I finally got around to re-installing my CB radio nothing exciting a Radio Shack 40 CH. with a magnetic mount antenna i found laying around. I am looking for some help with the CB like how it works and any tips on how to use it or other generally important stuff i need to know.

Thanx Kenneth

 

See if these help

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=220757

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=169669

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=104749

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...ead.php?t=4117

 

The MOST important thing you need to do now is to tune that antenna so you don't blow the finals out of the radio. When it's properly tuned you'll get better talking distance AND better recieving.

 

Interesting...

Three of the four posts linked, spoke about blatantly illegal radios.

Two also offered links to shops busted by the FCC in the last year.


I certainly wouldn't like my personal info on the customer list of a shop when the FCC came to call on one of those shops.

 

Thanks for the info on the illegal rigs. I had someone in the neighborhood running an illegal rig that would blow my television off the wall. Luckily I knew that all I had to do was call the local police dept which had a number of CB operators and ask for who to report an illegal CB to and give the guy's handle. It would shut down that rig within a minute or so for at least a few weeks. I think the guy eventually got the idea that he was toast and cut his power output.

 

Thanx for the info. Ive been busy i am trying to find time to get to a shop to have the antenna tuned. I'll let you know how it turns out after that.

Thanx again Kenneth

 

Radio Shack sells a device for tuning that comes with simple instructions. I bought one several years ago for about $20, I think.
Be careful not to get that antenna cable caught in the door or damaged somehow. And don't try to key the mike without the antenna connected. Either one can result in a fried radio.

 

First, to help answer the question: Like posted, you can buy a SWR meter at radio shack usually cheaper that having to pay someone to do it. Basically, you screw it in between the radio and your feedline, key the mike and adjust the antenna - (per instructions). Feel free to PM me if you run into snags..

Sounds like you've got what you need to get started. The best investment you can do for any CB, other than antenna upgrade, is to buy an external speaker. A good speaker will make even a Uniden 510 sound like a $200 radio.

You're going to hear all sorts of stuff when you turn it on - but mostly static noise.. Sometimes you'll hear something that sounds like a "snap" or "pop". This is more than likely a lightning strike that could be a thousand miles away.

Sometimes you'll pick up some guy just broadcasting weird sounds and talking stupid stuff. Just because you can hear him, doesn't mean he can hear you. That goes for other conversations, too. You might hear a couple people talking, when they start to slow down just say, "break". If they can hear you, they'll respond and just ask them how your radio sounds, or whatever. If they don't respond, it doesn't mean they are ignoring you, probably just can't hear you.

A lot of communities around the nation have informal CB GTG nightly. It's usually between 6pm and 9pm. There's not really a rule of thumb for which channel to check. Just start clicking through the channels until something pops up. A lot of local trucker guys, like construction related outfits use the CB during the day and you might hear that, again, not really channel specific. On the freeway the truckers will use channel 19, (sometimes 17), to talk about traffic or whatever.

Just have fun with it, it's what it's for...


If you're having interference from some local guy, (like your TV goes haywire every time he keys the mike), the local police are the ones to call. A lot of times the local cops don't have a clue and try to brush you off. It's not that they can't be bothered, it's usually because they think it's out of their jurisdiction, because it falls under Federal law. However, the gov. created a law that gives them jurisdiction with regards to CBs. If they say they can't help, you might need to educate them by printing this off:

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-...=f:publ521.106

This is food for thought, for the truckers out there running power. The Fed Gov regulates CB by the power output, not the antenna. So just having a high power antenna does not give probable cause to pull you over, but if you overload the radio in their patrol car....

 

Here is a little something for the four our five users here ignorant enough to pm me crying about how the FCC doesn't enforce anything to do with CB's anymore.

http://www.fcc.gov/eb/FieldNotices/2003/DOC-260457A1.html

That one is for sales of illegal radios. Specifically, the Galaxy's referred to in the linked threads.

http://www.fcc.gov/eb/FieldNotices/2003/DOC-260407A1.html

Here's one for running an ILLEGAL amplifier, and generally irritating the neighbors. Read it very closely, and he wouldn't let the FCC inspect his station. Didn't help.

Both of these were posted by the FCC less than a month ago.

 

That's too bad about that outfit up in Troutdale. They sold some nice Galaxys up there. They were advised by their lawyer to keep selling them after the first notice in 2001. Between then and now, with all the free publicity, I'm sure they more than paid for the fine. I used to go up there and check it out. They had a rack of the good stuff - over priced though.

For the most part, saying the FCC doesn't enforce, relating to CBs, is pretty accurate. Much of the reason is money, (like everything else.) They threaten to fine a guy between $7500 and $10,000. If you follow the results for these cases, the guy gives up his gear and pleads hardship - and the fine gets dropped to almost nothing. Meanwhile, the government has invested $50,000 to $100,000 to try try case, so even when they win, they lose. When they lose, we all lose. I believe that's why they pushed that bill into law, giving local law enforcement jurisdiction.

Frankly, the local cops don't want to deal with it either. You've got some old guy with a huge beam set up next to his house blasting the neighbors TVs, well, there are laws to deal with that.

But drive down any interstate or highway and count the number of CB antennas on the trucks you see, then multiply that by every highway in the country. I think you'ld have to agree that, relatively speaking, there's not much enforcement happening.

I agree though, running power on a cb radio that also does 10 meters is illegal without the proper license. Doesn't make me angry. I like CBs, and broadcast, two-way, ham. Doesn't really matter to me. I do get kind of perturbed at all the linears out there that are no where near spec, because the guy that made it knows no one can sue over an illegal item. Or that truckers are still on the CB freqs, when the Ham 2 meter VHF freqs would be perfect for them. Maybe the ARRL could push to trade 11 meters for 144Meg? Yea, right.. Hams don't compromise, even though they are the minority. Computer hacking and IT security are today what amateur radio was 50 years ago. Just like the government wanted to further radio technology then, they want to further internet security now. Same enthusiasim, different time. CBs can be fun, if you know what they can and can't do.

 

The main things to keep in mind are that the antenna length is every bit as importantant as the CABLE LENGTH that you connect to the radio.

Both are transmission lines, and the signal will only couple well on a line of the exact length that matches the frequency you are transmitting or recieving at.



Look for that when you browse the CB links shown earlier, it should be shown as an exact distance, if not e-mail the webmasters for help.

If they don't seem to know, BAIL on them and go find someone who does.

I forget what the median distance is for the wire - Papa Pond Scum told me but I done forgot...

 

Depends on the style of antenna GF. What I picture moneypit having is one of the low end mag mount antennas like radio shack sells. They have the coax installed at the factory. The main thing to remember with those is to put it back in the same place if you remove it, to go through the car wash or whatever - or you'll need to retune. Another thing with the mag mounts is to be careful with the cable. A lot of times people will route the coax through the rear slider and pinch it when they close the window. Coax will take a lot of abuse, but you need to be careful about changing the diameter too much.

Coax is unbalanced. To "match" the coax to the antenna, some systems use coax length to match, some do the match at the antenna and rely on the ground plane. If you take a look at the pic in my gallery, (I finally posted something - look for my avitar and update pics in 2010!), you'll see that big monstrosity mounted there, (hard to see on the pic, but it's mounted on the ladder rack with plenty of braided ground wire). That big coil is used to match what freq I'm using. It'll do 7MHz to 30MHz with great numbers. It's the same type of mid-loaded antenna you see on some of the truckers rigs, but mine's adjustable for beyond CB. What you can't see is the smaller matching coil at the base of the antenna. When I want to change bands, I can tune both coils and the whip - depending on how **** retentive I feel at the time. How long is my coax? About 5 or 6 feet of beldon rg-58 a/u I had laying around. I wasn't too concerned about the length, because I was matching at the antenna, other than making sure it wasn't too close to TX freq lengths on harmonics.

My other antenna is mounted in the middle of the roof. Again, because it's a base loaded Larson, I routed my coax to the radio and cut to fit. I'm using my truck as the negative side of the antenna, not the feedline - and matching the antenna to the coax, not the coax to the antenna.

If you're doing mirror mount, or some other area where you can't get a good ground plane, using 18 feet of coax to simulate a ground plane makes a lot of sense, that's why it's the truckers standard. You see this in the military a lot, too. They need to be able to make quick swap outs in unknown conditions with minimal tools and test equipment. For them, it makes sense to tune through the coax.

 

CB?? Didnt even know they still made those!

 

Oh, it's still out there. Doesn't have the market it used to have, but it's bigger than, say, waterless car wash brushes....

 

Long Live C.W.MCall!!