Posted: 1/27/2011 11:36:36 AM EDT
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I've been thinking of picking up a handheld CB for various reasons... mostly for information / entertainment during certain local events like snowstorms, and to use on long roadtrips. The Cobra Road Trip looks popular, and I see Midland makes one as well (75-822). Does anyone have experience with either of these radios, or a comparable one from another mfg? I can't find any handhelds by Motorola or Uniden. Are handhelds o.k. or kind of a waste due to range and battery life? |
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I'd say it's a waste of time due to the output of the radio. Max output of a CB radio is 4w.
For 15 bucks and a couple of hours studying, you can get a ham license and a 2 meter rig with more power output and better coverage. An added benefit, is you won't have to deal with hooker plying their trade over the air, or people trying to sell you stuff from a truckstop. |
| Have one, rarely use it. Short range, maybe a couple of miles. Mostly truckers yammering on. If you think the internet gets, umm, interesting, try CB in this day and age. Never heard anything remotely useful. Interesting, maybe, but as far as traffic info, nada. |
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Quoted: A two-meter handi-talkie would be 100x more useful and capable. Just sayin'. Interesting. Any recommended models? Where is a good place to get started on a HAM radio license? (As an 0602, I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit I don't know much at all about ham radio.) |
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Quoted:
I've been thinking of picking up a handheld CB for various reasons... mostly for information / entertainment during certain local events like snowstorms, and to use on long roadtrips. The Cobra Road Trip looks popular, and I see Midland makes one as well (75-822). Does anyone have experience with either of these radios, or a comparable one from another mfg? I can't find any handhelds by Motorola or Uniden. Are handhelds o.k. or kind of a waste due to range and battery life? I have one. I use it hunting to talk with other hunters, especially when I don't have my truck close and need to drag something big. It is one I got at Radio shack and it has been great so far. It has a rechargeable battery that lasts about two days in the field and a separate bottom that holds 8 AA batteries that will power it for another 6 hours or so per group of batteries if I am in the situation where I can't recharge it. I can hear people a lot farther than I can talk to them, and sometimes need to gain elevation to get them to hear me. They say it sounds clear, sometimes faint if they are more than a mile and a half away. |
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We have one for hunting as well. It's a midland one that you can attach to an antenna. We have a magnetic one to stick to the top of the cab. We can unplug it from that and put on the battery pack. It's not like they are expensive, or mutually exclusive. More people will be talking on walkie talkies and cb's, they are not all mutually exclusive, you can still ham and have other radios. I say get both. Or all, you should already have walkie talkies. |
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I had a Maxon handheld CB years ago.
Just got my Tech & General class amateur licenses, and a handheld Yaesu on the way. I still plan to get one of those Midland 75-822s for communicating with non-hams. That looks like a handy portable CB. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Why are there no ham radios that also cover CB? I can't see it being a technical limitation these days, is it more of regulation thing? CB's must the type accepted.You can most definitly use many HF "ham" rigs for CB. Doing so is illegal, but it is very capable of being done. 
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Quoted: Why are there no ham radios that also cover CB? I can't see it being a technical limitation these days, is it more of regulation thing? It is a regulation thing. CB radios are type accepted, or certified, I forget which and amateur radios are not. A CB has to be channelized, and is restricted to 4W AM and 12W PEP on SSB. Amateurs are, generally, allowed to run up to 1500W, but most HF is with 100W radios and ~50W for vhf/uhf mobile radios. Handheld v/u are generally about 5W. |
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Why are there no ham radios that also cover CB? I can't see it being a technical limitation these days, is it more of regulation thing? CB's must the type accepted.You can most definitly use many HF "ham" rigs for CB. Doing so is illegal, but it is very capable of being done.
I know you & the other hams know this, but cbers might not. Look how many 10m-capable "CBs" are sold. Doing so in a setting other than a life or serious injury (or big property damage threat) situation could get you unwanted attention. The FCC takes a dim view of such shenanigans; same for transmitting on public safety frequencies. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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I have a radio shack hand held CB radio. I got it for use when 4-wheeling in groups. CB's still rule in these type activities and are used a lot between the lead vehicle and the tail gunner (last vehicle). They can be useful when working with spotters on technical sections of a trail. That's about all I use it for - it does have the weather channels so you can get the automated forecasts for your region on it. Is it a good one? It's ok. I didn't want to spend a lot of money and had a very specific use for it. So for me, it was the right choice. |
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these radios can reach around 
OP... read this (author is an ARFCOMer) http://www.eham.net/articles/20777 That morning started out as many do for me in the early part of November. I was hunting by myself on a 750 acre farm, about an hour from my home. At dawn, I was climbing up into a tree in which I had hung a stand. I had built a ladder on to the side of the tree by nailing 16" long pieces of 2x4 lumber on to the trunk, using 4" long 16D nails. As I climbed up the tree, one of these came loose and fell to the ground. I was still able to climb to the stand, but you'll see why I mention this in a moment. Once I reached the level of the stand, I carefully checked it by putting one foot on the stand. I had a safety strap in my pocket and I always put it on before I sit down. As I stepped on to the stand, I thought I had a good hold on the tree when the stand fell away beneath me. I lost my grip and fell 20' backwards to the ground. Remember that 2x4 with the 4 rusty nails sticking out of it? Well, I found it. It was impaled on my back with all 4 nails sticking into my back. They were roughly at the level of my shoulder blade, with one about 1/4" from my spine. The wind was knocked out of me and my entire body hurt. One nail seemed to be touching a rib. It was in this condition that I placed my "Mayday!" call. then read this http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=22&t=604477 ar-jedi |
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got my HAM General a year or so ago, and I will say that its much much more useful than CB. While CB's are a must for being out in the woods around here (log trucks and others on the forest roads), the 2m is much more useful. During the Snowpocolypses that occur 1-3x a year in portland there is a lot of info that you can get with some of the weather and emergency nets on a couple of the repeaters. Makes it really easy to know what roads are messed up and where way faster than via radio or other media channels. Plus 2m rigs can be had for cheap. I outfitted my truck with a new mobile unit for $150 for the radio, antenna, coax cable and mount. Just picked up a simple, beefy Yaesu FT270 for $130. Worth every penny
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Well this thread took an interesting turn. Thanks for all the info guys. Via arrl.org, I found a two day Technician class about 30 minutes from where I live, 2 weekends from this weekend. Is that a good place to start? It seems to include the exam as well. Fee is only $10, which includes lunch. Is this a good place to start? |
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Quoted: Well this thread took an interesting turn. Thanks for all the info guys. Via arrl.org, I found a two day Technician class about 30 minutes from where I live, 2 weekends from this weekend. Is that a good place to start? It seems to include the exam as well. Fee is only $10, which includes lunch. Is this a good place to start? Yep! Good way to get started on your next addiction. As an example, I use my $1500 HF transceiver to listen to AM broadcast radio more often than I use it to talk. |
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Well this thread took an interesting turn. Thanks for all the info guys. Via arrl.org, I found a two day Technician class about 30 minutes from where I live, 2 weekends from this weekend. Is that a good place to start? It seems to include the exam as well. Fee is only $10, which includes lunch. Is this a good place to start? Yes. You can study on your own but it's nice to go to a class. |
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Signed up for the class this Sat and Sun, and I'm taking the Technician Test on Sunday. I also have Dan Romanchik's General Class study guide, so I may study it a bit and take the General test as well since it's included in the $14 if I want to take it. I also found out I live about 20 minutes from a Ham Radio Outlet store, which could prove to be very dangerous. ETA: Also just finished reading through ar-jedi's Ham Radio 101 thread. Good stuff. |
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Signed up for the class this Sat and Sun, and I'm taking the Technician Test on Sunday. I also have Dan Romanchik's General Class study guide, so I may study it a bit and take the General test as well since it's included in the $14 if I want to take it. I also found out I live about 20 minutes from a Ham Radio Outlet store, which could prove to be very dangerous. ETA: Also just finished reading through ar-jedi's Ham Radio 101 thread. Good stuff. Good Luck My Son and I are both Extra Class Ops, My Wife Is a Technician class |
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Quoted: Dont let radio prices deter you from getting your ticket. I had a young kid that wanted to work on his ticket and I loaned him my tech book.Quoted: Well this thread took an interesting turn. Thanks for all the info guys. Via arrl.org, I found a two day Technician class about 30 minutes from where I live, 2 weekends from this weekend. Is that a good place to start? It seems to include the exam as well. Fee is only $10, which includes lunch. Is this a good place to start? Yep! Good way to get started on your next addiction. As an example, I use my $1500 HF transceiver to listen to AM broadcast radio more often than I use it to talk. He got caught up in the prices of new radios and decided to not go through with his license. I tried to tell him there is less expensive radios out there. I also told him, if he got his ticket, I would give him one of my old radios. He still didnt bite. |
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Why are there no ham radios that also cover CB? I can't see it being a technical limitation these days, is it more of regulation thing? The Simple and Correct answer is that the FCC wants to Limit Radio Power on the CB band to 4 Watts. 
Impeach Obama to Prevent Air Pollution.  
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Dont let radio prices deter you from getting your ticket. I had a young kid that wanted to work on his ticket and I loaned him my tech book.
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Well this thread took an interesting turn. Thanks for all the info guys. Via arrl.org, I found a two day Technician class about 30 minutes from where I live, 2 weekends from this weekend. Is that a good place to start? It seems to include the exam as well. Fee is only $10, which includes lunch. Is this a good place to start? Yep! Good way to get started on your next addiction.
As an example, I use my $1500 HF transceiver to listen to AM broadcast radio more often than I use it to talk. He got caught up in the prices of new radios and decided to not go through with his license. I tried to tell him there is less expensive radios out there. I also told him, if he got his ticket, I would give him one of my old radios. He still didnt bite. Indeed you can spend Far less on a good radio I at one time had Nearly $10,000 ties up in ham radio gear But I've also had a blast on an old Tube radio costing a fraction of that. I personally like Icom as a brand, Yeasu also makes some very nice gear |
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I've used CB & HAM, HAM blows CB out of the water. With only one watt of power (and a repeater) I can talk to all parts of my state. GREAT in emergencies,even more so with a solar charger. Just looking on craigslist, there are many radios to be had in the $50 range. |
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I have a pair of Alinco DJ 150's. They are 2-meter programmable, accept speaker/mics which are really handy. They will also accept an earbud for discreet use. They'll talk a lot longer distance (even without repeater service) than any CB hand helds I've ever seen.
They were pretty expensive when I got mine but I'll bet they're cheap now. Great range, repeater ready and all day battery life even on the high power setting. Easy to use (for this advanced type of gear) Plus there is an available windows based software program that allows you to program the radios alike, set up repeater channels and tones etc. Guessing $350 all in for a pair with mics these days. The software was running $40 on ebay when I got mine. |
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+1 for going with the ham solution. Study for General as well! A lot of the material for the General exam is overlap from Technician and it doesn't cost you anything extra to try for your General ticket at the same time. All kinds of threads on the radio forum about where to find study materials online for free, practice exams, etc. I got sucked into ham early last year via arfcom's radio forum. I studied for a few weeks and passed my tech and general in a single exam session. Less than a year later, I have 4 radios already  Yeah it's a disease and aj-jedi is mostly to blame  Will likely eventually study for the Extra exam, as I just can't stand not having the highest class license |
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I had a Maxon handheld CB years ago. Just got my Tech & General class amateur licenses, and a handheld Yaesu on the way. I still plan to get one of those Midland 75-822s for communicating with non-hams. That looks like a handy portable CB. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile +1 Ham here for 20 years. |
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+1 for going with the ham solution. Study for General as well! A lot of the material for the General exam is overlap from Technician and it doesn't cost you anything extra to try for your General ticket at the same time. All kinds of threads on the radio forum about where to find study materials online for free, practice exams, etc. Yeah it's a disease and aj-jedi is mostly to blame Will likely eventually study for the Extra exam, as I just can't stand not having the highest class license Same here. After visiting the radio forum on here last spring I decided to go for my license. I passed all 3 tests last year, and have acquired a few radios as well. My VX-7R and FT-950. 
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guys if you're planning to get your license, I HIGHLY recommend that you go straight to general. The exam covers a little more than the tech but HF kicks WAY more ass than VHF.
I used this study guide for both general and extra: http://kb6nu.com/2007GeneralStudyGuide.pdf It's great because it gives you the information you need to know and presents it as you'll see it (and recognize it) on the test. |
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I also found out I live about 20 minutes from a Ham Radio Outlet store, which could prove to be very dangerous. that is so not my fault. 
good luck this weekend! ar-jedi My ass! For those of you who don't venture into the Ham Forum, it is always no matter what ar-jedi's fault. |
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I also found out I live about 20 minutes from a Ham Radio Outlet store, which could prove to be very dangerous. that is so not my fault.
good luck this weekend! ar-jedi My ass! For those of you who don't venture into the Ham Forum, it is always no matter what ar-jedi's fault. HRO is teh debil. |
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HRO is where brown santa comes from . http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c241/Hawk_308/Preps/IMG_2247.jpg do they sell cameras too?
ar-jedi |
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Its my auto opsec camera .... Quoted: Quoted: HRO is where brown santa comes from . http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c241/Hawk_308/Preps/IMG_2247.jpg do they sell cameras too? ar-jedi |
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Quoted: Quoted: +1 for going with the ham solution. Study for General as well! A lot of the material for the General exam is overlap from Technician and it doesn't cost you anything extra to try for your General ticket at the same time. All kinds of threads on the radio forum about where to find study materials online for free, practice exams, etc. Yeah it's a disease and aj-jedi is mostly to blame Will likely eventually study for the Extra exam, as I just can't stand not having the highest class license Same here. After visiting the radio forum on here last spring I decided to go for my license. I passed all 3 tests last year, and have acquired a few radios as well. My VX-7R and FT-950. http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e395/9874123/vx7r.jpg [/div]That's a damn fine HF radio. I love mine! As a bit of a hijack, I was operating at 40,000 feet tonight. Gotta love that /AM tacked onto the end of my callsign. |
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Same here. After visiting the radio forum on here last spring I decided to go for my license. I passed all 3 tests last year, and have acquired a few radios as well. My VX-7R and FT-950. http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e395/9874123/vx7r.jpg That's a damn fine HF radio. I love mine! As a bit of a hijack, I was operating at 40,000 feet tonight. Gotta love that /AM tacked onto the end of my callsign. |
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