CB radio, what makes and models?

[jes*b]

Really must get one sorted before Le Syncro event. What makes etc should I go for? Any recommendations for places to buy from? I'm thinking of getting the arial clamped on the NATO, which is ali??

[Fabzzz]

Really must get one sorted before Le Syncro event. What makes etc should I go for? Any recommendations for places to buy from? I'm thinking of getting the arial clamped on the NATO, which is ali??

was looking at them last night on e-bay. 70 quid for a starter kit. i think you need the areal with the spring on the bottom. likethat: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CB-Radio-Star ... 337bd0e3fd

what do u think ?

[v-lux]

Jez, you'd be hard pushed to beat some of the deals from these guys.
Ive used them before in the past and they are very helpful. If you want any advice just call them up, they're more than happy to advise.
Good prices and quick delivery.

http://www.4x4cb.com/public/menu.cfm?Ca ... e=Products

[Mudlark]

If your talking France make sure you get one that does the European/French channels as well as the British. None of the French could tune in last year at SPD.

[HarryMann]

True Mark but on the Euro channel we got very poor reception.
Most new units should be switchable

[crazydiamond]

If my memory serves me right (i'm probably wrong) the european CB is only 0.5Watt output and a different set of channels, We allways had 4Watts Steve (m0ck1) would know for certain. I think EU is 1Watt.

[silverbullet]

Jez, you'd be hard pushed to beat some of the deals from these guys.
Ive used them before in the past and they are very helpful. If you want any advice just call them up, they're more than happy to advise.
Good prices and quick delivery.

http://www.4x4cb.com/public/menu.cfm?Ca ... e=Products

Second that. Top bloke and good advice given to the inexperienced fitter!

[v-lux]

Weirdly, i think i pulled up alongside his BRIGHT YELLOW landie on my way back from Coney on the Saturday afternoon.

If it wasnt him then it was someone that likes 4x4cb.com enough to have 3ft high stickers up the side of their landie!

[sonic23]

I bought one of these (from same folk Al recommended) and tried it for the first time at Coney. It was very good
It's quite compact. £74 in a package

http://www.4x4cb.com/public/item.cfm?Re ... tegory=639

[Marlow]

Germany is 2W 80ch and the top 40ch are completely different from the UK. France is different again. It really varies from country to country. Even inside Europe.

I've got a Midland 248 which I'm really happy with and that lets me set the radio for different countries depending on my need.

Bought that from Thunderpole.

/M

[Simon Baxter]

List of cb bands.

http://www.macuk.org.uk/cbchart.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

From what I remember uk channels were a mix oh high band and super high band, but with. 3 kilo cycle shift.

Mid band was the "new" European channels that we were meant to start using.

I kinda lost interest years ago, not sure what all the different frequencies are now.

I know a lot of the newer stuff seems to come with AM again, which is a bit, er, 70's...

10-4 good buddy....

[silverbullet]

I'm thinking of getting the arial clamped on the NATO, which is ali??

You'll need an artificial ground plane type aerial. As per any Solihull Shed with alloy skinning i.e. all of them.
You might need to faff about with a continuous earth return back to the unit too, since the NATO won't have a clean conductive route to the vehicle ground.
High resistances = crappy RX/TX but won't affect the SWR, which can get you going a bit.

[Mudlark]

I dont think the French had the english channels, so if you want to join in with them you'll be needing to make le switch

[Marlow]

I dont think the French had the english channels, so if you want to join in with them you'll be needing to make le switch

FM Channels 1-40 are the same all over Europe. It's when you use channels 41 and up, that you get into trouble, because some countries don't have them and the english channels 41-80 are completely different from what is specified for Germany. I think in France, there were 120 channel CB's available, that even supported SSB, but again, channels 41 and up are different. In AM the variations are even worse.

If anyone sticks to FM channels 1-40, there should never be a problem.

/M

[Simon Baxter]

When I was a lad, in the olden days...
There used to be "bands", a group of 40 channels.
Each channel within that band was separated by 10kc. Kilo cycles.
So, you would have.

Super low band
Low band
Mid band
High band
Super high
Super super high
Etc.

What messed it up was the UK 40 channels lay 3/4 over High band and a 1/4 over super high, but then another 3kc apart. That was the PR27GB.
In the late 80's we were meant to move away from these UK channels and come into alignment with Europe and use the CEPT channels which was what everyone knew as mid band.
As far as I know Europe is still using the CEPT channels, or mid band.
I think, I've slept since and filled the spare space in my brain with lyrics to songs I'll probably never hear again!

So, if you want a rig for UK use ideally you want the old PR27GB channels, if you want to use it in Europe then you also want the CEPT channels too.