch what is called a "skip."

Skip = Atmospheric conditions that cause signals to travel much farther than they normally would. Typically signals are line-of-sight, but when the ionosphere is "charged" by the sun, signals that would normally pass through it are now reflected back to Earth, or "Skip" a large distance. Hams refer to this as a "Band opening".

I have had a skip where I was in orange county California and have spoken with others in San Francisco and also in Seattle, WA.

I have a Galaxy 88 converted to CB so I get about 300 channels on it, plus i attached a 300 watt kicker (amp) too it and I run Wilson 1000 attenas or I have a way of setting it up as a base station with a no ground anttena.

 

[Loomis]

I have a CB from when I drove a semi cross country. Yes a stock one is only 4 watts unless you use the USB (upper side band) or LSB (lower side band) then you get 12 watts. I think these days it is reffered to as SSB (super side band). However, others have to be on either USB, LSB or SSB to clearly hear you. If not you sound like you are talking under water.

Sometimes you can catch what is called a "skip."

Skip = Atmospheric conditions that cause signals to travel much farther than they normally would. Typically signals are line-of-sight, but when the ionosphere is "charged" by the sun, signals that would normally pass through it are now reflected back to Earth, or "Skip" a large distance. Hams refer to this as a "Band opening".

I have had a skip where I was in orange county California and have spoken with others in San Francisco and also in Seattle, WA.

I have a Galaxy 88 converted to CB so I get about 300 channels on it, plus i attached a 300 watt kicker (amp) too it and I run Wilson 1000 attenas or I have a way of setting it up as a base station with a no ground anttena.

That's decent. With 300 channels are you cutting into the cell phone, frs ? Galaxy is good set.

 

[Clyde]

That's decent. With 300 channels are you cutting into the cell phone, frs ? Galaxy is good set.

Not that I know of

 

[emp proof]

I think everyone who has one should get another to give to someone post shtf or to have one at ur base and one in your scout vehicle

 

[hj1984]

So while at the auction this weekend I was so excited to win a CB radio! In my excited state (i snagged it for only 2 dollars!) I didn't notice that it was a car model lol But thank goodness my hunny bunny is very smart when it comes to electrical and wiring etc (he was a marine but now he is a construction worker...builds houses from the ground up so he does wiring too) so I assumed he'd be able to rig it up somehow to run off of the 110 outlets in the house...and sure enough he can! He has a converter that takes 110 and converts it to 12v (since its made to run off a car battery) so he wired it to one of those plugs that goes into a cigarette lighter, he plugged that into the converter and the converter into the wall so now I have an indoor cb radio...i know this isn't something that most would be excited about but I am lol its a bit of nostalgia with them as my dad and I used to talk to truckers etc when I was little...my handle was Rainbow Bright anyhow.... since its a car unit, I've gotta find some speakers that will work with it, and it squeals when i press the button to talk, so i think there is a short in the handset also...and I've gotta get an antenna for it...any suggestions on speakers or antenna? also...what do you think about if we gotta bug out, how could i power it then if i took it with me?

 

[emp proof]

So while at the auction this weekend I was so excited to win a CB radio! In my excited state (i snagged it for only 2 dollars!) I didn't notice that it was a car model lol But thank goodness my hunny bunny is very smart when it comes to electrical and wiring etc (he was a marine but now he is a construction worker...builds houses from the ground up so he does wiring too) so I assumed he'd be able to rig it up somehow to run off of the 110 outlets in the house...and sure enough he can! He has a converter that takes 110 and converts it to 12v (since its made to run off a car battery) so he wired it to one of those plugs that goes into a cigarette lighter, he plugged that into the converter and the converter into the wall so now I have an indoor cb radio...i know this isn't something that most would be excited about but I am lol its a bit of nostalgia with them as my dad and I used to talk to truckers etc when I was little...my handle was Rainbow Bright anyhow.... since its a car unit, I've gotta find some speakers that will work with it, and it squeals when i press the button to talk, so i think there is a short in the handset also...and I've gotta get an antenna for it...any suggestions on speakers or antenna? also...what do you think about if we gotta bug out, how could i power it then if i took it with me?

I believe 12v will be easier to obtain post shtf,you can go round pinching batteries from cars, you can make a charger from an alternator or you can trickle charge car batteries with a solar panel

 

[emp proof]

I plan to have one running from a car battery at the bunker, and one in a vehicle or lookout spot, as for ariels if your using it at home get a realy realy long ariel, no need to use a little magnet mount one if it doesn't need to be mobile

 

[emp proof]

Also iv been told that if you coil up your spare wire to the ariel, and tape it up so it stays coiled for some reason will boost your range a small ammount

 

[White Tiger]

a 12v radio that may or may not be a CB with some additional limited HF access frequencies - would be an excellent SHTF radio.

As for pre-SHTF...not so much.

...but it would be good to know there was one...waiting...somewhere...just in case...

Or it would be good to know a 12 volt man...

 

[emp proof]

I think peoples idea of having radios is to find others and find camps and ****, all I want mine for is my crews survival I'm not interested in talkin to every last survivor, even a radio set in each bunker would be class and maybe one mobile one in a vehicle or back pack the extra hf frequencies would be nice to stop evesdroppers, but I dnt think there will be any in my area everything is quite spread out

 

[White Tiger]

Well, in reading about some accounts, the FRS radios as well as CB type radios have as many eavesdroppers lying in wait...as intended listeners. Watching accounts of disasters and how ham radio folks responded - then seeing what some family went thru during a recent hurricane - was what pushed me over the edge.

HF/VHF - offer great operational security (OPSEC) because they require specific (but not difficult) knowledge to operate - and to operate safely - they also require some expertise in certain techniques. You wouldn't necessarily want to learn these things "under-fire".

Can you get by without it? Sure.

But if all you needed was to pass a test in order to learn the basics - that would separate you from 99.6% of the population (as only 770,000 folks have their license out of a nation of 300,000,000 people) which not only allows you to coordinate during a collapse...it also gives you a sought after skill/tool for a post-collapse scenario.

 

[Clyde]

So while at the auction this weekend I was so excited to win a CB radio! In my excited state (i snagged it for only 2 dollars!) I didn't notice that it was a car model lol But thank goodness my hunny bunny is very smart when it comes to electrical and wiring etc (he was a marine but now he is a construction worker...builds houses from the ground up so he does wiring too) so I assumed he'd be able to rig it up somehow to run off of the 110 outlets in the house...and sure enough he can! He has a converter that takes 110 and converts it to 12v (since its made to run off a car battery) so he wired it to one of those plugs that goes into a cigarette lighter, he plugged that into the converter and the converter into the wall so now I have an indoor cb radio...i know this isn't something that most would be excited about but I am lol its a bit of nostalgia with them as my dad and I used to talk to truckers etc when I was little...my handle was Rainbow Bright anyhow.... since its a car unit, I've gotta find some speakers that will work with it, and it squeals when i press the button to talk, so i think there is a short in the handset also...and I've gotta get an antenna for it...any suggestions on speakers or antenna? also...what do you think about if we gotta bug out, how could i power it then if i took it with me?

Congrats on the super cheap find.
I used to be a cross country truck driver so I do have a suggestion for you
As far as antennas go I really like the wilson antennas. I have a wilson 1000 antenna, and for home i have a "no ground" antenna. those are handy for houses and r.v.'s
Try to get three deep cycle (marine) batteries. This way you can charge one while you use one, and have on standby.

 

[rdnkbear]

im not sure they work up here in the middle of Rabun county.

 

[Loomis]

im not sure they work up here in the middle of Rabun county.

They would but not very far with 4 Watts output.

 

[White Tiger]

Mountainous regions aren't real good for CB - I guess that's why folks use 2m FM - as it is vertical and can be directed/reflected back down and around mountains, from a tower...but typically only line of sight.

High Frequency (80m - 10m) NVIS is something I'm learning about for just that sort of issue (signals getting "lost" between mountains). Since this can "bounce" a signal off of the ionosphere and back down in a 600 mile wide circle - and you don't worry about mountains blocking signals between two towers on different sides of a mountain - when you're practically dropping the signal in from above.

The antenna is pretty cheap (compared to towers and climbing mountains to position them), but the radios are a a little more expensive.

CB's are nice if you only want to communicate with cars you can see, on flat land, with no obstructions that might absorb a radio signal...outside of that...you're going to need some special - but not expensive or difficult equipment!

 

[Loomis]

So while at the auction this weekend I was so excited to win a CB radio! In my excited state (i snagged it for only 2 dollars!) I didn't notice that it was a car model lol But thank goodness my hunny bunny is very smart when it comes to electrical and wiring etc (he was a marine but now he is a construction worker...builds houses from the ground up so he does wiring too) so I assumed he'd be able to rig it up somehow to run off of the 110 outlets in the house...and sure enough he can! He has a converter that takes 110 and converts it to 12v (since its made to run off a car battery) so he wired it to one of those plugs that goes into a cigarette lighter, he plugged that into the converter and the converter into the wall so now I have an indoor cb radio...i know this isn't something that most would be excited about but I am lol its a bit of nostalgia with them as my dad and I used to talk to truckers etc when I was little...my handle was Rainbow Bright anyhow.... since its a car unit, I've gotta find some speakers that will work with it, and it squeals when i press the button to talk, so i think there is a short in the handset also...and I've gotta get an antenna for it...any suggestions on speakers or antenna? also...what do you think about if we gotta bug out, how could i power it then if i took it with me?

That's a great find. Yes, it will work with a ac/dc converter as long as it's 12 volts or run it straight from a 12v battery like I do. Again GREAT FIND !!!
SUPER SHOPPER AWARD !!

 

[Loomis]

Clydesdale- I just hold of a new Galaxy DX-959 peaked and tuned. Paid a pretty penny for it.

 

[Loomis]

I have a CB from when I drove a semi cross country. Yes a stock one is only 4 watts unless you use the USB (upper side band) or LSB (lower side band) then you get 12 watts. I think these days it is reffered to as SSB (super side band). However, others have to be on either USB, LSB or SSB to clearly hear you. If not you sound like you are talking under water.

Sometimes you can catch what is called a "skip."

Skip = Atmospheric conditions that cause signals to travel much farther than they normally would. Typically signals are line-of-sight, but when the ionosphere is "charged" by the sun, signals that would normally pass through it are now reflected back to Earth, or "Skip" a large distance. Hams refer to this as a "Band opening".

I have had a skip where I was in orange county California and have spoken with others in San Francisco and also in Seattle, WA.

I have a Galaxy 88 converted to CB so I get about 300 channels on it, plus i attached a 300 watt kicker (amp) too it and I run Wilson 1000 attenas or I have a way of setting it up as a base station with a no ground anttena.

Ok, I had to look up that model. Here is a question: Did you have a power Mike? Reason asking I just got a hold of a Galaxy DX 959 peaked & tuned currently in shipment. I'll hook it up to my dipole antenna out back. Will work on getting that thing up this week. It will be another week till I get it.

 

[Clyde]

Ok, I had to look up that model. Here is a question: Did you have a power Mike? Reason asking I just got a hold of a Galaxy DX 959 peaked & tuned currently in shipment. I'll hook it up to my dipole antenna out back. Will work on getting that thing up this week. It will be another week till I get it.

I honestly don't remember. I'm going to try and digg my radio out of the garage this weekend. I will see if I can find the mic. I still have my power inverter to take 110 volts down to 12v.

 

[White Tiger]

You guys would be better off with a combo 10 meter/CB radio (covers about 2-3 miles on CB and up to hundreds or thousands of miles on 10m) or even a multi-mode 2m radio (depending on your antenna type and power supply - up to a hundred miles using "repeaters", or out to 30 miles withOUT using repeaters) - the 10m/CB would give local access AND (occasionally) news from faraway you could then share locally with other likeminded individuals - should the S hit the proverbial fan...

I just put together a similar EMP proof kit for my son, the radio was a little hard to find, the EMP proof faraday box is a little unique, but the radio, a 10m antenna and some coax cable - all fit into a small metal case. I am thinking about including a micro 2 meter radio - Handy Talkie (or HT) - in what I call his EMCOMM (Emergency communication) kit.

Lots of unlicensed "user groups" are working on unpopular 2m and 10m ham radio frequencies. I don't advocate this, as I am a licensed ham and believe you should know what you're doing on ham frequencies - but I have heard them.

 

[Clyde]

You guys would be better off with a combo 10 meter/CB radio (covers about 2-3 miles on CB and up to hundreds or thousands of miles on 10m) or even a multi-mode 2m radio (depending on your antenna type and power supply - up to a hundred miles using "repeaters", or out to 30 miles withOUT using repeaters) - the 10m/CB would give local access AND (occasionally) news from faraway you could then share locally with other likeminded individuals - should the S hit the proverbial fan...

I just put together a similar EMP proof kit for my son, the radio was a little hard to find, the EMP proof faraday box is a little unique, but the radio, a 10m antenna and some coax cable - all fit into a small metal case. I am thinking about including a micro 2 meter radio - Handy Talkie (or HT) - in what I call his EMCOMM (Emergency communication) kit.

Lots of unlicensed "user groups" are working on unpopular 2m and 10m ham radio frequencies. I don't advocate this, as I am a licensed ham and believe you should know what you're doing on ham frequencies - but I have heard them.

What did you use for your Faraday box?
I agree with running the 10 meter, 2 meter, and cb (I think those 40 channels are 12 meter). I like your EMCOMM idea!

 

[Loomis]

You guys would be better off with a combo 10 meter/CB radio (covers about 2-3 miles on CB and up to hundreds or thousands of miles on 10m) or even a multi-mode 2m radio (depending on your antenna type and power supply - up to a hundred miles using "repeaters", or out to 30 miles withOUT using repeaters) - the 10m/CB would give local access AND (occasionally) news from faraway you could then share locally with other likeminded individuals - should the S hit the proverbial fan...

I just put together a similar EMP proof kit for my son, the radio was a little hard to find, the EMP proof faraday box is a little unique, but the radio, a 10m antenna and some coax cable - all fit into a small metal case. I am thinking about including a micro 2 meter radio - Handy Talkie (or HT) - in what I call his EMCOMM (Emergency communication) kit.

Lots of unlicensed "user groups" are working on unpopular 2m and 10m ham radio frequencies. I don't advocate this, as I am a licensed ham and believe you should know what you're doing on ham frequencies - but I have heard them.

What's the power output on those rigs?

 

[Clyde]

What's the power output on those rigs?

A regular CB Radio has a legal limit of 4 watts. When you get in to HAM you can start putting more power on your rig.
I have a 300 watt amp (a.k.a. "Kicker") from my truck driving days.
An amp typically costs $1.00 per watt.

 

[White Tiger]

What's the power output on those rigs?

The power my 10m radio runs on is 15 watts, max PEP (peak envelope power). I currently run it from a 13.8 VDC, 10 watt power supply, but it it can just as easily run off of your car battery (it was designed to be a mobile unit).

I believe 30 watts is max DC, but you don't need that much to make contact...just throw the included dipole antenna over a tree limb (preferrably about 30' or so), unroll the two copper wire "legs" of the antenna, tie them off in an inverted "V" hook up the coax and the positive/negative-ground leads to a car battery...and "Vi-Ola" (as WC Fields used to say)...yer cookin' with gasoline (even if you don't have any in her tank)!

Or you can use a whip antenna for CB - and with 15 watts available - you wouldn't need an amplifier....

...not that I have tried that, as I understand it, CB-er's don't take kindly to the linear amplifier folks "stepping" all over their signal...