I just installed my CB. Its working pritty good. However I have not yet adjusted the SWR. I'm waiting on a meter.

For those of you that have 1.5 or less on a SWR meter, what kind of communication distances are you getting out of your CB's. I think im good around 2 km, but nothing beyond that.

Should I be expecting more between me and other 4x4s?

 

CB is line of sight and with your three foot firestick, depending on where you mount it that might not be too far. As a kid I had a 4 footer on the roof of my house and could hit the truckers on the highway with a distance of close to ten miles.

If you have the antenna mounted fairly low I would think you wouldn't get a great signal but should still be able to hit people in an open area up to 6 or so miles away.

Out in the woods with lots of trees and that distance goes down quick.

 

Installing a Cobra 75 with the firestik and Cooltech mount today.
I heard it's not a good idea to use the CB until you 'clear' it by hooking it up to the SWR meter to assure you gots a good signal.........well that's what I heard.

 

When the skip is in you can talk around the world.......

With your setup a couple miles is good, some days you will reach out a little further.....

 

[QUOTE=duneslider;988275]CB is line of sightQUOTE]

Not exactly.....That infers that if there is a mountain in between you and the guy you want to talk to.."and you can't see him" then you will not be able to talk to him. This is not true. Pretty much only the UHF (and above) freqs. are line of site, and even then things can be "in the way" but it starts to knock down the signal real quick. The CB freqs. are in the HF spectrum. HF can be worked two different ways. Ground wave (ie, local),and off the atmosphere. I'm sure ground wave is what you mean. But even ground wave signals "bend" so to speak. Where VHF and UHF signals start to "not bend" the higher you go up in freq. Yes, your 4 watts and little 2 ft. antenna will not "get out" very well with mountains in the way but it can be done.

And like N2MWL says, when the sun spots start appearing (skip) more and more in this new solar cycle, there will be thousands of signals all at once bouncing in off the atmosphere from all over the world. Well then you would think that you would be able to talk to everyone on your little CB in your Jeep right? Yes it IS "possible", but herein lies the problem....Most of the airwaves in the rest of the world are not regulated like we are here in the US. Which means there are SO many radios running hundreds, if not thousands, of watts that it will be next to impossible for your little 4 watts to be heard above them. It's not that your 4 watts won't be coming in on the other side of the globe, but all those high powered signals will all be concentrated into those 40 channels like you are, and they will "cover up" your signal from ever being heard. I started a thread called "A Heads Up to CBers". Check it out for more info.

Oh, and get this....Many don't know this, but to get away from all the congestion in the CB bands. Thousands of regular CB radios have been modified to run what they call the "Bandit Frequencys". What this means is with a flip of a switch now your radio is able to talk not only the regular 40 channels, but 40 channels above channel 40, and/or 40 channels below channel 1. Here, there are thousands of people operating, and even hundreds of actual radio clubs operating from all over the globe. Why? because they can legally, but unfortunately those freqs. are still illegal in the US.

But to answer your question.....with your 4 watts, range has everything to do with your antenna, and how your signal is travelling. That same 4 watts coming out of a 2ft antenna, depending on location, (and atmospheric conditions) may only get out a mile or so. But take that same 4 watts, put it into a much larger antenna, say an 8 foot stainless steel whip, and it may get out 10 times that. Take that same 4 watts again and put it into a 5 element yagi up at a hundred feet, and it would almost be like running a 500 watt amplifier you could hear for hundereds of miles.

Wow...........sorry I got so long winded AGAIN...!!! I know I tend to that, but I'm just trying to help those not that familier with radio waves understand the best I can in (hopefully) fairly easy terms.

 

[QUOTE=AK4Dave;989100]

I had a new large coffee for the start of that one... And now it's all gone...
nahh jk,

but good info thanks a lot. I just wasn't sure what to expect. Heres a question for ya ther CB SuperFreak. Although it's illegal, can you get more than 4 watts of power in a mobile CB?

 

[QUOTE=JKFreek;989194]If you're reffering to me, I'm not a CB Superfreak to say the least. The CB world has moved on without me since I became a HAM back in 96'....(hell I don't even know what this CB "swing kit" is that was mentioned in another thread). But the basic principles are the same.
As far as more than 4 watts from a CB.....it pretty much depends on the radio. Some of the older CBs where quite a bit bigger because of larger components that could take the heat better, and I know that these radios could put out a few more watts. As far as todays cheaper and smaller rigs go, a radio tech may be able to get in there with his magic screwdriver and make a few small adjustments to modulation to maybe get a little more "talk power" out of them which makes it seem like it is putting out more watts. But I have to think they can't do much. I could be wrong.

In the long run tho.....if you want to get the most out of the 4 watts you got, then go for the biggest, baddest, usually most expensive mobile antenna you can find. Like I said before, I'm not up on all the CB stuff anymore, but I'd have to bet that the Wilson antennas are still some of the best. If not the Wilson then the tried and true 102" Stainless steel whip is still hard to beat. Oh and btw, an after market high quality microphone has a lot to do with talk power as well. I ran a transistorized Astaic Handheld mic that you could customize to your voice. It made a pretty big difference too.

Good Luck...!!!

 

I installed the Cobra 75 and Firestick kit from cool mount this past weekend, had it tuned at a cb shop in north LA this morning and used it on the way to texas this morning/afternoon. line of sight seems about right, if im not next to em, i get static. not sure if its the radio or if its the antenna but if i cant see em, i cant hear them clearly.. oddly enough they hear me just fine.

 

I just installed the Cobra 75 with a 3' firestick. Drilled the mount right above the base of the 3rd brakelight, and with the spring it extends about 20" above the hard top. Tuned with swr, <1.5 on channels 1 and 40, right around .3 - .5 on 20.

I'm estimating about 1.5 mile range for receiving. I can hear truckers on the highway from my house. Not alot of trees\buildings between, but not LOS. Transmission seems to be closer to 1 mile, or they are ignoring my radio checks.

 

i have a 4 1/2 foot fiberglass whip mounted on the tire carrier. i get between 4 and 5 miles of receiving with this set up. i have been caravanning with others who noted when we stopped that they could hear me great but could not hear the person i was talking too.

remember that in flat ground line of site for the horizon is about 30 miles plus or minus 5 if i remember right