good cb or ham, whats the dif

[matt49]

loking for i good cb or ham radio, not sure the specs on both, what is better, pros and cons? new to this but am building my 80 for some remote camping/ expedition trips in the bc, yukon and nwt, and also for u techs out there, if i just got a cb, where would i purchase a distress beacon?

[Beowulf]

A CB (at least here in the USA) is useful for communications within your trail group and distances up to 1 mile. If you travel alone or in small groups out of cell phone range and you want the ability to have long distance communication then you need to get your Amateur Radio license (HAM) and select the equipment that will do you the most good in your area. (I realize this is vague but that is because I am a new HAM and I know nothing about Amateur Radio in your country.)

Here in New Mexico we get excellent coverage throughout the state on 2M. This is accomplished by a network of about 20 repeaters on mountaintops all over the state.

I have no suggestion on the distress beacon.

-B-

[RockDoc]

If you are going to be seriously remote, you might look into satellite phones. I have one I take out on fieldwork, a wonderful thing (although the company ours is through, GlobalStar, has had difficulties, and currently there coverage is spotty time-wise, I have heard really good things about Iridium), clear as a bell, and as easy to use as a cell. Also goes with you when you are away from the vehicle, or on canoe trips,......

[e9999]

main difference is range (2 vs 50+ mi, say, 5W vs 50W)

sat phone better for emergency but costly so not great for routine commo

[Capt. Jim]

Originally Posted by matt49

loking for i good cb or ham radio, not sure the specs on both, what is better, pros and cons? new to this but am building my 80 for some remote camping/ expedition trips in the bc, yukon and nwt, and also for u techs out there, if i just got a cb, where would i purchase a distress beacon?

If you are out of range of other hams or repeaters, 2 meter may be useless to you. SAT phone or HF ham will get you a listening audience, although on HF ham the person you reach may be several thousand miles away if not on the other side of the world.

An emergency beacon, called an EPIRB, (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) can be purchased at any marine store/catalog. Most of the 121.5/243 mHz units have been phased out for the 406 mHz units that are detected by satellites.

Read about them here:

http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/marcomms/gmdss/epirb.htm

Brietland also makes a watch with a self-contained EPIRB in it that is manually deployed.

Sounds like a good trip is in order for you. Good luck.

Jim

[Cruiserdrew]

CB is good for travelling in groups. it's cheap, does not require a license, very short range.

2m is great for groups and medium distance. Up to about 100 miles depending on terrain and further with good repeaters etc. Also great for short range truck to truck on low power.

With that said, if you are really concerned, a Sat phone is the way to go for remote travel. Coverage anywhere, can direct the call to exactly where you want it. It really helped us this year on Dusy when one of our group broke the sector shaft in his 80 series. The part was on the way while we were still a day away from the trail head.

[BC_FJC]

Originally Posted by matt49

loking for i good cb or ham radio, not sure the specs on both, what is better, pros and cons? new to this but am building my 80 for some remote camping/ expedition trips in the bc, yukon and nwt, and also for u techs out there, if i just got a cb, where would i purchase a distress beacon?

I run both a CB and HAM radio... The CB is for short range communication and the HAM radio is for the mid to long range comminication.

Will you be travling with others? and if so what do they use? if you travel alone most of the time I would go with a Ham radio...

As for a distress beacon I am looking at getting one of the SPOT units just in case everything else fails.



Hope to see you on the trail

[Kalawang]

The trouble with radio is that someone has to be on the other end to receive your call, and also be willing to involve himself by acknowledging and reporting your call. What with pranksters and false alarms, such help is getting more difficult to aquire.

In the days gone by, radio was the best means of communication but these days I think Sat phones give you a much better chance to call for help and contacting people who know you and will respond quickly. Granted it costs, but I'm pretty sure you'll find the cost cheap if you ever actually needed help.


Kalawang