CB Radio

[Arzosah]

We've got the start of a network going on a couple of threads on here - this one viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1453 and this one viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1989 though I have to say, I put my name down for both these about 4 - 5 days ago now, I think, and still haven't heard anything *sob*. Before I spend even a couple of hundred pounds for the gear, gear that I don't really understand yet, I need to know that the people I'm to be communicating with are people I can get on with.

[unsure]

some posts back , some one said that cb`s weren`t that comman any more [sorry not sure who ].if you look at any offroad preppered vehical , you will see a cb arial be it a little jimny or a full on prepped discovery . any one who ventures off the beaten track won`t leave home with out one . alot of truckers are still using them even the european drivers have them fitted . have a look at cb shack they do some quality kit with a massive price tag .
i have two , one in my landrover ,the other is a spare incase i need it .

a side note , you tend not to get the kids and idiots on them any more like you used to do .

[metatron]

some posts back , some one said that cb`s weren`t that comman any more [sorry not sure who ].if you look at any offroad preppered vehical , you will see a cb arial be it a little jimny or a full on prepped discovery . any one who ventures off the beaten track won`t leave home with out one . alot of truckers are still using them even the european drivers have them fitted . have a look at cb shack they do some quality kit with a massive price tag .
i have two , one in my landrover ,the other is a spare incase i need it .

a side note , you tend not to get the kids and idiots on them any more like you used to do .

There still not very common, we couldn't even say 1 in 10,000 have one. I've monitor a whole range of frequencies for years (24/7 a computer logs them), over the last year only channel 22 has any activity and that's just the same two people every time.

Most companies have switched over to trunked radio systems or just use cheap PMR systems if they need radios, everyone else uses a mobile phone or PMR446.

Basically we are talking:
A few farmers
A few Off roaders
Some trucks (I know they still have them in a lot of dumpers)
Some mini cabs, although most don't use it now.

[Instructor]

Do not forget the effects of EMP guys?

[chillihound]

If I were looking for a local comms system, I'd go with a UV-3R Plus (£26), Nagoya NA-666 antenna (£5), interface cable (£4 to make or £26.50 from http://m0aqc.co.uk/digi%20modes.htm), IBM Lenovo ThinkPad X61 (£120 used, other laptops are fine this is just well made).

a few questions
is this fairly self explanitory to set up? does a UV-3R plus fall under PMR446? do CB, PMR446 and HAM use different frequencies or could i adpt it to use more frequencies? and how can i use this to send images? im guessing i would need a camera lol is there a tutoral anywhere?

cheers

[metatron]

Do not forget the effects of EMP guys?

Emergency medical personnel?

If so they don't use it.

If I were looking for a local comms system, I'd go with a UV-3R Plus (£26), Nagoya NA-666 antenna (£5), interface cable (£4 to make or £26.50 from http://m0aqc.co.uk/digi%20modes.htm), IBM Lenovo ThinkPad X61 (£120 used, other laptops are fine this is just well made).

a few questions
is this fairly self explanitory to set up? does a UV-3R plus fall under PMR446? do CB, PMR446 and HAM use different frequencies or could i adpt it to use more frequencies? and how can i use this to send images? im guessing i would need a camera lol is there a tutoral anywhere?

cheers

A UV-3R is just a cheap Chinese made two way radio that covers 136 to 174 and 400 to 470MHz and has an output of 2Watts, it would be classed as Ham radio equipment. The Baofeng UV-5R has come down in price a bit and is about £10 more which is 5Watts and has a keypad which makes it easier to enter in a desired frequency.

They both cover the range of PMR446 radios, so you can program all the PMR channels into the cheap chinese radios and get 2Watts or 5Watts, which is greater than PMR446 radios which only output half a watt. You also have a fixed antenna on PMR446 radios, which is not ideal, being that you can't have a cheap base station antenna like a J-pole to give you great range and than a rubber ducky antenna for on the go.

PMR446 radios channels go from 446.00625MHz to 446.09375, hence the name. CB on the other hand go from 27.60125MHz to 27.99125MHz, so they don't work together. CB in the UK is limited to 4Watts but you do have the benefit of an antenna conector so you can build your own. The issue with CB is the space its in 27MHz is shit, which is why it was given to the citizens. Its affected by so many things its noisy and your range is limited.

The other issue with CB is price for £60 you can get something set up in your car which is okay, but if you want a handheld CB is a little over £100, the UV-3R is under £30, the UV-5R is under £40 from China which does everything a little better. CB now has SSB which is great if you have other people with SSB compatible radios (their newish here so most don't), with SSB it gives you an efective 12Watts output, and will give you a good 12 to 18 miles consistently, on a clear night you might hit france but they are over £200.

What I say about CB is if you see one at a car boot sale for £10 or less, which I ofter do, buy them as they may come in useful in the future for a neighbourhood watch, just hook them to a 12V battery and a mag mount antenna and you have a cheap set-up. I would not spend money on a new one as you can get better for less, but if you have £200+ burning a hole in your pocket buy something with SSB.

The set up I mentioned gives you mobile comms, gives you a base station set up if you want, both for voice and data. If you own a laptop/PC or just want voice its very cheap. All the data cable does is connects to the mic/speaker of the radio and then brings that into the computer so you can do things like, get images of weather satellites, send images and text and do a bunch of other fun things. The UV-3R has VOX support so you could get away with out the data cable, but it gives you a cleaner audio.

[TomW]

Wow! Thankyou so much for your full set of posts. You have simplified an incredibly complex subject to a point that most can understand whilst emphasising the most important points for our needs. Although I did complete my ham licence some yeats ago, I learnt a lot from your posts. I will soon be adding a radio (or two lol) to my preps!

To me it sounds like a higher powered ham handheld that interfaces with the pmr bands would be the most useful. I think cb does have some application in prepping and ill be adding them to my vehicles as funds permit.
Thanks again and my I reccomend this for a sticky?

[metatron]

Wow! Thankyou so much for your full set of posts. You have simplified an incredibly complex subject to a point that most can understand whilst emphasising the most important points for our needs. Although I did complete my ham licence some yeats ago, I learnt a lot from your posts. I will soon be adding a radio (or two lol) to my preps!

To me it sounds like a higher powered ham handheld that interfaces with the pmr bands would be the most useful. I think cb does have some application in prepping and ill be adding them to my vehicles as funds permit.
Thanks again and my I reccomend this for a sticky?

Thanks, I will say check out car boot sales for CB's most people that have them have cheap 80 channel FM models, so as I said a used £10 radio and a mag mount antenna will cover most peoples CB needs, and a £40 or less ham handheld is a good all rounder for local comms.

[TomW]

Had high hopes for this morning, the boot fair we went too was massive but we checked every stall and not a cb in sight Saw a couple of bits but the only thing we came away with was a bucket of lego, definitely not a prepping morning lol