CB radio advice

Im after some info on cheap CB radios for the landys. Can you power them from the ciggy lighter, and are they easy to set up. Are hand held cbs any good. Just after a cheap basic cb to keep in touch with my mates when off roading, never going to further then a mile or so away from each other. Thanks for the advice.

johnacky said:

Im after some info on cheap CB radios for the landys. Can you power them from the ciggy lighter, and are they easy to set up. Are hand held cbs any good. Just after a cheap basic cb to keep in touch with my mates when off roading, never going to further then a mile or so away from each other. Thanks for the advice.

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you can get them PMR radios off fleabay for cheap. CB's seem to be fetching high prices these days.. but you can run em off any 12v supply.
good fun aswell.

Cheap CBs will be rubbish CBs. Avoid.

For new CB sets, I recommend Thunderpole on the internet.

However, for what you are after, try a pair of those handheld, short distance "walkytalkies" that you can get from about £30-£50/pair new.

See: Crystal Radio Systems Ltd: 1- Walkie Talkies (Link is not a recommendation, just the first result from a search)

Cheers

Blippie

If you go for a cb then you will also need an swr meter in order to tune the aerial correctly an incorrect setup can severly damage the CB As mentioned earlier Handheld walkie talkies are probably all you need. but remember that the quoted range is from high ground with no obstructions between the 2 sets. Walls, trees, hills etc will all reduce the range of the set. The basic rule to go by is if you can't see the other person then you probably won't be able to talk to them unless you buy a very good set of walkie talkies.

Red

Ive got a CB recently. Used to do a lot of 2-way radio when i was a kid. But have lost a few brain cells since then! I have melted my coax on the engine block and need to get some more. But i dont know what im looking for. Can you reccomend a Low loss cable for uk-cb?

HuN73R said:

Red

Ive got a CB recently. Used to do a lot of 2-way radio when i was a kid. But have lost a few brain cells since then! I have melted my coax on the engine block and need to get some more. But i dont know what im looking for. Can you reccomend a Low loss cable for uk-cb?

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If your sets are 27mhz buy RG58. There's no point in buying low loss coax for the length you're going to use in a vehicle.

most 50ohm coax should be ok - i would suggest RG58C/U for starters.

ere Galen - are yu saying its 50ohm required? - just checked - yup shd be 50ohm

guideline price circa 30-40p per metre

The Mad Hat Man said:

most 75ohm coax should be ok - i would suggest RG59 for starters.

ere Galen - are yu saying its 50ohm required?

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Yup. 50ohm unless he's bought them from Del Trotter

ThunderPole is a good place to shop for anything CB related and the forum is very helpful. CB Radios, CB Radio & 2 Way Radio Specialists - THUNDERPOLE

OK thanks for the info. The reason im thinking low loss is that im struggling to get the SWR down below 1.5. Before i melted the cable i was getting 1.5 at the best and right into the red at the worst. My rig isnt exactly basic. Is a Superstar 3900 260chnl am/fm/cw/usb/lsb monster. I know that getting a good swr across the whole 260 chnls is asking too much. But I would have thought that at some point i should be able to get it 1:1. Maybe the antenna isnt up to the job? Although it looks the business!

good info site here

Thanks for that HatMan!! Good info!

Empty bean tins and string?
Might need a star-network, with a central radio rebroadcast station if there's several of you.

I know Swr is important but i wouldn't worry too much if your swr is a bit above 1.5,as sombody said some older cb's are going up in price as they seem to be getting colectable.A cheap,basic model is best for offroading as your not reallt going to be worrying about other peoples signal strengths ect.

try getting 2 uniden 100's off ebay, and an swr reading of 1.5 is pretty much standard, you can get it lower but then you'd have to spend about £40 on an aerial, but for what you need just get a couple of cheap magmounts.

and for anyone that thinks i dont know what im talking about like some people do, here is a list of cb equipment i have used in the last 20 years.

ham international jumbo
president madison
yeasu ft 757 gx
president lincoln
harrier cbx
harvard h407
lafayette
uniden 200

im due to get a new ranger 2950 soon as i get a bit more money sorted

now go and google and you'll see what im talking about....

Evening Dick1.7 long time no see. How's the web design coming on?

DK17 said:

try getting 2 uniden 100's off ebay, and an swr reading of 1.5 is pretty much standard, you can get it lower but then you'd have to spend about £40 on an aerial, but for what you need just get a couple of cheap magmounts.

and for anyone that thinks i dont know what im talking about like some people do, here is a list of cb equipment i have used in the last 20 years.

ham international jumbo
president madison
yeasu ft 757 gx
president lincoln
harrier cbx
harvard h407
lafayette
uniden 200

im due to get a new ranger 2950 soon as i get a bit more money sorted

now go and google and you'll see what im talking about....

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who do you talk to on it ?

about 4 people who are friends, yes, i do have friends aswell

DK17 said:

about 4 people who are friends, yes, i do have friends aswell

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why so few ?

Oi dk what's happened to yer website it seems to have disappeared.