I am looking at getting a cb or a 10 meter radio with the 11 meter conversion (cb) what is your thoughts about this ?The 10 meter will cost me about $50.00 more
I had the same idea. I wanted to get my Ham license and anticipating that, bought a 10-11-12 mtr Ham Radio. I had it peaked and tuned for maximum performance and sound quality. I put it in it's box and onto the shelf in my garage pending the acquisition of my license.... 1 year later..... What's my excuse? I don't know. Someday has not arrived yet. I WILL get it someday, but not yet.
This is NOT the Ham sets that most 4 wheel clubs use on most runs or trails though. It is one that I consider "nice to have" but not the one that most wheeler's use. Do some research BEFORE investing $500 like I did and get the most bang for your buck. I am still going to have to get the dual band radios that are used by the mainstream wheeler's. Not a problems though. It's a way of life, not just a JEEP.
In order to be legal to use, CB radios have to be type accepted by the FCC. They have to bear an FCC identification label. This means only 5 watts and 40 Channels. None of the CB/10M radios are FCC certified so they can't be used legally on the CB band.
Legally you will need multiple radios to do all that.
Now what you can buy on ebay, good luck, don't expect any electronics you buy on ebay to last or even do what they say on the box.
In Canada, CB radios (lower power then US versions) are useless they won’t even send receive line of sight. Pretty sad when your perfectly matched radio with an 8’ whip can’t even talk to the last guy in a convoy of 10 Jeeps. So we use GMRS (also lower watts then US version but better then CB) or VHF 2way radios.
Our last club ride, 4 of us convoyed on Friday and one came up on Saturday morning. The four of us who convoyed together, used 2M. The last member only had CB so the trail ride itself was using CB.
For those who decide to try 10/11 radio's (not advocating that in any way) if you tune your antenna for CB, it's not going to work well for 10M, tune the antenna for 10M, it's not going to work well for CB. You just can't run both on the same antenna without a tuner. So, why spend all that extra money to do both? 10M is really useless on the trail, The radio is not certified for CB and if you hold a ham ticket, you run the risk of losing it. While you can make the mod to use it in the CB frequency, it's not legal. You probably won't get caught if the radio is tuned to 4W but do you know exactly how it's set up? IMHO, the minuses outweigh the pluses.
Just to add.. Almost all of these 10 meter radios are hard to use on 10 meters. (which they really aren't meant for).
One big thing is that 'normal' ham radios have continuous smooth tuning. The tuning in almost all these CB/10 meter radios can only change frequency in in 5 kHz steps (to match up with the CB channels which are all divisible by 5).
So, if you hear an amateur talking on 28.403 mHz, you won't be able to tune him in with a 10M/CB radio because when you turn the tuning knob, the radio can only range from 28.400 and then 28.405.. nothing in between.
This has been a pet peeve of mine for many years. There is no reason that a radio can't be built that contains say CB and any other band(s), 2m would be good. This radio would have to be type cert and only available to licensed operators. The idea that we need multiple radio's, multiple mic's is just antiquated.
It is possible for one radio to do just about everything in a very small package.. But not legally.
I have an Icom IC7000 in the Wrangler. It covers all the ham bands from 160 meters to 10 meters as well as 6 meters and 144/440 on VHF/UHF. It transmits AM/FM and SSB on all frequencies. The wide range receive, covers the CB, MURS, GMRS and FRS frequencies so I can listen to them.... But It will not transmit outside of the legal ham frequencies.
By removing a couple of teeny diodes from the circuit board, I can eliminate the transmit lockout so that it will transmit on the 11 meter CB band, as well as MURS, FRS and GMRS. But, I've never considered doing this. I currently have no use for FRS/GMRS. For CB, I use a $50 buck Uniden radio.
By removing a couple of teeny diodes from the circuit board, I can eliminate the transmit lockout so that it will transmit on the 11 meter CB band, as well as MURS, FRS and GMRS. But, I've never considered doing this. I currently have no use for FRS/GMRS. For CB, I use a $50 buck Uniden radio.
I have an LDG IT-100 tuner for the HF bands. https://ldgelectronics.com/index.php/products/desktop/it-100/ It connects to a dedicated tuner plug on the back of the IC-7000. I just have to tap the 'tune' button on the face of the radio to get it to automatically tune whatever antenna I'm using.
I use a Hustler mast with screw on resonators for each band from 80 through 10 meters which shouldn't require a tuner. But, the resonators aren't perfect, The SWR won't go much under 2:1 on some of them so I use the IT-100 to do 'fine tuning'.. With the tuner, I could easily get the 10 meter or 12 meter resonators working on 11 meters should I ever modify the radio. Or I could just purchase an 11 meter resonator. https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-003437
For transmitting on UHF, (ham vs GMRS), different antennas would definitely be required. (The tuner only works for HF). But it's no big deal to unscrew my ham dual band antenna and screw on a dedicated GMRS antenna.
But as I mentioned in my post... I don't plan to do this
Actually a lot of Ham resellers do ask to see a copy of your current license when you buy a transmitter.
And have you looked at the Tech Level questions for a Ham Ticket?
I can tell you haven't cause the questions really aren't that hard.
And there you would be totally wrong, 10 years as a radar tech and 30 years as an electrical engineer. Even the general test is not hard. And in fact the only reason I don't have a General License is because back in the day I could care less about Morse and that was part of the test.
But this is not about me, well except for the fact the FCC still has it's head up it's ass. This is about the average Joe blow who could care less about anything to do with electrical theory. I can't stand tests that look for knowledge that does not apply. Remove the electrical theory questions, change it to Operators License and be done with it.
And while some resellers may ask for a license the biggest reseller does not.
I have an Icom 2300 for 2 meters and an Icom 706 MK II G for HF in my Jeep. I also have a General class ham radio license. Got my Tech license in 2000 or 2001 and upgraded to General a few months ago as we decided to rebuild the ham shack at my gun club that had fallen into disrepair.
I may mount the CB radio in the Jeep too just for S&G. Back in the day (70's) you needed a license for your CB and I think mine was KEK 8573.
I agree that there is much on the exam that does not apply to just picking up a mike and having a conversation but I think that it is done that way to keep trolls from getting a license. Imagine if anyone (think of some of the folks that frequent these chat sites) could get on the air and talk drivel or just argue for the sake of arguing. It's not perfect but it works OK.
Unlike CB, FRS, GMRS or MURS, ham radio, (or more correctly, amateur radio), is internationally regulated. There are minimum requirements that must be met before an ITU member country can issue a ham radio license.
A radio communication service for the purpose of self-training, intercommunication and technical investigations carried out by amateurs, that is, by duly authorized persons interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest.
The ITU requires that federal administrations (like the FCC) take such measures as they judge necessary to verify the operational and technical qualifications of any person wishing to operate an amateur station. (This applies to all the member countries of the ITU).
The ITU also requires that any person seeking a license to operate an amateur station should demonstrate theoretical knowledge of:
Radio Regulations
- international
- domestic
Methods of radiocommunication
- radiotelephony
- radio telegraphy
- data and image
Radio System Theory
- transmitters
- receivers
- antennas and propagation
- measurements
- radio emission safety
- operating procedures
- electromagnetic compatibility
- avoidance and resolution of radio frequency interference
Electronic tech is only a small portion of the exam. An "operator" should know the rest, like electrical/RF safety, rules & regulations, procedure, parts of the radio system.
Amateur radio is a 130 year old hobby. It began in the 1880's. Sadly, few today understand how it came about, why it exists, the nature of its worldwide structure, and what mechanism gives amateurs access to the frequencies they use.
Like it or not, It is a technical hobby as well as a means of communication. As in my post #32 above, the hobby is internationally defined as: A radio communication service for the purpose of self-training, intercommunication and technical investigations carried out by amateurs
The basic rules for ham radio licensing are set by the International Telecommunications Union located in Geneva Switzerland. The FCC has little say in this. They must ask the questions. (Again, see the links I included in my post above explaining this).
If one's goal is ONLY to talk on a radio, then CB, FRS, MURS and GMRS were all created specifically for this purpose and do a reasonable job.
Honestly, I'd say they do far better than a reasonable job with this stuff. But there are clubs out there, most likely inspired by certain youtubers, that have decided HAM is the way to go.
Sticking closer to the subject at hand a bit... I, too, wish I could have a single device that could do everything. Convenience and all of that. But science says no, and I respect science. It intrigues me that the off road hobby as a whole hasn't moved toward FRS. The barrier to entry for FRS seems a lot lower than CB nowadays, and a lot of people who participate in other outdoor sports (like hunting) will have radios like this. CB, on the other hand, is not often thought of as a handheld device (even though they exist and are not uncommon); most people think of it as something installed in your jeep.
Our local Jeep club requires that you have a CB radio when you take part in group outings and that we monitor channel 8.
I like the idea of clubs going with ham radio and having their members write the exam and get their tickets.. This builds up the numbers in the ham community and keeps the hobby going.(Strength in numbers).. But, if I were deciding a method of communications for a club, I wouldn't go that route.
I wish someone made a vehicle mount FRS. Many years ago Radio Shack made their 21-1850 mag mount FRS. Those things were awesome because they had much better range -- thanks to sitting up high atop a ground plane rather than inside a partial faraday cage, and thanks to using a real whip instead of a duck. I actually still have my 21-1850, but the cable insulation flaked off exposing naked wires. ):
A sticking point is the FCC rule that an FRS radio must have a permanently attached antenna -- RS got around that by putting the radio guts in the mag mount, so all that went in the vehicle was audio and power. There's no reason a manufacturer couldn't do that today... though it's hard to get a magnet to stick to a plastic or fabric Jeep roof. :-D
I don't even want to read through this whole thread. Buy a 10 meter, peaked and tuned. It'll do everything a normal person needs. If you want more, add a linear and 2-4 pills, you'll be golden. Don't worry about licenses.
You never really know when those felonies will come back to haunt you - years ago my crazy landlord hacked into my insurance, and now I'm riding them in court
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