CB Suggestions for EJS

[bakobobby]

I am going next week so I don’t have time to do any real install work, any free time is going to install of a few last minute parts. Reading up today on the event I get the picture that having CB in truck will be a good thing. Any suggestions welcome.

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[sharpsicle]

I've got this one, it's quite good for what it is and the install is what you make of it:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000K2YR/

Nice thing is it easily converts into an handheld unit if you so desire. Keep in mind that having it handheld inside the truck probably won't work great. You'll still want an antenna outside for that. But this is small, self-contained, and the only real "install" you need to do for basic use is to run an antenna line into the cab. I went further and hardwired it in with a Firestik mounted behind the cab. You could get away with using the cig outlet and a mag mount antenna for the time being no problem though.

If you're going for easy and versatile, I recommend this unit.

 

[ArmyMP]

Rugged Ridge makes a nice am/fm/cb system.

 

[bakobobby]

I went for the President Randy portable. Its a really stout setup. No SSB but its picking up conversations here around town that are probably coming from the highway which is ~3 miles away. I reckon that is not too shabby and would work just fine for the trail rides in Moab. Thanks @sharpsicle for the tip I did not know there was such a thing as a portable type CB. It is the perfect thing for my case. The President setup was kind of expensive but I liked that it was built so tough and that it has a (sorta) built in rechargeable battery. Probably post again after EJS with feedback on how it worked.

 

[Dougstdig]

Antenna mount from Quadratec comes with a fire stick antenna with a tunable tip

 

[bakobobby]

Antenna mount from Quadratec comes with a fire stick antenna with a tunable tip

Looks good! did you go with a quick disconnect too? I probably will be installing something like this not too far in the future. I can use an antenna with the President Randy but would eventually want a mounted in cab solution. Then I figure I can use the mobile as a loaner.

 

[sass JT]

Ummm… didn’t jeep go strictly to gmrs for their events?!?!?

 

[bakobobby]

Ummm… didn’t jeep go strictly to gmrs for their events?!?!?

Good question. The guides all list CB channels so thats what I went with. I doubt it'll be long though.

 

[taintedsaint]

Ummm… didn’t jeep go strictly to gmrs for their events?!?!?

EJS is run by Red Rock not Jeep. They use CB due to number of separate trails, more than there are GMRS channels.

 

[chadinsc]

i had a cobra 29 in my last truck with a 4ft fire stick antenna. also had a 100 watt texas star amp which boosted the radio from 4 watts to 100. it would go 20 miles. do jeep clubs generally have a specific channel the use kinda like how truckers use 19?

 

[bakobobby]

i had a cobra 29 in my last truck with a 4ft fire stick antenna. also had a 100 watt texas star amp which boosted the radio from 4 watts to 100. it would go 20 miles. do jeep clubs generally have a specific channel the use kinda like how truckers use 19?

Can you explain the amp thing? So legally you are only supposed to be at 4 watts am I correct? Is the amp a way to skirt around the law?

 

[chadinsc]

Can you explain the amp thing? So legally you are only supposed to be at 4 watts am I correct? Is the amp a way to skirt around the law?

they are not legal. but are pretty popular with people that are into cb radios as a hobby. i have heard of them over 1000 watts before. to use them you plug your radio coax into the input side and the output side goes to the antenna. amps are the reason you see a wattage rating on the antennas you buy. mine was called a texas star mod v. it would also amplify incoming signals from people that are farther off or with a less powerful radio signal. however my understanding that to double your range without changing anything else it takes 4x the power for each range double. 4 watts may give you 4 miles to get 8 miles it takes 16 watts 16 miles would be 64 watts and so one. you can get some on ebay made my rm italy or copper electronics.com https://www.copperelectronics.com/cart/CW-Amps/Amps

 

[sharpsicle]

Can you explain the amp thing? So legally you are only supposed to be at 4 watts am I correct? Is the amp a way to skirt around the law?

And it's also a way to cause interference on neighboring channels. If you're close to someone using one of these amplifiers, you lose the ability to use channels close enough to the one they're blasting. That's why there's a legal limit in place. Especially when off-roading where you don't need massive range and multiple groups are all trying to share the freqs, it's inconsiderate to bleed onto other channels someone else might be trying to use.

 

[sarguy1941]

Yup try using any channel 5 up or down from 19 in a truck stop with guys running 100 watt amps. Its a mess. Even on the highway. In the jeep world there is no need for an amp. 4 watts works just fine for 90% of the trails.

 

[bakobobby]

Ok thanks folks love to learn this is all new to me! So maybe the reason I can pick up some highway traffic 3ish+ miles away is they are amplifying the signal. I think they put a limit of 35 vehicles per run so probably a mile or so end to end fingers crossed I will be fine.

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