79 to 85 minitruck oem cb

[Combat Chuck]

the problem with CB's (besides range) is the fact that nearly everybody and his uncle's got one. There's alot of chatter, and for little to no reason.

 

[WristPin]

Yup. Good eye. Not sure if I will re-install it when I get my interior back together.

Ham radio is much more civilized than CB, and like Jerod says you can work MUCH longer distances. There are several classes of licenses, 2 meters is the most popular band and you can work it with a Technician class license. You do have to take a test to be on the air, and you are assigned a call sign by the FCC (see sig). The equipment is typically more expensive that CB on average, but much better made as well. You can get some great deals at local Hamfests and eBay though.

you are probably not the type that would do this mod, but I'll throw it out there anyway.
If you remove the face of that unit, unscrew the halves of plastic there are 2 empty solder pads on the edge of it. you connect those with solder and all of a sudden you have ham channels.

i dont remember the exact details so if it sounds interesting look it up.
I know it works, and thats why i spotted yours, cause I used to own one

 

[Chang-kuao-lo]

i found a pic of a factory unit:

neat.

 

[KLF]

you are probably not the type that would do this mod, but I'll throw it out there anyway.
If you remove the face of that unit, unscrew the halves of plastic there are 2 empty solder pads on the edge of it. you connect those with solder and all of a sudden you have ham channels.

i dont remember the exact details so if it sounds interesting look it up.
I know it works, and thats why i spotted yours, cause I used to own one

Yup, we did this once before.

Doing that mod would allow you to operate in the 10-meter band, which I'm not licensed for. I may get my General ticket some day, but for now I'm only a Tech.

 

[GAS-A-LOT!]

NEwbness here. So hams pic up cb chanels? In this case, that cb pics up ham chanels with a mod but no distance?.


How bout midland walkies? Different freq?

 

[KLF]

CB is approx. 11 meters, AM. Some rigs like mine will also do SSB so you can get a total of 120 channels, in theory. Out of the box, ham rigs don't do CB. In general, CB is snubbed by hams. Anybody with $50 in their pocket can get setup with CB, which explains why most of the chatter is just annoying crap. Really, the only reason to keep a CB in your truck is for trail runs. Used to be they were also useful for the weather channels, but my phone does a much better job at that now.

The Tech exam is amazingly easy, now that the code requirement is gone. Hardest part is finding a place to take the exam, the ARRL website has a nifty search tool to help find a place and time. Lots of study guides and sample exams on the web, just do a search.

Any brand that is CB is on the same freq - Midland, Cobra, etc. Walkie talkies totally suck in a vehicle.

 

[pappy]

I would encourage anybody that travels into the boonies to get their ham ticket. One of the best things I've ever done. CB? There is no going back, and I only keep the unit in the truck because there are folks I wheel with that have not taken the plunge. At some point I'll just say "screw it," pull the CB out, and just not talk with them.

Kilo-Juliet-5-Romeo-Alpha-Tango ... clear.

P.S. - FRS is a joke.

 

[NorCalBorn]

FWIW as far as placement and room, has anyone here seen what Greg (Green Truck) on pirate4x4 makes in regards to a new dash plate/insert? They're really clean and you can pretty much pick out your configuration b/c he even makes them to relocate the dash climate controls.

(Nice guy too. I know him and mentioned this topic.)

re: '83 Dash Panel - Pirate4x4.Com Bulletin Board

 

[NorCalBorn]

..t'aint...

 

[onemanarmy]

i got the $40 CB from wal mart and it fit in the dash, I could have slid it back more with a custom bracket, but it doesn't bother me...you can see it kinda in both of these shots, and now I have the radio/cd player in a Tuffy center console, so that freed up the dash.