Most ham's will have a ham radio installed in their jeep. They will also have a CB if they wheel with anyone else.

Most people have CBs in their jeeps if they go with any groups on a regular basis.

Some people have nothing. We get to talk about them on the radio.

 

Can CB and HAM comunicate with each other?

 

X2 I'd like to know, my guess is no but I'm not claiming to be smartest when it comes to comm

 

No.......not legally anyway. It is illegal to use a HAM radio to transmit on a CB frequency.....and the other way around as well. But many people do it.

 

By the same token, the GMRS rados , CB, and Ham arent compatable either.
IF your caught doing it, there is a hefty fine and possible confiscation of the equipment.
As was mentioned earlier, Ham license is easy to get.
FWIW, Im running both radios in mine and already thinking about upgrading the ham to a better one.

 

This post is for informational purposes only and is in no way intended to encourage someone to break laws either domestic or abroad. In fact, this post is intended to discourage one from performing radio modifications that would allow him/her to use a HAM radio for transmitting on any band--or at any power level--for which they are not licensed by the US Federal Communications Commission.

Some people get a multi-band (HF/UHF/VHF) radio and then modify it for out-of-band ("freebanding" or "wideband") operation. This way, they can have one radio that does FRS, GMRS, CB, and all HAM frequencies. These same people get busted when they accidentally exceed the PEP limits (e.g. 5 Watts for 11 meter/27ish Mhz CB) while transmitting, which is easy to do with a modified radio. For comparison purposes, most portable/mobile HAM radios can easily transmit at over 20 watts on batteries alone, and without amplifiers.

As per my disclaimer above, "don't do it." This is for informational purposes only.

Source: my fiancee who has a General class HAM radio license and has done extensive research on this very topic.

-Dawn

 

I know of people who run a 300watt linear with their C.B. now this is clearly illegal and only really usefully if you can adjust the wattage and the person you are talking to has a similar setup. At least this is what he tells me

 

Well......when the propagation is right, like during the peak of the solar cycle, even a small 4 watt CB signal can bounce along the atmosphere to the other side of the Earth. The problem is hearing that signal over many highly amplified signals that will be in there with it and covering it up. It's not that it doesn't get there, because it can, and is......it's just hearing it.

Your friend is correct to an extent. Optimally, you want to be able to hear as well as you transmit. When you run an amp your signal will definitely get out a lot better, but the problem is, you are still using a mediocre radio trying to utilize a mediocre receiver, and for the most part, most mobiles have mediocre antennas as well. So if you can't hear the person that can hear you say, 100 miles away.....what's the point? There's a saying in the radio world about people like this...."All talk and no ears". Another one is " he has an Alligator station".

HF is HF no matter if it's on a CB channel or in the HAM bands. The difference is HAM radios have far superior components, and for the most part have very good receivers....thus their high expense. You put an amplifier behind a quality signal, with a quality receiver and a large fine tuned antenna, and the world is at your door.....but as always, depending on the propagation.

Over the years I've talked to hundreds of lower 48 mobile HAM ops on 10 meters, which is very close to the 11m CB band, from way up here in AK. Many were using very low power, but I was on a base station using an amp and full sized antenna up pretty high. Could hear them just fine. When the conditions are right and the gear the operators are using is working as it should........you'd be surprised at the possibilities.

 

No, they are, by definition, on different frequency bands.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for a good HAM UHF/VHF mobile radio that is suited for a JK installation? I would be interested to know more of approprite rear bumper mounts for an antenna as well.
There is so much information out there that it is an overload to try and sort it. I was hoping to find someone with some real-world experience with this type of radio and antenna. I was thinking of a Yeasu 257(?).