The lady and I will be caravaning for 3 days in the summer. I have a cb/antenna set up on the jeep. I am looking for something for the girl to use in her civic that doesn't involve mounting an antenna.

I don't know too much about handhelds. Any recommendations? Will the reception suck because the antenna won't be mounted on the outside of the vehicle? Are there 100+ threads about this topic that I should be reading?


Thanks!

 

The range on handhelds gets very short. They can work ok car to car as long as you stay close. But even a little traffic can separate you easily enough to lose contact. I would suggest at least a magnetic mount antenna instead of the little one on the handheld. If you don't have the handheld yet, I would suggest getting a regular small CB. Uniden had a couple of models in the $40-$50 range. Just Velcro the unit in place and use a mag mount antenna. Nothing permanent needed. That will perform much better than a handheld. Have fun with your trip.

 

That sounds like a great idea.. Cheap, easy, and not permanent. Any magnetic antenna would do?

 

The closer the antenna is to a 1/4 wavelength, the better, but given the low expectations and limited use, even the cheapest CB mag mount would probably serve you ok

 

My first thought it why a mobile unit when they are so small and affordable but alas, I have a wife too. CB is close to 10m which is good to know in order to understand what to expect. Frequencies around there are ideal for open spaces which is where they find popularity in offroading and long haul tucking. They don't, however, do well inside and that includes inside vehicles. The signal is more likely to bounce around and inside a car that means it doesn't get out very well. Exceptions to this is vehicles like soft top Jeeps, canvas doesn't deflect radio signals much. A better handheld option would be FRS/GMRS. They are closer to 70 cm (440 megahertz) and do better at penetrating solids. What that means is it does a better job getting out of a vehicle than lower frequencies (longer wavelengths). You could even get a cheap HAM handheld and as long as you only operate on the GMRS/FRS frequencies with the correct output you don't need a amateur license.

 

It's true given your limited need a pair of handheld FRS/GRMS radios will work as well or better than a handheld CB.

Remember that using full GRMS capabilities requires a license.

FRS and CB can be used license-free.

 

Thanks a lot! Ill be on the hunt.