Contacting a HitchHiker using a CB radio

[rbfulltimers]

A lot of truck stops have independent cb shops in them or near by.

[Newt]

pulling a 5er poses some challenges for an antenna. what are some of you using? i am leaning toward a 102" whip to get some sort of ground plane.  bob r

I was told by a CB tech that fiberglass trailers poses (maybe yours is aluminum?) no problems to CB signals. Signals go right thru them.
Harold

Mark

It won't get out like a 102".  But, it'll be fine for a covoy. 


That is good to know!. The magnetic base antenna that I ordered is only 15". I hope it works.

[CampingCaptain]

What do the truckers do?  Their trailers are bigger than ours and have a lot more metal in them.

Bryan

[HaroldG]

What do the truckers do?  Their trailers are bigger than ours and have a lot more metal in them.

Bryan

Most trucks that I have seen use two antennas, one on each outside mirror.
Harold

[RJOL]

Most trucks that I have seen use two antennas, one on each outside mirror.
Harold

A lot of them don't use "stock" CB's either, unless this has changed over the past few years... 

[markbet]

Some truckers use a LINEAR AMPLIFIER. Not sure how legal they are though.

[CampingCaptain]

Some truckers use a LINEAR AMPLIFIER. Not sure how legal they are though.

I have one.      I had it installed in a Chrysler mini van years ago.  I finally started worrying about how safe it was sitting on the floor under my seat.      At least I was past wanting any more children.      

Bryan

[bobr]

if you can find a good radio shop near you they can peak and tune your radio and get you just about as good as those with amps. you will still be putting out too much power but you can always say that you bought the radio used and had no idea that it was putting out more than it was supposed to.  bob r

[Newt]

if you can find a good radio shop near you they can peak and tune your radio and get you just about as good as those with amps.
bob r

    

[WD40]

I drove a truck for 32 years and never had the FCC check my CB and yes at times I was pushing  400+ waits,
talking skip all over the country and some places out of country. I never run but one antenna mounted in the center at the top of my cab with the tip pointing backwards over the top of the 13.6 trailer. CB's were a lot of fun back then

[Newt]

The FCC gave up on the 11 Meter band (AKA CB) a long tim ago.

[CampingCaptain]

I drove a truck for 32 years and never had the FCC check my CB and yes at times I was pushing  400+ waits,
talking skip all over the country and some places out of country. I never run but one antenna mounted in the center at the top of my cab with the tip pointing backwards over the top of the 13.6 trailer. CB's were a lot of fun back then

I have a couple of friends who still go to "Key-down" contests.      For those who don't know what that is, it's where he/she with the most power wins.   

Bryan

[bobr]

trucks can use smaller antennas because they are mounted a long ways up in the air. cb's are best for line of sight communications which means the distance between your antenna and the horizon. the higher the antenna the further away the horizon. skip is the exception but it is not reliable.  bob r

[markbet]

I just got my Cobra radio delivered to me today, good looking radio, it also has a NOAA weather receiver built in, thought that would be a handy option. But, I have close to two hundred dollars wrapped up in this thing, it had better work. Since I have such a short antenna, I would maybe run back door, that way my antenna will broadcast forward, and not backward over my trailer.

[Newt]

Your antenna is omnidirectional.  Of course, it is affected by objects around it.

[Hawk Holiday & Miss Muffin]

I have a Texas Ranger Base radio. Only does 4 watts AM and 12 watts sideband. My amplifyer on the other hand does way, way, way, way, way, way, did I forget to say way? Beyond that ( 500 watts AM and 750 watts sideband). I also have a Cobra 148GTL for the truck, but have been using it in the trailer as it's much smaller than the Ranger. I have a fiberglass "groundless" antenna that I got at Rat Shack and have it mounted to the top of my ladder on the back of the 5er. I take the antenna "whip" off when traveling. I have a fiberglass 1/2 wave (Antron 99 18') ground planeless antenna that I use on a mast at our home park. Thats the antenna I use when I want to "pump it up" and kick on the amp. If I'm not careful I can get allot of complaints, but it does an excellent job of warming the trailer in the winter  .

Darin

[KSgolfer]

Wow!

[markbet]

I got my CB hooked up. I am having problems with the SWR being to high. The directions say if being on channel 1, and the SWR is higher than being on channel 40, the whip has to be increased in length. I have my whip extended as far as it will go, and the reading is still to high. Would that be telling me I have to buy a longer whip? Me and electronics don't seem to mix very well.

[Ancient Mariner]

Markbet, what's your swr on channels 9 and 19?  If they are within specs, that's probably where you'll be most of the time anyways and you don't need to worry about the other channels as the time you spend there will be insignificant.

Kind of like towing uphill.  Why do you need a truck that will tote your HH up hill at 80 mph when you only go uphill maybe 3% of the time?   

[Hawk Holiday & Miss Muffin]

Mark,

What kind of antenna mount do you have? Is it a magnetic mount or is it one that mounts to a fender well or? If it mounts to a fender well or something like that, you may not have it grounded properly. That will make your SWR off the charts. That type of antenna uses the body of the truck or car as a reflector (artificial ground) so it's imperative that it is grounded to the body.

On the other hand, if it's a magnetic mount it will be grounded when the magnet hits the painted surface. Most magnetic mount antennas are "loaded" either bottom loaded or top loaded. It's very rare that a loaded antenna needs to be adjusted. They come factory set with a near flat match. ( 1.2 or lower). I would also check the connector on the antenna. Sometimes the connector is making a bad connection to the coax and wiggling it at the back of the radio will make it appearant when the mike is keyed checking the SWR.

Just some plain "old school" suggestions. I used to make allot of experimental antennas in my youth. Radio was allot of fun back in the day.

Darin

[markbet]

Mark,

What kind of antenna mount do you have? Is it a magnetic mount or is it one that mounts to a fender well or? If it mounts to a fender well or something like that, you may not have it grounded properly. That will make your SWR off the charts. That type of antenna uses the body of the truck or car as a reflector (artificial ground) so it's imperative that it is grounded to the body.

On the other hand, if it's a magnetic mount it will be grounded when the magnet hits the painted surface. Most magnetic mount antennas are "loaded" either bottom loaded or top loaded. It's very rare that a loaded antenna needs to be adjusted. They come factory set with a near flat match. ( 1.2 or lower). I would also check the connector on the antenna. Sometimes the connector is making a bad connection to the coax and wiggling it at the back of the radio will make it appearant when the mike is keyed checking the SWR.

Just some plain "old school" suggestions. I used to make allot of experimental antennas in my youth. Radio was allot of fun back in the day.

Darin

Darin,

I do have the magnetic type antenna. I unhooked the antenna, and put it back on, and still the SWR is high. I also called Cobra, they told me to do the opposite of what the instructions told me to do, and that was to cut length off the whip, so I did, it did not lower the SWR, it raised it, so now I have a shorter whip, and higher SWR.

[Jeff Collingwood]

Mark,
Not much works easily for you does it?  You must have some kind of jinx.
...Jeff....

[markbet]

Mark,
Not much works easily for you does it?  You must have some kind of jinx.
...Jeff....

Jeff, that is kinda my life's story all wrapped up in a nut shell. That is why I hire almost everything done...ESPECIALLY electronics!

Gregg, the SWR on channel 19 was right at 3 on the meter, I am ready to just call that good enough!

[Hawk Holiday & Miss Muffin]

Mark,

If your SWR is over 2.0  I wouldn't use the radio till you have the SWR issue worked out. It can cause damage to the radio for 1 and for 2, you won't transmit very far 1-2 miles if your lucky. You'd have better luck using a wet shoe string with the SWR that high.
I really would go over the connector from the antenna to the radio. Most problems are caused by a bad connection from connector to coax. I've bought several coax jumpers (2-3 feet long) and had nothing but problems with them as the connectors were not installed correctly as they were made. Those faulty connections will cause the SWR to be really  high. I'm betting that if you transmit and grab the antenna connector on the back of the radio and give the coax a few good side to side movements, you will see the SWR go down and then back up. If that happens then you know the connector on the coax has a bad connection. I've cut off many and replaced them. Takes less than 5 min. But the possible damage to the radio will cost more than time.

Good luck,

Darin

[markbet]

Darin.......Thanks for the tip, I will try it out. I called Cobra back and talked with a tech. and since one of the customer service persons gave me bad advice on cutting the whip on my antenna, they are sending a replacement antenna out to me. I will be anxious to see if the new one will work better.