CB Radio Suggestion

[DCarr511]

 I purchased a CB radio for use on the Salt. It was the cheapest unit that Radio Shack had # 21-1703 along with the antenna w/ magnetic base # 21-989. Every unit I looked at put out 4 watts, so I figured that as long as that spec was met I didnt need to pay for any extra features I wouldnt use. The Radio / Antenna will be packed away in a box the other 51 weeks a year.

Link to Radio
http://www.radioshack.com/sm-40-channel-mini-mobile-cb--pi-2102653.html

Link to Antenna
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062087

 But I'm now second guessing myself and wondering if I should return the radio and buy a better unit.

[V8Pinto]

CB's are limited to 4 watts max output by the FCC.  You won't find anything un-modified that puts out more watts.  More money will mean more features.  You will probably be ok with a cb and mag mount antenna but I always put more money into a better antenna.  Of course I would never have the output of mine modified because that would be illegal.

[Evil Tweety]

I can tell you that their hand held one is not adequate for on the salt.  There were times we had to ask people to relay messages for us.  Could receive okay, but transmitting was pretty poor.

[DCarr511]

I can tell you that their hand held one is not adequate for on the salt.  There were times we had to ask people to relay messages for us.  Could receive okay, but transmitting was pretty poor.

Ya I have a hand held CB that I have brought out the last few years and like you said, it would receive fine but ti doesnt transmit at all.

CB's are limited to 4 watts max output by the FCC.  You won't find anything un-modified that puts out more watts.  More money will mean more features.  You will probably be ok with a cb and mag mount antenna but I always put more money into a better antenna.  Of course I would never have the output of mine modified because that would be illegal.

 All the spec cards mentioned that these unit were at the legal max at 4 watts.
Is there anything to look for that would show which units would get better reception ?
Do you have a link to a magnetic based antenna that would be better than the one listed above ? Or can you mention some things to look for when shopping for an antenna ?


Would this unit have any usable advantages that I would notice on the Salt ?
http://www.efunctional.com/cbr29ltd.html

[Stainless1]

handhelds have a bad ground plane, you have to wear an aluminum foil wrapped pith helmet to get it to transmit properly, just ax Jak... 

[Freud]

Quit screwing around. Either go to the truck stop or the neighborhood ham club and have them build you a CB. Get an adequate tickler and you will be able to compete with the truckers that run the freeway past the salt. Illegal.......sure as hell. You are there 6 days out of 365. The trucks run 365 days of the year. How many of them get busted?
Then again, you may be the most lucky person on the planet and have a Radio Shack CB that matches the 250 watt rigs the truckers have and then you will have wasted your time worrying.
I was in a pickup truck years ago, sitting at the 5 mile marker, that carried on a converstaion with a bloke in NZ. Of course the CB in the pickup had 2 extra batteries and a power cord the size of a garden hose. When he was online he kept the engine running to maintain the batterys. But he sure as hell could be heard. When he keyed the mike the signal would smother the ignition of a VW and it also opened the cash drawer at McDonalds.
I can guarantee you you will not have the most HP of any engine on the Salt but you could have the strongest CB.
FREUD

[JackD]

I inherited six CB radios from Flanders that would put a measurable voltage on a wire that was just laid out across the salt.
If it was a single wire timing system with a local ground at the cells and another at the clocks, it was able to trigger them with the voltage rise and drop.
A lot like the Salt Rabbits that were never understood that occurred also during a lightening hit 10 miles away.
The fellow on here with the ignition and FI troubles has the same symptoms that have been suitably explained to him.
I always use a double , twisted wire setup with a common ground for all the timing equipment.
The Salt is a great electrical mystery to many.

[ol38y]

   Huh 

[wolcottjl]

Electrical mystery but one that is familiar from an old science experiment in school.   Using a light bulb and a jar of water.  Submerge the elctrodes in the plain water and no light.  Submerge the electrodes in salt water and bingo - The bulb lights up.  A little humidity in the salt and high temps = a little bit of a giant conductive plate perhaps?

[JackD]

If you mean the salt sucks foreign electrical stuff, and makes it's own, I  think you got it. 
 

[DCarr511]

Quit screwing around. Either go to the truck stop or the neighborhood ham club and have them build you a CB. Get an adequate tickler and you will be able to compete with the truckers that run the freeway past the salt. Illegal.......sure as hell. You are there 6 days out of 365. The trucks run 365 days of the year. How many of them get busted? FREUD

I'm not interested in having the most powerful CB out there nor am I willing to spend a small fortune on a radio I will only use 1 week out of the year at best. I just want something that I can use to communicate with others while on the Salt.

Do most teams have modified Radio's or are they using stock off the shelf units ?

[sockjohn]

There is more than one way to skin a cat, you either need more power or a better antenna. 

A directional antenna will make a big improvement, especially if you raise it up as much as possible.  There is a reason TV and radio stations have tall towers!

Something like a Yagi or Cubical quad antenna is the way to go, even if the other radio is a hand held will improve the overall setup.

Cubical quads are an easy home made setup as well, but generally not as durable as a Yagi if it's going on a moving vehicle.

The trade off is complexity/expense and if it's on a chase vehicle when you turn the vehicle will get drastic and rapid fall off of the transmitting range.

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Just like a girl I used to know always said, "Bigger is ALWAYS better" -- especially when it comes to antennas.  I've said this before -- you can probably find it in the archives someplace.

The ideal MOBILE antenna for CB (or anything, for that matter) is a full quarter-wave antenna.  For a CB that's be one of those 9-foot whips mounted on a spring on the bumper of your vehicle.  Anything shorter than a quarter-wave is using something, like a coil, to shorten the physical length of the antenna in exchange for a reduction in efficiency (the radio MUST see a quarter-wave load to work best).

If you don't want a nine-foot antenna and choose to use one with a coil, chances are a bottom-mounted coil will work better than one in the middle of the antenna.  Cellphone antennas have a coil in the middle -- but the wavelength there is WAY shorter than on CB, so the antenna can have improved electrical properties by using a coil in the middle.

If you want maximum efficiency out of your antenna, mount it permanently in the middle of the roof of your vehicle.  You'll have the best possible ground plane -- the whole danged roof -- and the ground connection will be good, too.  You can mount the antenna  base through the roof and screw the coil/base onto that mount -- and then, for the 51 weeks that you don't use the antenna -- remove the coil/antenna and have nothing but a quarter-inch tall mount on the roof of the vehicle -- no 4' whip hitting the ceiling of the garage or getting snagged at the car wash.

I'm going to a picnic right away or I'd take a few photos of the mounting system I use -- but it takes too long and the hot dogs'll be on the grill soon.  Maybe tomorrow, if you're interested.

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July, boys and girls.

[ol38y]

K 40 makes a magnetic mount antenna that has worked very well for me in the field. Although I have never tried it on the salt it will save you from drilling holes in your roof.  

[1212FBGS]

we have a shack unit.... through out the hand held (what a waist of money). we use a mag base and put it in the center of the roof. that 4 watt will be fine for a 10 mile range which in reality is all you need. but one very important thing you must do...... put it on the correct channel!
kent