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CB Radio tuning with Firestik 4' antenna.

CB Radio tuning with Firestik 4' antenna.
Anything from 1.5 down is good with a 4' and less ant.
Have a dedicated GND from the radio to the Jeep's GND to reduce RFI 'white' noise.
A filter on the radios feed line(+)wouldn't hurt......
LG
 
It made noise whether the engine was running or not. But I'll look at it. I did some research on different radio methods yesterday. Instead of starting right off with hamm license I may go the GMRS route first. Like a controlled license, but no test and has a pretty good selection of frequencies. Thing is finding a mobile set that is type approved by the fcc. Found one on ebay but they program the frequencies and they give you your choice. Problem with that is I wouldn't know what frequencies to ha e programmed in.

I finally understand what repeaters are used for now. Always seen them on ebay, but never could figure out what or why they are. Got a good understanding of it now and makes sense. I got a LOTA to learn.
 
It's funny, but I gotta say, after the repeater lesson and I finally understood it, I felt so dang smart. LOL! It makes me wish my dad and I were more involved in electronics. He's 92 now and hard to communicate with at times but the guy knew electronics, did it for a living. Very sharp but I just didn't have enough interest as a young kid.
 
I have heard only good things about GMRS radios. 20-30 mile range and very clear compared to CB
 
If you have the same noise with the engine off, as when on. You need to look where you tied into for the radio's power.
A dedicated line(+&-)from the battery is a good idea.
LG
 
Belizean said:
I have heard only good things about GMRS radios. 20-30 mile range and very clear compared to CB
Click to expand...

In the real world, you won't get nearly that kind of range from GMRS without a repeater or base station with a tall antenna. My personal experience from the handhelds advertised as 20-30 miles is maybe 1/2 mile to 1 mile at best.
 
jp360cj said:
In the real world, you won't get nearly that kind of range from GMRS without a repeater or base station with a tall antenna. My personal experience from the handhelds advertised as 20-30 miles is maybe 1/2 mile to 1 mile at best.
Click to expand...

Is the 1/2 to 1 mile distance in the mountains with heavy tree exposure ? I know of a group of guys that rave about them and are far clearer than the CB.
 
Lumpy Grits said:
If you have the same noise with the engine off, as when on. You need to look where you tied into for the radio's power.
A dedicated line(+&-)from the battery is a good idea.
LG
Click to expand...

Thanks. I didn't consider the power supply. Shouldnxt be a big deal to run it straight to the battery. I'll check that out. I don't recall what I tied it into.

Hope this link works, but here is a GMRS radio I am interested in. https://midlandusa.com/product/mxt275-micromobile-two-way-radio/
 
Belizean said:
Is the 1/2 to 1 mile distance in the mountains with heavy tree exposure ? I know of a group of guys that rave about them and are far clearer than the CB.
Click to expand...

Wooded areas (mostly pine timber land), no mountains, some hills, probably less than 50' elevation change.

Yes, the audio quality is much better than CB, which is pretty much always going to be true for FM vs AM (CB is AM, most VHF/UHF that I'm aware of is FM).


**when I was thinking GMRS, I was thinking about the FRS/GMRS handhelds. If you have a GMRS license, you can run a mobile (vehicle mounted) with a bigger antenna and up to 50 watts I think. That would be much better than the handheld I had stuck in my head.
 
I'll run a dedicated ground from the radio as well. Learnt a few things about ground this weekend as well that I never considered. Would be better with a dedicated ground.
 
jp360cj said:
Wooded areas (mostly pine timber land), no mountains, some hills, probably less than 50' elevation change.

Yes, the audio quality is much better than CB, which is pretty much always going to be true for FM vs AM (CB is AM, most VHF/UHF that I'm aware of is FM).


**when I was thinking GMRS, I was thinking about the FRS/GMRS handhelds. If you have a GMRS license, you can run a mobile (vehicle mounted) with a bigger antenna and up to 50 watts I think. That would be much better than the handheld I had stuck in my head.
Click to expand...
I watched a guy on youtube go through the different types of 2way radios. He said that the FCC made companies discontinue the frs/gmrs radios over issues with unlicensed usage. I'm sure you can still probably get them used though. The Midland radio I'm looking at has 8 repeater channels on it as well as NOAA westher station. It has an unobstructed range of 50 miles. It's a 15W radio. Looks pretty neat.
 
jafo said:
I watched a guy on youtube go through the different types of 2way radios. He said that the FCC made companies discontinue the frs/gmrs radios over issues with unlicensed usage. I'm sure you can still probably get them used though. The Midland radio I'm looking at has 8 repeater channels on it as well as NOAA westher station. It has an unobstructed range of 50 miles. It's a 15W radio. Looks pretty neat.
Click to expand...

Which model are you looking at ?
 
Well, I just bought my GMRS license. I have no idea what to expect now as they really don't tell you whats next after you fill out the application and payment. I assume they send you something via mail?
 
Sounds like all they care about is getting your $$$$
 
mtnwhlr said:
Sounds like all they care about is getting your $$$$
Click to expand...

Ha ha. Well, I tried to pay via plastic, but it woupdn't complete the transaction. I wound up opting to pay e-check instead.

The FCC site has to be one of the most difficult pages to navigate I have ever been on. I had to google how to apply for this particular license, just to figure out where to go and how to navigate the site. Luckily they tell you on the site I went to that you have to register an FRN number with the FCC before you can even fill an application out or even pay them money for the license. Had me shacking my head a few times.

Somewhere on that site, there are lists of approved type radios for gmrs. I have seen guys kind of speak of it and list a few radios, but none ever link the page. Of course you get the overly helpful guy, bless his heart just trying to help people like me, that puts out a small list and then you get the hard core guy, and he is 100% right on, that comes in and says not to take someones word for it go look at the official sites list with your own eyes. But, never posts a link. So you go on this little frustrating journey on the FCC site looking for this list of radios and 45 minutes later you're contimplating of either throwing your laptop across the room or jump head first off a tall building, then instead you just give up, hit the magic 'x' close the window and go get a good stiff drink.....or two.
 
Just an update. I recieved my GMRS license yesterday. They sent me a link in an email to access my license. Printed and just waiting on my radio now. I ordered the MXT275 today. If I like this GMRS radio thing, I might go and get the MXT400 later on. It has over double the wattage. We'll see.
 
Have been taking some online technician license tests on a ham site. So far I really suck. 49.5% has been my highest so far. Have done zero study. Hope to take a test in the near future. Yes got my GMRS license but I want my ham license too. Local Jeep club uses ham and cb it appears.
 
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