Newbie!!

[oreopenguin536]

Hey everyone I'm new to this whole cb radio thing but I have a feeling I am about to get heavily invested into it. I was wondering if someone could give me the basics of everything, a rundown of sorts I guess, Callsigns, best gear to get, what to say and not say etc etc


currently I'm trying to get a cobra 148gtl, The old school one. This would deb my first rig and I hear it's what everyone wants? Thats about all I know! Help me out!

 

[Robb]

Good choice. I'd recommend one that has been re-capped, cleaned, and aligned for best results. Also, don't scrimp on the antenna; buy the best one for best results. Be sure to mount it as high and SAFE as you can. Get a power supply that doesn't have a lot of self-noise. That should get you off and running . . . welcome to the forum . . .

 

[oreopenguin536]

thanks for the info!

 

[oldgeezer]

Get a linear type (not switching type) power supply such as an older Astron. 5 amp CCS/7amp ICAS, Amps rating is plenty and can run accessories. The Cobra 148 is a fine radio. These hear stations as good as the best new ham radios. Perhaps a Turner +3 microphone would be a good addition. Turner +3 has the internal speech compressor. Now, using four watts limits to local contact. For skip you will be calling out forever without a contact. It s illegal, but a 100 watt amp will make long haul (skip) contracts. 100 watt solid-state needs a 20 amp power supply. 200 watt solid-state needs 35 amp power supply. Tube type amps have a built-in power supply.

 

[oreopenguin536]

I have a buddy who actually got me into it, he said he could sell me a 500 watt computer or something like that? He said if he turned it on it would take so much power it would start to slow his truck down from the power draw or what ever. Anyway he is trying to sell it to me, good buy?

and the other thing, how illegal is illegal? As in, a slap on the wrist or fcc guys knocking on your door? Do they even still monitor cbs?

 

[nomadradio]

Officially the FCC "washed their hands" of all unlicensed radio enforcement. Doesn't mean you can put an unlicensed FM broadcast station on the air. It refers to radios that do not need a license to transmit.

Congress made this official some years ago, giving local authorities official responsibility for interference problems.

Unless you interfere with someone who HAS a license. May seem like a small distinction, but if you tear up the local fire department's channel, the FCC will be on it. THEY have a license.

And if you shut down the neighbor's TV or phone, it's not the FCC's problem. But if a local judge says your radio is a nuisance, you'll have to deal with it as if it were a dog that barks all night or the noise from tuning your drag-racing engine in the driveway at midnight. If you call the FCC about CB interference, they offer to send you a brochure and refer you to local authorities.

All the FCC's CB enforcement these days seems to fall on anyone who sells radios or amplifiers that aren't legal to sell. Don't hear much about enforcement of CB rules.

Truck drivers still have to deal with DOTs in every state. Just how snotty they are about your radio is anybody's guess. This has made "large" radios with the amplifier built in more popular. So long as there is no external amplifier in sight, the DOTs will leave you alone the way I hear it.

73

 

[oreopenguin536]

How exactly can a cb shut off or mess with tv's? I thought they used totally different frequencies compared to tv's and such?
As far as licensing do they still issue HAM licenses? If they even do would it be a benefit to get just incase?

sorry for all the noob questions, I come from a motocross and racing type background , This is completely out of my realm with building bikes and engines

 

[nomadradio]

Interference problems come in two categories: barefoot-radio interference and amplified-radio interference.

First, some consumer electronic devices contain no filtering, and even the stray RF power in the air near a transmitting antenna can disrupt a cheap wired phone, a wireless baby monitor, a wireless doorbell or a motion-detector yard light. A landline phone has wires that go out to the pole. They make a dandy receiving antenna. So do the electric-utility wires that lead to the house, and run through the walls. This can help make a landline phone into an accidental receiver, or a touch-operated lamp cycle on and off when you key the radio's mike.

Second, adding an amplifier or hot-rodding a radio for more power or audio than legal can cause it to put out additional frequencies, mostly above the channel you're on. A harmonic is a multiple of your channel frequency, twice, three times, four times your channel frequency and higher. This is one kind of (as they call it) "spurious" frequency your radio and/or amplifier can toss into the air.

When someone refers to a "dirty" amplifier, those extra frequencies are what they mean, mostly. A radio that's been cranked to the max can do this, too.

And in a modern computerized motor vehicle, that stray RF in the air can leak into the computer's wiring and disrupt normal operation. The bigger the amplifier and the newer the car, the more likely this becomes.

73

 

[oldgeezer]

Stick with a 100 watt amp. Tube type provide the cleanest signal that gives little opportunity to interference. TVs are digital now and most are on cable. So chances of TV interference in minimal. Use a Bencher low pass filter on the amplifier output.

 

[oldgeezer]

BTW- I like the Hy Gain amps with the funky wood grain front panel. The Hy Gain provide a clean signal and have a great SWR match to your radio.

 

[Riverman]

BTW- I like the Hy Gain amps with the funky wood grain front panel. The Hy Gain provide a clean signal and have a great SWR match to your radio.

Had one back in the 70s.

I remember asking the seller what the two knobs on the left were for. He said, "Key the mic and twist 'em till the red light's at its brightest." So that's what I did.
Worked great.

 

[fourstringburn]

Tube type provide the cleanest signal that gives little opportunity to interference

Where did you learn that from and why would tubes be cleaner than SS transistors?

 

[oldgeezer]

Had one back in the 70s.

I remember asking the seller what the two knobs on the left were for. He said, "Key the mic and twist 'em till the red light's at its brightest." So that's what I did.
Worked great.

That is exactly what I own. It is a great amp and can play to 200 watts peak output. Not bad for two small & inexpensive tubes.

 

[Riverman]

That is exactly what I own. It is a great amp and can play to 200 watts peak output. Not bad for two small & inexpensive tubes.

What is the best wattage to drive one of those with?

 

[fourstringburn]

Truck drivers still have to deal with DOTs in every state. Just how snotty they are about your radio is anybody's guess. This has made "large" radios with the amplifier built in more popular. So long as there is no external amplifier in sight, the DOTs will leave you alone the way I hear it

That's Truckdriver B.S.!

DOT has NO jurisdiction over FCC rules or enforcement. The FCC has not given it to them. If that were so, then it would be published in the DOT rule book or elsewhere because all Government rules towards the people are published and have public access.

About the only thing the DOT can do regarding a "big radio" is cite a driver if the big radio obstructs his view out the windshield or if his splattering radio causes interference on the Police or other Law enforcement bands. Then it's more of a criminal offense than a FCC violation.