CB/HAM radio

[XERTYX]

Do many of you have CB radios in your rig? I used to have a base station when I was a kid and it was fun to talk to all the people around town that had one as well. It was also handy to check in with your buddies in their trucks as no one had cell phones then. I doubt much if many people use them for serious communication anymore just to pass the time on the road for the most part these days I guess.

Which brings me to my second point. I have an amateur radio license but I've only ever made one QSO (contact) in the few years I've had it. I also only have a 5 watt handy talkie. I have tried to make a QSO with the international space station using a yagi antenna when they happen to pass over but with no success. I've seen people do so with a similar setup and a 10 watt HT. But I digress. I can pick up repeaters about 60+ miles from me with my small HT so if I were to come to the 2020 RTR is there a repeater near quartzite? Do you guys have a mobile repeater? I have wanted to build a full duplex repeater for years that ran on solar but I doubt I'd get the grant for a call sign on one in my area as there are quite a few around as it is.

 

[speedhighway46]

You should get a copy of the ARRL Repeater Directory.

 

[Dieseldave]

Do many of you have CB radios in your rig? I used to have a base station when I was a kid and it was fun to talk to all the people around town that had one as well. It was also handy to check in with your buddies in their trucks as no one had cell phones then. I doubt much if many people use them for serious communication anymore just to pass the time on the road for the most part these days I guess.

Which brings me to my second point. I have an amateur radio license but I've only ever made one QSO (contact) in the few years I've had it. I also only have a 5 watt handy talkie. I have tried to make a QSO with the international space station using a yagi antenna when they happen to pass over but with no success. I've seen people do so with a similar setup and a 10 watt HT. But I digress. I can pick up repeaters about 60+ miles from me with my small HT so if I were to come to the 2020 RTR is there a repeater near quartzite? Do you guys have a mobile repeater? I have wanted to build a full duplex repeater for years that ran on solar but I doubt I'd get the grant for a call sign on one in my area as there are quite a few around as it is.

I still run a CB on my GoldWing motorcycle even though we all have cell phones. The CB has helped me several ways that the phone cannot. For instance, truckers and others warn of road debris such as large pieces of tires, couches, ladders, and boxes. Hitting one of these items is not something you want to do on a motorcycle, or a car. I sometimes ride with a group of GoldWings and many of the riders are running CBs. I also keep a radio in my motor home as a back up communication device. I'm guessing that several of the attendees will be running radios at this years RTR. Not sure what channel people will be on. If you have a channel you run, let me know.

 

[XERTYX]

Thanks for the recommendation on the directory. 

I wont be at this years RTR unfortunately. Maybe next year. I usually used channel 19 back in the day as did most of my friends unless you wanted to branch off for a less crowded channel. 38 was always where I went for a more private channel. Everyone was always in the basement in my hometown. 1 or 2. Or way up on 40 or 39. I had a GE radio while my cobra was in the shop that had 28 channels I think. That was annoying. Haha.

 

[ByeBye]

I have no technical info to info but I follow a guy, NWHiker, on YT that has a rig similar to my project but he carries an elaborate, at least to my untrained eye, radio antenna setup.

 

[tx2sturgis]

I have wanted to build a full duplex repeater for years that ran on solar but I doubt I'd get the grant for a call sign on one in my area as there are quite a few around as it is.

You can operate any new repeater under your existing callsign, what you might be referring to is repeater coordination. Building, installing, and maintaining a repeater can run into the thousands of dollars, so it is not always beneficial to you especially in an area with several repeaters already online and active. 

Depending on where the repeater will be located there might or might not be a frequency pair available on the band you intend to use. 

In most densely populated urban areas, there are few if any available pairs on 2 meters, maybe a few on 440. 

There is no FCC requirement that your frequency pair be coordinated, BUT...if you pick a frequency that interferes with a coordinated repeater within a range of 50-100 miles or more,  then yours will be the one that has to vacate that frequency and be moved to another frequency.

If you are in a sparsely populated area, then chances are, you will have your choice of several available pairs on either 2 meters or 440. If you want to build one for 10 meters, 6 meters, 220 MHz, 900 MHz, or 1.2 gig, you will probably be able to pick your own frequency, since those bands have very few repeaters in most locations.

 

[thurm]

The WIN system has a repeater near quartzsite that reaches all the way to parker/lake hav, which seems to be the most active repeater currently. At the end of the RTR there's quartzsite's hamfest, i suspect the local repeaters will become more active the closer we get to hamfest.

on 11-meter its mostly bored truckers at love's or flying j... as you'd expect.

 

[XERTYX]

Bored truckers near a truck stop can be entertaining though. Offering to sell wireless extension cords or load locks for tanker trucks.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Bored truckers near a truck stop can be entertaining though. Offering to sell wireless extension cords or load locks for tanker trucks.

I used to haul diesel spark plugs, sailboat fuel, and dispatcher brains.

 

[XERTYX]

Haha. Diesel spark plugs. That's a great one.

 

[speedhighway46]

Amateur Radio is such a huge hobby it cannot be covered here in any detail. My suggestion to you is to gain knowledge. This can be done easily by checking out some of the thousands of Amateur Radio related web sites.

Also, you could join a local radio club and meet other hams.

Start by looking at the ARRL web site and learning about their Wilderness Protocold. Also check out the eHam and QRZ sites.

Amateur Radio is a wonderful hobby, and learning is at its core.

Best of luck and 73!

 

[JD GUMBEE]

Mrs G and I carry dual band HT's. We also have GMRS higher wattage Motorolas in the toad, pickup and the Class A.
There were times when we could not get any data on the jetpack...or cell signal...ATT/Sprint/Verizon, none of them worked.
No matter where we went though, I could hit at least a 2 meter repeater.
If one has an honest to god emergency, it will get you someone on the other side.

If you actually get your license, setting up so that you can send text emails over the air is pretty easy and not too much $$$, either.

I would not be without CB on the highway.
Even if only for the traffic jam info.
I always know, 5 miles before I get there...which lane to be in.
I also know if exiting the highway is going to be worthwhile. Every time.

A truck stop CB shop is a better option than buying a 50 dollar radio/antenna in a plastic hanging package.
Spending $200 on a quality radio and antenna is worth it.
The guy/gal @ a truck stop shop knows how to trim the antenna and keep the noise out of it. Makes all the difference.

 

[grumpygrizzly]

The local CB guys here in Vancouver, WA are all about seeing how much "power" they can run through their 5 watt radios.. A true ham knows that an antenna is a lot cheaper and tuned well will out perform most amplifiers on the market.

I've got an ICOM 706 in my pickup, a CB, and a Scanner all hooked up in there. The ICOM runs to a Hygain antenna where I can switch the traps for the different HF bands offering better performance than most screwdrivers and hamsticks on the market. I have about 12 of those stingers, some are wide and some are narrow bands. As a backup, I have a wire dipole set for 20 meters that I can toss the ends up into a tall tree and based on the way it's oriented, I can get some decent signals. One time in Fairbanks, I threw it up in a tree and running the 100 watts the radio comes with, I was about to get into a network of operators in Italy and Germany and it was as good as talking on a phone.

Take a look for the Buddipole DIY antenna.. https://sites.google.com/site/w3ffhomepage/homebrew-buddipole-plans is the website for making a 10-40 meter buddipole out of wire and pvc pipe.. The instructions are really easy to follow and you can pretty much get most of the parts from Lowes or Home Depot.

 

[Redbearded]

I just picked up a cheap ham radio for emergencies I still need to get my license though (I'm not planning to transmit until then unless it's an emergency)!

 

[Dieseldave]

What is the best antenna to mount on a class c motorhome for a CB?

 

[JD GUMBEE]

Most hams won't tell you this, but if you need an ambulance or police, KEY THAT radio and plainly describe your location and the emergency. In an emergency situation, there is no penalty for transmitting without a license.
Force Majure, baby...

One more thing...you have a 706 Icom in your truck AND a CB???
Can't you clip the jumper and hit the 27.000 area with that radio already??
Why have two when the HF you have is worlds ahead of the normal CB...risking blowing the input out with twin antennas flooding each other with RF energy like that?

(Here come the HAM gestapo...who forget that experimentation within power limits used to be the whole focus of the hobby. )
I know that technically, it is not legal...but most do this and no one cares.
It saddens me we have become a modified version of Borg society. A rule for everything, including how you wipe yourself.
Resistance is futile, indeed