Also: If your going on 2 Meter you can do that on 5 watts to reach a local repeater. ARRL has a Repeater book, it lists them all in the U.S.
If you need further go on 10 Meter or go CW.
CB Radio
- Thread starter Loomis
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If you need further go on 10 Meter or go CW.
I can't imagine needing more than that unless I plan on contacting other planets....
Here is an antenna that was recommended to me since I have no yard, no balcony, and cannot put anything on the roof.
Falcon 5000 Watt 11 Meter Dipole
Hope you have a big house. They are pretty wide. I have a 10 Meter outside and it streatches wider than my house. Either that or go with a glass verticle antenna or an inside wip.
10 Meter dipole is 43 feet long overall.
You could look at this for 10 Meter. It's made for indoor.
http://www.walcottcb.com/firestik-iba5-indoor-cb-base-station-antenna-p-359.html
You could look at this for 10 Meter. It's made for indoor.
http://www.walcottcb.com/firestik-iba5-indoor-cb-base-station-antenna-p-359.html
Glass vertical antenna?
Actually it's for a car windshield. It's for 2 Meter band. It's a short verticle antenna.
That is a viable option!
I will have to measure my attic to see if the other one would fit.
Are you familiar with Sirio Antennas? I have always been a Wilson user, in fact I have a Wilson Lil Wil, 1000 (Magnet Mount), and I just ordered a Wilson 5000 (Magnet Mount) to go along with my Galaxy DX 99V2. Now I am hearing good things about this Sirio Performer 5000 PL Antenna.
Oh ok. I know 2 meters are considerably shorter
Look up reviews on Amazon. You may have to use a ground plane. A metal plate under it.
Thanks for the info!
I received my new Galaxy DX99V2 and Wilson 5000 magnet mount antenna! I can't wait ti get the channels converted, and hooked up!
We have them in the trucks, and are getting one for the ranch, but limited range. We don't really use them much now, with cell phones and all, but I imagine that would change real quick in a real SHTF scenario. I really want to get my HAM license. Did you know they have small portable handheld HAMs for under $100 these days? (ones that can compete with much more pricey home units).
Yes I do. I just picked up a Yaesu FT-60R. It operates on both 2 meter, and 70 cm using repeaters, and the win system.
I am currently taking a class to get my Ham license.
Actuallyote="hj1984, post: 6328, member: 273"]So while at the auction this weekend I was so excited to win a CB radio! In my excited state (i snagged it for only 2 dollars!) I didn't notice that it was a car model lol But thank goodness my hunny bunny is very smart when it comes to electrical and wiring etc (he was a marine but now he is a construction worker...builds houses from the ground up so he does wiring too) so I assumed he'd be able to rig it up somehow to run off of the 110 outlets in the house...and sure enough he can! He has a converter that takes 110 and converts it to 12v (since its made to run off a car battery) so he wired it to one of those plugs that goes into a cigarette lighter, he plugged that into the converter and the converter into the wall 
so now I have an indoor cb radio...i know this isn't something that most would be excited about but I am lol its a bit of nostalgia with them as my dad and I used to talk to truckers etc when I was little...my handle was Rainbow Bright anyhow.... since its a car unit, I've gotta find some speakers that will work with it, and it squeals when i press the button to talk, so i think there is a short in the handset also...and I've gotta get an antenna for it...any suggestions on speakers or antenna? also...what do you think about if we gotta bug out, how could i power it then if i took it with me?[/quote]
Actully you did good! It is easy to go from 110VAC to 12VDC, plus you could use a scavanged battery and a small solar cell to charge it.
so now I have an indoor cb radio...i know this isn't something that most would be excited about but I am lol its a bit of nostalgia with them as my dad and I used to talk to truckers etc when I was little...my handle was Rainbow Bright anyhow.... since its a car unit, I've gotta find some speakers that will work with it, and it squeals when i press the button to talk, so i think there is a short in the handset also...and I've gotta get an antenna for it...any suggestions on speakers or antenna? also...what do you think about if we gotta bug out, how could i power it then if i took it with me?[/quote]Actully you did good! It is easy to go from 110VAC to 12VDC, plus you could use a scavanged battery and a small solar cell to charge it.
This is the base antenna I have for my home cb .http://www.amazon.com/Solarcon--99-...8&qid=1392927750&sr=1-1&keywords=a+99+antenna . It reaches pretty far considering my home is lower than most of the surrounding area . I can still get about 6 miles .
Nobody uses the Win system,.
It was just a gimmick to compete with other manufacturers - Yaesu had the WIRES, Icom = D Star. etc...
CB radio works best when the antenna is at least 36' off the ground, but not more then 60'.
It does not matter if you are down in a hole or up on top of a mountainside when it comes to HF, as a matter of fact, sometimes when you are down in a hole, you experience less noise - which is a good thing, since CB radios has no filters.
If you look at the antenna for a minute from a electrical standpoint.
The bulk of the power is located at the bottom of the antenna, the least amount of voltage is seen at the top.
When you transmit - there is lobes produced - waveforms that can be measured.
Most of the power does not travel outwards but down.
It is very important to use a ground plane kit and multiple quarter wave radials, spaced evenly around the base of the antenna.
To be all that you can be, I would predict that 136 - 9 foot long radials would be optimum for that antenna.
The ground radials would act like a reflector behind a light bulb and would reflect a major portion of the signal being lost to the ground and would increase your gain somewhat over just sticking the stick up in the air and talking.
I myself do not practice what I preach.
The Solorcon A99 is an excellent antenna - but it suffers from some major flaws.
The Radome - fiberglass shield around the outside is prone to failure.
Before you put that antenna up, you want to go to a boat shop and buy some epoxy paint, designed for use on a boat and paint the whole antenna with a couple of coats.
Handling a old Solorcon A99 without gloves can be a painful experience.
A gimmick? it isn't by any manufacturer.
The WIN System is a series of 71 linked, or Intertied repeaters, most are 440, or UHF repeaters, but we have some 2-meter and 220 repeaters as well, that cover a great deal of California, 16 States, and four Countries around the world. The WIN System is owned and operated by Shorty, K6***.
The WIN System is an OPEN Repeater system. It is not a Closed or a Private system.
We like to call it a ‘member supported’ system. We encourage all hams to stop in and get acquainted. However it is the membership that keeps the WIN System ‘on the air.’ Membership is open to any licensed amateur radio operator who wants to get involved with a growing, vibrant group, on the leading edge of technology.
http://www.winsystem.org/
WIRES is about useless in my opinion! I have never owned an Icom so I am not totally familiar with D Star.
OOP's my bad...
Another repeater system - YUCK!
Its like having a television with just one channel.
It ties up all the repeaters - mostly with garbage, new hams that would like to play HF radio - but won't invest in the equipment and old hams that wants to make people think that they have operated all the 30 40 50 years that they have had a license - but only has a hand held radio, at least that is the way it is here in Western Pennsylvania with the WAN...
There are several of these inter-tied repeater systems. I have found that are a bit annoying. Like you said "it's like having a television with just one channel." most of the old timers just sit on there talking about the old days of tube radios.
I prefer simplex when on 2m/440.
I am looking at getting an HF rig in the not too distant future.
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The entrance into HF isn't that expensive - if you're alright buying a slightly older rig.
I am a licensed ham operator but licenses don't really matter if there is a SHTF event. I had been considering the purchase of one of the new inexpensive Chinese 2-meter radios partly for ham use but also for potential SHTF use. I had never really considered using CB radios but your post has sparked my interest. There are some advantages to using CB radios over 2 meter ham frequencies, the greatest of which is communications distance. VHF radios, like 2-meter radios are very limited in distance and require repeaters to go much beyond line of sight, most of which will not exist or function after an SHTF event. CB radios, on the other hand, have a much further effective communications distance , even across the country when skip is present. Consequently, they would be preferable in a SHTF event, in my opinion. Thanks for the thought I think I'm going to pick up a couple of CB radios.
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Hi Bob! Spot-on with the reasoning that the licensing isn't an issue during SHTF event.
While I agree with you that I think it is wise to have a CB for SHTF-level problems - I don't think it's wise to rely on a CB.
For two reasons:
1) It's channelized - meaning, during an emergency, how many hundreds of people in your specific area are going to be looking for a means of communication? If you rely on a CB, you are going to be locked out after 40 channels. Same thing for the FRS-type radios. Look at the reports after Katrina, people were isolated for weeks, even though they had radios, they couldn't use them. Ham's on the other hand, were the ones directing the coast guard onto roofs, etc., and volunteer ham radio folks set up the centers where people could (eventually) make their way to in order to get messages out to family.
2) You can't rely on CB skip, and like 2 meter tropospheric ducting, sometimes (when the conditions are just right) it happens...but sometimes (mostly) it doesn't.
For this reason I have a a cheap CB/10 meter set-up, a couple of (cheap) Baofeng's, and an older (mid-eighties era) HF rig (keeps cost down).
Regarding 2m - if you live in an area where the ground is flat - and you can get the antenna above the surrounding obstructions (trees and buildings), you can get about 30 miles. If you live in a mountainous region, you may get less/more depending on the placement/location of your antenna.
The thing I always tell people who are looking at how to include communications into their prepping - but are concerned with getting a license - don't wait until the SHTF to see if you know what you're doing. You're going to need to determine the type of communication you're going to be needing (local or long distance - local AND long distance), then you're going to need to hook up a radio to a power source, and finally - but probably MOST importantly - you're going to need some type of antenna (even the little handhelds may require a different antenna than the one that comes from the factory.
I encourage people to at least get the study guides for the Technician and General class - because the guides will at least expose you to what yo will need to communicate the way up you want - and it will at least help you how to do these things s-a-f-e-l-y (i.e., High Frequency/long distance = a High Voltage!)
While I'm sure you're adding to your preperation - others reading this thread may think all they need is a CB, dash out, buy one, then store it in their garages/basements until needed. If you do that, you'd better know how to use what you have, and how to do it safely...or you may have an unpleasant reality when the SHTF!
White Tiger, all valid points but the situation varies based upon where you live. I quit using 2-meters when I moved to the Western North Carolina mountains because there was virtually no one to talk to - even with the existence of one repeater. consequently, I am not particularly concerned about crowded channels with CB - there just aren't that many people here. Any use of radio would be between myself, my family and trusted friends. Assuming SHTF eliminates repeaters the, reach of CB's 27MHz is more useful for me. If SHTF I don't want to be anywhere near population centers. On the other hand, 200MHz would prove better for local communication when detection avoidance was desirable. So, as you said they are both useful for different reasons.
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I've also been experimenting with NVIS (Near Vertical Incidence Skywave) antenna configuration on 80m HF to communicate locally.
And to my very great surprise - it works!
And to my very great surprise - it works!
Just ran across this after paying on EBAY for a pair of realistic hand helds described like new . Got them cheap $25 for both after looking information up on them they should be good average radios . Plan on adding 2 more . Any one know anything about GE hand held CB'S they look well made .
Good idea. I just looked up NVIS - a great SHTF solution - near or distant communication w/o location detection since the signal will appear to be coming from space. Not very portable but good for coms between base locations. Also good for mountainous areas like where I live.
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Yes, I began experimenting with it after a friend of mine told me about it. It's a bit tricky, but you can use a very cheap/easy to make wire antenna work if you get it right.
Concerning mobility - it was used by Guderian to communicate with his Panzer group - on the move, and in the very environment you describe. Check out this link: http://www.tactical-link.com/WWII_NVIS.htm
I don't use it that way - mine is designed for a fixed location - portable, but not mobile. However, it's certainly applicable for SHTF for all the reasons you listed. While we never planned to use 8 wheeled APC's retrofitted as communications vehicles - a similar type "cage" certainly could be fitted to a couple of pick-up trucks - and might just be mistaken for a frame for temporary shelter - or camo netting.
It's definitely something you need to experiment with before deciding to depend on it - as my first few attempts resulted in me only being able to hear an entire local club who have a regular sked set-up on 80m - but they could not hear me. Turned out that I had the legs of the dipole close enough to the ground, I just had both ends of the dipole too close together (best if they're configured as close to 180º from the center feedline as possible, due to space limitations I was trying to make a 90° set-up work, causing interference that limited me to monitoring the clubs discussion). I was able to make contact with a gentleman in the group who was on the outer edge of our 300 mile radius (the communication radius for this type of antenna technique is 0 to 300 miles) he could hear us both and assisted in conducting a relay to complete/confirm the contact.
It's not hard, it just takes some practice.
Incidentally - it is dependent upon others in your group/area having a similar NVIS antenna set-up. I learned it in order to replicate the set-up for each member of my group.
The thing that initially attracted me about NVIS is that it's a "technique" - not a specialized piece of equipment. For instance, you can use a standard dipole - if you want to get information/communicate beyond 300 miles - you simply re-configure the dipole to an inverted "v", get your center line 25' to 30' up into the air (i.e., throw a line over a tree branch and hoist the center feed line up as high as you can get it) and you're back to standard HF configuration. It is the ultimate communication solution.
I have to tell you - until you mentioned it - I never stopped to consider that it could be used to confuse folks trying to triangulate to locate your signal. You're right - it would appear to be beaming down from space! TPTB might be able to figure out the radius, but it seems to me that it would take a LOT more equipment and people to figure out exactly where it was coming from.
Good luck!
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