Hand held CB
 

Sorry if you guys hit this already. My friends want me to get a cb for fun on the trail but racing friends tell me to get a satellite phone for emergencies. Im not a big fan of adding load to the battery and electrical shorts scare the heck out of me , add to that the limited room in a jk and to me a hand held cb like the cobra seems pretty good . If Im following my buddies on the trail I shouldnt need much range . Has anybody tried one and do they work well enough to consider?:dontknow2:

We have the Midland 75-822. It works on the trails OK with just the battery pack. You can also add an external antenna just plug it into your Electrical Power outlet - no need to add any power wiring.

I have a midland 75 too. You can pick one up for ~$30 off ebay.

My Midland 75 came in last night off of Amazon. Nice little unit. Will get to try it out this weekend up at RC.

Well thanks fellows in the end concerns about engine noise and a great deel on a Cobra 75 unit was the result. Now Im gonna need an antenna mount, 4 foot antenna with a quick connect. We went to a jk meeting tonight and got our location ideas handled so thanks again.

to follow up on my previous post, I got to try out my Midland hand held at RC. Works fine, though I found I lost people in our caravan from time to time if I ddint' keep the radio with it's weak stubbie above the window line/beltline. going to keep it but going to put in a 75 with quick disconnects on all too now that I plan on diving in further. I'll use the hand held for when I get out and what not.

i switched to the midland 75 also, im using a 4' firestik and the range is good.

I went with the TerraFlex mount. Works great :thumbsup:

I bought an ICOM base station this year, its 100 watts multi-band (2 meters to 160 meters) and I coupled it to a dipole antenna (ZS6BKW G5RV ZS80) that I temporarily hoisted a whopping 20 feet up in the air. I'm considering putting up a wind turbine so I might get a real tower soon. I was able to pick up chatter from all over the USA. But since I'm not a licensed ham, I just listened. For Christmas, my Santa, brought me a Yaesu FT60R best handheld ham radios at secretstorages.com ($154 free/shipping) (vhf/uhf) and I've been playing around with it for the past couple days listening. Listening to a repeater 26 miles away, I could hear conversations very clearly. I decided I needed to know how effective the 12 inch rubber duck antenna is and figured I'd bend the rules a bit, just once. I was also able to transmit to that repeater 26 miles away while sitting in front of my home computer. It took me a few minutes to figure out that I had to program in something called a PL tone for it to work, but once I did, it worked like a charm. On my very first attempt, my "CQ radio check" was acknowledged. Of course, once I knew others could hear me, I stopped transmitting as all I wanted to do was to make sure it actually worked. My santa didn't just get me the Yeasu FT60R on a whim by luck, it was something I've been researching so I could find a portable solution to talk back to the base station in a SHTF and for something I could recommend to friends and neighbors. Would a Bofang radio do the same? I'm sure it would, but I didn't buy my radio for hobby use while camping, I bought it to serve me in times when I'm going to depend on it, possibly my life will depend on it. With that in mind, I certainly wouldn't purchase Chinese hardware for such purposes. You purchase Chinese stuff when you don't mind exchanging it at walmart or throwing it out. You purchase high quality stuff when its going to be used for important things.I like to watch YouTube videos of a similar theme when I'm looking for information about the right product. I hope this helps someone in the future. Good luck!

I used to drive 18 wheelers cross country but I have since switched careers. Now when taking road trips it would be nice to have a CB that doesn't need to be mounted to the car.

Do let me know also when you find a good CB radio that could be used in a vehicle but powered by batteries? Not looking for the absolute highest quality out there, just something that works enough for minimal price.

Midland 75-822 is the hand held I have as backup in my Jeep’s. The added bonus besides have two battery packs, one for alkaline AA’s and the other for rechargeable plus the mobile mounting kit. This has the ability to install an external antenna plus a 12v plug to plug into the Jeep’s power. Range is standard 4 watts out and also has weather band receive which is handy. B&H has a great price and it comes with the accessory kit which Midlands website claims is sold separately though I’ve never seen it sold that way. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...2_in_1_cb.html

Maybe consider GMRS radios. Everyone has access to GMRS frequencies by obtaining a no-test license. The range and quality of UHF/FM comms is far superior to CB/AM.

There are GMRS repeaters available that increase range tremendously.

B-tech makes a handheld. Midland makes several mobile radios. Cheap FRS "Bubble Pack" radios are compatible.

https://jeepjamboreeusa.com/cb-replaced-by-frs-gmrs-two-way-radios/
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Actually GMRS unlicensed side will technically not be as good range wise vs CB. Even with the mobile 50 watt licensed radios you are still limited to line of sight range. CB which is HF is a longer wavelength and given the right atmospheric conditions can have much greater range, also mobile CB radios with well designed and placed antennas will have better range then a handheld FRS/GMRS radio that does not require a license due to it’s fixed antenna.

Yes the transmissions are much cleaner because they run FM vs CB which is AM or SSB but oddly outside of North America CB radios are running FM which is something that should be adopted over here. I’ve had a CB radio in my vehicles since the early 70’s and still find it useful on long highway trips though it’s popularity has waned significantly.

Personally I think having multiple communication options is always the safest bet and with amateur tickets being far easier to obtain then in the past that is certainly top of my list. Especially now that you don’t need CW for the basic tickets. Truckers are still on CB up here, I don’t think there is a defacto trucker channel on GMRS yet and I can’t say I’ve run into any 4 wheelers running on GMRS channel 4 yet though I monitor that channel in my Jeep along with CB channel 4 and 19.

I agree CB (27 Mhz) has the potential for longer range comms, that's generally not the case, and most comms are crappy, staticy, 4 watt, AM, crackling audio. A 50 watt UHF (450 Mhz) signal is technically line of sight, but will push further and be clearer on average than any CB signal.

I have a ham ticket, and have since 1992. I have VHF/UHF (Ham, GMRS, MURS) capability mobile and handheld. I think once these traditional CB users get a taste of the range and clarity of UHF/FM comms, many will make the switch.

Honestly that is debatable, I have my military GRO certificate since 1974 and HF coms will out perform UHF. I do acknowledge that atmospheric conditions will have a much greater impact on HF comms however the potential for skipping the signal will increase range since UHF signals cannot leverage this effect. Also consider that military use HF for long range comms as do amateur radio operators.

When VHF and UHF would beat CB is when you get into Ham and leverage repeaters, technically you can have GMRS repeaters although they are illegal here. And 50 watts of transmit power does not equal a tenfold increase in range, more likely double maybe not depending on terrain.

But for comms around camp or Jeep to Jeep sure the GMRS gear is probably easier to use and sounds better to those not into the radio hobby.

Also with CB there is Sideband and that can help, yes I get why you think CB sucks but that can be the result of the user running a ‘power mic’ and over modulating. AM by its very nature will not be as ‘clean’ as FM, however what is interesting to note is that overseas CB operators have frequencies that are FM and that handheld I mentioned over there is set up to operate in that manner.

Finally looking at the specs for those blister pack FRS/GMRS radios they make so pretty outlandish range claims. But as I said before personally I would run as many types of comms as possible because in an emergency you want to cover all your bases and these radios (not Ham) are pretty inexpensive so cheap insurance.

I think we're primarily talking about trail use, and a generation that is used to clean, clear communications via cell phone.

On "wheeling" expeditions with multiple participants, UHF / FM communications is going to be better. Nobody uses Amplitude Modulation anymore for serious two way communications. 2M and 440 repeaters are a wonderful thing, but I routinely talk 440 simplex at a range of 10 miles or more, which is essentially the GMRS band. Hell, my dual band Tram antenna even has acceptable SWR over 2M, 440, GMRS, and MURS with a MARS/CAP mobile radio.

Most folks don't "do" radio. They just want it to work. With GMRS, and to a lesser extent, FRS, it'll work. Maybe some will get the bug and get a ham license.

I haven't laid hands on any of the Midland Micro Mobile radios yet. But they are getting popular fast, and have been embraced by Jeep Jamboree. There's a reason.

I got the Midland 75-822 a month ago. Very happy with it on the mountain trails here in Prescott AZ. I installed it myself, ran a ground wire and the coax though the corner rubber of the rear window, top and door intersect area on the passenger side. Coax pops up from under the carpet below the passenger seat and connects to the handheld's input. I use the 12V lighter outlet in the center console and lay it in the cup holder for the trail ride and store it in the console when on the street. I used a 4' fire stik and got a $25 meter to dial it in. Really enjoy being able to talk to the rest of the group so no one gets lost or needs a pit stop. I think I will get the holder for it that goes in the grab bar crack but not sure I want it there all the time?

ok, now that is funny to me, my wife and both have a cb in our vehicles because probably 75% or more of the time our cell phones do NOT get a good signal or any signal at all, trying to talk on a cell phone many places we go is a waste of time, even at our house if it wasn’t for wi fi calling our cell phones would be just paper weights.
probably depends on the area, but cb’s are more reliable and more clear than a cell phone for us

Your instincts are good. I never had that experience either. Also, I was just checking some of the Midland options for handheld cb radio they seem pretty useful to me.

I have to admit I chuckled a bit with the cell phone analogy. I find cell phone users would probably be more sympathetic to CB radio. Out where I wheel coverage is sparse and dropped calls if I can get a signal is pretty much a crap shoot. But even down in the city dripped calls, digital noise/distortion and duct cleaning telemarketers is pretty common. A buddy uses the most annoying hands free unit in existence, if I make a sound at my end his unit automatically mutes his mic so he gets unknowingly cut off, akin to keying your mic over the other party.... But yes most folks do indeed just want something that works and that's logical but me, personally I want something that can save my butt in an emergency....

The Midland Micro Mobile radios are cute, they look a lot like their 2m/440 ham counterparts that have been stripped down function wise. It kind of sounds like you have the Technician's class license down there as you don't mention anything about using any HF bands. Pity as there are some really nice, really small 10m rigs out now such as the Galaxy SR-25MC or even one of the quad band radios such as the Yaesu FT-8900R which covers several bands in a very small package.

Here's a bit of follow up with the Midland handheld CB. I have them in a couple of Jeeps, One with just the battery and rubber Duckie and the other with the in car kit and external antenna. The only initial downside was that it only comes with a belt clip and I like the Jeep Unique dual mount kit for the grab bar.

But being a pack rat and surplus store junkie several years ago I came across several types of cell phone belt clip kits that easily adapt to the back of the Midland. Two I show below, both have buttons that are attached to the back of the radio with 3m double sided trim tape (same tape used on cars to hold rub strips) and it holds really well. In the one Jeep I've had this button attached for a couple of years and that Jeep goes off road in the summer and that button is still holding on very well. The Body Glove button is a bit big for the slot in the Jeep Unique mount but it still holds well unmodified, the other (Road Hugger) kit's button slides right in perfectly. Both also come with quick release belt clips though I can't say I have used them but handy I suppose.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jk-...cc33b39113.jpg


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jk-...8d06915650.jpg

I used the dash clip from the Road Hugger clip attach the mic from one of my radios. Instead of drilling a hole I used some of the 3M trim tape which is readily available at most auto parts stores. Handy when you want to attach something without drilling a hole. Also how I mounted the 3 outlet 12/USB socket.

I'm a General class, from back when it required 13 WPM. Icom Yaesu Ft-450d with a long wire and 100 watts. I won't mount an HF rig in any of my vehicles.

Icom on the brain...Have two Icom 2730a's

Interesting, that is a very nice radio that can be run mobile sort of, er well ok maybe not from an antenna standpoint.... :cool: The new Jeep’s are like most new cars, a real challenge for mounting radio gear so I get why. The new quad banders are nice rigs, especially with removable face plates so mounting is less challenging granted I basically use mine as a scanner because it was easier to mount then a dedicated scanner. Granted the one size fits all antennas leave a lot to be desired.