Citizen Band radios?

[om21braz]

This discussion reminds me of my grandfather urging me at about 8 years old to learn Morse code in order to begin the licensing process. I wish I would have had to focus back then to have stuck with it. I remember my grandfather speaking of his brother (great uncle) who was disabled thereby keeping him from serving in WWII, but he was able with his ham radio to allow folks to come from miles around and have contact with those stationed overseas. I can't remember his call numbers/letters, but he was quite well known over the waves.

 

[jdonovan]

So a 2 meter is OK to run without a license or it;s low enough range so you're not such a nuisance?

No, you need a ham license...for 2m use. These days a tiny bit of electronics knowledge and a bit of time studying FCC rules, and can get a technicians ham license. For voice communications this gives you lots of options, and 10-100 times more power than any of the free services. Plus you can probably use some local repeaters that may have a coverage area of 30-50 mile radius... sometimes MUCH more.

If you don't want to get a license, there are a few frequency ranges that are usable without licenses in the USA.

11-meter (aka CB) 4 watt AM & SSB
FRS/GMRS 462/467Mhz 0.5 watt for FRS, 5 Watt for GMRS (GMRS requires a license... no test, just a fee)
MURS, 151 and 154 MHz range... 2 watt limit.... I hear in 2014 it becomes legal in Canada too!

All of these license free options are going to be short range communications options. Each system has its pluses and minuses.

I like FRS for short range (<1 mile) line of sight work. Good on the farm for house to tractor communication. Generally use AA/AAA batteries, and are inexpensive.

Here is a good discussion on the various license free radio options Spaniel Journal - Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Blue Dot Radios... But Were Afraid To Ask by Bill Fawcett - February 2005

 

[om21braz]

No, you need a ham license...for 2m use. These days a tiny bit of electronics knowledge and a bit of time studying FCC rules, and can get a technicians ham license.

Is there no mandatory knowledge of Morse code required these days? Please excuse me for asking what maybe is a dumb question.

 

[jdonovan]

Is there no mandatory knowledge of Morse code required these days? Please excuse me for asking what maybe is a dumb question.

Not a dumb question at all... The Morse requirement kept a lot of potential people away.

In 1991 the code requirement went away for tech licenses (entry level license), and for all licenses in 2007.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Dual antennas are only good on big rigs. They need to be 7ft or 8ft apart.

Dual antennae are funny. They are directional in the line of the antennae, so they give great coverage out to the side, and cut your coverage in the direction of travel, just the opposite of what people think. If you want to reach down the road in front of you, mount duals front and rear on a lumber rack.

Since cell phones and cheap FRS radios have come in, the CB band has cleared up nicely. In the '70s a CB was virtually unusable, but it's not hard to find a clear channel now.

 

[chucko]

I still have my old Teaberry Tele-T 23 in the basement. It works fine and looked cool in my car back in the 70's! :thumbsup:

I had one of those years ago

 

[bullbreaker]

You folks reminded me of the old base units that when you keyed in mike it make a noise like a door opening up---- Can't remember the names of those though.

Boone

 

[nue2farm]

I have one in the RV. Used it for years, now RV has a rodent nest on top of engine ;(. I would like to put the CB into my pickup. Haven't found the time or the right antenna yet. CB is real quite now compared to the 70's. Hardly ever hear anyone now.

 

[Western]

I used CBs when we had our farm. i had one in 2 tractors and a base in the house. Now I have 2 that I can use in any vehicle since I have since got magnetic antennas and put "Lighter" plugs on them. i use them all the time when I am on an out of town job. I actually like using them now, compared to my dads back in the 70's, every one had one back then, like the poor mans cell phone:laughing: Now days its the truckers and hobbyist it seems, but the "waves" aren't as crowded as I remember.

 

[cdaigle430]

How many people use one in their vehicle? Their home?

I recently purchased a Cobra 19 to play with. I used it maybe a week and realized it's low on the list of nice radios. I then purchased a Galaxy DX 949, which is 100X better. Since I was eager in getting a better radio, I didn't research enough on the actual sizes of each unit. My 949 is too large a frame to mount in my Tacoma decently. I've completed more research and have narrowed the field down to just a few radios that will fit my truck, and my wallet. One of these is an 'Export Radio'. As such, it covers many more frequencies and this is my question:

Can I use this daily as a CB radio only...legally?

I'm a HAM operator so I never needed a CB-if you can study a little about bands and some electronics you can get one easily. No morse code reuiments now and they eased up on what you can use a HAM license for now. You can even use it to remote control a device, or, order a pizza now I keep promoting the HAM because it's so usefull and the more licenses the harder it is for the feds to take our frequencies away for big corporations.