We had a bad blizzard here in 1993. I have two old CB radio's both Midland. I only used them in /for an Off-Road Club we belonged to. Anyway, I always bring our lawnmower/tractor battery in. We had no power, Tee-Vee, Water, phone, Nothing! Snow and ice was 24+ inches deep and the drifts covered The Boss's head. She stayed Upstairs & I stayed Downstairs. We melted snow just to flush the toilets (wood-burning stove also.......2 BTW)! Luckily we prepped even back then and before. I am a Vet from the late 60's early 70's. Anyway, I hooked one of those CB's to that battery and you would not believe the Folks I was able to communicate with! And the Information I was able to gather, or Maybe some would! Every now and then I see them in pawn shops, estate sales.......You just got to find the antenna and cable, I would guess and say if you are smart enough you could make one. I would Highly Recommend Folks Get One and Hook It Up to Confirm It Works. A lot of folks Laugh at or about them. We also moved away from The City in 87, lost a lot of good friends! They laughed at Noah and at Jesus too!!!!!!! GOD Bless America. 10-4 Good Buddy!
Nice presentation JJ . CB radios are a great prepper item . I’m a truck driver but I usually don’t have mine on because of all the complete morons on there in urban areas .i only use mine when I’m in a backup and need info on what lane I need to be in or find out what the traffic malfunction is. They’re great to have if you need local info or need assistance or a tool that a trucker may have that you need to help you vs just calling police. I’ve had other drivers help me change a blown fuel filter . Or if your alternaator is out and you need a jump to get the rest of the way home or a push off to the side of the road or a ride to get gas as the closest station 😊
I like the CB radios. Listening to others talking about traffic conditions, I was able to avoid a traffic jam in town. I've also been lost and was able to get directions to my destination. I had one experience where I was able to switch to channel 9 (emergency channel) and contact local police. CB has been a good tool to have in my pickup.
My first girlfriend was a goat. She was way more faithful, loyal, kind, and considerate, than any modern woman could ever be. Sadly, she was also a lot slimmer than most women today as well. I wonder where Naggybelle is these days.
I used to be KBX1339, the youngest licensed operator back in the day, and also one of the last licensed operators. I doubt that old callsign is valid anymore.
I have a cb base at home i talk sideband 40 to 50 miles and skip when conditions are right hundreds even thousands of miles.We also have regular am radios in the trucks and get at least 10 miles on a good day.
I was thinking about getting an amateur radio license since CB radio is extremely dead. But listening in on my scanner and rooftop antenna everything from 15 megacycles and up is extremely dead as well. Even the once famed 2 meter band is near deserted here. I can hear some activity on 7 megacycles and very sporadic transmissions on 2 meters. But the rest is completely dead. Is it even worth getting an amateur radio audio license? My scanner picks up all modes and I still hear almost nothing. It is devastating what has happened to all amateur and citizens bands.
@@indridcold8433 I think it is good to get your license but if you choose not to at least learn the proper way to use a ham radio for the future....that is if and when we have a brake down in society
@@Natasguy I have set up many stations in the past and tuned antennas for people. It was long ago. But I still remember everything. If traffic picked up on the amateur bands, I could probably very easily get the entry level license, or even the intermediate liecese without study. I was the young guy that was not afraid of heights that claimed the towers, ran coaxial cable, tuned antennas, and listened in a lot on my all band scanner. I am not sure what has happened. All bands are nearly dead now. Perhaps it was the advent of the smartphone that killed all the citizen's bands and amateur bands. The deep solar minimum likely plays a part in the deserted bands as well. These are bleak times to be in any sort of radio hobby, whether it is amateur radio, any of the citizen band radios, or just being an avid scanner listener.
I picked up a cobra 40 channel with weather that was put out with trash. It is in good condition needing only an antenna. I am now looking for a mid 90s jeep wrangler with cold air and a hard top to put it in. It never amazes me at what people will throw away.
I was a garbage man for a year and I will concur. It is insane what people, especially wealthy people, will throw away. I was messing with two CB radios today that I pulled out of the trash. Both work fine. 💯👍
Ground is most important. You can bolt a length of cable to your bumper throw it in a creek. This greatly improves you getting out an recieving as all water is connected. Ive talked from Utah to S carolina this way an Co to Mich.
ASC is awesome. I have this same radio, and a couple other President cb's. They are on top of the cb game these days in my opinion. CB is old school, but good to keep around because there are so many of them lying around in basements and garages, if something major happens, those will be thrown into service, and an instant "network" will be in place. For everyday use they are great for road and local info and when conditions are right, you can talk around the world on 4 watts.
@@obeyconformtoday829 Depends. A good repeater in a good spot, for everyday use, sure. Clear comms with better consistent range, as long as the repeater is up. Now radio to radio, the cb will get much better range as the 27mhz is less line of site than the 462mhz of gmrs. I have and use both, they are like tools in a tool box, both have their place and excel at different jobs.
Great video! One tip that might help your range and SWR, move the antennas further back, away from the cab and "headache bar". The way you have your antennas mounted "looks" very near, but such close proximity of other metal (cab and headache bar) to your antennas will detune your antenna system and adversely affect your xmit and rcv range. One other possibility would be if you could move both antennas near the top of cab and headache bar. Neat install and nice radio!
I use my Galaxy 979F CB everyday in my Peterbilt. Before that it was my trusty ole Cobra 29 ltd for about 18 years. Although duel antennas look cool, single antennas work better. BTW, take the springs off the base of your antennas and the SWR will improve.
Great video, CBs are underrated for short range comms. I got one for the truck and an old Cobra base unit for the house with a 24 foot antenna. With a clear line of sight we're gotten over 20 miles. One thing... Did you say you "wash" your truck?
Fire stick makes quick disconnects for your antennas so you can pop them off for the car wash. You can get a better SWR with more grounding making sure the contact points are sanded so metal meets metal. Flat battery cable works better for grounding and should be connected to the frame, fenders, hood,cab and truck bed to lower SWR.
Just ordered a cobra classic. I haven't had a cb sense the 90s. The way things are going today with the cyber attacks its possible cells phone's could go down. 2 way walkie talkies is a good choice as well.
I recently hauled my old 1970s handheld Radio Shack TRC-205 40 channel CB, still works, though it eats 12 batteries in no time. But can be used as a mobile or base unit as it has the outlets for a mic, antenna and external power.
Excellent video. You have a beautiful property. Dual antennas work best when mounted 9 ft apart. Mounting 1 antenna in the center of your rack would work great and less money. Also Firestick makes quick disconnects for those antennas so you can pop them off for the carwash.
Great video! All I can add is if you want to increase the range, find a RF power amplifier. Usually CB radio's send out a signal using 4 watts on FM and 1 watt on AM. For $30 or $40 you can get one that increases the wattage to 30 or 40 watts on AM and FM, and probably peak around 100 watts on the side bands (USB/LSB). You can push the signal out much further (especially when atmospherics are good). Those Linear amplifiers are illegal to use, but in crisis situation it doesn't matter and those will be useful. A very important thing to remember is that you'll need to have your antenna's properly tuned, get the SWR as low as you can get it (adjust the length of the antenna's, there's video's on youtube on how to do that properly). The more power that gets fed back to the RF amplifier the higher the risk of blowing up the power amplifier (and subsequently also the final stage of the transmitter in your radio). I have several CB radios just for fun but also for emergency situations. We also live on a farm and lots of people in our region still use CB radios.
I still have two Midland radios in my garage from the 70's. Both have a SWR meter built in to the radio and side bands. They are cool. In the old days, we had to have a FCC license. It was free. I remember mine still. KXY3881
Great video. Reading your comments. 👍 CB has been part of our preps for over 20 years. Base station and mobile. It has proven time and time again, in times of disasters and emergencies. My primary system is long range ssb, however I have medium and short range bands both as redundancy, and operating three different networks with our group. All on 12 volt dc power, battery bank, solar, vehicle and generator. Redundant or back up power systems. Yes you and comments are correct, a greatly under estimated vital comms gear, low Tek. Thank you for high lighting this very important prep, often overlooked. May I suggest radio mapping your area for range and black spots. It took us two years in our area rite down to hand held radios. On occasions our vehicle gear have been used as a comms relay in rugged terrain. Cheers.🇦🇺🇦🇺
ok, I see where it is now. Have a tonneau cover so will have to get creative for mounting I guess. I have the McKinley as base station, and the Andy II installed in one of my vehicles. Good info.
Welcome back JJ. Most folks I know are going to short wave like Baofang. Can pick up repeaters, they have hand held and mounted versions. Plus you get all the emergency channels, NOAA etc.
I have yet to see anything shortwave by Baofeng. They do the UHF/VHF gig. If they made an 11 meter (cb) unit, especially walkie talkie, I would love to play with it.
They are readily available. If something really bad were to happen, there will be alot of semi trucks, setting around with radios in them. Also if you want more range just get an amplifier. Sure, they are not legal to use on 11 meter. But if things are really bad who cares. They have become much cheaper than the have been. RM Italy makes a variety.
I like CB's. You will get better performance with a single antenna on a Pick up truck. The reason dual antenna's (AKA twin truckers) work better on Tractor trailers is because they are further apart. To keep twin antennas in Phase they need to be close to a quarter wave apart Basically nine feet just like a 9' whip. If you want to be really pleased put a 3/8X24 stud mount on the center of the roof permanent or magnet mount and try a single fire stick or go to a Wilson 1000 or a top of the line Sirio performer or turbo antenna. It doesn't look as cool but it sure works better and it brings in less noise.
I bought a uniden CB (bare bones) for $35 and 2 CB portables from Ebay for $25 and channel 9 was originally setup for Emergency use only now don't know
my buddies and I messed around with CB's in the 70's when they were popular. Always wanted to get back into it, just to have it. Then came across your video. Good stuff. I need to look into them again.
The way you have your antennas mounted will use the vehicle as a reflector and push the energy out to the side . A better option is to mount one on the front bumper a the height of your back rack on the passenger side (Starboard side) and the other in the stake well on the back of the truck on the driver's side (Port side), again at the height the front is. This will extend your range.
CB is a great tool. I use a Larsen NMO27C and it is a great low profile durable antenna. You do not need an inline SWR/REF PWR meter after you tune your antenna. Most of the better quality radios like yours have one built in. You might consider putting some star lock lockwashers on your bonding screws as they will loosen up. Thanks for sharing !
You can receive but you can not transmit using HAM radios on CB bands. "Legal" operating power on CB bands is limited to 4 watts whereas most HF ham radios can transmit up to 100+ watts without an external amp.
This is the dog catcher up here in Hale, Michigan. Right now, my friend, who I talk with every night at 10:30 p.m. on channel 38 AM, has closed up his summer cabin and returned home to Flint, downstate for the winter. His handle is glass cutter. He likes to talk with skip land. Me, not so much. We have CB base stations that are six miles apart. His antenna is 45 feet in the air and mine is 54 feet in the air. We've been able to talk with other CB base stations within a forty mile range away from our stations. So, if you out there some evening next summer and the skip is rolling good, give a shout out to the glass cutter and you just might hear him reply. 73's my friend.
Jack pine Savage 🔟- 4 I'll be glad to holler back if you actually get out this way I will be monitoring channel 38 Lower Side Band frequency 27.385.0 I do go on a m sometimes but it's usually over on channel 13, 17 , 19 and 28, but I'm not running a lot of wattage I'm only running Barefoot radio so I get out a lot further on sideband than I do on a m Check out my channel I do video Gates of skip sometimes it's nice for people to hear themselves So 73 and all that good stuff, from the 1122 Wingnut radio📡🔊👊👀👍
Cb can be very useful in a shtf situation or even in a regular situation BUT if your going to use them in a shtf situation a linear amp is a must, 4 watts just isnt going to cut it
Also your duel setup isnt doing you much good, for 11 meters they need to be atleast 102 inches apart and on a pickup truck that just isnt practical, the height of your antenna does not determine the transmit range but it helps with reception thats where a linear amp comes into play, swr is the reflected power from your antenna back into your radio through your coax high swr heats up your finals and if they get to hot it burns up the insulation within the finals til you can no longer transmit, if you like the looks of a dual antenna( which i do) disconnect one antenna and leave it standing up and pull the coax out completely and that will increase your range slighty and a much cleaner quality sound, good video
Hi from the UK. Just a couple of things I still have a box of old CBs from being a long distance lorry driver. There must be around 20 rigs 40 + 80 channel USB LSB AM FM rigs. I haden`t used them for years then i put one in my 4X4 just to keep in touch with mates in other 4X4s. I was gobsmacked with all the kids of the CB now i was banging out over 80 miles and on USB all over Europe awesome. I do Vermin control and was out one night after a fox that was killing chickens and nearly got my hair parted by a farmer after the same fox .He shot the Fox but the bullet pasted just over my head. So i gave him an old CB and put it in his Land Rover for him it`s very handy to know where he is shooting and vise versa. It beats getting shot. You can get your SWR down more by putting a three prong Ground Plane at the base of your Aerials. And you could put quick release Bayonet fitting at the base of the Aerials. So you can take them of in seconds for the car wash or just to put inside the cab to stop them being nicked. You can use the PA to an out side speaker to call in Foxes and other vermin it works great.
I think you can do better then Firestik and go to the Wilson or for the best way to go is 102” Steel Whip. Also if you are only doing 5-7 miles away you have issues! Also the built-in SWR Meter is just a ballpark. A single antenna is still better and less coax to worry about
This may seem like an echo, but what is your reason for using two vertical antennas? If you use them at the same time for transmitting you will get a rather unpredictable pattern of lines along which the signals reinforce eachother and other lines along which they will cancel eachother out. If I remember my physics-class correctly... meaning somebody just a few hundred meters away might not get your signal
One thing to add, you can also find plenty of CB radios at "hamfests". They sell amateur radio gear at hamfests, but there is usually CB stuff there as well. You can get some great deals on CB Gear.
The addition of the springs has made the antenna too long for the frequency. Try to shorten the screw on the top of the antenna. You might have to remove it totally .Also run the ground directly to your frame by running the ground wire between the cab and bed. Sand the paint off the frame and attach the ground wire to that. You should find a spot with a hole already in the frame.Or find a bolt to unscrew and attach. Make sure the wire is just long enough to do the job. Add dielectric grease to the ring end of ground wire. The ground wire from the radio should be as short as possible. I grounded mine to the front seat bolt on the floor, closest to the radio. That eliminates ground loop effects. Sand off paint from the bolt area. No grease needed there. The power wire for the radio,the positive, should come from the Pos battery terminal with the fuse right there maybe a foot from Pos terminal. Do not tap into the fuse box in the dash. you will pick up too much static and noise, run thru the fire wall. ,,, do not comp tune the radio. Right out of the box is good enough!!! Cleaner is meaner !!!! Good luck!!!! Commander 105
I’m going to jump in here because I’ve looked at using A CB radio for prepping while using a CB in a vehicle is a good idea but if the SHTF using them would be a bad idea. The bad guys will most likely be using them to communicate once the cell networks die. The best use will be to listen for the bad guys in your area of operation. If you continue to use them after shtf your opening your self up to raids
Yes very good for passive listening. But we have very good comsec and ratel discipline. A whole other bunch of low Tek security practices. This can reduce disclosing location.
aussysurvival if your in Australia your not on 27-28 MHz as we are in USA . Direction finders are easy to build and Hans have lots of DIY projects to fox hunt. We had one fox hunt that caused a bomb squad call out. Some one called the cops after seeing a bright orange ammo can chained to a bus stop. They almost took the Fox
@@warlockcommandcenter yes that is true. It is not impossible to find a transmitter with diy gear. Have done it my self. Just reducing the risk for those who don't have DF gear. Yer our CB radios, no license required operate on the 27 Meg, 11 meter band. Have bought some from the US compatible with the OZ band. It is a risk assessment for DF. Good comment mate. All the best.
It is just here in Australia, I have listened to people's life stories, private information and etc on two way radios, most are unaware it is is an open form of comms anyone can hear. Including locations, names handed to others on a silver plate, with basic gear. I come from a military communications back ground, it is definitely not secure for idle chatter and DF. All the best.
aussysurvival ya here the 11 meter band radios have bee mod’d to have 40 below and 40 above the the standard band also the mod in on the SSB and that gives 120 AM channels, and 240 Upper and lower SSB . I’ve used the uniden 10 meter/11meter rig they work but do need to be tuned right.
In 1996, when I bought my vehicle new, it was at the apex of CB popularity. I bought my vehicle and very expertly, and permanently, installed a Cobra 148GTL SSB Citizen's Band transceiver. It looked and functioned great! I got many compliments. But I had very poor foresight. Four years later, citizens band radio collapsed and became a ghost band. Very little radio traffic was heard. I paid my vehicle completely by 2000. I still have the vehicle today with the Cobra 148GTL still permanently installed. But the radio rarely ever picks up anybody anymore. Everything still works perfectly. However, there is almost nobody using citizens band anymore. I have toyed with removing the old Cobra 148 GTL radio. But I cut a hole in the dashboard to install it and made another smaller hole to install a microphone jack to the dashboard. It still looks great. But with nobody on the air, it serves little purpose. Dashboard parts are hard to find for a vehicle made in 1996, so I just leave it installed. Who knows, maybe someday people will start using CB a lot again. But I do not even think Citizen's Band transceivers are manufactured any more. Back between the 1970s and up to around 1998, CB radios could be found in almost any department store. I never see them anywhere save occasionally at a thrift store, now. CB is tragically dead. I think I am the only one in my region with a CB radio. The CB radio and my vehicle are relics from much better and happier times. Maybe I should not think about taking the old radio out and trading in my vehicle any more. The old vehicle and radio combination really do bring back very fond memories.
Too many lives they've spent across the ocean Too much money been spent upon the moon Well, until they make it right I hope they never sleep at night They better make some changes And do it soon
I would recommend a 121” whip, more efficiency better range. Also bond your body to frame and cab to bed. I have 14 bonding points on my truck and get great performance
My understanding is that the closer you get to the full wave length the better performance you will get. But if they get too long they become a nuisance.
I guess I'm spoiled - my family was into CBs back in W NY early 70s - we had the 23 channel setups Regency Imperial base set with Cobra in the cars and because we were next door to my uncle's small rural airport we could have our 40 foot tower (lights to make it legal) with rotating dual Avanti quad antenna. We had to be careful about skip because it was such a powerful setup. We even picked up people searching for someone in the desert in Arizona from our station in W NY! We had Handles, QSL cards and went to Jamborees and nowadays it just seems sad in comparison but then that's life. It's hard for me at 68 now to use these smaller units with all the smaller output and input. ah well (sigh) :)
My Galaxy 949 does 28 to 29 watts average on ssb and when "skip" comes in I can talk from Nashville, T.N. to Ontario, Canada all day on a wilson mobile antenna. 697 Nashville 73's
@benz mercWhen there is what c.b.'ers call "Skip" you can talk that far on channel 38 lower sideband. Frequency 27.385. It also involves whats called the sunspot cycle and it's slowly going back up. Right now skip is off and on through the year so its mostly catching the right time to talk to people. I hope that makes a little sense.
@benz merc My radio doesn't have amplifier, it had a peak and tune done to it. However, If you want to run a small amp around 100 watts you will want to have a c.b. shop lower the wattage on your radio down to about 1 to 2 watts. Anyhow, An average day using lower sideband on my radio I can get out 30 to 50 miles But when skip comes in let the fun begin because you can talk hundered to a little over a thousands miles just on my small radio.Take care, Benz merc. 697 Nashville, TN. U.S.A.
Co-phase ant’s suck, the fire sticks suck. The CB is nowhere near dead, just because ppl don’t do mobiles much more, there are 10’s of thousands of us base ops that are still rockin and it’s gaining speed everyday!! Good luck, TopGun123 West Tn.
Radios are good for prepping but a 179 buck cb is no good. I have 6 Baofeng UV-5Rs for less than 132 bucks and can get 9 mile range in wooded area. I also have 2 Baofeng BF-F8HP with Singal Stick antennas and 3800Mah batts plus one Ed Fong DBJ-1 antenna for 261 bucks, plus a 40W Btech AMP-u25 for 132 Bucks. I can reach out to a 69 mile repeater. This is my comms set up for me whole family.
That is a good start. When you want to upgrade to have a more comprehensive setup you will want to have at least one radio from each common service: CB, GMRS, MURS and Ham. You can avoid the GMRS and MURS if you want to use a HAM instead but I don’t think that most Ham radios will cover the CB freqs. CB are still quite common so you will want to be able to monitor those freqs so that you can gather intell about what is going on around you.
@@RealitySurvival I just got a 1983 GE Emergency Help CB for 25 Bucks and a 40 CH Realistic with magnet mount antenna for 30 buck, both used from Facebook Marketplace. Also, the UV-5R gets FRS/GMRS/MURS/Marine and NOAA.
They make a quick disconnect you put between antenna and spring I got one on Amazon Link: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013HK2MBE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Fell onto you channel by accident I guess. I have strarted prepping a bit. I could keep my family going for a few months if something happens at this point. You have some good recommendations beyond what I think about. Checked out your video on seeds also. All good info. Keep it up.
I would like more details on that license. The FCC determines transmissions. The most a local community can do is limit antennas like home owners association. You run power to open garage doors and turn on remote lights or walk on other bands, then the locals can step in. Otherwise 27 mhz is license free.
5 to 7 miles out of your mobile radio? I would check everything if that’s all you’re getting. There must not be anyone to talk to you in your area. That sounds awful short range
I just bought the President Trump CB. It is all gold and has an orange backlight for the channel numbers. The audio is extremely loud and obnoxious too!
You have goats? Wow, we had two dozen sheep and only one goat , and that one goat caused more trouble and got into more mischief than all the sheep 😂😂 I’ll take the sheep over the goats any day . Better meat too 😃 the goat went to the auction
To the people who can talk english and live in the european union. If you can get a european President MC Kinley you can modify the radio by cutting the white wire and moving the jumper to make it into an export version where the President MC Kinley EU is a 20 watts powered radio on AM / FM and 12 watts SSB and from 24MHZ all the way up to 30MHZ but keep in mind an european export version modified President MC Kinley is NOT FCC approved to use in the united states !!!
We had a bad blizzard here in 1993. I have two old CB radio's both Midland. I only used them in /for an Off-Road Club we belonged to. Anyway, I always bring our lawnmower/tractor battery in.
We had no power, Tee-Vee, Water, phone, Nothing! Snow and ice was 24+ inches deep and the drifts covered The Boss's head. She stayed Upstairs & I stayed Downstairs. We melted snow just to flush the toilets (wood-burning stove also.......2 BTW)! Luckily we prepped even back then and before. I am a Vet from the late 60's early 70's. Anyway, I hooked one of those CB's to that battery and you would not believe the Folks I was able to communicate with! And the Information I was able to gather, or Maybe some would!
Every now and then I see them in pawn shops, estate sales.......You just got to find the antenna and cable, I would guess and say if you are smart enough you could make one.
I would Highly Recommend Folks Get One and Hook It Up to Confirm It Works. A lot of folks Laugh at or about them. We also moved away from The City in 87, lost a lot of good friends!
They laughed at Noah and at Jesus too!!!!!!!
GOD Bless America. 10-4 Good Buddy!
Nice presentation JJ . CB radios are a great prepper item . I’m a truck driver but I usually don’t have mine on because of all the complete morons on there in urban areas .i only use mine when I’m in a backup and need info on what lane I need to be in or find out what the traffic malfunction is. They’re great to have if you need local info or need assistance or a tool that a trucker may have that you need to help you vs just calling police. I’ve had other drivers help me change a blown fuel filter . Or if your alternaator is out and you need a jump to get the rest of the way home or a push off to the side of the road or a ride to get gas as the closest station 😊
I like the CB radios. Listening to others talking about traffic conditions, I was able to avoid a traffic jam in town. I've also been lost and was able to get directions to my destination. I had one experience where I was able to switch to channel 9 (emergency channel) and contact local police. CB has been a good tool to have in my pickup.
I actually speak goat. The goats in the background were saying "let me try the CB!"
My first girlfriend was a goat. She was way more faithful, loyal, kind, and considerate, than any modern woman could ever be. Sadly, she was also a lot slimmer than most women today as well. I wonder where Naggybelle is these days.
YA CUTE!
Love my CB great tool to talk all over the USA and the World.
I grew up with a home base setup as well as the vehicle mounted rafios, loved listening to the chatter as a kid
I used to be KBX1339, the youngest licensed operator back in the day, and also one of the last licensed operators. I doubt that old callsign is valid anymore.
I have a cb base at home i talk sideband 40 to 50 miles and skip when conditions are right hundreds even thousands of miles.We also have regular am radios in the trucks and get at least 10 miles on a good day.
I'm a ham guy but I still love the CB. Redundancy!!!
Here too
Oh I love bacon
I was thinking about getting an amateur radio license since CB radio is extremely dead. But listening in on my scanner and rooftop antenna everything from 15 megacycles and up is extremely dead as well. Even the once famed 2 meter band is near deserted here. I can hear some activity on 7 megacycles and very sporadic transmissions on 2 meters. But the rest is completely dead. Is it even worth getting an amateur radio audio license? My scanner picks up all modes and I still hear almost nothing. It is devastating what has happened to all amateur and citizens bands.
@@indridcold8433 I think it is good to get your license but if you choose not to at least learn the proper way to use a ham radio for the future....that is if and when we have a brake down in society
@@Natasguy I have set up many stations in the past and tuned antennas for people. It was long ago. But I still remember everything. If traffic picked up on the amateur bands, I could probably very easily get the entry level license, or even the intermediate liecese without study. I was the young guy that was not afraid of heights that claimed the towers, ran coaxial cable, tuned antennas, and listened in a lot on my all band scanner. I am not sure what has happened. All bands are nearly dead now. Perhaps it was the advent of the smartphone that killed all the citizen's bands and amateur bands. The deep solar minimum likely plays a part in the deserted bands as well. These are bleak times to be in any sort of radio hobby, whether it is amateur radio, any of the citizen band radios, or just being an avid scanner listener.
Great topic. CB’s are part of my game plan. Thank you JJ.
They also make quick connect/disconnects that can be added at the base of the antenna. That makes it very easy to remove them quickly.
I picked up a cobra 40 channel with weather that was put out with trash. It is in good condition needing only an antenna. I am now looking for a mid 90s jeep wrangler with cold air and a hard top to put it in. It never amazes me at what people will throw away.
I was a garbage man for a year and I will concur. It is insane what people, especially wealthy people, will throw away. I was messing with two CB radios today that I pulled out of the trash. Both work fine. 💯👍
I think cb radios are cooler than smartphones
Gmrs. Repeaters and mobiles would be way better than cb
Ground is most important. You can bolt a length of cable to your bumper throw it in a creek. This greatly improves you getting out an recieving as all water is connected. Ive talked from Utah to S carolina this way an Co to Mich.
CB Radio: The original electronic Social Media!
ASC is awesome. I have this same radio, and a couple other President cb's. They are on top of the cb game these days in my opinion. CB is old school, but good to keep around because there are so many of them lying around in basements and garages, if something major happens, those will be thrown into service, and an instant "network" will be in place. For everyday use they are great for road and local info and when conditions are right, you can talk around the world on 4 watts.
@@obeyconformtoday829 Depends. A good repeater in a good spot, for everyday use, sure. Clear comms with better consistent range, as long as the repeater is up. Now radio to radio, the cb will get much better range as the 27mhz is less line of site than the 462mhz of gmrs. I have and use both, they are like tools in a tool box, both have their place and excel at different jobs.
Great video! One tip that might help your range and SWR, move the antennas further back, away from the cab and "headache bar". The way you have your antennas mounted "looks" very near, but such close proximity of other metal (cab and headache bar) to your antennas will detune your antenna system and adversely affect your xmit and rcv range. One other possibility would be if you could move both antennas near the top of cab and headache bar. Neat install and nice radio!
I use my Galaxy 979F CB everyday in my Peterbilt. Before that it was my trusty ole Cobra 29 ltd for about 18 years. Although duel antennas look cool, single antennas work better. BTW, take the springs off the base of your antennas and the SWR will improve.
I got a 102 whip with a wilson spring on a k2500 swr is flat 0.0 but thats a pickemup I get 20 miles, macov58 on the house gets about 50 miles
Great video, CBs are underrated for short range comms. I got one for the truck and an old Cobra base unit for the house with a 24 foot antenna. With a clear line of sight we're gotten over 20 miles. One thing... Did you say you "wash" your truck?
Fire stick makes quick disconnects for your antennas so you can pop them off for the car wash. You can get a better SWR with more grounding making sure the contact points are sanded so metal meets metal. Flat battery cable works better for grounding and should be connected to the frame, fenders, hood,cab and truck bed to lower SWR.
Just ordered a cobra classic. I haven't had a cb sense the 90s. The way things are going today with the cyber attacks its possible cells phone's could go down. 2 way walkie talkies is a good choice as well.
No doubt!
I recently hauled my old 1970s handheld Radio Shack TRC-205 40 channel CB, still works, though it eats 12 batteries in no time. But can be used as a mobile or base unit as it has the outlets for a mic, antenna and external power.
Excellent video. You have a beautiful property.
Dual antennas work best when mounted 9 ft apart. Mounting 1 antenna in the center of your rack would work great and less money. Also Firestick makes quick disconnects for those antennas so you can pop them off for the carwash.
Finding a decent place to mount an antenna on a newer pick up is difficult. Where and how did you mount yours?
Great video! All I can add is if you want to increase the range, find a RF power amplifier. Usually CB radio's send out a signal using 4 watts on FM and 1 watt on AM. For $30 or $40 you can get one that increases the wattage to 30 or 40 watts on AM and FM, and probably peak around 100 watts on the side bands (USB/LSB). You can push the signal out much further (especially when atmospherics are good). Those Linear amplifiers are illegal to use, but in crisis situation it doesn't matter and those will be useful. A very important thing to remember is that you'll need to have your antenna's properly tuned, get the SWR as low as you can get it (adjust the length of the antenna's, there's video's on youtube on how to do that properly). The more power that gets fed back to the RF amplifier the higher the risk of blowing up the power amplifier (and subsequently also the final stage of the transmitter in your radio). I have several CB radios just for fun but also for emergency situations. We also live on a farm and lots of people in our region still use CB radios.
I still have two Midland radios in my garage from the 70's. Both have a SWR meter built in to the radio and side bands. They are cool. In the old days, we had to have a FCC license. It was free. I remember mine still. KXY3881
KBAR-3416 here
Great discussion!! Love my President McKinley CB!!
Great video. Reading your comments. 👍 CB has been part of our preps for over 20 years. Base station and mobile. It has proven time and time again, in times of disasters and emergencies. My primary system is long range ssb, however I have medium and short range bands both as redundancy, and operating three different networks with our group. All on 12 volt dc power, battery bank, solar, vehicle and generator. Redundant or back up power systems.
Yes you and comments are correct, a greatly under estimated vital comms gear, low Tek.
Thank you for high lighting this very important prep, often overlooked. May I suggest radio mapping your area for range and black spots. It took us two years in our area rite down to hand held radios. On occasions our vehicle gear have been used as a comms relay in rugged terrain.
Cheers.🇦🇺🇦🇺
ok, I see where it is now. Have a tonneau cover so will have to get creative for mounting I guess. I have the McKinley as base station, and the Andy II installed in one of my vehicles. Good info.
Welcome back JJ. Most folks I know are going to short wave like Baofang. Can pick up repeaters, they have hand held and mounted versions. Plus you get all the emergency channels, NOAA etc.
I have yet to see anything shortwave by Baofeng. They do the UHF/VHF gig.
If they made an 11 meter (cb) unit, especially walkie talkie, I would love to play with it.
Another tool for your tool box
They are readily available. If something really bad were to happen, there will be alot of semi trucks, setting around with radios in them. Also if you want more range just get an amplifier. Sure, they are not legal to use on 11 meter. But if things are really bad who cares. They have become much cheaper than the have been. RM Italy makes a variety.
I like CB's. You will get better performance with a single antenna on a Pick up truck. The reason dual antenna's (AKA twin truckers) work better on Tractor trailers is because they are further apart. To keep twin antennas in Phase they need to be close to a quarter wave apart Basically nine feet just like a 9' whip. If you want to be really pleased put a 3/8X24 stud mount on the center of the roof permanent or magnet mount and try a single fire stick or go to a Wilson 1000 or a top of the line Sirio performer or turbo antenna. It doesn't look as cool but it sure works better and it brings in less noise.
I bought a uniden CB (bare bones) for $35 and 2 CB portables from Ebay for $25 and channel 9 was originally setup for Emergency use only now don't know
my buddies and I messed around with CB's in the 70's when they were popular. Always wanted to get back into it, just to have it. Then came across your video. Good stuff. I need to look into them again.
The way you have your antennas mounted will use the vehicle as a reflector and push the energy out to the side . A better option is to mount one on the front bumper a the height of your back rack on the passenger side (Starboard side) and the other in the stake well on the back of the truck on the driver's side (Port side), again at the height the front is. This will extend your range.
Yep. I know. But that looks dumb. Lol.
CB is a great tool. I use a Larsen NMO27C and it is a great low profile durable antenna. You do not need an inline SWR/REF PWR meter after you tune your antenna. Most of the better quality radios like yours have one built in. You might consider putting some star lock lockwashers on your bonding screws as they will loosen up. Thanks for sharing !
Nice barn/shop ! Ifn ya dont mind asken how many acres ya got ? cant ya still get CB channels on a mobile ham radio ? TY
You can receive but you can not transmit using HAM radios on CB bands. "Legal" operating power on CB bands is limited to 4 watts whereas most HF ham radios can transmit up to 100+ watts without an external amp.
CB radio is not dead, this is the 1122 Wingnut radio down here in Panama City Florida, I'll be standing by channel 38 (27.385)Lower Side Band
44 georgia wavin a hand out of Savannah
Dixie CB Club 📡🔊👊👀👍
This is the dog catcher up here in Hale, Michigan. Right now, my friend, who I talk with every night at 10:30 p.m. on channel 38 AM, has closed up his summer cabin and returned home to Flint, downstate for the winter. His handle is glass cutter. He likes to talk with skip land. Me, not so much. We have CB base stations that are six miles apart. His antenna is 45 feet in the air and mine is 54 feet in the air. We've been able to talk with other CB base stations within a forty mile range away from our stations. So, if you out there some evening next summer and the skip is rolling good, give a shout out to the glass cutter and you just might hear him reply. 73's my friend.
Jack pine Savage 🔟- 4 I'll be glad to holler back if you actually get out this way I will be monitoring channel 38 Lower Side Band frequency 27.385.0
I do go on a m sometimes but it's usually over on channel 13, 17 , 19 and 28, but I'm not running a lot of wattage I'm only running Barefoot radio so I get out a lot further on sideband than I do on a m
Check out my channel I do video Gates of skip sometimes it's nice for people to hear themselves
So 73 and all that good stuff, from the 1122 Wingnut radio📡🔊👊👀👍
Cb can be very useful in a shtf situation or even in a regular situation BUT if your going to use them in a shtf situation a linear amp is a must, 4 watts just isnt going to cut it
Also your duel setup isnt doing you much good, for 11 meters they need to be atleast 102 inches apart and on a pickup truck that just isnt practical, the height of your antenna does not determine the transmit range but it helps with reception thats where a linear amp comes into play, swr is the reflected power from your antenna back into your radio through your coax high swr heats up your finals and if they get to hot it burns up the insulation within the finals til you can no longer transmit, if you like the looks of a dual antenna( which i do) disconnect one antenna and leave it standing up and pull the coax out completely and that will increase your range slighty and a much cleaner quality sound, good video
Good idea, as both alternative and emergency comms.
Hi from the UK. Just a couple of things I still have a box of old CBs from being a long distance lorry driver. There must be around 20 rigs 40 + 80 channel USB LSB AM FM rigs. I haden`t used them for years then i put one in my 4X4 just to keep in touch with mates in other 4X4s. I was gobsmacked with all the kids of the CB now i was banging out over 80 miles and on USB all over Europe awesome. I do Vermin control and was out one night after a fox that was killing chickens and nearly got my hair parted by a farmer after the same fox .He shot the Fox but the bullet pasted just over my head. So i gave him an old CB and put it in his Land Rover for him it`s very handy to know where he is shooting and vise versa. It beats getting shot. You can get your SWR down more by putting a three prong Ground Plane at the base of your Aerials. And you could put quick release Bayonet fitting at the base of the Aerials. So you can take them of in seconds for the car wash or just to put inside the cab to stop them being nicked. You can use the PA to an out side speaker to call in Foxes and other vermin it works great.
I think you can do better then Firestik and go to the Wilson or for the best way to go is 102” Steel Whip. Also if you are only doing 5-7 miles away you have issues! Also the built-in SWR Meter is just a ballpark. A single antenna is still better and less coax to worry about
This may seem like an echo, but what is your reason for using two vertical antennas? If you use them at the same time for transmitting you will get a rather unpredictable pattern of lines along which the signals reinforce eachother and other lines along which they will cancel eachother out. If I remember my physics-class correctly... meaning somebody just a few hundred meters away might not get your signal
Just for aesthetics. They work fine. I could get a little more range out of a single 109” wire antenna but these work quite well.
One thing to add, you can also find plenty of CB radios at "hamfests". They sell amateur radio gear at hamfests, but there is usually CB stuff there as well. You can get some great deals on CB Gear.
The addition of the springs has made the antenna too long for the frequency. Try to shorten the screw on the top of the antenna. You might have to remove it totally .Also run the ground directly to your frame by running the ground wire between the cab and bed. Sand the paint off the frame and attach the ground wire to that. You should find a spot with a hole already in the frame.Or find a bolt to unscrew and attach. Make sure the wire is just long enough to do the job. Add dielectric grease to the ring end of ground wire. The ground wire from the radio should be as short as possible. I grounded mine to the front seat bolt on the floor, closest to the radio. That eliminates ground loop effects. Sand off paint from the bolt area. No grease needed there. The power wire for the radio,the positive, should come from the Pos battery terminal with the fuse right there maybe a foot from Pos terminal. Do not tap into the fuse box in the dash. you will pick up too much static and noise, run thru the fire wall. ,,, do not comp tune the radio. Right out of the box is good enough!!! Cleaner is meaner !!!! Good luck!!!! Commander 105
I’m going to jump in here because I’ve looked at using A CB radio for prepping while using a CB in a vehicle is a good idea but if the SHTF using them would be a bad idea. The bad guys will most likely be using them to communicate once the cell networks die. The best use will be to listen for the bad guys in your area of operation. If you continue to use them after shtf your opening your self up to raids
Yes very good for passive listening. But we have very good comsec and ratel discipline. A whole other bunch of low Tek security practices. This can reduce disclosing location.
aussysurvival if your in Australia your not on 27-28 MHz as we are in USA . Direction finders are easy to build and Hans have lots of DIY projects to fox hunt. We had one fox hunt that caused a bomb squad call out. Some one called the cops after seeing a bright orange ammo can chained to a bus stop. They almost took the Fox
@@warlockcommandcenter yes that is true. It is not impossible to find a transmitter with diy gear. Have done it my self. Just reducing the risk for those who don't have DF gear. Yer our CB radios, no license required operate on the 27 Meg, 11 meter band. Have bought some from the US compatible with the OZ band.
It is a risk assessment for DF.
Good comment mate.
All the best.
It is just here in Australia, I have listened to people's life stories, private information and etc on two way radios, most are unaware it is is an open form of comms anyone can hear. Including locations, names handed to others on a silver plate, with basic gear. I come from a military communications back ground, it is definitely not secure for idle chatter and DF.
All the best.
aussysurvival ya here the 11 meter band radios have bee mod’d to have 40 below and 40 above the the standard band also the mod in on the SSB and that gives 120 AM channels, and 240 Upper and lower SSB .
I’ve used the uniden 10 meter/11meter rig they work but do need to be tuned right.
Thank you for the video.
In 1996, when I bought my vehicle new, it was at the apex of CB popularity. I bought my vehicle and very expertly, and permanently, installed a Cobra 148GTL SSB Citizen's Band transceiver. It looked and functioned great! I got many compliments. But I had very poor foresight. Four years later, citizens band radio collapsed and became a ghost band. Very little radio traffic was heard. I paid my vehicle completely by 2000. I still have the vehicle today with the Cobra 148GTL still permanently installed. But the radio rarely ever picks up anybody anymore. Everything still works perfectly. However, there is almost nobody using citizens band anymore. I have toyed with removing the old Cobra 148 GTL radio. But I cut a hole in the dashboard to install it and made another smaller hole to install a microphone jack to the dashboard. It still looks great. But with nobody on the air, it serves little purpose. Dashboard parts are hard to find for a vehicle made in 1996, so I just leave it installed. Who knows, maybe someday people will start using CB a lot again. But I do not even think Citizen's Band transceivers are manufactured any more. Back between the 1970s and up to around 1998, CB radios could be found in almost any department store. I never see them anywhere save occasionally at a thrift store, now. CB is tragically dead. I think I am the only one in my region with a CB radio. The CB radio and my vehicle are relics from much better and happier times. Maybe I should not think about taking the old radio out and trading in my vehicle any more. The old vehicle and radio combination really do bring back very fond memories.
make'n a CB handle man that one of the best parts "over"
Ham radios probably best
Can I have one in my house for something to listen too?
Sure
@@RealitySurvival I would highly recommend replacing your antennas with two 102" inch stainless steel antennas for maximum CB range.
Too many lives they've spent across the ocean Too much money been spent upon the moon Well, until they make it right I hope they never sleep at night They better make some changes And do it soon
Get a Frances antenna no adjust needed
I would recommend a 121” whip, more efficiency better range. Also bond your body to frame and cab to bed. I have 14 bonding points on my truck and get great performance
Why would you go longer than the 1/4 wave of CB?
My understanding is that the closer you get to the full wave length the better performance you will get. But if they get too long they become a nuisance.
We miss your hard work/videos hopefully you and your family are ok! Blessings
I guess I'm spoiled - my family was into CBs back in W NY early 70s - we had the 23 channel setups Regency Imperial base set with Cobra in the cars and because we were next door to my uncle's small rural airport we could have our 40 foot tower (lights to make it legal) with rotating dual Avanti quad antenna. We had to be careful about skip because it was such a powerful setup. We even picked up people searching for someone in the desert in Arizona from our station in W NY! We had Handles, QSL cards and went to Jamborees and nowadays it just seems sad in comparison but then that's life. It's hard for me at 68 now to use these smaller units with all the smaller output and input. ah well (sigh) :)
Good stuff.
You can get a Cobra 19 Ultra III at Walmart for like $38, I looked at one today 💯👍
And here we go...
I have been looking at the McKinley also, just have to figure out the best no drill antenna mount for my truck.
My Galaxy 949 does 28 to 29 watts average on ssb and when "skip" comes in I can talk from Nashville, T.N. to Ontario, Canada all day on a wilson mobile antenna. 697 Nashville 73's
@benz mercWhen there is what c.b.'ers call "Skip" you can talk that far on channel 38 lower sideband. Frequency 27.385. It also involves whats called the sunspot cycle and it's slowly going back up. Right now skip is off and on through the year so its mostly catching the right time to talk to people. I hope that makes a little sense.
@benz merc My radio doesn't have amplifier, it had a peak and tune done to it. However, If you want to run a small amp around 100 watts you will want to have a c.b. shop lower the wattage on your radio down to about 1 to 2 watts. Anyhow, An average day using lower sideband on my radio I can get out 30 to 50 miles But when skip comes in let the fun begin because you can talk hundered to a little over a thousands miles just on my small radio.Take care, Benz merc. 697 Nashville, TN. U.S.A.
@agoraphobic Adam what sort of antenna setup are you running?
@@RealitySurvival Just a wilson mag mount.
Co-phase ant’s suck, the fire sticks suck. The CB is nowhere near dead, just because ppl don’t do mobiles much more, there are 10’s of thousands of us base ops that are still rockin and it’s gaining speed everyday!! Good luck, TopGun123 West Tn.
Galaxy HF 6600 ssb moded
Radios are good for prepping but a 179 buck cb is no good. I have 6 Baofeng UV-5Rs for less than 132 bucks and can get 9 mile range in wooded area. I also have 2 Baofeng BF-F8HP with Singal Stick antennas and 3800Mah batts plus one Ed Fong DBJ-1 antenna for 261 bucks, plus a 40W Btech AMP-u25 for 132 Bucks. I can reach out to a 69 mile repeater. This is my comms set up for me whole family.
That is a good start. When you want to upgrade to have a more comprehensive setup you will want to have at least one radio from each common service: CB, GMRS, MURS and Ham. You can avoid the GMRS and MURS if you want to use a HAM instead but I don’t think that most Ham radios will cover the CB freqs. CB are still quite common so you will want to be able to monitor those freqs so that you can gather intell about what is going on around you.
@@RealitySurvival I just got a 1983 GE Emergency Help CB for 25 Bucks and a 40 CH Realistic with magnet mount antenna for 30 buck, both used from Facebook Marketplace. Also, the UV-5R gets FRS/GMRS/MURS/Marine and NOAA.
Good stuff. That will be great. 👍
They make a quick disconnect you put between antenna and spring I got one on Amazon Link: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013HK2MBE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
10-4
Fell onto you channel by accident I guess. I have strarted prepping a bit. I could keep my family going for a few months if something happens at this point. You have some good recommendations beyond what I think about. Checked out your video on seeds also. All good info. Keep it up.
Thanks! Glad you found us!
whats the model of the anteny and what is the cost of it
Link in the description.
where you been bro
Still here but reducing my presence significantly. Not happy with the BS UA-cam has been guilty of.
@@RealitySurvival don't blame you bro. I am not nether.
Thank you for the info JJ!
My community has made it that you need a license for c 19
Damn Commies!
I would like more details on that license. The FCC determines transmissions. The most a local community can do is limit antennas like home owners association.
You run power to open garage doors and turn on remote lights or walk on other bands, then the locals can step in. Otherwise 27 mhz is license free.
Great stuff JJ!
Beautiful view out there man 44 south georgia wavin 73s 👍
5 to 7 miles out of your mobile radio? I would check everything if that’s all you’re getting. There must not be anyone to talk to you in your area. That sounds awful short range
You definitely want a CB Radio with your bugg-out equipment.
Is that a very short guy, or does he have a big truck?
I’m 6ft tall.
@@RealitySurvival OK. Short then.
Been awhile since you put up a new video brother. You alright?
Doing well! Just not wanting to continue feeding the UA-cam corporate censorship Goliath.
I pulled my conex out of mothballs 4400hp
Also i habe a palimar 400
Nice duels !!!!
I just bought the President Trump CB. It is all gold and has an orange backlight for the channel numbers. The audio is extremely loud and obnoxious too!
Lol
We got us a *convoy*
Lol.
J J shouldn't you be promoting ham, my 5 watt is good for over 20 miles?
I’m not a huge fan of Ham radio for several reasons. I will do a video on that one of these days.
You could amp it 😉
roger roger beep skip
You have goats? Wow, we had two dozen sheep and only one goat , and that one goat caused more trouble and got into more mischief than all the sheep 😂😂 I’ll take the sheep over the goats any day . Better meat too 😃 the goat went to the auction
Love goats! But they can be honory!
good vid, but you way over-complicated it
To the people who can talk english and live in the european union. If you can get a european President MC Kinley you can modify the radio by cutting the white wire and moving the jumper to make it into an export version where the President MC Kinley EU is a 20 watts powered radio on AM / FM and 12 watts SSB and from 24MHZ all the way up to 30MHZ but keep in mind an european export version modified President MC Kinley is NOT FCC approved to use in the united states !!!
Thanks for the video!