CB Radio

Volvoboy

Ok it's not the 1980's anymore, but i'm gonna get one for the car on Monday.

Handy for the taxi, but i'm starting to see a few of them going around on the skanger mobiles now. Maybe they're starting to come back into vogue?

http://www.cqcomms.com/cbmob.htm

Vain

Ya starting to see more of them around these days. My friend has one, he never has it on tho, doesnt be much happening on them if anything. Well we from a town not a city. Just watch the cb aerial his got robbed off his car before during a rally.

Seanieke

Loads of em out my way.. All ya'll get is Farming Contractors on them though!

Up in Dublin ya can usually get in with a few Northy truckers, they still seem to be a hit with them!

Maplin have a starter pack special at the moment, CB, Aerial & etxra speaker for €140 I think.

Eric Cartman

was considering one myself, why, i dont know, but i want one, do you need a licence or anythign for them ?

Volvoboy

Eric Cartman wrote: »

was considering one myself, why, i dont know, but i want one, do you need a licence or anythign for them ?

Been getting info on them, basically it's Citizens Band radio, so you dont need a licence just wire it up and your away.

Seanieke

Nope, just throw it an the car & away with ya!!

I'd advise starting to think of a "handle " now

Seanieke

Enjoy!!

http://www.cbradio.org.uk/cbslang.htm

Big Nasty

Some good info on CB Radios from a friend of mine on another forum:

'I've done most of my hunting on eBay uk Al.... shops here are far too expensive
the things would want to be goldplated for what there asking.....
I've been e-mailing a couple of places in the UK to see can we get a deal.
the cost of this project is roughly around €300 per unit including aerial...... but trust me it is money well spent...... especially good for the way we travel in convoy.

No more where is such and such did anybody see such and such was he not behind us!!!
forget phones!!!!!!!!!! when were on a run this is the only way and best way of keeping it together.

With the right set up which I am currently running in the focus!!!!! for instance the other night I was speaking to a lad up in County Down and I sitting here outside my house.

anybody thats interested in this and thinks you just need to get a 40 channel is pitting against the wind.. YA NEED radio that will operate USB & LSB MODES.


And do not, buy a radio from the states, it will not work.'

More:

SUPERSTAR 3900 EL

more advanced radio with frequency counter

RANGER RCI-2950 DX

now getting into the top end stuff very powerfull output..
these radios are six or seven times more powerful than the standard stuff allows you to communicate over a greater distance..... but this is also hugely affected by the antenna.

RANGER RCI 2970 DX HIGH POWER

This one is top-of-the-line all the bells and whistles
GALAXY DX 95T2

now for the aerial

So much depends on choosing the right aerial,so for anyone considering getting into this do not deviate from the recommended antenna, you will regret it.

SIRIO MEGAWATT 4000 PACKAGE

WILSON 1000 + MAG MOUNT.

the most important thing with any radio we are gona need is that it has RF gain control.
so if you happen to have an old radio that is multimode check to see if it has RF GAIN......
this will be needed when we are travelling close together.'


Hope this helps y'all!

L-M

I bought a CB, and it never worked for me, so I sold it to a friend for 30 euro, who then proceeded to find out that the aerial had to be on metal (there was a magnet on the bottom of it) for it to work. So after sticking it to his mircowave, and realising it was working, he sold it for 100:o

Eric Cartman

i like these plans, everyone on motors forum up for one ,

Can i ask why USB and LSB, what about plain old fm , a lot of good quality cheaper radios support it such as the Maycom EM-27 (€100 on ebay) , im not a cb nut so can you explain the advantage of usb and lsb

Big Nasty

Eric Cartman wrote: »

i like these plans, everyone on motors forum up for one ,

Can i ask why USB and LSB, what about plain old fm , a lot of good quality cheaper radios support it such as the Maycom EM-27 (€100 on ebay) , im not a cb nut so can you explain the advantage of usb and lsb

No idea Eric - I just copy and pasted that info from a dude I know who is big time into them for years and really knows his stuff.

Eric Cartman

well id personally say the fm would be ok, it seems to be what the scummers/taxi's are using

Big Nasty

Eric Cartman wrote: »

well id personally say the fm would be ok, it seems to be what the scummers/taxi's are using

I suppose it depends on if ya just want local coverage or a better set up. Depends on your intended use. You can get something basic for about €150 or something really good for €300. At that rate I would go for the latter.

franksm

Seanieke wrote: »

Enjoy!!

http://www.cbradio.org.uk/cbslang.htm

<shudder>
Am suddenly reminded of every bad film out of the '70s

Big Nasty

franksm wrote: »

<shudder>
Am suddenly reminded of every bad film out of the '70s

Am suddenly reminded of every bad film out of the '70s

Eric Cartman

i found out , LSB and USB are terms used for a radio standard called 10meter (basically HAM) , this standard is used to communicate over very long distances (like to the UK or france) ,

so id say us boardsies could go for the cheap radios . So who will join me in buying a CB radio ?

Big Nasty

Eric Cartman wrote: »

i found out , LSB and USB are terms used for a radio standard called 10meter (basically HAM) , this standard is used to communicate over very long distances (like to the UK or france) ,

so id say us boardsies could go for the cheap radios . So who will join me in buying a CB radio ?

Ya know Eric, I could be wrong but I get the feeling that you are trying to belittle the info I posted about this. What I put up was info from an expert in this business and based on his level of expertise (which you can see from my previous posts on this matter) I think it is good solid info. I've often got a taxi from Sandyford up to Johnnie Fox's, which is not too far up in to the Dublin mountains and regularly experienced the drivers radios going out of coverage in places, and this is just a five mile journey. Therefore, based on your conclusions of 'the cheap radios' I would rather spend €300 on a decent set up as advised by an expert as opposed to a ' taxi driver and scanger' set up as advised by your-(uneducated in this matter)-self for €150!

Eric Cartman

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Ya know Eric, I could be wrong but I get the feeling that you are trying to belittle the info I posted about this. What I put up was info from an expert in this business and based on his level of expertise (which you can see from my previous posts on this matter) I think it is good solid info. I've often got a taxi from Sandyford up to Johnnie Fox's, which is not too far up in to the Dublin mountains and regularly experienced the drivers radios going out of coverage in places, and this is just a five mile journey. Therefore, based on your conclusions of 'the cheap radios' I would rather spend €300 on a decent set up as advised by an expert as opposed to a ' taxi driver and scanger' set up as advised by your-(uneducated in this matter)-self for €150!

sorry if it seems that way, it is good info and its good to know, im just a cheapskate, i can see the advantages of a 300 euro radio, but as to how many boardsies would fork out for that over say a 70-80 euro radio is what im considering

VolvoMan

Do you always have to have a big ugly aerial sticking out of your roof or are there any alternatives?

Eric Cartman

VolvoMan wrote: »

Do you always have to have a big ugly aerial sticking out of your roof or are there any alternatives?

unfortunatley no, ive been looking all afternoon for even a motorized retractable one and apparantly the heavy base is required for a good ground plane (eliminating the motorized possibility) and it has to be the correct length (eliminating a window mesh orientation)

crosstownk

No need for side bands (USB/LSB) unless you plan to catch some skip. Skip is where the signals bounce back from the ionosphere. This means that it is possible to talk to other CBers as far away as Australia once you have a decent enough base set up. I never managed to skip into Australia but I know a guy who had a decent base station and a 3 element beam who managed it regularly. I skipped into many parts of Europe with my home setup.

For local reception a standard 40 channel unit will do nicely. The problem is (or was) that the 'crazy 40s' which are the standard 40 channels used to be quite busy so I used a 120 channel unit with upper and lower 40s which were less used. Mobile and base CB radios usually come with banks of 40 channels and usually work on the 27MHz frequency. A 'shift' switch allows the user to raise or drop 40 channels to get access to another 40. Shifting up gets the Hi40s or SuperHi40s and down does the opposite. Channel 1 is 26.965Mhz and every channel above/below that is +/- 0.010Mhz. FM sets were available but didn't prove popular despite better sound quality.

IIRC, channel 11 was the standard calling channel (as in "breaker one-one") and channel 9 was the distress channel while channel 19 was the truckers channel. I don't know if all that applies nowadays as the CB band is a lot quieter since mobile phones arrived.

I used to have a Cobra 146GTL which was converted for the upper and lower 40s. On the car I had a DV27 antenna and at home I had a Silver Rod 5/8 wave mast.

For anyone getting a CB and aerial be sure that you have the correct SWR (Standing Wave Ratio). If it's wrong your output power will suffer immensely.

I have an old Colt AM/FM CB and a DB27 in the attic in my Dad's house so if a few Boardsies get on air then I may hook it up in the car for the craic!

Eric Cartman

im personally thinking of a MAYCOM EM-27 , decent features, great reviews and you can pick one up on ebay for 80 euro

crosstownk , see you on the air if we get more joined in .... over....

crosstownk

Eric Cartman wrote: »

im personally thinking of a MAYCOM EM-27 , decent features, great reviews and you can pick one up on ebay for 80 euro

crosstownk , see you on the air if we get more joined in .... copy....

Fixed that for ya

Cocoon

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Some good info on CB Radios from a friend of mine on another forum:

'I've done most of my hunting on eBay uk Al.... shops here are far too expensive
the things would want to be goldplated for what there asking.....
I've been e-mailing a couple of places in the UK to see can we get a deal.
the cost of this project is roughly around €300 per unit including aerial...... but trust me it is money well spent...... especially good for the way we travel in convoy.

No more where is such and such did anybody see such and such was he not behind us!!!
forget phones!!!!!!!!!! when were on a run this is the only way and best way of keeping it together.

With the right set up which I am currently running in the focus!!!!! for instance the other night I was speaking to a lad up in County Down and I sitting here outside my house.

anybody thats interested in this and thinks you just need to get a 40 channel is pitting against the wind.. YA NEED radio that will operate USB & LSB MODES.


And do not, buy a radio from the states, it will not work.'

More:

SUPERSTAR 3900 EL

more advanced radio with frequency counter

RANGER RCI-2950 DX

now getting into the top end stuff very powerfull output..
these radios are six or seven times more powerful than the standard stuff allows you to communicate over a greater distance..... but this is also hugely affected by the antenna.

RANGER RCI 2970 DX HIGH POWER

This one is top-of-the-line all the bells and whistles
GALAXY DX 95T2

now for the aerial

So much depends on choosing the right aerial,so for anyone considering getting into this do not deviate from the recommended antenna, you will regret it.

SIRIO MEGAWATT 4000 PACKAGE

WILSON 1000 + MAG MOUNT.

the most important thing with any radio we are gona need is that it has RF gain control.
so if you happen to have an old radio that is multimode check to see if it has RF GAIN......
this will be needed when we are travelling close together.'


Hope this helps y'all!

I'd recommend that if your going to put one in the Taxi Volvoboy go for the Ranger high power and the Sirio Megawatt antenna. It might be expensive but why not get a proper set up first off. There is a group of us Taxi drivers out there already on SSB.

crosstownk

Cocoon wrote: »

There is a group of us Taxi drivers out there already on SSB.

Why use SSB? I know that it transmits with a more powerful signal but is it not a pain to have to continuously adjust the voice lock/BFO? Or is that done automatically on sets that are modern than what I'm used to? It's been 20 years since I keyed a CB mike!

Cocoon

Modern sets don't need adjustment as much unless you were on a superstar or similar, I use a Icom 706mk2g which on SSB stays spot on frequency and as far as I know the ranger is as good for a non HF rig. In Dublin we can transmit pretty much everywhere on SSB, Tallaght to Howth no problem. With AM or FM you just wouldnt get the range, especially car to car.

crosstownk

Cocoon wrote: »

In Dublin we can transmit pretty much everywhere on SSB, Tallaght to Howth no problem. With AM or FM you just wouldnt get the range, especially car to car.

Agreed. SSB is well suited for car to car over the distance you mentioned. Base to base or base to car wouldn't need it. The added advantage is that you'll get less muppets on the side bands

gyppo

crosstownk wrote: »

No need for side bands (USB/LSB) unless you plan to catch some skip. Skip is where the signals bounce back from the ionosphere. This means that it is possible to talk to other CBers as far away as Australia once you have a decent enough base set up. I never managed to skip into Australia but I know a guy who had a decent base station and a 3 element beam who managed it regularly. I skipped into many parts of Europe with my home setup.

For local reception a standard 40 channel unit will do nicely. The problem is (or was) that the 'crazy 40s' which are the standard 40 channels used to be quite busy so I used a 120 channel unit with upper and lower 40s which were less used. Mobile and base CB radios usually come with banks of 40 channels and usually work on the 27MHz frequency. A 'shift' switch allows the user to raise or drop 40 channels to get access to another 40. Shifting up gets the Hi40s or SuperHi40s and down does the opposite. Channel 1 is 26.965Mhz and every channel above/below that is +/- 0.010Mhz. FM sets were available but didn't prove popular despite better sound quality.

IIRC, channel 11 was the standard calling channel (as in "breaker one-one") and channel 9 was the distress channel while channel 19 was the truckers channel. I don't know if all that applies nowadays as the CB band is a lot quieter since mobile phones arrived.

I used to have a Cobra 146GTL which was converted for the upper and lower 40s. On the car I had a DV27 antenna and at home I had a Silver Rod 5/8 wave mast.

For anyone getting a CB and aerial be sure that you have the correct SWR (Standing Wave Ratio). If it's wrong your output power will suffer immensely.

I have an old Colt AM/FM CB and a DB27 in the attic in my Dad's house so if a few Boardsies get on air then I may hook it up in the car for the craic!

Most informed post on this thread so far.

AM 40 channel sets are by far the most common, and simplest to use.
Multimode sets are not too easy to get to grips with for a novice. Also, there is little point in running a multimode if there are only a few others that can talk back to you on it.

Hal1

The question is though, could using a CB radio be classed as 'using a mobile while driving' offence in the eyes of the traffic law enforcement officers.

L-M

Hal1 wrote: »

The question is though, could using a CB radio be classed as 'using a mobile while driving' offence in the eyes of the traffic law enforcement officers.

I'm fairly sure you're right.

Wishbone Ash

Eric Cartman wrote: »

do you need a licence or anythign for them ?

Volvoboy wrote: »

you dont need a licence

As far as I recall, a licence is required if it's over 4 watts(?).

Limerick man wrote: »

the aerial had to be on metal (there was a magnet on the bottom of it) for it to work

It doesn't have to be on metal. The magnet is used to secure it on metal but it can be secured in other ways. Many trucks have the CB ariel secured to the off-side mirror.

crosstownk wrote: »

while channel 19 was the truckers channel. I don't know if all that applies nowadays

Channel 19 is still the 'open' channel but, in the city centre, it seems to be full of bloody pager messages from the Mater hospital.

L-M

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

It doesn't have to be on metal. The magnet is used to secure it on metal but it can be secured in other ways. Many trucks have the CB ariel secured to the off-side mirror.

Well I could be wrong, but it never worked for me. It also wasn't working for him until he read on some forum that it has to be on something metal before it will work, and true enough once he put it on metal it worked straight away. I don't know, should have kept onto it to be honest, didn't owe me anything.

Volvoboy

Ok, here's the one im considering;

TTI TCB-770
Price € 199.00
Multi standard mobile CB radio for UK and EU bands, it is an ideal radio for users travelling across Europe as it includes various options to select CB frequency bands for Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Poland and UK (Please note when using in UK you may only select the bands UK, UE or EC).


Features multi-function display with back light, microphone with up/down buttons, external S meter socket, quick up/down channel selector and scanning, emergency button, Mic gain control, RF gain control, external speaker socket.

Frequency: 25.615 - 30.105 MHz
Power Supply: 13.8V DC
Sensitivity: 0.5uV for 20dB SINAD in FM mode / 0.7 V for 10dB (S+N)N in AM mode
Size 140mm (w) x 37mm (h) x 186mm (d)

What ya think?

Cocoon

Limerick man wrote: »

Well I could be wrong, but it never worked for me. It also wasn't working for him until he read on some forum that it has to be on something metal before it will work, and true enough once he put it on metal it worked straight away. I don't know, should have kept onto it to be honest, didn't owe me anything.

An antenna needs to be grounded alright, truck mirrors will work but not the most ideal set up. Alot of trucks probably have fiberglass roofs so they won't have metal to ground the antenna.

God be with the days we used a 40 box with a DV27 and an old biscuit tin

Cocoon

Volvoboy wrote: »

Ok, here's the one im considering;



What ya think?

Grand if you want to talk to truckers, you wont find much else. Way over priced too. Nice blue display though

Cocoon

Look at the spec on this radio 150w SSB, the one you are looking at is 4watt. Spend the extra few quid.

http://www.truck-king.co.uk/store/product.php?productid=16156&cat=408&page=1

deaglan169

ive never had a cb in my car but i am a licensed radio experiementer basically same thing but we have a wider range of frequencies and rules to obide, ssb would definately be the option i would go for, longer distance coverage and it can be fun working into england and further when conditions are good and can be a very fun and interesting hobby, im not sure about cb antennas but i use a vhf whip with my radio on a boot mount very similar to a taxi setup but i can see no reason why a cb ant couldnt be mounted in same way, for a standard 40ch am/fm rig i wouldnt spend much more than €100 on the radio for ssb the skies the limit and there are some excellent radios out there namely the rangers, as regards the law and using a mic in the car, 2-way radio is excempt ive never been stopped for using it while driving but at checkpoints im quizzed over the radio, like can it receive the guards a smart comment and your on your way:D

Eric Cartman

deaglan169 wrote: »

ive never had a cb in my car but i am a licensed radio experiementer basically same thing but we have a wider range of frequencies and rules to obide, ssb would definately be the option i would go for, longer distance coverage and it can be fun working into england and further when conditions are good and can be a very fun and interesting hobby, im not sure about cb antennas but i use a vhf whip with my radio on a boot mount very similar to a taxi setup but i can see no reason why a cb ant couldnt be mounted in same way, for a standard 40ch am/fm rig i wouldnt spend much more than €100 on the radio for ssb the skies the limit and there are some excellent radios out there namely the rangers, as regards the law and using a mic in the car, 2-way radio is excempt ive never been stopped for using it while driving but at checkpoints im quizzed over the radio, like can it receive the guards a smart comment and your on your way:D

yeah the garda law only applies to mobile devices, one of my mates has a nokia privacy handset on his dash, its a cabled hand phone for private conversations over his mobile and its legal apparantly

Volvoboy , wayy too overpriced , if we were going standard CB instead of SSB id say go for this http://www.4x4cb.com/public/item.cfm?itemID=622&CFID=3274313&CFTOKEN=27761017 , they can be found for 80 euro on ebay and have excellent reviews and good features for a cb

eringobragh

Volvoboy I'd avoid cqcomms full stop..They are WAY over priced. You'll find any of the gear they stock alot cheaper on the net.

Gary ITR

There is a forum for Hobby Radio. Would you like me to move this over there, might get more information or reccommendations?

Drummerboy08

On the question of whether or not you can be stopped for using it while driving, we deal with a large security company in Dublin. They have CB radios in the patrol van, but they also have a similar setup to a handsfree kit connected, with a mic on the roof, and a little button that can be strapped to the gearstick to activate it.

Eric Cartman

i noticed theres a bit of cb kit floating about on adverts, aswell as a seller selling SSB/USB/LSB radio equipment

crosstownk

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

As far as I recall, a licence is required if it's over 4 watts(?).

Most mobile CBs are 4 watts - more for SSB transmission.

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

It doesn't have to be on metal. The magnet is used to secure it on metal but it can be secured in other ways. Many trucks have the CB ariel secured to the off-side mirror.

AFAIK it does have to be grounded. The metal on the fixing assembly on most trucks is metal and is bolted to the door/body and is therefore grounded.

Cocoon wrote: »

God be with the days we used a 40 box with a DV27 and an old biscuit tin

Wow! Memories. I used to run such a set up in my bedroom as a teenager. The biscuit tin worked to some extent - an improvement over nothing at all.

snowman707

eringobragh wrote: »

Volvoboy I'd avoid cqcomms full stop..They are WAY over priced. You'll find any of the gear they stock alot cheaper on the net.

give Longcommunications a buzz

http://www.longcom.ie/


Raymond is down to earth guy, has helped us with our 2 way radios in the past.

Eric Cartman

right so ive started a thread on the hobby radio forum asking about cb vs ssb and the lads over there are reccomending cheap standard cb equipment,

so whos in, 150 euro will get you a complete setup

ronnie3585

Who uses CB's? What do they talk about?

Do they use catchy names like in Smokey and the Bandit?

Eric Cartman

well mostly truck drivers, but it would be fun to have a few boardsies using cb's , if you joing in we can use cool names

TheDriver

Thats a big 10-4 rubber ducky......sorry couldn't resist

ManFromAtlantis

brings me back to 80's. this was before mobile phones and the carckwas good.
spose mobiles have superceded them>?