Mobile CB for long range?

[blue90]

Vehicle based, what kind of range can I expect? Will be mostly over flat ground. Is there anyway to boost range? Im a total newbee to CB , had a home base in the 80's but didnt really get technical about it all.

[unsure]

with a decent set and a good ariel set up , you should nt have any problem with distance , depends on how far you expect to get with it . i`m on mersey side and regularly hear a couple of geordies , they could be any were i know .

[blue90]

I would obviously like as much range as possible, I plan to have one in a vehicle and one as a home base, even going to the nearest shop here is a good 5 miles away so range is important. The home base is undecided but the vehicle will have a firestick mounted on a bull bar, not ideal I know but I need it to be rigid as its a soft top it can only go on the bull bar.
Is there a way to increase the 4 watt output?

[korolev]

I would obviously like as much range as possible, I plan to have one in a vehicle and one as a home base, even going to the nearest shop here is a good 5 miles away so range is important. The home base is undecided but the vehicle will have a firestick mounted on a bull bar, not ideal I know but I need it to be rigid as its a soft top it can only go on the bull bar.
Is there a way to increase the 4 watt output?

Legally, no. CB is limited to 4w. If you have no qualms about legality, have a search for "CB burners".
Make sure you have decent antennae though, no use putting out 20 watts if the antenna is crap.

[blue90]

Is SSB worth getting? Also, I see radios classed as ''import'' , I take it they are 10 meter?

[easy rider]

Firestik are good antennas pretty tough and the 11 later model a doddle to swr. Mounting on bullbar will work but at a sacrifice on signals in some direction .
If you imagine a round tin lid.you put a antenna dead centre you will get equal radiation and signal receiving equally all around.if your antenna is omnidirectional
Place the antenna on any edge it will decrease in the areas where less surface area between antenna and edge.

Same with bullbar.
What length firestik you got ?.longer better. 're increasing c.b Radio 4 watts .to increase it is illegal however I know very few who dont.
I use a sirio 4000 on all our transport .As c.b. Give 4 watt generally it's perfect to feed into a rm kl 203 linear amplifier.
These are rated 100watts am fm. 200watt ssb.
10 watt max input am fm, 20ssb although I believe had been lowered on new models.?
However inputting such may blow the mosfets.
I only input 4 /5 watts am fm and 15 max ssb.
Add a cooling can on top.12v psu cooling can .
You should get a healthy 60/70 watts then and run all day.

Whilst many say cb won't work far I never have a issue 5 miles is easy in most situations mobile.
A decent am fm multinorm will be ideal.

[blue90]

Firestik are good antennas pretty tough and the 11 later model a doddle to swr. Mounting on bullbar will work but at a sacrifice on signals in some direction .
If you imagine a round tin lid.you put a antenna dead centre you will get equal radiation and signal receiving equally all around.if your antenna is omnidirectional
Place the antenna on any edge it will decrease in the areas where less surface area between antenna and edge.

Same with bullbar.
What length firestik you got ?.longer better. 're increasing c.b Radio 4 watts .to increase it is illegal however I know very few who dont.
I use a sirio 4000 on all our transport .As c.b. Give 4 watt generally it's perfect to feed into a rm kl 203 linear amplifier.
These are rated 100watts am fm. 200watt ssb.
10 watt max input am fm, 20ssb although I believe had been lowered on new models.?
However inputting such may blow the mosfets.
I only input 4 /5 watts am fm and 15 max ssb.
Add a cooling can on top.12v psu cooling can .
You should get a healthy 60/70 watts then and run all day.

Whilst many say cb won't work far I never have a issue 5 miles is easy in most situations mobile.
A decent am fm multinorm will be ideal.

Is there anyway around the bull bar thing? Unless I put it smack in the middle of the bonnet I really have no other option, the bonnet houses the spare wheel so that can make things complicated.

Out of curiosity, what radios are you using? Or does it matter if you have a burner? I guess 4 watts is 4 watts what ever radio you use?

[easy rider]

You can use 2 matching antennas and a co-phase maybe many truckers do this or at least did back in the day and in states most big wheelers practiced it.
Don't over think the antenna install I'm sure it will be fine ,not all antennas can be mounted centrally on vehicles.theirs always a compromise on everything.

You have a great antenna, mount it well and it will work fine.a body mounted antenna will work better than one on a magnetic base in most cases anyway due to grounding .

What do I use ? Generally I use a crt 2000 with a rm kl 203 .has no ssb but is small ish practical good audio and strong receive .antennas I use sirio 4000 on mag base due to inability to drill roof.
If I need ssb mobile I generally put the president jackson 2 in and a zetagi rp 2 rf power reducer to keep the amp comfortable.
Amp has hardwired cooling fan on top too.

Had many radios in the cars over the decades ,I always found a extension speaker useful and also a extended Mic cable very useful.cables especially mobile used have a real tendency to break wires pull out of plugs over time if you don't take care.I
Fuse both wires pos and negative close to batt too or feed point.
Amps make a fair difference indeed

Height is best, it's a soft top so any metal roll bars under that you could slip a mount under edge maybe so antenna is higher ?.
What's the vehicle type,will Google see if I can work best place.
Some mount dead centre of bull bars too I have seen in states on 4x also.

Have you bought your radio yet.I would look at a 80 channel am fm radio for mobile. Maybe one with the standard barrel 4 or 5 pin Mic plugs rather than the modern plug type ethernet types.
The 4 are simple to replace extend repair.
The rm kl 203 are pound for watt the best amp about,careful looking will often turn up £40 ish new on bay.forget the p version with pre amp commonly fail anyway.
Great for base use too ,forget psu units for base too, buy a leisure battery or big car battery lorry even.

[blue90]

You can use 2 matching antennas and a co-phase maybe many truckers do this or at least did back in the day and in states most big wheelers practiced it.
Don't over think the antenna install I'm sure it will be fine ,not all antennas can be mounted centrally on vehicles.theirs always a compromise on everything.

You have a great antenna, mount it well and it will work fine.a body mounted antenna will work better than one on a magnetic base in most cases anyway due to grounding .

What do I use ? Generally I use a crt 2000 with a rm kl 203 .has no ssb but is small ish practical good audio and strong receive .antennas I use sirio 4000 on mag base due to inability to drill roof.
If I need ssb mobile I generally put the president jackson 2 in and a zetagi rp 2 rf power reducer to keep the amp comfortable.
Amp has hardwired cooling fan on top too.

Had many radios in the cars over the decades ,I always found a extension speaker useful and also a extended Mic cable very useful.cables especially mobile used have a real tendency to break wires pull out of plugs over time if you don't take care.I
Fuse both wires pos and negative close to batt too or feed point.
Amps make a fair difference indeed

Height is best, it's a soft top so any metal roll bars under that you could slip a mount under edge maybe so antenna is higher ?.
What's the vehicle type,will Google see if I can work best place.
Some mount dead centre of bull bars too I have seen in states on 4x also.

Have you bought your radio yet.I would look at a 80 channel am fm radio for mobile. Maybe one with the standard barrel 4 or 5 pin Mic plugs rather than the modern plug type ethernet types.
The 4 are simple to replace extend repair.
The rm kl 203 are pound for watt the best amp about,careful looking will often turn up £40 ish new on bay.forget the p version with pre amp commonly fail anyway.
Great for base use too ,forget psu units for base too, buy a leisure battery or big car battery lorry even.

This is the vehicle I want to fit it too, last photo was pre bull bar.

https://i.imgur.com/mZS7WeM.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ACEx2Cd.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/7AIJcaK.jpg

I havent bought anything yet, the 5' fire stick was recommended to me as I wanted something rigid because when mounted on the bull bar I didnt want something that was going to wobble around and perhaps hit another vehicle or pedestrian. I am looking out for a second hand radio but it seems they sell well so getting a bargain will be hard, perhaps its best to buy new and ensure I get something that will work properly?

[easy rider]

Was a good choice. The 5' mk2 have the adjustable screw top under the rubber cap.
I tend to remove mine coat in dielectric grease on thread .
Ok the frame on the back that holds the canvas cover up if it's possible to have the antenna mount on that close to centre on one side of roof.the height will be superior over bullbar .if theirs enough metal to reflect the lower angle of radiation from radiating element .
Or the rear of that frame again the canvas has a seem their too .You can fabricate a mount to accommodate the flap over I'm sure.
Another option the bolt that holds wheel on bonnet.
A raised u type mount to bring base up over wheel rim.
But I favour the canvas cover frame first
Theirs a rm kl 203 on eBay new last one for £39.99 too.tech megastore which is moonraker really.

Radios are pretty robust.theirs a decent seller in Wolverhampton on bay look item number 124355293654 .bought off him no problems but I don't know him .But for cheaper used take a peek.
You can get decent simular radios 50£ ish new.

Coax wise I would go for a top quality rg 8 mini
Just ensure you have a good earth to chassis you can add wire to do this too.Will help.