Some cb radio info
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Some cb radio info
by Admin Fri Mar 17, 2017 9:41 pm
Basically my recommendation is to buy a cb radio with ssb. If your not planning on installing the radio in a vehicle you have to consider several things. First is power supply. You can purchase an inverter/ power supply to change household current to 12 volt dc. You can use 12 volt car, motorcycle, lawn tractor type batteries with a small battery charger to keep them charged. Second is antenna. Mobile antennas are basically half an antenna. They must be mounted on a metal surface for proper ground plane. Base station antennas can be purchased or made. Any antenna has to be tuned to the radio prior to using for the first time. Pretty simple. All of my radio gear was purchased used. The last cb i bought is a Cobra with ssb. Paid 12 dollars at an indoor flea market. Took it straight to a repair shop and paid 25 bucks to have it checked out. Works great.
Below is some info i found on the web.
CB service operates on 40 shared channels in an AM mode or Single SideBand (SSB) mode. SSB offers less noise and greater range than AM mode and is usually found on higher end CB radios. SSB has two modes, Upper Sideband and Lower Sideband. You can only communicate with other SSB CB radios when in SSB mode.
The maximum power levels for CB operation depends on the type of signal you are transmitting. AM signals are allowed a maximum of four watts. SSB mode is allowed up to 12 watts Peak Envelope Power, or PEP.
CB is intended for short range, local communications only, but there is a way to increase range considerably by bouncing or "skipping" the signal off the ionosphere. This method is called 'shooting skip". Some CB users can skip a signal thousands of miles
Antennas.
This must be a special CB antenna - do NOT use an antenna that was not designed for use on CB.
The size will affect performance - take no notice of a manufacturers claim that their 1 foot wonder has a gain of 5 or 6dB. A small antenna can be useful for limited space and will be less obtrusive, but will not perform as well as the larger ones.
Tuning the Antenna using SWR meter
Tuning a CB antenna is usually just a matter of adjusting the length for the lowest SWR reading.
On the back of the SWR meter, there will be two sockets (known as SO239 connectors). One of these should be connected to the CB radio, and the other to the antenna. The sockets should be marked up to show which one goes where
Welcome to the world of CB skip (also known as DX).
Skip (or DX) is a name we use to describe atmospheric conditions that allow for radio transmissions to travel long distances. These conditions can bounce signals from state to state or even from country to country. While most people have the impression that only Ham Radio operators can talk long distances on the ham frequencies, they couldn’t be more wrong. The CB radio frequency spectrum is located very close to one of the popular Ham Frequencies used for DX and so even CBer’s can enjoy the same sort of amazing distance transmissions.
Skip is a big part of the CB radio hobby and there are tens of thousands of operators across the U.S. who enjoy talking long distances when conditions allow them to do so. These operators will often turn on their radio daily to listen and see if conditions are allowing skip to occur. If skip is happening they will jump on the radio and try to make contacts with other stations far away. Talking to stations in other states or other countries is exciting (imagine talking from your car in Colorado to a station in Australia – how cool is that?). Operators who talk skip are all excited about this phenomenon and so they are happy and willing to make contact with multiple stations on the air. If they are able to hear you, then they most likely will say hello to you.
Now if you have a SSB radio you’ll find that the majority of skip within the U.S., Canada, and Australia will occur on lower sideband (LSB) on the following channels – 35, 36, 37, 38, & 40 with the majority of people running on 36 and 38. Channel 38 is pretty much the nationwide call channel for SSB skip.
Below is some info i found on the web.
CB service operates on 40 shared channels in an AM mode or Single SideBand (SSB) mode. SSB offers less noise and greater range than AM mode and is usually found on higher end CB radios. SSB has two modes, Upper Sideband and Lower Sideband. You can only communicate with other SSB CB radios when in SSB mode.
The maximum power levels for CB operation depends on the type of signal you are transmitting. AM signals are allowed a maximum of four watts. SSB mode is allowed up to 12 watts Peak Envelope Power, or PEP.
CB is intended for short range, local communications only, but there is a way to increase range considerably by bouncing or "skipping" the signal off the ionosphere. This method is called 'shooting skip". Some CB users can skip a signal thousands of miles
Antennas.
This must be a special CB antenna - do NOT use an antenna that was not designed for use on CB.
The size will affect performance - take no notice of a manufacturers claim that their 1 foot wonder has a gain of 5 or 6dB. A small antenna can be useful for limited space and will be less obtrusive, but will not perform as well as the larger ones.
Tuning the Antenna using SWR meter
Tuning a CB antenna is usually just a matter of adjusting the length for the lowest SWR reading.
On the back of the SWR meter, there will be two sockets (known as SO239 connectors). One of these should be connected to the CB radio, and the other to the antenna. The sockets should be marked up to show which one goes where
Welcome to the world of CB skip (also known as DX).
Skip (or DX) is a name we use to describe atmospheric conditions that allow for radio transmissions to travel long distances. These conditions can bounce signals from state to state or even from country to country. While most people have the impression that only Ham Radio operators can talk long distances on the ham frequencies, they couldn’t be more wrong. The CB radio frequency spectrum is located very close to one of the popular Ham Frequencies used for DX and so even CBer’s can enjoy the same sort of amazing distance transmissions.
Skip is a big part of the CB radio hobby and there are tens of thousands of operators across the U.S. who enjoy talking long distances when conditions allow them to do so. These operators will often turn on their radio daily to listen and see if conditions are allowing skip to occur. If skip is happening they will jump on the radio and try to make contacts with other stations far away. Talking to stations in other states or other countries is exciting (imagine talking from your car in Colorado to a station in Australia – how cool is that?). Operators who talk skip are all excited about this phenomenon and so they are happy and willing to make contact with multiple stations on the air. If they are able to hear you, then they most likely will say hello to you.
Now if you have a SSB radio you’ll find that the majority of skip within the U.S., Canada, and Australia will occur on lower sideband (LSB) on the following channels – 35, 36, 37, 38, & 40 with the majority of people running on 36 and 38. Channel 38 is pretty much the nationwide call channel for SSB skip.
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