rusty_tlc
Dain Bramaged Member
I think that unit is slicker than owl poop. If I planned on using my CB for anything other than keeping in touch with the club on trail runs I'd buy it in a heart beat.bigndn said:
CB Radio
- Thread starter Eric Winkworth
- Start date
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e9999 said:
Some are open to anybody, and some are closed, meaning for use only by private or club members. If you don't have the right frequency, offset, and PL tone, the repeater simply won't "hear" you.
Scott
KG6ZWE
Pskhaat
Tourer
As mobi-arc said, some are open but many are owned and rule-of-thumb is permission from each owner/operator. Access restrictions are loose, but generally involve the signalling of an inaudible background tone. If said tone is not detected, the repeater won't kick-in and re-broadcast. This is the same thing on FRS radios those sub-numbers. You only have 14 freq's but there are something like 38 subtones that allow radios to filter out unwanted traffic.
Remember, though, amateur repeaters number 100x the GMRS repeaters and have excellent and very full coverage. If you are starting to get into using repeaters, it may be worth investigating becoming a Ham.
Remember, though, amateur repeaters number 100x the GMRS repeaters and have excellent and very full coverage. If you are starting to get into using repeaters, it may be worth investigating becoming a Ham.
rusty_tlc said:
Just to add to the chorus - amateur radio is great and for any kind of safety factor is really the only way to go. We're not talking about needing a HF radio, FM VHF - just like FRS - with much more power.
In my group there are now five amateur radio operators - we all have CB, FRS and HAM - the advantage is the link we can create with the group (ie I can can the group at the trailhead with my 4W hand held 150 mile away - no problem using linked repeaters, etc).
Getting the lic is really not bad - study a bit and go for it!
PS, I added the quote above as HAM provides a better feature than the ability to call in your location, The GPS can be linked to your radio and send your location realtime to other operators, or Internet sites.
Cheers, Hugh
VE3HMC
ok, here are some questions for me and for others who may be ignorant. i never considered ham becuase i heard the price was high....$150 isn't bad...i probably still wouldn't do it since that's a month for me, but some tempting tidbits are. i always run in a group, so cb works just fine for me and a decent cb is less than 1/3 the price of hte cheap ham someone else mentioned
can ham talk to cb (since most wheelers have cb and few have ham), or can they only communicate between ham?
are special other things required, (cables/antennas/anything)?
someone mentioned having to have permission on repeaters...more detail please...how much of a problem is this?
like i mentioned, chances of me going ham are slim, but these are just questions i have that might help others on the board.
for those interested in cb, supposedly uniden is the best...i had one...no issues. i mostly run cobra because i get them at decent discounts through work (i work at a freightliner dealership). while the larger ones are great, i never use all the bells and whistles and have found the little 18 and 19's to be easy to find mountings for and affordable.
can ham talk to cb (since most wheelers have cb and few have ham), or can they only communicate between ham?
are special other things required, (cables/antennas/anything)?
someone mentioned having to have permission on repeaters...more detail please...how much of a problem is this?
like i mentioned, chances of me going ham are slim, but these are just questions i have that might help others on the board.
for those interested in cb, supposedly uniden is the best...i had one...no issues. i mostly run cobra because i get them at decent discounts through work (i work at a freightliner dealership). while the larger ones are great, i never use all the bells and whistles and have found the little 18 and 19's to be easy to find mountings for and affordable.
Kofoed
SILVER Star
CB and ham can not legal talk to on another. HF ham units are usually able to tune the the particular cb frequency and listen, though.
The 2 meter (no-code license) does not require special gear, only a proper antenna. You can even cut down a cb antenna to work.
The ARRL is the "informal" private arm of the FCC. They, and others, publish a list of repeaters by area which are open, closed, or private. I use the LA Sheriff's HAM repeater a lot in my area.
The ham community is much like this board. If you are new or don't know, and ask a question, a bunch of people come out of the woodwork to help. It is not a snob hobby--though there are some snobs out there.
The 2 meter (no-code license) does not require special gear, only a proper antenna. You can even cut down a cb antenna to work.
The ARRL is the "informal" private arm of the FCC. They, and others, publish a list of repeaters by area which are open, closed, or private. I use the LA Sheriff's HAM repeater a lot in my area.
The ham community is much like this board. If you are new or don't know, and ask a question, a bunch of people come out of the woodwork to help. It is not a snob hobby--though there are some snobs out there.
Tigerstripe40
SILVER Star
nuclearlemon said:
1. You can get a 2M HAM radio for $79.99 (cheap off brand).
The good ones (Yaesu, Icom, and Kenwood) start at about $99.99
-The cute cobra previously mentioned is $99.99
2. HAM can't talk to American CB. HAM is FM, CB is AM.
A modifiied HAM radio can talk to MURS, as well as FRS. This is technically illegal.
3. A HAM radio is required, if you have a steel roll cage, you will need an external antenna. A good external anetnna, antenna mount, and cable is less than $50. About the same as a good CB antenna.
4. Amateur Repeaters are free and require no membership. Membership with a club is usually required for certain features of the repeater, such as AutoPatch. U
Pskhaat
Tourer
When I talked about permission on repeaters, that was for GMRS not Amateur radio. /Generally/ Amateur repeaters welcome all traffic.
`Autopatch' is the ability to make a phone call from your radio. When there's no cell service, this is awfully good! Some amateur repeaters are also linked to the Internet and can tunnel your radio traffic across the world to wherever you want. I often talk to people n the Virgin Islands during my commute in PHX.
`Autopatch' is the ability to make a phone call from your radio. When there's no cell service, this is awfully good! Some amateur repeaters are also linked to the Internet and can tunnel your radio traffic across the world to wherever you want. I often talk to people n the Virgin Islands during my commute in PHX.
A couple of other points - that others have made reference to:
- There are far more amateur radio repeaters than GMRS repeaters. Tell me where you live and I can use a map program I have to tell me how many repeaters are in your area - for illustration. If you like the idea of being able to use a repeater, I wouldn't futz about with GMRS. For likely the same price as a good GMRS radio and 1 day of studying, you would be way better off with amateur radio
- I can't recall the US situation - can/are GMRS repeaters more commercial? If so, may be way harder to get the permission.
- Amateur repeaters are virtually all 'open' - you just need to know the frequency, 'offset' (you call in on one freq and it transmits on slightly different freq), and the 'tone' that may be required to open the repeater. Many amateur repeaters have good emergency power (ie during the big 'black out' - my cell was useless, amateur radio net was up in about 5 minutes), better locations (ie the top of the CN Tower in Toronto, + the tops of all other major buildings), autopatch, etc.
I also agree with the price issue - a moderately priced amateur radio set-up shouldn't be a huge amount more than a similar CB system. You will pay a bit more - more power, more features, usually better quality build and more modern technology than the 1970's (or is it 50's) you get with CB
Cheers, Hugh
- There are far more amateur radio repeaters than GMRS repeaters. Tell me where you live and I can use a map program I have to tell me how many repeaters are in your area - for illustration. If you like the idea of being able to use a repeater, I wouldn't futz about with GMRS. For likely the same price as a good GMRS radio and 1 day of studying, you would be way better off with amateur radio
- I can't recall the US situation - can/are GMRS repeaters more commercial? If so, may be way harder to get the permission.
- Amateur repeaters are virtually all 'open' - you just need to know the frequency, 'offset' (you call in on one freq and it transmits on slightly different freq), and the 'tone' that may be required to open the repeater. Many amateur repeaters have good emergency power (ie during the big 'black out' - my cell was useless, amateur radio net was up in about 5 minutes), better locations (ie the top of the CN Tower in Toronto, + the tops of all other major buildings), autopatch, etc.
I also agree with the price issue - a moderately priced amateur radio set-up shouldn't be a huge amount more than a similar CB system. You will pay a bit more - more power, more features, usually better quality build and more modern technology than the 1970's (or is it 50's) you get with CB
Cheers, Hugh
Kofoed said:
NO OFFENCE TAKEN AT ALL! I actually took it more as a compliment. I just didn't want you to think I know alot more than I actually do, tryin to be modest and all.