Cb's Vs VHF

[Maverick]

Hey, what are guys running around here and in the club for truck to truck comms, and could anyone reccomend a local dealer/installer/expert.

[w squared]

CB's are what most guys run on the trail.

A few of us run VHF radios, but that means going out and getting a HAM license. It's both cheap and relatively easy...but you do have to put a bit of effort into it.

For CB's most of us shop at Comtek in the Road King truckstop down on Barlow trail. For HAM stuff, I shop at NTF communications up in the NE.

[Maverick]

great. thanks.  I'll look  into it.

[Dracitamo]

If you go CB, get a Larsen 11m whip. Don't be cheap and get a firestick. They will crack against branches and short out your whole CB. Plus you will get a larger range with the Larsen.

[FiEND]

they can be dangerous to bystanders when they are flopping around.

we recommend the 4 foot wilson flex.  easily bends 180 and works well in the bushes.

[Dracitamo]

they can be dangerous to bystanders when they are flopping around.

we recommend the 4 foot wilson flex.  easily bends 180 and works well in the bushes.

I guess if that's what you recommend for your guys, but the larsen is only about 5 feet, and doesn't flop around that much. (it's not the 9 foot whip if that's what you are thinking of.) It's also Stainless Steel. Quickly and easily remove when going in undergrounds so it doesn't get caught up in the sprinklers, and if you park on the street, toss it in the jeep so people can't jack it.
If my antenna hits a bystander on the trail, then they are way to close.  They should be more worried about my Jeep sliding their way and getting caught under a tire then the antenna hitting them. Again, I haven't wheeled in Alberta so maybe your trails are totally different then here. But all the same, bystanders should never be that close to the jeep. Just the spotter, and they know better then to be too close to the jeep. Just my two cents.
I'll show you when I get out there in a couple weeks how I got it all set up.

Has anyone broke a wilson flex? (fiberglass if I remember correctly)

[jeepjones]

I have broken a wilson flex but not the antenna itself, it was caught in the garage door and it broke off in the mounting stud. The flex is the best antenna I've had, way better than a firestik ever could be, IMO.

[Dracitamo]

does anyone on the forum do any CB tuning and modifications? instead of having a 4 watt, you can crank it up to 20 watt's quite easily. One of the guys out here is pushing 100 watts, but he is pretty tech savy and has been into CB's twice as long as I have been alive.

[FiEND]

the antenna is generally pointing up, where people are standing, not pointing down where you will run over people.  if yours is a larsen 5 footer then not so bad, i generally use these on top of station wagons.

bumping the power on a cb is not very smart overall.  cb's are not built very tough, you can burn them out easily if not tuned right at a mere 4 watts.  increase the power and you also increase the feedback to the point where your swr would need to be perfect or your radio is junk within hours.  not to mention they don't have much for heat sinks for that power.  external amps are the best solution but typically for our close range talking we don't need the power, just better setups and tuning.

[AMCJeep]

they can be dangerous to bystanders when they are flopping around.

we recommend the 4 foot wilson flex.  easily bends 180 and works well in the bushes.

Just an FYI,

A Larsen "11m whip" is not the common 9 foot antenna you are thinking of. Larsen makes the black base loaded 36" coat hanger flexible antenna. The taxi, police, hams and city use them and Maxrad almost exclusively. I have 2 on my LJ and 2 on my tow rig ( one for ham and one for CB).

The common 9 foot whip can be a hindrance at times but if flagged and properly tied down while not on the trail can be very useful as a safety tool to see your rig coming over hills and sand dunes. In fact if you run in the sand they are required safety equipment or you may use a flag instead.

I think for our type of wheeling a 4 foot flexible whip is OK but for my money using over 30 years experience in radio would be on the Larsen NMO 27 antenna. In fact, I still run my original 25 year old Larsen on my rig for CB.

What does that say about longevity ?

Pete

[Dracitamo]

Thanks Pete, I don't have any experience with antenna's other then the 11m and the 9 footers (widow makers). I agree, on the trail they are a hazard if people aren't aware of your rig, but for hills and sand, they are a necessity. having said that, bystanders still shouldn't be that close to your rig when you are driving as that's a hazard in itself. Just my two cents. I'm not comfortable with people getting in my way and obstructing my line. You want a picture? Get a zoom lens on your camera. You want to get close to the line? Drive it yourself. Just a little safety common sense.

Out here some of the guys bump their cb's but they are done right. I don't know how the guy does it, but he know's what he is doing. Sometimes it's needed with all the obstructions between groups. If you are wheeling at two lakes and are planning on meeting up later on or need to call the other guys for a recovery, you can still stay in contact. I haven't wheeled in Alberta yet, so I'm just absorbing your advice and suggestions and talking it out.

[AMCJeep]

Just a quick piece of info:

CB = 11m, antennas can be from 3 feet to 9 feet long as a rule. 11 m is not the length of the antenna but the length of the radio wave that is transmitted. CB is considered an HF ( high frequency) band.

Ham = 2 m, etc antennas can be from 1 inch to 6 feet for and are condisered in the VHF band.

The guys here know what works well off road and most off road jeeps use a 4 foot flexible whip or maybe a 9 foot whip. Both will work well and give years of service. As for boosting your radio up, I could go on but in general boosting a radio up from 4 to 10 watts will not make a single bit of difference on the trail. A good peak and tune will make a difference in what you hear and can improve your transmitted audio significantly. I used to own a 2 way radio business and did CB mods like crazy in the heyday of the CB craze.  There should still be a few of us old-timers left that might want to tweak up your rig for you.

I'm up in the Edm area or I would just offer you to come by here for a tune up.

If you need any advice I'm just a mouse click away!