CB guys come in over *beep*

[Troy Boerner]

okay i am new to the CB game (like BRAND NEW)

i am running a galaxy dx66v and a 102" steel whip. i had a friend sell it to me with a good mic too all as a bundle for $90 ... any way i go it so when i am out chasing if i lose cell signal i still have a way of calling for help or warning people. plus i like to go off roading and it will get used there too. so ... there a bunch of buttons and knobs and dials ... i guess i need some help figuring this thing out ... when i took it over to a friend to have him test it (its one of his hobbies) he got some one from orange county california to respond and i was shocked ... cause we are in central okc. so what are some pointers yall can give me?


i have picked a handle/ call sign of "zooguy350"

 

[Joey Ketcham]

okay i am new to the CB game (like BRAND NEW)

i am running a galaxy dx66v and a 102" steel whip. i had a friend sell it to me with a good mic too all as a bundle for $90 ... any way i go it so when i am out chasing if i lose cell signal i still have a way of calling for help or warning people. plus i like to go off roading and it will get used there too. so ... there a bunch of buttons and knobs and dials ... i guess i need some help figuring this thing out ... when i took it over to a friend to have him test it (its one of his hobbies) he got some one from orange county california to respond and i was shocked ... cause we are in central okc. so what are some pointers yall can give me?


i have picked a handle/ call sign of "zooguy350"

The range for CB radio's is generally just a few miles, so if you're in Oklahoma you aren't going to be talking to someone who is physically in California. They might be from California, but if you're talking to them then it's because they're passing through Oklahoma.

Other than that, I'm not entirely sure what you're asking or wanting to know. Only pointer I can give is look at diving into ham radio and get your license, you can get a radio that gets much better distance than that of a CB radio.

 

[Steve Miller]

Agreed regarding utilization of amateur radio for storm chasing over CB. Many chasers use it for simplex communications between vehicles and, of course, for checking into weather nets and relaying info. Citizens Band radio is a great start into radio and I too use it for when I'm in my Jeep on the trails. It's a great tool for that!

 

[Troy Boerner]

i figured i could use it off road when playing. any tips on what some popular/ active channels are?

 

[Drew Terril]

19 is the main channel that truckers use on the road. Other than that, all the other channels are intermittent. If you're using it with a group of people, pre-plan a channel to use.

 

[Dan Robinson]

We used CBs during caravan chasing in 2001-2003. It worked OK for that purpose. If you're chasing by yourself, there's not any use for one. As for Channel 19, that's the equivalent of having unmoderated Youtube comments broadcast into your car. I tired of that quickly! Over the years, my participation in chase caravans dwindled to nothing. The few times I needed cross-vehicle communication then, we used two-way radios. The rare times I'm on pre-chase caravans now, we just use our phones. I never caravan now in chase mode.

I agree that ham is the way to go if you really want something versatile, though I've never gone that route myself. I use my phone to report. I don't have the extra multitasking capability to be active on a radio, so I don't use one.

 

[Drew Terril]

Dan,

The main use 19 was for me was hearing where cops were and where traffic jams (and ways around them) were. It got me around more than one traffic jam. The CB I have (which is currently not installed) has built in weather radio though. So that'll be handy when I get it into my current truck.

I did 10 years in the Army, so handling a radio while behind the wheel is second nature for me. Take away the need to have to shoot, and I can put monitoring radar in its place. It's almost scary the level of multitasking that I'm trained to do.

 

[Ben Holcomb]

I will second or third the ham radio advice. The antenna doesn't need to be nearly as long, the mounts are more solid and the radios are sweet. I use the Kenwood D710A which has a detachable face, so I've mounted the radio in my trunk. It works for miles and uses FM on 144/440mhz bands (2m/70cm) so the signal is much easier to hear and understand. You can do cool things like tone squelch as well if you have certain people you always caravan with. You can even get the GPS puck and use APRS to update your SpotterNetwork position over the radio. Lot of cool reasons to just go through with your ham radio license. It's only a 35 question multiple guess test that you have to get 7 or less wrong on. It's so easy my cat got his license. At least he should if he hasn't.

 

[Robert Forry]

Many chasers use it for simplex communications between vehicles and, of course, for checking into weather nets and relaying info.

Exactly why I love using HAM, though I'm considering throwing my dad's 40 yr old Cobra in my next chase vehicle (the trucker banter on the way to/from the target area is priceless).

 

[John Olexa]

Anybody remember when you had to get a license with the FCC and create a handle using your CB ? As long ago as it was I can still remember, "KOBO7O14 Speed Racer" LOL. You gave your call sign & handle each timed you talked. Ch 19 gets pretty nasty now that you don't have to identify yourself any longer. I Mostly just listened on Ch 19, left that for the truckers. When I wanted to talk to friends we used another channel like ch 10.

 

[Drew Terril]

It's so easy my cat got his license. At least he should if he hasn't.

I wish the General and Extra were that easy. The Tech was cake though. I have a Yeasu 7900R myself that I'm slowly getting put together in the truck. I should be able to get it next weekend though when I'm at the farm with every tool imaginable available.

 

[david diehl]

when I first got into chasing I had CB, and Ham both in my vehicle. About 2006 I got rid of the CB, and just had a Icom IC2720.
Now I have three radios and a digital scanner in the vehicle, Radio one is the Kenwood TM-D710 with GPS, second is a old comercial rig for 6meter, mostly on 52.525 Third I just have a HT, Yaesu FT-1DR (New System Fusion digital) The longest antenna is my 6 meter to which I can remove when I go active chase mode.

 

[James Brennan]

As a truck driver, I used CB's for just that - communication between trucks. When it comes to chasing, the Ham Radio is the way to go.

If you want a CB for any information, as stated above, it's usually good for "bears" and "parking lots" (aka cops and traffic backups)

 

[DMMoore]

The range for CB radio's is generally just a few miles, so if you're in Oklahoma you aren't going to be talking to someone who is physically in California. They might be from California, but if you're talking to them then it's because they're passing through Oklahoma.

Actually right now, during the high part of the sunspot cycle, its very likely his friend really was talking to someone in California. Distances like that now are common on CB and Ham 10 meters during solar max. HF propagates much more readily than VHF (2 meter Ham). Anyone with a 10 meter Ham radio or a CB radio with a coat hanger stuck in the back of it for an antenna can work hundreds of miles on 5 watts. Hams call it "DX", CBers call it "shooting skip". It will continue like that until the sunspots go low again, and then both bands will be mostly local communication only...probably another couple of years from now.

I don't chase much these days, older age and more commitments that tie me down and all that. But when I did it a lot, I carried both a ham radio and a CB radio. A 2 meter ham radio is great...until you get out of range of a repeater (or the power running the repeaters fails), and then it becomes MUCH shorter range, almost line of site only. If I were going to be in an area with no repeater coverage, I'd rather have the CB. Radio is like a toolbox...you can't fix much if all you have is one wrench. Both radios have their uses.

Anybody remember when you had to get a license with the FCC and create a handle using your CB? As long ago as it was I can still remember, "KOBO7O14 Speed Racer" LOL.

Not trying to get in to a "mine is bigger" type contest, but I've been at it so long I remember when you applied to the FCC for a CB license (and paid them $25) and they *assigned* you a call similar to ham radio calls now, and mailed you back a license that you had to keep with the radio, either in your house or in your vehicle. KEP4386 here

 

[Lee Smith-Whaley]

Op, I highly suggest you get an SWR meter and check it every so often. I didn't know that it mattered until I went through two cb's.

Dan,

The main use 19 was for me was hearing where cops were and where traffic jams (and ways around them) were. It got me around more than one traffic jam. The CB I have (which is currently not installed) has built in weather radio though. So that'll be handy when I get it into my current truck.

I did 10 years in the Army, so handling a radio while behind the wheel is second nature for me. Take away the need to have to shoot, and I can put monitoring radar in its place. It's almost scary the level of multitasking that I'm trained to do.

Very scary, I'm Air Force, and more than once I've been on the phone with a commander relaying a report while talking to an inbound aircraft on their needs.