information about cb radio

Submitted: Sunday, Jan 30, 2005 at 08:26

ThreadID: 19900 Views:2239 Replies:4 FollowUps:4

This Thread has been Archived

mumwith2

just wondering if anyone could give me any insight on them what ones are the best etc
thanks

Reply By: Member - David 0- Sunday, Jan 30, 2005 at 09:25

Sunday, Jan 30, 2005 at 09:25

mumwith2,

Not sure what you are asking here. So excuse me if I get a bit basic.
What most people call CB radio (citizens band) is the old 27MHz CB. Almost nobody uses these anymore. They operate in the HF band (high frquency) and as such are prone to interference and unreliable propogation depending on ionospheric conditions. They can however (when conditions are right) transmit very long distances around the globe.

CB radio these days is UHF (ultra high frquency). It is more relaiable for short distance communications. In the bush in normal terrain this is probably about 3 kilometres or so, sometimes a fair bit more.

By using a repeater (and there are repeaters everywhere, even in the Simpson Desert) you can transmit longer distances perhaps 100 k. So buy a UHF with a repeater function (its called duplex) and go for a moderate gain antenna, not a high gain because high gain gives less reliable coverage in rough terrain but is better in flat terrain.

As for brands, thats your choice, plenty of good manufacturers out there. I have an Electrophone TX4400 and it is great. Front mounted speaker so I can mount in overhead console, selcall, duplex, 20 user programmable channels (you can set these to the police channels if you so wish).

Go to a good communicatios store and see what suits you

Hope this helps

AnswerID: 95609

Follow Up By: BenSpoon - Friday, Feb 04, 2005 at 13:15

Friday, Feb 04, 2005 at 13:15

a not-so-well used feature on 4400's:
the group scan and additional programmable frequencies.

did you know that police run frequencies within recieving range of your 4400 and a standard aerial? http://vk6hgr.echidna.id.au/warsug/frequencies.htm

To get into the programming, check your 4400 manual, but its basically press in the channel selector rotating dial while powering up the unit. use the rotating channel selector to change the channel to one above ch.40, when press it again to change the frequency listed. Use the web site above to program in frequencies, and use the group scan feature to group the copper channels together. Stick it on group scan and thats it. It is legal to listen, but illegal to broadcast of use for personal gain- consult the web site for info.

I dont see how they can legally operate their channels like this with the new legislation under the privacy act (all physical and electronic security measures must be taken to protect a 3rd parties personal info) and there they are reading out a persons name, address, DOB and the dates of their previous DUI and assault charges...

The 3200 i think also recieves 20 additional channels, but needs to be hooked up to a PC to program in the frequencies.

FollowupID: 355324

Follow Up By: Member - David 0- Friday, Feb 04, 2005 at 13:21

Friday, Feb 04, 2005 at 13:21

Yes I have all 20 channels on mine programmed. It was easy to do following the instructions

FollowupID: 355325

Reply By: Member - Banjo (SA) - Sunday, Jan 30, 2005 at 09:28

Sunday, Jan 30, 2005 at 09:28

Big question there mum - Have a look at a few resources first - try VKS737.on.net - PDF's page - Communication comparisons sheet (and others). Being very simplistic, virtually all mobile CB users are now buying 40 ch UHF, with the basic scan and duplex functions. Makes ? GME, Icom and Uniden might be the most popular, in that order.

AnswerID: 95610

Reply By: Member - Jimbo (VIC) - Sunday, Jan 30, 2005 at 10:41

Sunday, Jan 30, 2005 at 10:41

Depends what you want it for.

If it's only for car to car communication over short distances, a cheapo hand held for about $40 will do the job. Just make sure you get one that will take a power adaptor or the batteries will send you broke.

Cheers,

Jim.

AnswerID: 95616

Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Sunday, Jan 30, 2005 at 10:47

Sunday, Jan 30, 2005 at 10:47

Hey Jimbo I have a $99 Uniden and it uses 3 AA batts, they went for 8 days srtaight at Fraser Is landing it normally between 2 cars and the batts had been in it for 6 months at least before that, used from time to time. I am amazed at the battery life, its a .5 w unit.

.
Time is an illusion produced by the passage of history
.

Lifetime Member
My Profile My Blog My Position Send Message
Moderator

FollowupID: 354388

Follow Up By: Utemad - Sunday, Jan 30, 2005 at 13:13

Sunday, Jan 30, 2005 at 13:13

I've got the same Uniden and I agree that the batts last ages. It usually catches me out as they work for so long and all of a sudden the battery meter goes to half then flat in minutes.

As for the original question, I have a GME Tx4400 and our work trucks have Tx3200. The 3200 is a great little unit if you're not into the extra features of the 4400. The 3200 is small enough to mount just about anywhere too. None of them have given us any problems.

What makes the most difference in regards to recieve/transmit range is the antenna. So put more thought into the antenna than the radio.

GME radios

There is a link on the GME site called 'Choosing the right antenna' but it was not working at the time I posted this. Hopefully it will come good as it contains some good info.

FollowupID: 354410

Reply By: Knight Patrol - Monday, Jan 31, 2005 at 16:54

Monday, Jan 31, 2005 at 16:54

Give some thought to the aerial as it is the part that sends the signal out and a good aerial will give much better range than a bit wire on the roobar. I prefer to use a high gain aerial with simpler 40 ch Transceiver (GME) to be able to keep contact over longer distances. Quite handy for picking up wide/long escorted loads on the road ahead.

AnswerID: 95869