How to use a mobile CB radio as a base station.
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- Опубліковано 25 сер 2024
- Here’s a Quick video of how to use a mobile CB radio as a base station
In order to turn a mobile cb radio into a base station you need a 13.8v power supply
If You have seen my other videos you’ll know why use lots of hacked power supplies to run radios but in this case I wanted to keep it simple for the people who may not be interested in hacking or splicing things together
PLEASE HELP! When I key 3amp DC power supply into Amazon a load of totally different looking mains adaptors come up. Is that thing you're showing just old, or do I need to use different keywords, if so, what?
What you’re probably seeing is the power supplies they often used to hook up LEDs.
They can be used to run a radio but they’re kind of dangerous if you arent careful. I would suggest typing in “ cb radio pyramid 12 V power supply”
@@JohnnyNJones the stuff I was bringing up was basically phone chargers and power for things like portable Bluetooth radios. I think I found the right thing, it's called something like a workbench power supply with the two connectors (the other ones had single plug-ins like my DAB radio takes)...
Anyway now I have your attention, what do you recommend if I want to get back into CB? Back in the day I had a base station with Thunderpole III antenna on the roof. But what can someone do in a ground floor apartment with no roof access? I was going to get something like a Midland Alan 42 DS handheld with telescopic antenna (as sold separately, about 3 or 4ft long). I live near a fairly big hill that should give a huge panorama of contacts. If I did somehow set up a fixed antenna couldn't I just connect a Midland to that via coax? Any thoughts on that?
@@ZadenZane A bench power supply is usually variable. It will still work but you can get a fixed voltage 13.8 V power supply for less money.
Honestly I would pick up a base station that way you can plug it right into the wall and not have to worry about an adapter or the often poor speaker/mic of a walkie-talkie.
There’s some pretty cheap base stations on eBay. You can get some “realistic” base stations for relatively cheap but a cobra will cost you more.
So here’s what I would do as far as putting an antenna on the inside of the apartment.
My most popular video tells you exactly how to build a dipole.
You can put a dipole on the ceiling or in a corner in an L formation like I did with my tape measure antenna.
Cut two pieces of wire (or any other metal, like a tape measure) Cut them at 103 inches.
Put one vertically and the other horizontally on the floor in an L shape.
Then you want to trim the ends until you have a good SWR reading.
That’s the best way of an antenna inside.
Most other antennas are not going to be very efficient because they’re going to be shortened and they’re going to be inside of an apartment.
(although I would consider seeing if your apartment building had a metal fame and use that as a grounding point)
But that’s not feasible and may very much be impractical.
Wow I had a realistic Navajo base station radio back in the day, I spoke to people all over the nation and even talk to people in South America, great video.
Oh, I bet so, I’ve never talked quite that far, but I’ve certainly heard them skipping my way! That’s pretty cool 👍👍
To be safe, 13,8 volts DC power supply (linier) and 5 amps will cover a radio and not stress the power supply. This is for the radio only, you will not be able to add Burners, linier amplifiers etc.
If you just want to run the CB on its own, 5 amp 13,8 volt DC power supply is all you need. Get yourself a good antenna, it will make a big différance to what you will hear. If in doubt, go to a good CB dealer, though they are in short supply in some places these days.
I wouldn't buy a second hand power supply, buy a new good make power supply.
...unless it has SSB -- not your typical CB radio (of course) -- then it'll likely be needing more than 5A, so I'd get a 10A power-supply (PS) for BOTH situations.
For examples, my President Bill II FCC AM/FM radio has a 2A fuse, so a 5A PS would be fine (and I like having the extra 3A headroom).
However, my President McKinley AM/FM/SSB has a 6@ fuse -- a 5A PS won't do.
I'd go 10A (and again, I like having that extra 4A headroom).
But it's not just for these CB radios: Since most 12v accessory sockets in cars/trucks nowadays are only rated for 10A max, if you get a 10A PS, you can run anything you could (safely) put in your vehicle's 12v sockets on your in-house 12v PS. Win-Win. Go 10...just a few dollar more so IMO it's well worth it. ;-)
-- BR
@@billredding2000 Yes, and the newer radios will take even more current than the older ones, if you have Ham type radios, you need to go very big for some. A CB type power supply might not do for some Ham radios.
@@BoB4jjjjs Of course, I was only addressing CB radios...I know nothing about HAM radios or their power-requirements. Nor the Super Bowl CB guys -- I have zero interest in amplifiers or otherwise operating my CB radios illegally (not to mention being highly annoying fools while they're at it).
So either 4W or 12W (SSB) is plenty for me. Consequently, a 10A AC/DC power-supply is ideal. :-)
-- BR
@@billredding2000 🤔
In the notice of McKinley " WARNING: Never replace the original fuse (2 A) by one of a different value" 🙄
@@THESHADOW97139 Due to your post, I went back to check my McKinley's fuse -- the glass in-line fuse came with it from the store -- and it does say 6A. Just guessing, but maybe that's because SSB radios can power-up to 12W (legal limit), whereas most CB radios aren't SSB and are limited to 4W max power?
I don't know, but for sure the fuse (factory OEM) fuse I took out of the fuse-holder has "6A250" on it.
-- BR
ETA: I just did some searching and found this:
"Power Cord - see the AUCB91 or AUCB91P - please note that the MCKINLEY has a 6 amp fuse in the power cord so you would need to remove the 5 amp fuse in the AUCB91/P and replace it with a 6 amp fuse."
-- wearecbCom/mckinley-t.html
So yeah, I'd NOT use a 2A fuse in the McKinley, only in my President Bill II.
Great video thanks for the information
You’re welcome friend 👍
Great Video Johnny Thank you. I also can't wait until Sunday although with the time difference and distance I'm not hopeful.
Johnny
JF227
Vancouver British Columbia Canada.
Hey that’s cool man you can reach someone else maybe, Charles is in Ontario you may be able to get him.
We are keeping it running all day, whenever it starts getting gray outside and the sun is about to set get on your radio
You’ll be surprised how far you can get with gray line propagation sometimes
That was a great video, that was something I didnt know .
Cant wait till Sunday noon 34 usb,will see if this Anytone is any good.
73s
514 Ontario Canada
Yeah I’m going to make a video about that
Thanks bud, yeah we will see!
unfortunately we haven’t had but 10 people say they’re going to participate so I’ll make a little video telling people to show up
@@JohnnyNJones Sounds great.
Hope to hear ya.
73s
514
@@charleswills4554 Same here man!
Hello, I recently rediscovered a CB radio I bought in Highschool 1991 that is in mint condition. I used it in my car and had a group of friends who then did the same. We had a great time. How can I know which converter to buy to use this as a base station at home? I'm afraid to not know exactly what I need! Thanx!
Well it depends on what type of CB radio it is, if it’s a regular 40 channel radio then a regular power supply should work fine.
Being from 1991 you probably need to change the capacitors or the radio won’t work the greatest.
But besides that, if it’s a regular cobra or something all you need is a standard 13.8 volt power supply.
But I’ll make it easier, look up this online “pyramid 13.8 V 5 amp power supply“
That’s all you need for a standard radio.
What antenna are you using and how did you ground it?
I used a custom dipole antenna that I made from some wire and I just use a grounding rod with a lightning arrestor for the coaxial cable to ground it. (the coaxial cable itself is grounded)
My DIY antenna is featured on a video as well as how I built it and my video on reducing noise shows my ground rod 👍
I just purchased a BTech Amplifier to make a small base station. However, the package only came with a cigaret lighter adapter for a car, as I believe it’s more geared towards mobile stations. Question: how to I provide power to the amplifier in my home? Help would be greatly appreciated. The supply voltage is DC13.8V. Input 2-6W. Output 20-30Ws
All you need is a power supply, you don’t have to use a cigarette plug you can strip the ends and use it for a pyramid power supply.
So look up pyramid power supply and make sure it delivers 10 Amps.
(No point getting a power supply unless it delivers 10 Amps in my opinion)
Also make sure that amplifier is useful for27 MHz
The amplifiers that I found up when I searched the term BTECH was UHF ham radio amplifiers for 400mhz to 480mhz
If that’s the case And you have picked up the wrong amplifier return it and get an “rm italy” amplifier on ebay 👍
I'm trying now to do this with a 148 cobra an a hd500mos rocketbox but not sure witch way or what to use for power any help or point me in right direction
Check out my recent video on turning a PC power supply into a CB radio power supply
If you have any questions let me know
What are you using in place of an antenna
I don’t recall making this video off the top of my head but if I was using anything other than an antenna I would be using my dummy load.
a dummy load Will keep your Radio from blowing up by absorbing all the energy that’s put into it
You can make your own pretty easily too 👍
Hey Johnny got a q.using a old general Lee problem is I live in a complex and I don't drive.so what's the best I can't put the antina out the window landlord laws.
So what's the best indoor antina for indoor
For skip and local stations thanks.
Try a vertical V antenna.
Basically you tape one piece of wire running up the corner of your living room and the other wire running straight along the floor. 👍
Thanks 😊
Do I have to buy and extra power supply if I buy a CB/AM/Ham ETC ?
Well, the great thing about base station radios either ham or CB is that the power supply is included so you plug them right into the wall.
But if you get a radio that does not have a power supply, you’ll have to make sure you get a power supply that supplies enough current to keep the radio running.
AM CB radios will work just fine using the same power supply for all of them.
Sideband CB radios take a little bit of extra current, but I haven’t noticed it being that much different.
You should check out the video I just made on using a computer power supply for cb
So I am getting the uniden 980 and do I have to buy a fuse after I cut the cigarette lighter connector off
It’s always best to have a fuse in line, just in case something goes wrong.
It can keep your radio from being damaged 👍
I’d also look up the fuse requirements for the unit and 980 because it’s a sideband. It might need a higher rated fuse.
The good thing is as long as you have a soldering iron you can simply solder the wires on the ends of the fuse. It’s very rare that I have to change a fuse 👍
Is it ok to just not cut it and use the cigarette port on my power supply
And I'm confused why does it say ssb when it has dual side band
@@sshooter546 it’s still single sideband because you have to choose upper or lower side band.
There is a dual side band suppressed carrier, but they don’t use our technology anymore as far as I know
And yes, you can absolutely use your cigarette lighter with your power supply 👍
Thank you
Can you explain how to connect the ground wire properly
If you ground your coaxial cable, you should be good.
There is a lightning protector you can buy that has a connector you attach a ground rod to which will ground your noise
Essentially one side of the antenna attaches to it, then some coax the other side connects to your radio, and helps reduce all the noise.
It’s one of my most popular videos
So you should be able to find it easy it’s about using a grounding rod
13.8 not 3.8
A "lady". 😉
did you ever hear about polish?
Polish sausage?
You said 3.8 volt power supply, and multi meter in parallel near the first of this video.
...Work on it!