So are CB Amp's legal? I have heard both stories on this - and trying to find out for sure. Thanks!

 

I used one at my house i bought at a garage sell. I got shut down because the signal bled all over my parents tv and the neighbors too.

I think in a car or jeep it wouldn't be a problem.


Law wise i think the FCC caps cb at 4 watt output....but rarely enforce it if ever. I say go for it if you have one but watch heat build up. I could fry an egg on mine.

 

Yes CB linear amplifiers are illegal to use! People on the CB use them all the time though.... It's a choice that only you will take responsibility for and from what I have heard it does carry a hefty fine if you are caught. I ran a 1000 watt linear in my vehicle when I was a young rebelous teen. Good luck !

 

Are they legal?
Nope.


Do people use them?
Yep


Do you REALLY need one?
That would depend on you, and the situations you feel you may find yourself in.

If you are Jeepin with friends, and talking on the CB, highly doubt you would ever need more than the 4 legal watts.

If you are driving down the road, want to keep up with traffic from the truckers, and even chew the fat with them...again, the legal 4 watts is probably all you will ever need.

If you wheel solo, and get stuck out in the middle of no where a lot, and are 20+ miles from anyone else with a CB....the linear amp might be for you.

 

If you get one that bleeds, it's a crappy one. Probably transistorized. The old tube types were much cleaner. All that said, yes, they are illegal. Just like tuning a CB to modulate over 4 watts. But, as stated before, a bunch of folks do both. If you have a good CB, coax and antenna, you won't need an amp anyway. I have an uncle who talks on shortwave radio around the world on 2 watts. All the RF that liniers put out has also been linked to heart problems.

 

Why would you want a CB linear? If you want to talk to folks far away, get a ham license. They can run linears legally, and have tons of frequency options (which is critical to getting longer range performance). The novice class license is pretty easy to get these days--they don't even require Morse code anymore.

 

No it's not legal. Here is from Wikipedia
The maximum legal CB power output level, in the U.S., is four watts for AM and 12 watts (peak envelope power or "PEP") for SSB, as measured at the antenna connection on the back of the radio. However, illegal external linear amplifiers are sometimes used. In the 1970s the FCC banned the sale of linear amplifiers capable of operation from 24 to 35 MHz to discourage their use on the CB band, though the use of high power amplifiers by lawless operators continued. Late in 2006 the FCC amended the regulation to only exclude 26 to 28 MHz.[22]

^ ARRL.org: FCC Releases Long-Awaited "Omnibus" Amateur Radio Report and Order

 

not trying to be a dick, but please explain the havoc these create?

 

Not an unreasonable question. The problem with any RF emitter is that it doesn't emit only on the frequency intended for operation. They have harmonics and various other spurious emissions. These emissions can cause interference with other, nearby receivers. The higher the output power, the more problematic the emitters. The effected receivers might be your car FM radio, your TV set, your weather radio, etc.

I had a neighbor that lived about 200 yards away who operated an illegal CB linear. He never admitted it, but every time he transmitted, several channels on my TV set received a garbled picture and an over-riding audio signal. Fortunately, he moved away.

Hams are licensed and have proved (by testing) their ability to properly operate, monitor and adjust their RF emitters. They transmit their callsigns every few minutes, making it easy to track them down (though the antenna farm on their house usually gives them away). And, while the problem is often with the receiver rather than with the transmitter, most hams are quite willing to help the aggrieved receiver owner put something together to quell their problem.

 

how many watts was he running. ??