# CB Radio Users?



## hawaiibrew (Sep 14, 2005)

Just wondering if anyone here runs a CB radio in their rig?

I've been into cb radio for a long time - I love my Nissan Frontier, but there isn't much room for mounting one without it getting in the way.

I finally ended up installing the CB under the seat with my amp behind the back seat. I run a 102" whip off of the rear bumper with a mount that I fabricated.

Don't know if many people here are into the hobby, but it's still pretty popular.

About once a week I talk "skip" to other CB'ers around the US, Australia and New Zealand.

If anyone is interested and is buying a CB or just has questions about throwing one in a 4x4 let me know. i can tell you everything you need to know.

Or check out CB Radio Forum


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## Echelon (Oct 27, 2005)

hawaiibrew said:


> Just wondering if anyone here runs a CB radio in their rig?
> 
> I've been into cb radio for a long time - I love my Nissan Frontier, but there isn't much room for mounting one without it getting in the way.
> 
> ...


How much would a basic setup run?


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## hawaiibrew (Sep 14, 2005)

$40-$60 CB radio
$10 coax cable
$20-$30 Antenna + Mount

So for about a $100 for new stuff.

You could proably put together a whole setup with a new radio and used coax and antenna for about $65


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## Echelon (Oct 27, 2005)

I hope this is not a stupid question, but how does CB work? How far can you talk to someone on it?


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## MrFancypants (Nov 18, 2005)

Does anybody make a DIN-mount CB radio?


- Greg -


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## hawaiibrew (Sep 14, 2005)

Echelon said:


> I hope this is not a stupid question, but how does CB work? How far can you talk to someone on it?


A cb works on 27mz AM - 

A basic CB radio will transmit 4 watts of AM signal (Amplitude Modulation) and on the other end the receiving CB will receive and turn the signal into sound.

Exactly the same as AM radio..a cb is basically a mobile AM radio that can TX and RX (just on different frequencies than the normal AM 

With a good CB radio and antenna average distance is about 5-15 miles (works great for around town or offroading). Also is nice for trips on the interstate, you can talk to truckers, people in towns as you drive by. A lot of people have radios and antennas in their homes still.

On some days you can talk 500-5000 miles. This is because certain conditions effect the atmosphere on a regular basis and make AM radio waves skip around in the atmosphere. When this happens most of the cber's will try to talk long distances to other cber's. I talk to Australia from Hawaii about once a week. And on many days I can hear california, florida and other states.

Some people add a small amplifier to their CB (which is technically illegal) for about 100 watts output. This will get you roughly 20 miles of consistent distance and maybe 50 miles when you are on a ridge or small hill or flat area.

Distance really depends on the quality of your setup and on your location (if you are on the bottom floor inside a parking garage no one is going to hear you .

Here's a good website I made that has some info - CB Radio Info 

Cb's come in different types and sizes from basic and small to every elaborate with extra power, echo effects, etc.

Don't know of a DIN model in particular - but a lot of people do mount them in their dash - a lot of the small ones have a front facing microphone so they work well with dash mounting. The undien 510 is very small and thin and actuall works pretty well...a cobra 19 DX IV also is an excellent choice for a small in dash radio. You'd have to do the dash work yourself of course.

Here's a DIN install picture -










There is even a detachable face CB radio made by midland.






















































This is the radio I run in my truck -










And here's a picture of the antenna I use off the bumper. It's a 102" stainless steel whip - same kind you see on jeeps a lot.










Antenna's can vary a lot. There are magnetic ones that you just plug into the CB radio and can stick on the roof of your car - or you can mount a fiberglass on on the bed or off the back, and there are the steel ones like mine.

height can vary - some antennas are on 36" tall...some are long like mine 102" tall. Usually the longer antennas tend to out perform the short ones. Although the short ones are usually easier to mount and look a little more compact.

Here is a verison of the small magnetic antenna -










This guy mounted a small fiberglass one off of his tire rack (not a great location for getting your signal to radiate in all directions)










This guy mounted a small base loaded steel that fits in the grove inbetween the hood and fender and mounts to one of the body bolts -










This guy mounted one in between his bed and cab - (once again not the best place as your cab will block the signal radiating in that direction, but it is a popular spot for mounting.)










This guy mounted his antenna off the taillight cover protector it looks like - fiberglass antenna -










This guy made a special mount to go off his rear panel (I'd never drill into my body like this though )-









His inside install is pretty cool though -










Most peoples radio mounts kinda look something like this - (radios usually come with their own mounting bracket and hardware) -









Here's another in-dash mounted radio -


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## Q-Tip (Sep 10, 2005)

Don't see the tennis ball on the whip!! Seems to be a requirement for all the CB radios here in the sunny South. :thumbup:


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## vafrontr (Jun 22, 2006)

hawaiibrew said:


> Just wondering if anyone here runs a CB radio in their rig?
> 
> I've been into cb radio for a long time - I love my Nissan Frontier, but there isn't much room for mounting one without it getting in the way.
> 
> ...


I've already installed a reciever under my dash, now comes the more difficult part of where to mount the antenna. I was thinking of maybe getting one of those ball joints and mounting it to the side of the back bumper, does that sound reasonable? For the most part I have a cover over my bed so I cant really mount anything permanent in there, as Ive seen many people do. Also, how would I go about wiring the antenna from here into the cab cleanly? Thanks for all your help, Im pretty new to the whole cb world.


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## inyourface1650 (Oct 6, 2005)

HawaiiBrew. I run one! I have a Uniden something or another. I just run a wire out the top of my rear suicide door, and have a 4 foot whip 3m sticky taped to the top of the truck. Unfortunately, I don't know where to put mine either. It usually kicks around in the back until I need it....which is probably not too good for it. But your right, no place to put em. My radio is too big to go infront of the shifter in that little pocket, and because the mic jack is on the side, it doesn't fit in the center console either. Ditto on the glove boxes...

I have a couple questions on the amp however? Most radios are 4 watt, and your saying you run a amplifier? Highly illegal in the US, but sounds like something i want to do. What do you have it hopped up too? these things have decent range, but its not great.... Also....How can you tell what channel your on? My radio defaults back to 9 every time the ignition is cycled, and I camp channel 19...I would think if it was under your seat, it would be hard to adjust.


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## azrocketman (Oct 5, 2005)

inyourface1650 said:


> I have a couple questions on the amp however? Most radios are 4 watt, and your saying you run a amplifier? Highly illegal in the US, but sounds like something i want to do. What do you have it hopped up too? these things have decent range, but its not great.... Also....How can you tell what channel your on? My radio defaults back to 9 every time the ignition is cycled, and I camp channel 19...I would think if it was under your seat, it would be hard to adjust.


Speaking as a ham radio operator I'm upset that you do not care about the regulations for the CB band. CB is intended to be a short range, low power communication method. By adding power you are "stepping on" other folks who follow the power limits. You'd be upset is another vehicle ignored the law (e.g. a stop sign) and "stepped on you". The same courtesy should apply to the radio operations. 

If you need long range communications, get a ham license and install the appropriate equipment. You can get a ham license without knowing Morse code. Typical operating frequencies are in the 6 meter (50 MHz), VHF (144 to 148 MHz) and UHF bands (420 to 450 MHz) with mobile power ranges of up to 50 watts and legal operations to 1500 watts. With Morse code you can run in the high frequency bands and experience worldwide communications. 

Steve
KD6ZTK


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## hawaiibrew (Sep 14, 2005)

I just run one channel so having it under the seat wasn't a problem. If yours is defaulting to 9 everytime it means the memory function on it isn't working - or you hooked it to a power source that stop when the car is off so it doesn't have power to keep the memory going.

As for the amps and running extra power you only really need 50 watts to make a big difference in your transmission.

Adding a small amp will help with distance and other people being able to hear you. Small amps are easy to install and don't require a lot of knowledge to use.

I'd suggest adding a small amp such as a RM KL60 or a RM KL203. These are very basic little amps - they are cheap and they will give you good extra distance on your transmit. Other good beginner amps would be a Palomar 250 HD or a Palomar 300 HD. Both of these are solid performers and the HD refers to high drive meaning you can just put them in-line without having to adjust your radio at all.




Steve - I understand your point and although I do exceed the legal limit I am not one of those "power freaks" that cause excessive problems.

At the most I run about 200 watts and have never exceeded that.

In todays conditions with static and other electronic device interferring the legal 4 watts is pretty much usless. Even with a perfect setup and antenna in many city areas with powerlines you will only 1 mile at best. In the country side 4 watts will get you 10-15 on a really good day, but if skip conditions are running it may be very hard to talk locally.

Truthfully - CB radio regulations need to be changed to allow for 100 watts. Although there are options such as becoming a licensed ham - the CB band serves an important purpose. 

I use CB in remote areas of Hawaii - on much of the island we do not have cell phone service. When we are in back country areas fishing or surfing the CB radio is our lifeline.

We use it to maintain contact between camps and vehicles. 

With the terrain around here 4 watts is not adequate. In many areas without a amp or powerful radio we would not be able to maintain contact.

You may say "why not become a licensed ham" - well we go out in groups often exceeding 10 cars etc - and not everyone is going to become a ham, and we need to be able to talk unregulated without any rules while we are on the 4 wheel trails we don't have time to identify our station, follow the ham rules etc.

CB radio serves us in the way it should and helps us maintain contact in areas where there is no other way. 

Having all 20 of us become hams to use the radio is not a realistic solution.

CB is quick and works well. BUT as I said before we often need 50-100 watts to maintain contact.

I am not some 1000 watt crazy radio operator, I am not in blatent disregard of the rules.

I understand that having a radio that exceeds 4 watts is illegal, BUT I use my radio in a very responsible manner and only use the wattage at times when it is necessary.

I don't think that in my case that anything I'm doing is unreasonable or causes anyone any harm.

Also as you are aware - radio operation in Ham and CB has decreased over the years. In many areas where I lived there were only 10-15 CB users in a 100 mile area. having any one of them run 100-200 watts never caused any problems for anyone.

In the 70's when there were millions of CBer;s running 4 watts - YES someone running 100 watts would cause undue problems perhaps, but even then it was never really a problem.

In ham radio in 10 meters do you think running 100 watts to make a DX contact causes problems for those around you who are trying to make contacts with 4 watt radios? NO- of course not - if it was such an issue than 10 meters would be limited to 4 watt radios only. As long as people observe radio courtesy you shoudl be able to run 4 watts or 100 watts without causing any problems.

The problem exists in CB radio when you have people running 1000's of watts - but those people probably only number a couple of hundred in the entire US so they are not that common.

In general most CBer;s these days have no problem with each other, wattage is not a issue. 

Problems only occur when people cause undue interference - but any ham with a 4 watt radio can do that if they don't know what they are doing.

I personally don't want to take the ham test because I enjoy CB radio. I enjoy the freedom and lack of regulation. I think it makes for the ability for everyone in the population to have instant radio gratification and enjoy using radio without having to study for months to take a test.

In my experience over the last 30 years of CB radio I have never found any cause where a 100-200 watt CB radio transmission caused any problems whatsoever.

This is all in my personal experience and I can not vouch for the dumb guys running 5KW...but they are dumb and everyone knows it. Laws or no laws those idiots will always be out there. The rest of us who run our radios in a responsible manner -Even if we are breaking the rules do not cause any problems.

I think the FCC has come to this realization as well - that's why they are only going after people who cause intereference. If you run 100 watts and no one ever complains the FCC will never bother you. They have bigger problems to deal with.






azrocketman said:


> Speaking as a ham radio operator I'm upset that you do not care about the regulations for the CB band. CB is intended to be a short range, low power communication method. By adding power you are "stepping on" other folks who follow the power limits. You'd be upset is another vehicle ignored the law (e.g. a stop sign) and "stepped on you". The same courtesy should apply to the radio operations.
> 
> If you need long range communications, get a ham license and install the appropriate equipment. You can get a ham license without knowing Morse code. Typical operating frequencies are in the 6 meter (50 MHz), VHF (144 to 148 MHz) and UHF bands (420 to 450 MHz) with mobile power ranges of up to 50 watts and legal operations to 1500 watts. With Morse code you can run in the high frequency bands and experience worldwide communications.
> 
> ...


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## inyourface1650 (Oct 6, 2005)

AZrocketman,

I understand that CB is designed to be short range, low power communication, but I believe it is a bit rediculous the lower powerage. In Phoenix, there is so much interference, you cant hear the guy thats 1000 meters in front of you. Unless of course its Semi truck. I can hear them just fine. And they are not causing interferance, its the hundreds of power lines crossing over the freeways and all sorts of EF stuff going on in the city. Its not so bad in the desert, but its still not great. Usually I will crest a hill and the guys behind me will practically lose me. I believe if I doubled, or tripled my power output the CB would be a much much more practical communications tool, of which right now its fairly useless. 

I do not believe the government realised how much would be going on in the modern airwaves of today when they made the 4watt regulation way back when. 

I also understand about ham operators. My friend is a licensed ham operator and uses the 11m band. There are Repeaters on the Bank One Building, and one in Casa Grand. He uses it with great success (and distance). However, he also paid over $200 for a radio, and $50 on an antenna. He then took a class and the test to become licensed. All this is time and effort, that do not have the interest/time/money to pursue. Therefor I cannot talk to him over the Radio.

My point is this, it seems to me that in modern senario's CB is all but useless with the current 4w rating. I do not plan on transmitting 900000000000watts, I just simply want to be able to *USE MY RADIO.* 16 or 20 watts would be just fine I imagine.


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## azrocketman (Oct 5, 2005)

hawaiibrew said:


> Steve - I understand your point and although I do exceed the legal limit I am not one of those "power freaks" that cause excessive problems.


The key, like in most hobbies, is to respect your fellow hobbiest. As you have indicated, you are respectful of your fellow CB band users by using the power you need for reliable communications. Even within the ham community we have problems with folks whose idea of minimum power is 1500 watts (plus umpteen dB of gain on their antennas). While I don't 100% agree, I understand your needs and I can live with that.

Steve


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## bikeratheart73 (Jul 15, 2006)

Hello there.. I have a better way of mounting the CB in your Frontier besides under the seat. If you use a Uniden pc66 or the equivalent in size, it will fit right in underneath the factory or aftermarket single din stereo you have. I does not look that bad.. That is the way I had it in my 96 Hardbody and it's the way I have it mounted in my 01 Frontier.


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## EMT (Jul 15, 2012)

*Where To Get It*



hawaiibrew said:


> $40-$60 CB radio
> $10 coax cable
> $20-$30 Antenna + Mount
> 
> ...


Do you know where I can get all of this online. Also is there a good magnetic antenna that you recommend? And could you post a picture of how you have your CB mounted under the seat (both of mine are auto seats so there is not lever)


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## azrocketman (Oct 5, 2005)

EMT said:


> Do you know where I can get all of this online. Also is there a good magnetic antenna that you recommend? And could you post a picture of how you have your CB mounted under the seat (both of mine are auto seats so there is not lever)


EMT,

You need to note the age of this thread (2006). Check on line for CB equipment. You migh also find equipment at garage sales for pennies on the dollar.

Steve


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## ghost29 (May 21, 2016)

to the person that wanted to know the range on a cb radio channel 1 is 26.965 and channel 40 is 27.405 all the other chennels are in between 1 and 40 its the same on upper sideband and same on lower side band just on a other wave


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