Newbie Questions

[Courage]

Hey guys, hopefully this is in the right section. I want to get into CB radio, but, despite me trying to do a lot of online searches, I still have some very specific questions.
My reasons for wanting to get into this hobby are for a backup/out of cell service communication, the cool, golden age of trucking factor, and to be able to call ahead when traffic is stopped on long trips or to ask about smokeys.
I work about 20-35 mountainous miles from home depending on the day. Cell service is sketchy a lot places, so it'd be nice to have a reliable form of communication even through dead zones. Also, my dad and I travel home caravan style a lot, and so it'd be nice to be able to quickly warn each other about a deer on the side of the road or what not.
The distance that I'd like to be able to reach has led me to think that a ssb radio would be best, but then I hear some people say that moble ssb radios are troublesome because of "drift"? That you need to be able to kind of tune them on the go which isn't practical for mobile applications. Is this correct?
I had been planning to pick up a side mic Cobra 148, and mount a 102" whip to my rear bumper. Do you think that would get me the range I'm looking for?
It looks like I could pick up a Galaxy DX949 or 959 for around the same price. I read that they have problems with ssb drifting really bad in cold weather. Which do you think would be a better radio for my application?
Any other radios I should be looking at? Am I better off forgetting ssb and just going with a small kicker? Not particularly liking that idea though, as I'm a legal eagle kinda guy.
Looking for any and all suggestions.
Not sure if it matters, but I'll be mounting it in a lifted 94 Ram 2500 that sees about 4 miles of wash board gravel roads a day, plus what ever exploring I do on the weekend, so it needs to be relatively tough.
Thanks in advance y'all!
Courage

 

[144inBama]

The amount of drift in older radios vary between radios and most all that I'm aware of are directly affected by temperature, they would stabilize once they reached operating/steady temps, then you could dial them in, The 148 and Galaxies are in that group. I would recommend a Stryker or the new Aries II series in a mobile due to not being affected by the temp deviations. Distance....well, get a small AB biased amp. I only have a mobile soooo.....When barefoot, there are days I can talk 70 miles to a base on SSB and days I can't talk past the hood of my truck. I run 800 extra helpers and "most of the time" if I can hear them, I can reach them but again, there are those days running that extra 800 that I can't talk to the same station 70 miles away.
Short version of my ramblings.... Get a Stryker or Aries II. Make sure you use the rubber washers to mount the radio then get a small amp if your distance isn't what you're looking for and don't get upset when if you can't talk as far as you want/think you should be able to.

 

[Greg T]

The amount of drift in older radios vary between radios and most all that I'm aware of are directly affected by temperature, they would stabilize once they reached operating/steady temps, then you could dial them in, The 148 and Galaxies are in that group. I would recommend a Stryker or the new Aries II series in a mobile due to not being affected by the temp deviations. Distance....well, get a small AB biased amp. I only have a mobile soooo.....When barefoot, there are days I can talk 70 miles to a base on SSB and days I can't talk past the hood of my truck. I run 800 extra helpers and "most of the time" if I can hear them, I can reach them but again, there are those days running that extra 800 that I can't talk to the same station 70 miles away.
Short version of my ramblings.... Get a Stryker or Aries II. Make sure you use the rubber washers to mount the radio then get a small amp if your distance isn't what you're looking for and don't get upset when if you can't talk as far as you want/think you should be able to.

↑↑↑↑↑ Yup, what he said.

 

[AmericanEagle575]

Hey guys, hopefully this is in the right section. I want to get into CB radio, but, despite me trying to do a lot of online searches, I still have some very specific questions.
My reasons for wanting to get into this hobby are for a backup/out of cell service communication, the cool, golden age of trucking factor, and to be able to call ahead when traffic is stopped on long trips or to ask about smokeys.
I work about 20-35 mountainous miles from home depending on the day. Cell service is sketchy a lot places, so it'd be nice to have a reliable form of communication even through dead zones. Also, my dad and I travel home caravan style a lot, and so it'd be nice to be able to quickly warn each other about a deer on the side of the road or what not.
The distance that I'd like to be able to reach has led me to think that a ssb radio would be best, but then I hear some people say that moble ssb radios are troublesome because of "drift"? That you need to be able to kind of tune them on the go which isn't practical for mobile applications. Is this correct?
I had been planning to pick up a side mic Cobra 148, and mount a 102" whip to my rear bumper. Do you think that would get me the range I'm looking for?
It looks like I could pick up a Galaxy DX949 or 959 for around the same price. I read that they have problems with ssb drifting really bad in cold weather. Which do you think would be a better radio for my application?
Any other radios I should be looking at? Am I better off forgetting ssb and just going with a small kicker? Not particularly liking that idea though, as I'm a legal eagle kinda guy.
Looking for any and all suggestions.
Not sure if it matters, but I'll be mounting it in a lifted 94 Ram 2500 that sees about 4 miles of wash board gravel roads a day, plus what ever exploring I do on the weekend, so it needs to be relatively tough.
Thanks in advance y'all!
Courage

Welcome to the Group,great bunch of Gentlemen here who are always willing to answer any radio related questions if they can,I know they have helped me out in the past,as for radios and SSB, I personally like the Ranger 2950 10 meter export model modded for 11 meters,they are Rock solid on SSB and don't drift,jmo,also in agreement with what the other gentlemen said in exception to the radios that they mentioned since I have never personally used those models, although from what I have read about them they sound really good for what you need, Again welcome to the group!!!

73's

 

[M0GVZ]

I work about 20-35 mountainous miles from home depending on the day. Cell service is sketchy a lot places, so it'd be nice to have a reliable form of communication even through dead zones.

Unfortunately it is unlikely to do what you want, at least for local comms. For local comms it's pretty much line of sight so if there's a hill or mountain between you and who you want to contact it's not happening no matter what.

You'd be able to work DX, stations from long distances away where their signals are reflected off the ionosphere in this situation but it's hit and miss.

The distance that I'd like to be able to reach has led me to think that a ssb radio would be best, but then I hear some people say that moble ssb radios are troublesome because of "drift"? That you need to be able to kind of tune them on the go which isn't practical for mobile applications. Is this correct?

Doesn't matter whether you try SSB or AM or FM for local, same applies to all above. Most radios drift as they warm up, it's just more noticeable on SSB but they have a control on the front to adjust to allow for that.

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

Welcome!
The old 148 Cobras are great rigs, they don't make them like that anymore. That being said, if you get one, there is a good chance that it might need a little work. With a 102" whip, you will do pretty good just on stock radio power.

My opinion on running a little extra power, is that it would be worse to drive over the speed limit. As long as someone isn't interfering with a licensed service, or emergency services, the FCC is not interested. The RM Italy KL203 would match well with a low power CB radio, and would give an easy 100 watts. Turn it on when you need it, turn it off when you don't. I'm not trying to change your mind, and it's admirable that you want to do the right thing. Just food for thought. Here is a link to check out.

25-30 Mhz

88radio.com

 

[Courage]

Thanks for all of your responses! I really appreciate it and am amazed at how responsive this group is.
Unfortunately I am on a budget for this setup. I was hoping to not exceed $200, at least by much, so I figure that the radio itself can't be much over $150.
Good to know about the amps. Maybe my best bet would be to get an amp like the one linked, and pick up a non ssb radio like a Cobra 29 to start out with?
It sounds like reaching ~20 mountainous miles even with a ssb radio is questionable, so maybe I should start out with a cheaper setup to see if it's something that proves regularly useful.
Looking forward to hearing from y'all!
Courage

 

[Dmans]

With that budget in mind, a Uniden 980SSB May work for you. I have several of them and my opinion is they are pretty solid and drift free. Lots of folks have complained about the display being hard to read while mobile. I don’t have one mounted mobile but could see the concern. However if you are traveling “convoy style” the need to read and change the display while mobile is diminished.
Prices for these rigs are all over the place. Avoid the truck stops as I have noticed their prices are at or above $200.00. I have seen them for $129-$149 elsewhere.
Welcome to the forum and good luck!

73
David

 

[secret squirrel]

Maybe I missed it in the post. What section of the country are you referring. You will be able to talk to another vehicle on the road caravan style, however you may experience line of sight issues with mountain tops and valleys when trying to talk back home.

 

[Greg T]

Thanks for all of your responses! I really appreciate it and am amazed at how responsive this group is.
Unfortunately I am on a budget for this setup. I was hoping to not exceed $200, at least by much, so I figure that the radio itself can't be much over $150.
Good to know about the amps. Maybe my best bet would be to get an amp like the one linked, and pick up a non ssb radio like a Cobra 29 to start out with?
It sounds like reaching ~20 mountainous miles even with a ssb radio is questionable, so maybe I should start out with a cheaper setup to see if it's something that proves regularly useful.
Looking forward to hearing from y'all!
Courage

This is something to think about. The Anytone quad 5 or quad 6 is a great radio with loud audio. It puts out about 60W I think and truthfully, the receiving end is not really going to hear the difference between 60w and 100w. You can get an entire kit like this for a tad over 200 clams. The best part is no extra wiring and space for an amp, and these radios do not drift.

Combo: Anytone AT 6666 Mobile Radio with Sirio Performer 5000 LED Antenna with Mag 145 PL Mag Mount - Walmart.com

Buy Combo: Anytone AT 6666 Mobile Radio with Sirio Performer 5000 LED Antenna with Mag 145 PL Mag Mount at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

Combo: Anytone AT 5555 Mobile Radio + Sirio Bull 3000 LED Antenna + Mag 145 Mag Mount - Walmart.com

Arrives by Wed, Sep 6 Buy Combo: Anytone AT 5555 Mobile Radio + Sirio Bull 3000 LED Antenna + Mag 145 Mag Mount at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

 

[SuperLid]

I have old Uniden radios that drift for quite a while before they stabilize, due to the aging of the oscillator crystals. These days, the radios coming out of the Qixiang factory, are the best out there right now, in terms of stability, features and value. I would look at the Anytone's first, Radioddity has one model the QT40, Stryker and CRT. FYI, Radioddity has a deal on the QT40 for $180, which includes a 3.5" mag mount with UHF connector. I have one here to check out and I was impressed with it. The classic look of a 148GTL, with the features and stability of a modern radio.

 

[Courage]

Thanks again for all of your helpful responses!
I live in Northeastern Washington.
No kidding about truck stop prices! I had to go down to Portland 2 weekends ago, and as we were walking through a truck stop, we looked at their CBs. Ouch!
How hard is it to modify a 10 meter radio to work on 11 meter? Both the Anytones and the QT40 looked interesting, but neither were regular CBs, right?
Thanks!
Courage

 

[9C1Driver]

When you buy an Export radio most shops will mod them as part of the sale.

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

Thanks again for all of your helpful responses!
I live in Northeastern Washington.
No kidding about truck stop prices! I had to go down to Portland 2 weekends ago, and as we were walking through a truck stop, we looked at their CBs. Ouch!
How hard is it to modify a 10 meter radio to work on 11 meter? Both the Anytones and the QT40 looked interesting, but neither were regular CBs, right?
Thanks!
Courage

The Qt-40 is the same as the Ares 2, the conversion is simple. Open the cover, move the jumper to the other pin and you are good to go.

Thread 'Anytone Ares 2' https://www.worldwidedx.com/threads/anytone-ares-2.265547/

 

[TM86]

How hard is it to modify a 10 meter radio to work on 11 meter? Both the Anytones and the QT40 looked interesting, but neither were regular CBs, right?

I've got the AnyTone 5555 PLUS. Didn't even have to open the case to get it on 11 meters.