Ask HN: How to get started with CB radio?
I am looking to equip our house (in Bay
area) with a CB radio device for disaster communication scenario as well as to expand social network. What is the minimum required equipment/permissions needed to start?
105 comments
Permission:
If you are setting up a base station, your landlord or HOA may have restrictions on the antenna size. There are no permissions or license required in the U.S. from the FCC assuming you are using unmodified CB radios. Keep the antenna and coax cable away from other equipment if you can, to avoid interference that results in neighbors complaining about you.
Technical:
Look for ARRL sites that describe how to properly install and ground your antenna as well as different antenna types. The same knowledge for ham operators using the HF bands will apply to CB radio (26-27Mhz). HN is not a sufficient platform to give you all the steps you would need. You will need an antenna, SWR meter (standing wave ratio) to tune your antenna, coax cable, antenna mast, grounding connection (new or existing building ground). An all-around decent omni-directional antenna would be a 5/8's wave ground plane. 1/2 wave are more plentiful but less effective for what you are doing. The ARRL sites will give you information on how to do all of these things. You could also find a local ham radio club that will have people knowledgeable in this area. They may try to get you into HAM radio and that does require a license.
There are CB radio base station transmitters. The selection is smaller today than in the 70s/80s. You can find equipment on Amazon, just don't trust the positive reviews in my opinion. Try to find something that has both AM and SSB (LSB USB) should you some day want to talk to other countries using skip conditions.
You will find truckers and maybe some locals on channels 17 and 19. Channel 9 if for emergencies but may not have anyone responding. Happy to add more later, but I have to step away for a bit.
If you are setting up a base station, your landlord or HOA may have restrictions on the antenna size. There are no permissions or license required in the U.S. from the FCC assuming you are using unmodified CB radios. Keep the antenna and coax cable away from other equipment if you can, to avoid interference that results in neighbors complaining about you.
Technical:
Look for ARRL sites that describe how to properly install and ground your antenna as well as different antenna types. The same knowledge for ham operators using the HF bands will apply to CB radio (26-27Mhz). HN is not a sufficient platform to give you all the steps you would need. You will need an antenna, SWR meter (standing wave ratio) to tune your antenna, coax cable, antenna mast, grounding connection (new or existing building ground). An all-around decent omni-directional antenna would be a 5/8's wave ground plane. 1/2 wave are more plentiful but less effective for what you are doing. The ARRL sites will give you information on how to do all of these things. You could also find a local ham radio club that will have people knowledgeable in this area. They may try to get you into HAM radio and that does require a license.
There are CB radio base station transmitters. The selection is smaller today than in the 70s/80s. You can find equipment on Amazon, just don't trust the positive reviews in my opinion. Try to find something that has both AM and SSB (LSB USB) should you some day want to talk to other countries using skip conditions.
You will find truckers and maybe some locals on channels 17 and 19. Channel 9 if for emergencies but may not have anyone responding. Happy to add more later, but I have to step away for a bit.
> Permission:
> If you are setting up a base station, your landlord or HOA may have restrictions on the antenna size. There are no permissions or license required in the U.S. from the FCC assuming you are using unmodified CB radios. Keep the antenna and coax cable away from other equipment if you can, to avoid interference that results in neighbors complaining about you.
You probably only need to ask permission if you actually entered into a restrictive covenant or other contractual agreement to not place an antenna. PRB-1[1] doesn't preempt such covenants, but the landlord or HoA can't just arbitrarily restrict you without your agreement. My anecdotal experience is that HoAs are usually pretty aggressive about including such restrictions, but I've never personally seen a lease that says you can't have a CB antenna. I have seen restrictions on satellite dishes, which is funny because those actually aren't enforceable[2] (unless the landlord/HoA provides a dish for you to use). I really hope someone somewhere has responded to being told to take down his flag pole by mounting a TV receiver at the top of the mast.
[1] http://www.arrl.org/prb-1
[2] https://www.fcc.gov/media/over-air-reception-devices-rule
> If you are setting up a base station, your landlord or HOA may have restrictions on the antenna size. There are no permissions or license required in the U.S. from the FCC assuming you are using unmodified CB radios. Keep the antenna and coax cable away from other equipment if you can, to avoid interference that results in neighbors complaining about you.
You probably only need to ask permission if you actually entered into a restrictive covenant or other contractual agreement to not place an antenna. PRB-1[1] doesn't preempt such covenants, but the landlord or HoA can't just arbitrarily restrict you without your agreement. My anecdotal experience is that HoAs are usually pretty aggressive about including such restrictions, but I've never personally seen a lease that says you can't have a CB antenna. I have seen restrictions on satellite dishes, which is funny because those actually aren't enforceable[2] (unless the landlord/HoA provides a dish for you to use). I really hope someone somewhere has responded to being told to take down his flag pole by mounting a TV receiver at the top of the mast.
[1] http://www.arrl.org/prb-1
[2] https://www.fcc.gov/media/over-air-reception-devices-rule
Wow, Thank you!
One quick thing: antennas made for car rooftops don't work so well on your house- they need a ground plane. Look for CB radio base station antennas. They will either be something like center fed 1/2 wave dipoles (18 ft. long), or shorter 1/4 wave (9 ft.) but with ground plane radials sticking out around the bottom.
https://www.rightchannelradios.com/collections/base-station-...
https://www.rightchannelradios.com/collections/base-station-...
Just three things to add.
One, you could use a handheld to avoid the antenna installation. Range will not be as good, but that might not be an issue depending on where you live.
Two, do you live in a higher density area? Are you in a flat area, top of the hill, or bottomed of the hill? Topography can greatly extend or reduce your range. CB is usually short range (5-50 miles) and lack repeaters, so it also depends on who bug your coverage area will be (mostly antenna and topography based) and who else is in your area. If your antenna will be short range and there are not many people in the area, or if you have terrain blocking you, then you might not have many people to talk to.
This brings up number three. What kind of emergency communication do you want? I'd you want to listen for info, a boafeng would be good. These can pick up NOAA weather stations, emergency services (police, fire, ems), FRS, GMRS, MURS, 70cm, 2m, and others. Many of these use repeaters, linked repeaters (WAN), and even the internet (echolink) to extend coverage. If you want a better antenna, it's quite easy to build a 1/4 with ground plane and hide it in the attic (much smaller than CB antenna). The important thing to note here is that you do not need a license to listen, but you would need a license to transmit (some of the ones I mentioned you still can't transmit on). The license is easy to get and the cost is very low. If you have the license, you can hit repeaters and greatly extend your range compared to CB. Some of these repeaters are designated for emergency communication purposes and operators will use them to help the authorities communicate during a disaster. Although this is getting more rare to actually be used given they have their own radio channels, cows (cell on wheels), etc.
One, you could use a handheld to avoid the antenna installation. Range will not be as good, but that might not be an issue depending on where you live.
Two, do you live in a higher density area? Are you in a flat area, top of the hill, or bottomed of the hill? Topography can greatly extend or reduce your range. CB is usually short range (5-50 miles) and lack repeaters, so it also depends on who bug your coverage area will be (mostly antenna and topography based) and who else is in your area. If your antenna will be short range and there are not many people in the area, or if you have terrain blocking you, then you might not have many people to talk to.
This brings up number three. What kind of emergency communication do you want? I'd you want to listen for info, a boafeng would be good. These can pick up NOAA weather stations, emergency services (police, fire, ems), FRS, GMRS, MURS, 70cm, 2m, and others. Many of these use repeaters, linked repeaters (WAN), and even the internet (echolink) to extend coverage. If you want a better antenna, it's quite easy to build a 1/4 with ground plane and hide it in the attic (much smaller than CB antenna). The important thing to note here is that you do not need a license to listen, but you would need a license to transmit (some of the ones I mentioned you still can't transmit on). The license is easy to get and the cost is very low. If you have the license, you can hit repeaters and greatly extend your range compared to CB. Some of these repeaters are designated for emergency communication purposes and operators will use them to help the authorities communicate during a disaster. Although this is getting more rare to actually be used given they have their own radio channels, cows (cell on wheels), etc.
As a kid we lived next door to a guy that was a CB or maybe HAM nut. He had a big antenna on his roof. We were constantly getting interference on TV, radio, even the telephone. He gave zero shits when we talked to him about it, said it couldn't be him, etc. but it only happened when he was home and when he moved a few years later it never happened again.
This brings up a good point. Be prepared for a situation like this. Even if your radio set up is correct, your neighbors might not know where to get help to solve interference problems.
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/Neighbor_Info/Neig...
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/Neighbor_Info/Neig...
Very often it is actually not the transmitter, but cheap, poorly designed equipment at the receiving site.
If you are a ham, the ARRL and other hams will help you work out a problem with a neighbor.
If you are a ham, the ARRL and other hams will help you work out a problem with a neighbor.
I work on Displays and we've seen microwaves cause link failures on poorly shielded display port cables. RF interference is really fascinating.
Thank you for taking time to write this.
[deleted]
Cool!
I would suggest not limiting yourself to just CB. Look around for your local amateur radio club. The basic exam is not tough and it will put you in instant contact with loads of other radio nerds keen to chat. With a HAM license you'll have many many more channels to play/work with. Taking the advanced exam will require more study (unless you are a MSc electrical eng) but the reward is definitely proportionally greater
I would suggest not limiting yourself to just CB. Look around for your local amateur radio club. The basic exam is not tough and it will put you in instant contact with loads of other radio nerds keen to chat. With a HAM license you'll have many many more channels to play/work with. Taking the advanced exam will require more study (unless you are a MSc electrical eng) but the reward is definitely proportionally greater
Definitely don't stop at CB. Get a CB, yes, but go get your technician level amateur radio license. While studying for that license, you'll learn that output power on CB's is limited by the FCC to 4 watts[1], but with a technician license you can go to far more watts than you actually need (1500W)[2]. I have a CB and a HAM radio in my both of my Jeeps, and the HAM radios blow the doors off what the CB can do. Even the handheld HAM radios run circles around the CB's-- both in terms of communication distance, but also in the wealth and variety of people you can talk to both locally and around the world. For emergency communications you have a lot of better options once you have your ham radio license. Best of all, in the process for preparing for the exam, you'll learn all about what those options are.
The exam itself is not hard; my wife crammed for it starting on a Thursday evening and passed it on Saturday. If you're actually interested in learning about the options and the technology though, taking your time to read and learn is a better idea. There's a wealth of information online and in widely available exam guides about preparing for the test and getting your license.[3]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CB_radio_in_the_United_States#...
[2] http://www.arrl.org/frequency-allocations
[3] https://www.amazon.com/ARRL-Radio-License-Manual-Spiral/dp/1...
The exam itself is not hard; my wife crammed for it starting on a Thursday evening and passed it on Saturday. If you're actually interested in learning about the options and the technology though, taking your time to read and learn is a better idea. There's a wealth of information online and in widely available exam guides about preparing for the test and getting your license.[3]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CB_radio_in_the_United_States#...
[2] http://www.arrl.org/frequency-allocations
[3] https://www.amazon.com/ARRL-Radio-License-Manual-Spiral/dp/1...
I run a mobile GMRS in my Jeep with a couple of 5W HTs for spotting and keeping touch on the go - most folks I know have moved off CB entirely. There are excellent ground-plane independent antennae from Larsen and Laird that work well with the "challenging" Jeep installs.
Having a HT or base ham radio is nice for SHTF scenarios, but I haven't really found the need for a mobile.
Having a HT or base ham radio is nice for SHTF scenarios, but I haven't really found the need for a mobile.
1500W! Wow, that’s a lot, especially compared with the limits of lower frequencies like 1W or 5W.
On the 630 metres frequencies:
> 5 W EIRP maximum, except in Alaska within 496 miles of Russia where the power limit is 1 W EIRP.
Wonder where that weird distance came from. 496 miles ≈ 798.2km, so it’s just below what I’d expect to be chosen as a round number, whether defined in miles or kilometres.
On the 630 metres frequencies:
> 5 W EIRP maximum, except in Alaska within 496 miles of Russia where the power limit is 1 W EIRP.
Wonder where that weird distance came from. 496 miles ≈ 798.2km, so it’s just below what I’d expect to be chosen as a round number, whether defined in miles or kilometres.
It is probably 800km and they rounded the miles to 496 instead
800km ≈ 497.1km. You’re not likely to round that to 496.
Lots of people learned in school (in my part of Canada, at least) that 1km = 0.62 miles.
If you use that value, you get 800km = 496 miles. Seems like that's what happened here.
If you use that value, you get 800km = 496 miles. Seems like that's what happened here.
Hmm, so the statute is probably in metric and this particular site made this error in conversion? Still feels a weird error to make, I’d expect to (a) use metric, (b) use a more correct conversion, or (c) round up to 500.
From the metric perspective, most people go with 1 mile = 1.6km, which is a bit less accurate (about −0.58%, rather than about +0.22%), but definitely easier to work with.
From the metric perspective, most people go with 1 mile = 1.6km, which is a bit less accurate (about −0.58%, rather than about +0.22%), but definitely easier to work with.
Anther follow-up in case someone stumbles upon this in the future and wants more information.
The 800km limit applies to quite a few countries. Many of them (but not all) were members of Soviet Union. You can find a list here: https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf10759.html (search for "800 km".)
It looks like these come from the ITU table of frequency allocations so there's likely some history behind the 800km limit. I haven't found any great information yet, but will add it if I do.
The 800km limit applies to quite a few countries. Many of them (but not all) were members of Soviet Union. You can find a list here: https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf10759.html (search for "800 km".)
It looks like these come from the ITU table of frequency allocations so there's likely some history behind the 800km limit. I haven't found any great information yet, but will add it if I do.
It's in FCC §97.313 (l) and you're right, it's metric: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/97.313
I crammed 15 minutes in front of the door for the Technician exam. It's stupidly easy. I studied the General with a question bank for about a week while I'm doing something boring and passed General and Extra.
In most large cities, the CB bands are filled with people playing with voice modification and trash talking. All day long, all channels. It's almost useless and has been that way since the 80s. If you aren't very close to a highway, expect not to hear anything.
Serious users are all HAMs, but then it's all "serious business".
Serious users are all HAMs, but then it's all "serious business".
"In most large cities, the CB bands are filled with people playing with voice modification and trash talking. All day long, all channels."
Weirdly, it makes me happy to learn this ...
Weirdly, it makes me happy to learn this ...
Just ham, not HAM, not H.A.M.
Where does it come from?
Ham was a term likely coined by professional radiotelegraphers to mean ham-fisted (with 'fist' being a term referring to technique used when sending Morse code)
An early example of elitism in radio that is still very prevalent today - Professionaly trained telegraphy operators talking down amateurs who are involved for the fun of it, for having sloppy technique when sending code.
An early example of elitism in radio that is still very prevalent today - Professionaly trained telegraphy operators talking down amateurs who are involved for the fun of it, for having sloppy technique when sending code.
Ham comes from pigs =)
Put originally it was a pejorative used by professional telegraph operators to make fun of 'ham fisted' amature radio oporators who were bad at morse code.
Put originally it was a pejorative used by professional telegraph operators to make fun of 'ham fisted' amature radio oporators who were bad at morse code.
This is the correct answer.
Source: My father was very active in UK ham radio circles back in the 1980s.
Source: My father was very active in UK ham radio circles back in the 1980s.
It’s shorthand for amateur radio operator (as opposed to professional, e.g. ship to shore.)
I read something online about it coming from a Harvard callsign. Is that nonsense?
Like a goofy person “hamming it up”
Amateur radio operators can seem undisciplined compared to professional or military operators.
Amateur radio operators can seem undisciplined compared to professional or military operators.
Depends on the area, but IIRC the VHF/UHF HAM bands in some cities are almost as bad as CB radio at times. I remember a couple of decades ago LA had a big problem with jerks and unlicensed idiots spamming the airwaves.
I believe LA still has that problem, but largely confined to a single repeater.
Yes, W6NUT is still going. It's pure anarchy by HAM standards but it's actually kind of entertaining. https://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/25419
Sad to say, there seems to be little going on with CB these days. Even living inside a major metro area, I got one (and exactly one) call on a radio left tuned to channel 9 for close to six months: sadly, the man was elderly and senile, and did not actually have an emergency. I'd be willing to bet that's par for the course.
The last I heard any substantive CB chatter was around 2014, while driving to Kentucky. Two things I recall from that trip:
1. I was able to get on the radio and ask what the source of bumper-to-bumper traffic was - it was "a chopper in the road". I figured it was CB slang for a motorcycle, but, no, this actually was a medflight helicopter in the middle of the road. So, be prepared to learn not just a language, but also context - or just use Waze, Google Maps, or your other live traffic tool of choice.
2. There is spam on the trucker channels, 17 and 19 - actual, legit spam for 10% off your next meal at Burger King at the truck stop. This accounted for a solid 20% of what I did hear, which is probably on par with the signal-to-noise ratio of e-mail.
The last I heard any substantive CB chatter was around 2014, while driving to Kentucky. Two things I recall from that trip:
1. I was able to get on the radio and ask what the source of bumper-to-bumper traffic was - it was "a chopper in the road". I figured it was CB slang for a motorcycle, but, no, this actually was a medflight helicopter in the middle of the road. So, be prepared to learn not just a language, but also context - or just use Waze, Google Maps, or your other live traffic tool of choice.
2. There is spam on the trucker channels, 17 and 19 - actual, legit spam for 10% off your next meal at Burger King at the truck stop. This accounted for a solid 20% of what I did hear, which is probably on par with the signal-to-noise ratio of e-mail.
> There is spam on the trucker channels
I haven't done CB in decades but I'm still having trouble processing this factoid. I thought advertising on CB was illegal? Then again it's CB where everything is legal and perhaps too few participants are left to care anyway.
I haven't done CB in decades but I'm still having trouble processing this factoid. I thought advertising on CB was illegal? Then again it's CB where everything is legal and perhaps too few participants are left to care anyway.
channel usage can be regional too, some channels the in the know commercial drivers will split northbound/southbound etc, smokey reports and so on. if you hear activity and some slang terms repeatedly its worth trying to look up or asking
While not directly answering your question, here is a suggestion that may improve your understanding of CB and help inform your decision about what radio service to use.
There are a number of WebSDRs available that provide a public web interface to radio receivers located in various places. They are live streams of radio traffic that can be tuned to your frequency of choice. If you go here[1] and filter by the 10m band and the North America region, you can find several that cover the 26-27MHz frequencies used for CB channels[2]. While none of these are located in the Bay area, it should give you a sense of how active CB is and what typical usage looks like. You can also use web SDRs to listen to ham (look up 2m/70cm calling frequencies as well as local repeater frequencies) and FRS/GMRS frequencies[3] in your area.
To be perfectly honest, I feel like GMRS may be best for your use case, but the beauty of WebSDRs is that you don't have to invest in any equipment to listen. This way you can learn more about these different types of radio services and decide which is best for your use case, without lots of expensive and time consuming buy-in.
[1] http://websdr.org/
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_band_radio#Standard_c...
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Mobile_Radio_Service#F...
There are a number of WebSDRs available that provide a public web interface to radio receivers located in various places. They are live streams of radio traffic that can be tuned to your frequency of choice. If you go here[1] and filter by the 10m band and the North America region, you can find several that cover the 26-27MHz frequencies used for CB channels[2]. While none of these are located in the Bay area, it should give you a sense of how active CB is and what typical usage looks like. You can also use web SDRs to listen to ham (look up 2m/70cm calling frequencies as well as local repeater frequencies) and FRS/GMRS frequencies[3] in your area.
To be perfectly honest, I feel like GMRS may be best for your use case, but the beauty of WebSDRs is that you don't have to invest in any equipment to listen. This way you can learn more about these different types of radio services and decide which is best for your use case, without lots of expensive and time consuming buy-in.
[1] http://websdr.org/
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_band_radio#Standard_c...
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Mobile_Radio_Service#F...
You might also consider a GMRS (the blister pack radios you see everywhere) radio instead of or in addition to CB. The license is inexpensive and radios are plentiful. The range isn't nearly that of CB but you'll probably find a lot more local users.
Also look into the sibling comments about Ham radio. The lowest class license is really easy to get and gives you pretty wide permissions on various bands.
Also look into the sibling comments about Ham radio. The lowest class license is really easy to get and gives you pretty wide permissions on various bands.
The combination of both a ham and a GMRS license is actually pretty nice.
I got my General class license for ham a couple of years ago, and it's a fun hobby that does lend itself to disaster preparedness. My sub-$1000, battery-powered HF setup easily allows me to reach out and make contact across most of North America, and I frequently make contacts in Japan, South Korea, and eastern Russia. And with my cheap Baofeng and AnyTone radios I can tap into the awesome regional repeater network we have here in the Puget Sound.
However, with those radios I can only talk with other hams. In contrast, my $75 for 10 years GRMS license allows my entire family (the rest of which are not licensed hams) to talk on GRMS channels at up to 50 watts, instead of the 2 watt max you have with FRS. And here in Seattle we get access to some awesome GMRS repeaters, so we can basically communicate with each other anywhere across the city.
I got my General class license for ham a couple of years ago, and it's a fun hobby that does lend itself to disaster preparedness. My sub-$1000, battery-powered HF setup easily allows me to reach out and make contact across most of North America, and I frequently make contacts in Japan, South Korea, and eastern Russia. And with my cheap Baofeng and AnyTone radios I can tap into the awesome regional repeater network we have here in the Puget Sound.
However, with those radios I can only talk with other hams. In contrast, my $75 for 10 years GRMS license allows my entire family (the rest of which are not licensed hams) to talk on GRMS channels at up to 50 watts, instead of the 2 watt max you have with FRS. And here in Seattle we get access to some awesome GMRS repeaters, so we can basically communicate with each other anywhere across the city.
Do you have any specific advise for getting setup in the Puget Sound with GMRS (as I suppose the HAM portion is universal) ? Like OP I'm also interested in dabbling in this stuff.
> the blister pack radios you see everywhere
These are FRS radios, which share channels with GMRS but are not capable of txing on GMRS-only bands, repeater use, or higher output.
That said, get a GMRS license. $70 (soon to be lowered) for 10 years, and no test required.
These are FRS radios, which share channels with GMRS but are not capable of txing on GMRS-only bands, repeater use, or higher output.
That said, get a GMRS license. $70 (soon to be lowered) for 10 years, and no test required.
Basics:
Ten Four Good Buddy
Breaker One Nine
You got your ears on
That’s a big Ten Four
Good Buddy.
Double Nickels
All The Way
I never would have thought I'd be posting this on HN but it adds to the discussion.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M0PzZjtNnlM
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M0PzZjtNnlM
Don’t forget
What’s yer 10 20?
I’m east bound and hammer down
C’monnn back!Awe man you forgot...
Kojak with a Kodak
Kojak with a Kodak
Most anyone on Hacker News should consider all of amateur radio. Morse Code is no longer needed for a license and it opens many more possibilities especially for disaster communications.
Those in the Bay Area should check out "The San Francisco Radio Club ( 1916 - 2020 ) Celeb rating 104 Years serving the city of San Francisco & the Community" < https://www.sfarc.org/ > They are a great bunch and are, as one would expect, very knowledgeable.
Those in the Bay Area should check out "The San Francisco Radio Club ( 1916 - 2020 ) Celeb rating 104 Years serving the city of San Francisco & the Community" < https://www.sfarc.org/ > They are a great bunch and are, as one would expect, very knowledgeable.
Once you’ve been hamming for awhile, you might try cw and find out that it’s fun. Talk to the world with a couple of chips, a length of wire, and no computer.
I picked CW up as a pandemic thing and its a blast. Its probably the majority of my on air time now. Never would have thought, since Morse was originally what kept me from the hobby as a kid. Give it a go! 73 DE KN4ZMA
What is CW?
When I hear disaster communications, I think ham and family/FRS radio.
I'd consider getting a ham radio license, the tech license is really easy. Just 35 multiple choice, and you just have to get 26 questions right. The tests aren't tricky, pretty straight forward, and often common sense will get you fair number of questions right.
Disaster communications and preparations are pretty common among the ham radio community. In central California there's a regular net that include fire, hospitals, police, universities, etc. It's relatively common for ham radio repeaters to have solar+battery power to survive most disaster scenarios, you can always fall back to direct connecting if need be.
To really be prepared you have to practice, so that means participating in nets, setting up your radio, and efficiently communicating. The bay area has several nets each week, with different topics/goals. Additionally hams often help with races, large events, especially if the event is outside of cell range. In fact BLM allowed races to take place on BLM land, only if hams were involved to help coordinate with emergency services. I helped with the a double century bike race and my club also helped out with some horse races. Working with emergency services, often more than one, is good practice for a disaster.
SOTA (summits on the air) is also great practice for going into a disaster zone and helping with communications. You carry your radio, power, and antenna and get points for effectively communicating.
Sure a CB can be part of disaster communications, but it would be my first choice. Might want to pick up a couple 4 packs of the family radios and distribute them to any friends/family in your neighborhood. That way as a ham you can communicate/coordinate over longer distances and then coordinate with the neighbors, even if the power is out. If there's a disaster, your fellow hams can be quite a resource, well they are a great resource even without disasters.
In central California with a 5/8th wave 2M antenna on my roof could reach repeaters just outside the bay area, all the way up to near Shasta, and nearly to LA. Granted California central valley is quite flat, and the repeaters typically have pretty good elevation around the rim.
If you want to speak to people further away without repeaters, I'd consider upgrading to the general license, it's only somewhat more technical and allows you to use quite a bit more of the HF frequencies that can get you across the country, or even across the world depending on your radio, antenna, and protocols.
So the more radios the better, but I'd at least look at FRS/Family and Ham if you are interested in disaster communications.
I'd consider getting a ham radio license, the tech license is really easy. Just 35 multiple choice, and you just have to get 26 questions right. The tests aren't tricky, pretty straight forward, and often common sense will get you fair number of questions right.
Disaster communications and preparations are pretty common among the ham radio community. In central California there's a regular net that include fire, hospitals, police, universities, etc. It's relatively common for ham radio repeaters to have solar+battery power to survive most disaster scenarios, you can always fall back to direct connecting if need be.
To really be prepared you have to practice, so that means participating in nets, setting up your radio, and efficiently communicating. The bay area has several nets each week, with different topics/goals. Additionally hams often help with races, large events, especially if the event is outside of cell range. In fact BLM allowed races to take place on BLM land, only if hams were involved to help coordinate with emergency services. I helped with the a double century bike race and my club also helped out with some horse races. Working with emergency services, often more than one, is good practice for a disaster.
SOTA (summits on the air) is also great practice for going into a disaster zone and helping with communications. You carry your radio, power, and antenna and get points for effectively communicating.
Sure a CB can be part of disaster communications, but it would be my first choice. Might want to pick up a couple 4 packs of the family radios and distribute them to any friends/family in your neighborhood. That way as a ham you can communicate/coordinate over longer distances and then coordinate with the neighbors, even if the power is out. If there's a disaster, your fellow hams can be quite a resource, well they are a great resource even without disasters.
In central California with a 5/8th wave 2M antenna on my roof could reach repeaters just outside the bay area, all the way up to near Shasta, and nearly to LA. Granted California central valley is quite flat, and the repeaters typically have pretty good elevation around the rim.
If you want to speak to people further away without repeaters, I'd consider upgrading to the general license, it's only somewhat more technical and allows you to use quite a bit more of the HF frequencies that can get you across the country, or even across the world depending on your radio, antenna, and protocols.
So the more radios the better, but I'd at least look at FRS/Family and Ham if you are interested in disaster communications.
If you want to listen to CB/Ham radio right now, you can find a websdr station in your location of interest.
http://www.websdr.org/
http://www.websdr.org/
Skip CB, go get a Technician license for amateur radio and get a Baofeng UV5r or something like it. I wrote about this some time back:
https://miscdotgeek.com/ham-radio-100-part-1-vhf/
https://miscdotgeek.com/ham-radio-100-part-1-vhf/
Lots of advice here to get your ham license. Its good advice, and I did it myself, but from what I can tell, CB is still the way to go while driving on the road.
From my knowledge, there is no "Ch19" for ham, so you end up scanning a lot. Not ideal while travelling.
From my knowledge, there is no "Ch19" for ham, so you end up scanning a lot. Not ideal while travelling.
Lots of advice here to get your ham license. Its good advice, and I did it myself, but from what I can tell, CB is still the way to go while driving on the road.
That used to be the case, the last time I used a CB on the road was over a decade ago and it was a great source of road info.
But I recently installed a CB for a long road trip I was making (mostly on I-5 up and down the west coast) and was disappointed by the silence, there was very little chatter by truckers, even when there was a cop in the median running radar and another time when there was an accident, the only reason I knew about it was from Waze, there was nothing on the CB.
From my knowledge, there is no "Ch19" for ham, so you end up scanning a lot
Most ham bands have a "calling frequency" which is the equivalent of CB channel 19, for VHF it's 146.520MHz and for UHF 446.000MHz
That used to be the case, the last time I used a CB on the road was over a decade ago and it was a great source of road info.
But I recently installed a CB for a long road trip I was making (mostly on I-5 up and down the west coast) and was disappointed by the silence, there was very little chatter by truckers, even when there was a cop in the median running radar and another time when there was an accident, the only reason I knew about it was from Waze, there was nothing on the CB.
From my knowledge, there is no "Ch19" for ham, so you end up scanning a lot
Most ham bands have a "calling frequency" which is the equivalent of CB channel 19, for VHF it's 146.520MHz and for UHF 446.000MHz
A great place to find old CB gear is at swap places, garage sale type stores. (Obviously on line now too.)
There used to be many designs of home "base stations", otherwise you would need to adapt an in car model.
Continue with frettchen's good comment; with a car CB, you would need a 12v transformer (power supply). Then find metal siding or roofing, to make a ground plane, but of course, there are base station antennas.
If you go to a truck stop on an interstate highway, they usually have cool selections of gear.
You could try a handheld, at a truck stop or radio shack, the limitation is the crappy antennas. Range is really poor on those, but at least it gets you going.(about 500 meters?)
CBs are a lot of fun on the highway for long road trips. By the way, some people in the off road, forestry, oil field industries say CB, but actually mean VHF/UHF radios.
Couldn't a satellite phone be more valuable in an emergency?
Sort of. Who are you going to call? Generally the most valuable people to talk to are the local resources. Sat phones are generally pretty expensive, and don't help anyone but the caller and the callee.
Ham radio on the other hand can talk to local folks, and ham radio operators are trained on efficient communications between groups of people. The local ham likely knows the state of the weather, rescue efforts, when the next water/food/medical deliveries are, etc. Often emergency services lean pretty hard on the local hams when their infrastructure (that often depends on grid power, cell phones, or generators).
Sure sat phones can be nice, but dialing 911 and getting emergency services to a particular address depends on the service being up, spare resources available, and not getting a busy signal. Generally during disasters sat phones with the expense and inability to call anyone local is not particularly useful.
Ham radio on the other hand can talk to local folks, and ham radio operators are trained on efficient communications between groups of people. The local ham likely knows the state of the weather, rescue efforts, when the next water/food/medical deliveries are, etc. Often emergency services lean pretty hard on the local hams when their infrastructure (that often depends on grid power, cell phones, or generators).
Sure sat phones can be nice, but dialing 911 and getting emergency services to a particular address depends on the service being up, spare resources available, and not getting a busy signal. Generally during disasters sat phones with the expense and inability to call anyone local is not particularly useful.
its also worth pointing out a ham radio license is not needed to transmit in an emergency so all the more reason to throw the cheap ht in tackle box
If you're just going to throw it in a box and get it out in case of emergency, you may as well not bother getting it in the first place.
Get your amateur license (studying for the test will help you with the basic theory and operations of the radio), but more importantly, join your local ham club, or at least participate in their monthly nets -- but it's better to join them in emergency drills and other activities.
This will give you experience on how to operate your radios under real world conditions.
Modern radios have so many features that it's easy to inadvertently turn on some setting that makes it unusable, especially if you're the "throw it in a box and get it out if I need it" type of user who doesn't understand all the features on the radio.
If you do that today you can search the web or go to a local club meeting for help. If you do it in a disaster, you may not be able to use your radio when you need it most.
The same holds true for all of your “I only need it in case of disaster” supplies. I’ve had a small tent in my earthquake kit for over a decade. Last year I figured I’d put it up to make sure it was still usable and discovered that I didn’t have the tent poles so it was pretty much useless.
Get your amateur license (studying for the test will help you with the basic theory and operations of the radio), but more importantly, join your local ham club, or at least participate in their monthly nets -- but it's better to join them in emergency drills and other activities.
This will give you experience on how to operate your radios under real world conditions.
Modern radios have so many features that it's easy to inadvertently turn on some setting that makes it unusable, especially if you're the "throw it in a box and get it out if I need it" type of user who doesn't understand all the features on the radio.
If you do that today you can search the web or go to a local club meeting for help. If you do it in a disaster, you may not be able to use your radio when you need it most.
The same holds true for all of your “I only need it in case of disaster” supplies. I’ve had a small tent in my earthquake kit for over a decade. Last year I figured I’d put it up to make sure it was still usable and discovered that I didn’t have the tent poles so it was pretty much useless.
If you wait until an emergency to learn how to use it, it isn't going to be very useful.
In the US? If so, which Part 97 rule says you don’t need to be licensed to transmit during an emergency?
§ 97.403
That doesn’t say you can be unlicensed. It’s emergency use of an “amateur station” without restriction of method (eg using voice in the digital bands or operating outside of licensed level). The “amateur station” is defined as “apparatus of amateur service” which is defined in 97.3 as “carried out by amateurs, that is, duly authorized persons interested in radio technique…”. The “duly authorized” part would be the licensed component.
“ No provision of these rules prevents the use by an amateur station of any means of radiocommunication at its disposal to provide essential communication needs in connection with the immediate safety of human life and immediate protection of property when normal communication systems are not available.”
You’re overthinking this. It says nothing about method. If a station is available to you, normal communication systems are not available, and there is an immediate threat to life or property, then use the station. Simple as that.
This is a clarifying rule and it’s important to look at the intent, which effectively boils down to “if it’s truly an emergency, rules can be ignored”, even if it’s structured semantically in a way that the definitions do not necessarily agree.
You’re overthinking this. It says nothing about method. If a station is available to you, normal communication systems are not available, and there is an immediate threat to life or property, then use the station. Simple as that.
This is a clarifying rule and it’s important to look at the intent, which effectively boils down to “if it’s truly an emergency, rules can be ignored”, even if it’s structured semantically in a way that the definitions do not necessarily agree.
if you know the number of the person you are trying to contact, and they have service still. and you have to pay for service which you won't need most of the time. CB lets you talk to anyone else with a CB within range of your signal without needing to know their number first. Odds are in a emergency you wont know the phone number of every first responder within 3-20 miles of you (depending on terrain weather antenna and transmitter power) but you can communicate with them over cb radio
If the satellites are still working.
I would recommend getting your ham radio licence. When covid hit last year and then lockdown, I found out in the UK you could take the exam online. It's a few multiple guess questions.
The first level (foundation) is really quite easy, I think its similar in the USA.
For disaster communications, you'll really need a multi-faceted plan that includes Cellular, Wifi, CB, MURS, FRS/GMRS, and Ham radio as well as ways to receive broadcast AM/FM and Weather band.
If you want to get into CB radio, just go to your favorite online retailer or truck stop, buy a Cobra 19 or 29LTD (or literally anything that fits your budget), some coax, and an antenna - either a vehicle mounted long whip or mag mount with some kind of adapter for mounting it to your roof, or a base antenna like a Solarcon A99 or Patriot PAT-12, or build your own dipole and string it in the trees or attic or from a gable, etc. You probably also want a VSWR meter to tune the antenna if it's not built into the radio.
No permissions needed.
If you want to get into CB radio, just go to your favorite online retailer or truck stop, buy a Cobra 19 or 29LTD (or literally anything that fits your budget), some coax, and an antenna - either a vehicle mounted long whip or mag mount with some kind of adapter for mounting it to your roof, or a base antenna like a Solarcon A99 or Patriot PAT-12, or build your own dipole and string it in the trees or attic or from a gable, etc. You probably also want a VSWR meter to tune the antenna if it's not built into the radio.
No permissions needed.
Don't be bullied away from CB by the hams. I agree it's a good idea to get a ham license, but CB is still fun if you understand it's a different community. If CBer's and Hams could get in the same room without insulting each other it would be a beautiful thing. Hams tend to focus on reducing losses and squeezing signals out of the noise floor, CBers tend to focus on air chain (audio/modulation) and maor power.
I would highly recommend a CB that supports sideband, you will get much better range with sideband than just AM (most common CB's are AM only). However that range will only matter if those you need to communicate with also have a sideband CB. Export CB's cover different CB bands for different countries, just make sure you're using the correct band for the US. You don't want to draw the FCC or an angry ham to you by stomping on a non-CB band.
A 1/2 wave whip and a side-band CB can get you maby 6-12 miles or so. You can probably do better with a directional antenna but that gets a hair more complicated. You'll want to get SWR meter as well for HF. Even if the CB has one built-in, don't trust it for your initial setup, it's just for spot checking for coax degradation after your rig is setup.
And a word about power... hams like to flex that they will track you down if you run a linear amp/kicker on your CB. However what they don't mention is that as long as you stay in your lane they won't notice because they're too busy talking about their medical problems and radio gear on 2 meters. If you do run a kicker stay a few channels away from channels 1 and 40 so that you don't bleed over into the adjacent bands. It's also worth verifying you don't have any harmonics kicking up noise further up the band. Multiply your frequency by 2 for the first harmonic, multiply by 3 for the 3rd, on up to the 5th or 6th harmonic. Use a scanner or receiver if possible to listen on the harmonic frequencies when you key down. If you hear noise within 10 feet of your rig do more work to eliminate it or ditch the kicker.
After you get all your other bases covered... Modulation actually counts for a lot, especially on AM. It's possible to do wonders for your CB by adding a compressor/modulator combo. In a pinch you can just hook up a power mic though, but they tend to be very cheaply made. While this will not get your more range technically, it will make your voice much more legible out in the outer fringe of your range so it still helps. This is all part of your airchain/front end and so often gets ignored by hams who think it's only possible to increase modulation at the expense of sound quality. As long as you are monitoring your audio while adjusting your modulation and compression you can dial it in to be louder without being crap-tastic.
I would highly recommend a CB that supports sideband, you will get much better range with sideband than just AM (most common CB's are AM only). However that range will only matter if those you need to communicate with also have a sideband CB. Export CB's cover different CB bands for different countries, just make sure you're using the correct band for the US. You don't want to draw the FCC or an angry ham to you by stomping on a non-CB band.
A 1/2 wave whip and a side-band CB can get you maby 6-12 miles or so. You can probably do better with a directional antenna but that gets a hair more complicated. You'll want to get SWR meter as well for HF. Even if the CB has one built-in, don't trust it for your initial setup, it's just for spot checking for coax degradation after your rig is setup.
And a word about power... hams like to flex that they will track you down if you run a linear amp/kicker on your CB. However what they don't mention is that as long as you stay in your lane they won't notice because they're too busy talking about their medical problems and radio gear on 2 meters. If you do run a kicker stay a few channels away from channels 1 and 40 so that you don't bleed over into the adjacent bands. It's also worth verifying you don't have any harmonics kicking up noise further up the band. Multiply your frequency by 2 for the first harmonic, multiply by 3 for the 3rd, on up to the 5th or 6th harmonic. Use a scanner or receiver if possible to listen on the harmonic frequencies when you key down. If you hear noise within 10 feet of your rig do more work to eliminate it or ditch the kicker.
After you get all your other bases covered... Modulation actually counts for a lot, especially on AM. It's possible to do wonders for your CB by adding a compressor/modulator combo. In a pinch you can just hook up a power mic though, but they tend to be very cheaply made. While this will not get your more range technically, it will make your voice much more legible out in the outer fringe of your range so it still helps. This is all part of your airchain/front end and so often gets ignored by hams who think it's only possible to increase modulation at the expense of sound quality. As long as you are monitoring your audio while adjusting your modulation and compression you can dial it in to be louder without being crap-tastic.
As others have stated go for a ham license. In the UK the level of license you have determines the amount of power you can use to transmit, which frequency you can transmit on and if you can build your own kit. I imagine it is the same in the US.
I am in Ireland, chatting with the US is not a challenge. Australia was always hard work for me.
Ham is like IT. People will turn your head online and make it sound unnecessarily complex. To start get a little USB SDR dongle and start listening in. Will cost about £5.
2I0JXA
I am in Ireland, chatting with the US is not a challenge. Australia was always hard work for me.
Ham is like IT. People will turn your head online and make it sound unnecessarily complex. To start get a little USB SDR dongle and start listening in. Will cost about £5.
2I0JXA
There are a few CB radio receivers connected to the Internet. One in Lincoln, NB has a software defined radio listening to the entire band.[1] It's fed into Twitch.tv.
No signals in the last 10 minutes.
[1] https://player.twitch.tv/?channel=livecbradio2&muted=false&p...
No signals in the last 10 minutes.
[1] https://player.twitch.tv/?channel=livecbradio2&muted=false&p...
thats kinda impressive, i can only assume not near a highway. also night time propagation of 11 meter..
You will find a lot of people use HAM radio now because of the much longer range and CB is basically a toy that doesn’t have much chatter these days. I bought a CB for my vehicle but the antenna dictates the distance and since most people don’t have giant antennae and there’s lots of electromagnetic interference with modern tech you can’t talk for long distances unless you have an open field or similar environment.
When I was 11 yrs old, me and my best friend who lived about a mile away would stay up late at night yaking on our CB walkie talkies with the lights off in our bedrooms late at night We thought it was the greatest thing ever, our parents could not, or, well, just didn't understand how, to listen in. I guess that was the internet of the say (1970's hehe).
To throw on what others have said, if you've got a vehicle and drive at all frequently, it is fairly easy and inexpensive to install a CB radio in your vehicle.
I've got one in my Subaru Legacy I stuck up by the driver's seat, down to the left of the steering wheel. The radio itself is a Uniden PRO520XL (around $50) with a TRAM 703-HC antenna (about $20) that's on my trunk via a magnetic base. The antenna cord goes into the drunk (under the rain seal - no modification needed) and runs along the inside of the car tucked under the flooring. No tools needed, just tuck it all in until it's out of the way.
The radio itself is just screwed into a blank spot my knees don't hit with the included screws (just needed to pre-drill the holes). Ground wire is wrenched down under a bolt to the vehicles frame, and the power comes from the in-cabin fuse box (for mine that was closest, right next to the steering wheel) using a fuse tap (which lets you go under an existing fuse, so no permanent wiring or soldering needed), which I got a pack of 4 of for around $8.
All in all, about $80 to get it all together and other than two small screw holes, it can all come out like it was never there if needed.
I would reccomend getting an SWR meter (around $50 for the Workman brand one I got), which you can use to calibrate your antenna so you get better reception - it makes a major difference.
On the road, it's great in heavy traffic and rush-hour, as you can often pick up (and join in, though some are more open to this than others) trucker chatter, either to pass the time or as a pre-Waze-style method of knowing where the jams, cops, accidents, and so forth are so you can avoid them as needed. As LinuxBender said, channels 17 and 19 seem to be the usual trucker channels - some places will use both, some cities will focus on one (the Cincinnati area, for example, generally seems to be all on 19).
I've never run into the "people playing with voice modification and trash talking" busterarm mentioned in his comment, but the truckers are often VERY colourful in their language and topics - I would reccomend picking up some of the more common slang they use (I used to do tech support for trucking dealerships and garages, and years ago my dad drove a box truck, so I knew a reasonable amount already when I started) as it lets you get a lot more out of CB, since they're really still the primary people on it, at least in the US.
My radio also came with and output port for hooking a PA to it (i.e. in the hood like some police cars have), and while I've tested it with a cheap Pyle trumpet style speaker, I don't currently have that hooked up because I can't quite work out a good way to run the wire for it from the cabin to the engine compartment (though there are plenty of spots inside the hood I can zip-tie in the speaker, which I've seen people have pretty solid success with) - not exactly related to CB itself, but a fun thing if you want to add function to the radio, I suppose.
I've got one in my Subaru Legacy I stuck up by the driver's seat, down to the left of the steering wheel. The radio itself is a Uniden PRO520XL (around $50) with a TRAM 703-HC antenna (about $20) that's on my trunk via a magnetic base. The antenna cord goes into the drunk (under the rain seal - no modification needed) and runs along the inside of the car tucked under the flooring. No tools needed, just tuck it all in until it's out of the way.
The radio itself is just screwed into a blank spot my knees don't hit with the included screws (just needed to pre-drill the holes). Ground wire is wrenched down under a bolt to the vehicles frame, and the power comes from the in-cabin fuse box (for mine that was closest, right next to the steering wheel) using a fuse tap (which lets you go under an existing fuse, so no permanent wiring or soldering needed), which I got a pack of 4 of for around $8.
All in all, about $80 to get it all together and other than two small screw holes, it can all come out like it was never there if needed.
I would reccomend getting an SWR meter (around $50 for the Workman brand one I got), which you can use to calibrate your antenna so you get better reception - it makes a major difference.
On the road, it's great in heavy traffic and rush-hour, as you can often pick up (and join in, though some are more open to this than others) trucker chatter, either to pass the time or as a pre-Waze-style method of knowing where the jams, cops, accidents, and so forth are so you can avoid them as needed. As LinuxBender said, channels 17 and 19 seem to be the usual trucker channels - some places will use both, some cities will focus on one (the Cincinnati area, for example, generally seems to be all on 19).
I've never run into the "people playing with voice modification and trash talking" busterarm mentioned in his comment, but the truckers are often VERY colourful in their language and topics - I would reccomend picking up some of the more common slang they use (I used to do tech support for trucking dealerships and garages, and years ago my dad drove a box truck, so I knew a reasonable amount already when I started) as it lets you get a lot more out of CB, since they're really still the primary people on it, at least in the US.
My radio also came with and output port for hooking a PA to it (i.e. in the hood like some police cars have), and while I've tested it with a cheap Pyle trumpet style speaker, I don't currently have that hooked up because I can't quite work out a good way to run the wire for it from the cabin to the engine compartment (though there are plenty of spots inside the hood I can zip-tie in the speaker, which I've seen people have pretty solid success with) - not exactly related to CB itself, but a fun thing if you want to add function to the radio, I suppose.
CB is pretty straight forward. Buy a radio and an antenna, no license or training required. Pick a handle. Consider using ten-codes, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten-code.
Don't bother with CB radio. You can generally modify ham equipment to disable the logic that prevents transmitting on the CB frequencies -- it's right around 10M, so the 3MHz-30MHz (known as HF) equipment is perfectly capable of transmitting there, and in the case of an emergency, you'll have a lot of practice and familiarity with your tools that you wouldn't otherwise have. Not to mention that ham equipment is simply technically superior: vastly better receivers, and 100W of output means both hearing someone far away and also being able to make sure they hear you. CB equipment is stuck in the 70s and legally limited to something like 4W.
This is technically not legal, but when SHTF you're not going to find anyone coming after you for it.
Join a local ham radio club, get licensed, it's the last hobby you'll ever have. There are so many things to do in ham radio.
This is technically not legal, but when SHTF you're not going to find anyone coming after you for it.
Join a local ham radio club, get licensed, it's the last hobby you'll ever have. There are so many things to do in ham radio.
Can't say I agree with modifying a ham radio for CB. It's illegal, and the high power of ham radios can basically act as a denial of service to a large area of CB users. Ham radio folks try to police themselves, and if you are regularly abusing the regulation they might well decide to track you down and report you to the FCC. Yes, this is a relatively common activity for hams, triangulation of a moving target can be challenging.... and fun.
Emergency prep is all about practice, so get your equipment, learn the equipment, learn how to use it well, and meet friends and communicate with them often. Sure various hacks will let various radios use frequencies they weren't intended for (FRS, GMRS, marine, CB, emergency frequencies, etc), and anything goes in a real emergency. However you should stay legal when there's not an emergency. Don't be the ass bragging about their 1000 watt CB setup and blasting across large areas to a bunch of people who can't even reply back to you at their legal power levels.
The RF frequencies are a valuable and limited resource and the rules exist for the benefit of the community.
Emergency prep is all about practice, so get your equipment, learn the equipment, learn how to use it well, and meet friends and communicate with them often. Sure various hacks will let various radios use frequencies they weren't intended for (FRS, GMRS, marine, CB, emergency frequencies, etc), and anything goes in a real emergency. However you should stay legal when there's not an emergency. Don't be the ass bragging about their 1000 watt CB setup and blasting across large areas to a bunch of people who can't even reply back to you at their legal power levels.
The RF frequencies are a valuable and limited resource and the rules exist for the benefit of the community.
> ... anything goes in a real emergency. However you should stay legal when there's not an emergency.
I'm in full agreement, and I failed to emphasize/make that point. I figured it went without saying.
I'm in full agreement, and I failed to emphasize/make that point. I figured it went without saying.
[deleted]
Legitimate CB's are so cheap, I don't know why you'd take any legal risk in modifying ham equipment. As a licensed amateur you face more legal liability than a non-ham since you can't say that you didn't know any better.
100W of output means both hearing someone far away and also being able to make sure they hear you.
CB is generally "line of sight" - you don't need 100W of power to reach someone 10 miles away. I have no trouble reaching a repeater 10 - 15 miles away with my 5W VHF handheld.
You can get skip communications from much farther away but instead of trying to skip your CB signals hundreds of miles away and hope that someone there has a CB and is doing the same thing... you'd be better off using an amateur HF transceiver when you're likely to find another skilled amateur operator on an HF calling frequency.
This is technically not legal, but when SHTF you're not going to find anyone coming after you for it.
It's not just "technically not legal", it's 100% not legal, except in case of emergency, in which case I think you can use any radio to send a distress call, whether type certified for the frequency or not.
But you want to know that your equipment works, right? So you've got to be using it today if you're going to know that it's working when SHTF?
100W of output means both hearing someone far away and also being able to make sure they hear you.
CB is generally "line of sight" - you don't need 100W of power to reach someone 10 miles away. I have no trouble reaching a repeater 10 - 15 miles away with my 5W VHF handheld.
You can get skip communications from much farther away but instead of trying to skip your CB signals hundreds of miles away and hope that someone there has a CB and is doing the same thing... you'd be better off using an amateur HF transceiver when you're likely to find another skilled amateur operator on an HF calling frequency.
This is technically not legal, but when SHTF you're not going to find anyone coming after you for it.
It's not just "technically not legal", it's 100% not legal, except in case of emergency, in which case I think you can use any radio to send a distress call, whether type certified for the frequency or not.
But you want to know that your equipment works, right? So you've got to be using it today if you're going to know that it's working when SHTF?
I'm in agreement to get a ham license in addition to doing CB. However, I don't recommend modding your HF rig to do CB. Ham radios often have weak modulation so your CB-mars-modded HF ham radio will probably not sound as good on the CB band as a real CB. Also, if you want to join in on all the CB fun you may want to add some fun things to your rig and a full size CB will have a lot more room inside inside for extra boards than a ham radio.
This reminds me of Short Wave radio. Its cool that there are some people and organizations (specially China) that emit across the globe to send news, football and more to anyone.
Not so good signal, but its fun to try searching them.
Not so good signal, but its fun to try searching them.
Here's an overview of some CB radios https://www.onesdr.com/best-long-range-cb-radio/
Just remember to ground your antenna per the NEC. Probably an insurance requirement and it can help reduce noise caused by atmospheric electricity.
Get a ham license. I used a study app on Android for a few weeks and got the first level without issue.
[deleted]
Would a satellite phone not be a bit more useful?
Get a baofeng, stay away from boomer chat
Lots of hard disk space, knowledge of veracrypt, and access to Tor.
Unpopular opinion: Ham Radio is mostly full of aging, grouchy boomers who love to shit on neophytes for relatively minor transgressions. It's an incredibly toxic community and I don't miss it one iota.
Well, that's just your opinion, man.
To be fair, there are a lot of upstart youth clubs in ham radio, and a massive influx of very friendly and informative network YouTube elmers. Everyone involved is very inclusive and welcoming to newcomers.
Just to name a few...
https://yarc.world/
https://youthontheair.org/ (YOTA-America's First ever YOTA Camp is happening next week!)
https://www.remotehamradio.com/youth-network/
https://www.ham-yota.com/
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23MNHR
https://hamradioadventures.com/
https://www.youtube.com/c/HamRadioClubhouse/
Don't let the few ruin it for all.
To be fair, there are a lot of upstart youth clubs in ham radio, and a massive influx of very friendly and informative network YouTube elmers. Everyone involved is very inclusive and welcoming to newcomers.
Just to name a few...
https://yarc.world/
https://youthontheair.org/ (YOTA-America's First ever YOTA Camp is happening next week!)
https://www.remotehamradio.com/youth-network/
https://www.ham-yota.com/
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23MNHR
https://hamradioadventures.com/
https://www.youtube.com/c/HamRadioClubhouse/
Don't let the few ruin it for all.
That depends a lot on where you are and what you're doing.
I took my amateur test at the Marin Amateur Radio Society and joined the club and the people there were very helpful in helping me to learn how to use my equipment. I did a number of events with them and have had good experiences (mostly providing radio support for events like bike rides and long distance runs)
Though I've pretty much stuck with VHF/UHF comms, haven't really tried anything on HF, maybe that's where the grouchy old timers hang out.
I live far from the bay area now, but still check in to my local area nets once in a while just to make sure my equipment is working and they all seem nice enough.
I took my amateur test at the Marin Amateur Radio Society and joined the club and the people there were very helpful in helping me to learn how to use my equipment. I did a number of events with them and have had good experiences (mostly providing radio support for events like bike rides and long distance runs)
Though I've pretty much stuck with VHF/UHF comms, haven't really tried anything on HF, maybe that's where the grouchy old timers hang out.
I live far from the bay area now, but still check in to my local area nets once in a while just to make sure my equipment is working and they all seem nice enough.
Any large community has it's differences, and yes I've had "grouchy boomer" issues as well. Just like the internet, switch your site/channel/service/frequency/band/repeater as needed.
I was gonna paste a long snarky reply about CB, but it’s been well covered.
This is what the CB world is about: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ri0o9duzlrw
This is what the CB world is about: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ri0o9duzlrw
This is a good one too: https://youtu.be/ef6z3MaLOrU?t=57
Remember, most of the gear they are using is home made. Complain about "illegal linears" all you want, but when was the last time you saw a ham build anything from scratch? Sure the occasional engineer does, but most are running appliances. I used to hate on CBers too until i realized how much engineering they were doing as well. You can't run 10k watts of RF power in a vehicle without some kind of skill involved.
Remember, most of the gear they are using is home made. Complain about "illegal linears" all you want, but when was the last time you saw a ham build anything from scratch? Sure the occasional engineer does, but most are running appliances. I used to hate on CBers too until i realized how much engineering they were doing as well. You can't run 10k watts of RF power in a vehicle without some kind of skill involved.
Check out the QRP community. There is a LOT of homebrew radio happening there.